Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1915-05-08

want leagues to accentuate the magni.
| ficent impression made by the Kings
example in banning the consumption
IF wine, spirits and Lee! III the royal
residences. We war! 'easncS - en-
| courage the workmen in u ammunl-
ton factories to increase their output.
leagues TO deepen the national ettl-
cheney for the purpose Of the wal on
which our whole future G.pnds.'
London, May All departments of
the British government service are
officially thrown open to women for
the first time in a circular issued by
the cabinet through the board OF trade.
The circular urges all government de-
partments to replace, wherever pos.
sible, men employees of military age
with women, and offers to obtain suit
able women substitutes for various
clerical and other positions, through
the government labor exchanges.
The circular follows up a recent
war office statement appealing for the
release of more government employees
for the front. In this statement Lord
Kitchener was quoted: IL confidently
look to the heads of departments to
arrange by finding suitable substi.
tutes, for the necessary permission to
be given freely to their s~ubordinates
who are prepared to join the colors.'
The board of trades circular points
out that "a large number Of women
clerks have registered at the labor en-
changes, and considerable numbers
of these have already been ngaged by
certain government departments. in
addition, a special register is being
compiled Of women who have signi-
fed their willingness to undertake
service during the continuance OF the
war, to release men for combatant du'
ties. This register already contains
| 80, 900 names, and will supply a large
number of women qualified to take
the place of officials who may be re-
leased" ....
The board of trade has itself releas-
ed over 1000 o~tucials for the army,
and in a large number of cases their
places have been taken by women.
1t remains to be seen what reply
will be made by the heads of the var
ious government departments to the
board of trades circular. Many OF
these departments have histerto
drawn a line very rigidly against any
women employees. All of them will
now make a careful survey of their
work and ascertain to what extent
men of recruiting age can be replaced
with women. gs'
1t has been for years the aim Of
various women's organizations to OBJ
tain fro mthe government an eqaal op-
~portunity for both sexes in the gov
eminent employ. The board of trade
circular is regarded as an official de-
claratiou that for the period of the
war at least, the barrier of sex will
have no sanction from the cabinet.
Sylvia Pankhurst, the militant suf-
fragette, has had a clash with Lloyd
George and the Liberal government
t,over the employment of women. The
chancellor, in reply to "a letter from
her, promised that women doing piece
work would be paid the same rate as
the men were then getting, but said
nothing about time work. Miss Pank'
hurst then wrote him on that point
hut received no answer. An indirect
reply was made, however, by Mr.. Run
lehman NJ. p, president of the board
of trade, who said that no conditions
had been laid down by the govern
ment as to time work.
Miss Pankhurst has now made a
statement to the press in which she
accuses the government of refusing
TO guarantee women the same pay as
men for time work, adding:
From the women's point OF view,
it is unjust that women should be en-
ployed to do mems work at a lower
rate: from the mems point Of view, 1t
is disastrous. Guarantees to take men
back into employment after the war
can never be enforced; and if any
proof of this is needed. we find 1t a
fact that promises by employers to
make allowances to the wives OF work
men who are fighting at the front are
already being broken on every hand"
London, May William G. Edgar,
who had charge of the record cargo