Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-05-07
DRAWS BIC SALARY
Mrs. Wells Best Paid Woman
EmpIoye of Uncle Sam.
HANDLES BIG CASH BILLS
As Assistant Clerk of Senate Mill
tary Affairs Committee Her
Work Is Important.
HANDLES BIG CASH BILLS

Mrs Leona NJ. Wells Of Wyoming the
reorganization of the Senate has
brought out as the highest paid wom-
an on Uncle Sans payroll. From the
assistant clerkship OF the powerful
Senate committee on military affairs
she has been promoted to a similar
position with the more powerful Sen
ate committee on appropriations.
For some years Miss Margaret v
Kelly, an employee in the Office OF the
director of the mint with power to
act in his place in his absence or in
the absence of his immediate assist
ant, has been hailed as Uncle Sans
best-paid woman employe In the de-
partments. But Mrs. Wells has the
laurel over Miss Kelly, considering all
branches of the service.
1t is a political appointment which
Mrs. Wells has received, as was her
first appointment as an emcloye of the
Senate eleven years ago. But she has
been in politics in Wyoming. where
the dreams of the Suffragettes h ave
been realities for several decades. She
has special pride in the fact that she
has had an equal voice with each
man in the Rocky mount1in state in
the elections held there since she came
ago.
Is a Suffragette.
Yes, this highest paid woman on the
governments pay roll is suffragette-
not the rampant, militant kind that
casts stones when they cannot cast
ballots, but nevertheless a believer in
the equal right of women and men to
I n bot, Co. - toll Il
when asked why she is d suffragette
| she will point to reforms in Wyoming
] and claim they have been brought
| about by woman's suffrage.
| Mrs. Wells has been doing a man!
work not only in voting and in filling tn.
| office of election clerk in her voting pre-
| Cinct, but as an employe of the Senate
! for over decade. And she has founC
| her sex. she says. handicap in only
| one Way-she has not the privilege of the
| Senate floor during the sessions of tn,
Senate as the men occupying similar Pc
| SitiOnS around the upper house of Con
| gress.
| This has been particularly noticeable
each year since she has been assistant
clerk of the Senate committee on military
affairs, when the annual army appr1pria
tion bill was under consideration. Ordl
narily, the clerk or assistant clerk who
| has been in charge of an appropriation
| bill while it was being made up in com
L
| chairman on the floor of the Senate wheI
| il is under consideration by the Senate
| Mrs. Wells has done the, clerical Worl
! on the annual army appropriation bill
| and on the Military Academy appropria
ton bill for several years during its con
| sideration by the committee, and Whel
| the bills came before the Senate mali
| employee of the committee has had TIT
| seat alongside Senator Warren, Chairman
| of the military affairs committee.
| Watches Progress of Bills.
| Mrs. Wells, however has followed every
minutes developments and her sugges
tions have promptly reached Chairman
| Warren. She did that by taking a sta
| ton lust outside the swinging doors a
| the main entrance of the chamber ant
keeping of the doors aiar few inches Il
ena BILE her TO hear what was going on IL
the EveleSS chamber.
Nv right Mrs Wells has the privilege:
of the Senate floor. But custom has de
creed differently, and she has not beer
the one to violate that precedent set by
custom.
Mrs. Wells is young for her response
bilitieS being only thirty-tWo years OF
age Born in Illinois and reared and
educated in Iowa, she felt the call OF
the mountains and went to the Rocky
mountain region in 1899. The next year
she became secretary TO the chairman
of WyomingS state republican central
committee After the election of Presi-
dent Mckinley in November. 1900. she
came 10 Washington 10 become clerk
to the Senate committee on claims.
Five years later, when Senator War
rem left the claims Craftsmanship TO
take that of military affairs. she went
to the latter con nlittee So familiar did
she become with the work Of the claims
committee. however, that she is still
| sought by attorneys and claimants
when tangles over claims. particularly
over older ones. arise and claims pre-
| cedents are sought
At the close Of the Fifty eighth Con-
gross, Mrs. Wells was designated to
prepare the alphabetical index Of pri-
yate claims pending before the Senate
in that Congress-an index of $4,000
names, each followed by a history OF
the case to the close of that Congress
And the index she prepared was print
ed as a public document for the use
OF Congress.
Was Pioneer.
When she took up the work with the
military affairs committee, she was the
first woman employee of the Senate
placed in charge of the affairs Of &
big committee. The military affair.
committee manages the annual supply
hill for the support Of the army, ag.
Igregatin8 Approximately & hunAzee