The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-02-27
GIVE THE CLERKS A CHANCE,

Congress cannot afford to take
snap judgment against the Govern.
ment employees in Washington in. the
matter of increasing their working
day by an hour. There are many
and serious reasons why the change,
which seems to appeal to some pub
lie men as merely an incident, would
in fact work a very revolution in the
domestic arrangements and the pri-
vate affairs of the clerical people.
Take for instance, the matter Of
getting the clerks to and from their
work. Thousands Of them, by rea-
son of their inadequate incomes, live
in suburbs many miles from their
work; in large proportion of cases
they have no transportation facili-
ties save the suburban trains or the
steam railroads.
If their hours Of work are length
ened a half-hour at each end of the
day, there must be, first of all, re-
adjustment Of train schedules. This
involves the remaking of the entire
scheme, for it is now adjusted to the
purpose of getting all classes Of
suburban people into town for the 0
o'clock opening hour. To put back
the suburban trains half hour, for
the accommodation of the clerks
would utterly discommode other peo-
pie, who don't want to go to work a
half hour sooner than at present, but
who would be compelled to do SO be-
cause it would be impossible to run
additional trains.
This question of suburban trans
portation will be found, il anybody
in Congress has interest enough to
want to learn the facts about it, to
be a most serious one. The suburban
train service Of Washington has
never been a profitable one for the
railroads; its rates have recently
been raised with the permission of
the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion, on the ground that it had been
shown that former rates were too
low. To reorganize the hours Of en-
ployment of the town would necessi-
tate either that people now living
in the suburbs remove to the down.
town sections, or else that more
suburban trains be operated.
II the suburban people be COM
PEELED to appear for duty a half
hour earlier than now, many of item
living at more distant points will
have to rise at almost impossible
hours. 1t is certainly fair to ques-
ton whether real efficiency would be
promoted by such impositions; for
frightening the day at both ends,
imposing new and much more diff
cult conditions of living, the Gov
eminent would have a poor chance
to get more real service than it gets
now.
/ Thousands of suburban residents
would in time find it impossible ia
carry on their duties under the more
onerous conditions, with the result
that their homes would have to be
sacrificed in order that they could
live nearer their employment. There
would be, under such conditions, nc
buyers, and suburban property
would be greatly injured. Most OF
the suburban residents among the
Government people own their homes
they have gone to the outlying sec.
tons for the very purpose of getting
homes, which they could not afford
downtown.
These are very practical, very
common-sense aspects of the ques
ton; and they must have considera,
ton. If Congress does not give it
the employees will have to give II
later on, and it will mean a very
serious disorganization of service
and hardship and losses to - suf
fered by large class of the EN-
ployes.