Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-04-16

proportion of those who pour through the war
partment door. j. half of them reached him, Mr..
Bakers life would be one long reception. For this
he is surrounded by a carefully chosen corps
of assistant secretaries, assistants secretaries to
assistants and assistants to secretaries. Each of
these has to do with certain class of visitors and
is especially qualified for the task. Thus Emmett
Scott, colored man, who the private secretary
to Booker T. Washington, is especially delegated to
attend to the affairs of persons of his own race
because he is able to do Understandings. Other
and classes similarly represented the
corps of the secretary by men who are especially
qualified to them. The spirit of the war de-
partment, from the desk at the door to the secre-
tarys office, strikes the visitor of fair deal
ing toward all. If difficulty is sometimes
tered by the visitor, If abuses and njustices creep
in, it should be taken into account that these things
inevitable in organization which is growing
and changing as rapidly as is the war department.
One of the most attractive parts of the crowd
that daily enters the department is the host Of
young women that have come here from all parts
of the country take positions typsts stenogra
piers and clerks: very large proportion of the
clerical and secretarial work of the department is
done By very young women many of them
than eighteen years of age. They making what
is to them big money'-from eleven hundred to
fourteen hundred dollars year. The American
stenogTapher is adept at dressing well less
than that Hence the war department crowd is a
very chic and well groomed aggregation, and it goes
about the grim business of war with many gggles
and smiles. Nevertheless it does the work. This
infusion of young blood was necessary and for
tunately the war department had in its employ
number of older women who could be used fore
women and superintendent 1t is injustice, ad-
mitted all hands, that these forewomen, al
though they doing some of the most important
work in the department, are not paid any more
than their young assistants, because the law does
not provide higher salary for women clerks, and
congress has not had time to amend the law.
One of the worst OF trials that besets Mrs.
Nichols is that of caring for the persons who do
not know what they want. Many Of them have no
hea of how the government is organized, and seem
to think that the war department handles almost
everything connected with the war. 1t may, there
FORE be worth while to briefly explain that the
war department is simply the executive Office Of
the army. II has two distinct parts-the military
Offices and the civilian divisions. The military
offices include those of the chief of STAFF who actual
ly directs the army the adjutant general, who has
to do with commissions and enlistments, the in
spector general, the quartermaster general, the
Judge advocate general and the chiefs Of engineers,
ordnance militia signal corps nsular affairs, coast
and field artillery. These departments Of army
administration assisted by number Of civilian
divisions of a clerical nature. When you have bust
ness with the war department try to find out what
office should handle it, and apply to that.