The Washington times., 1915-08-26
Department Wheels Would
Run Slowly and Business
Be Upset BY One Day
Walkout of Women.
A ONE-DAY SUFFRAGE
STRIKE should be declared for

the entire country. what would
be its effects In Washington.
where the number Of women ex-
ceeds the number Of men?
What swould happen II the some
twenty-five thousand women In the
Government. all the charwomen.
six women BARRIERS. six druggists.
six chiropractors. fifteen osteopaths.
$50 dressmakers. eco nurses, forty
three doctors, forty-three notaries
public. six dentists-these are Just
q few Of the women employed in
Washington-could all be persuaded
to declare a strike for one day?
Masculine Minds Agitated.
Since the committee In charge Of
the suffrage campaign in New York
has suggested a one-day strike of
all women employed in their State.
to show what would happen II
women's place were literally the
home for twcnty-four hours. mas
culine minds have been unduly
agitated by the possibility Of even
this temporary crippling in practi-
cally all industries.
Though the idea was originally
intended to be carried out in New
York alone. or at most In those
the fail vote. suffragists In other
States have. n 10 unde rstood. taken
kindly to the idea. and the one-day
strike may become a reality more
far-reachin in its effects than was
planned by the campaigners Of the
Empire State.
Would Affect the Government.
To be sure. less radical suffra-
gists believe that the object OF such
a strike has already been realized.
in that factory-owners and other
employers OF woman workers nave
been driven to conccde the fact that
II woman's place were the home q
number Of industrie would bo seri
ously handicapped.
Washington Is not a manufacture
ing town.
4 one-day suffrage strike would
not curtail the industrial output to
any great extent. On the other
hand. there are few cities where
the women arc more universally
self-supportins.. though the post
most exclusively mental instead Of
manual.
First Of all. to take the place Of
workers in mills and factories are
the women employees OF Government
plants--a goodly proportion OF the
der the classified civil service In this
city
Army of Stenographers.
These not only include clerks. but
experts In many fields Of science
and specialized occupations created
by certain branches OF the service.
Among these are the skilled exam
tners Of bank notes in the Treasury,
bacteriologists Of the Bureau Of
Chemistry. specialists in pedagogy
at the Bureau Of Education. and ex-
Bureau Many Of these workers are
carrying on important research work
in the laboratory and the field.
which an unexpected absence of only
one day might affect seriously.
cialists" and the clerks who are
likely to be called upon to do work
of several types Is the small army
OF women stenographers employed
by the Government and often In
trusted with the transcribing OF Of
fictal correspondence and other ex-
acting routine work.
Schools Not Immune.
Besides these skilled laborers''
are hundreds Of women In the un-
classified service. including matrons
OF Government buildings and char
women. II the one-day strike were
to become effective in Washington,
department wheels would move dus-
tily, as we'll as slowly, and for
twenty-four hours floors would be
unscrubbed and waste paper uncol-
lected.
Tnder the D,.t,,ct odnin,.t,.ttor
women are nearly as important. II
the strike were declared on a school
day. what would happen II Wash
ington's women teachers unanimous
ly decided that. for twenty-four
hours. their place was to bring sun
shine to the home instead Of teach
Ing young Ideas how to shoot? OF