Evening star., 1918-06-16
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING

| 1emale labor is natural In time OF wal
and yet the great.
Woman Workers, est amount OF In
-. terest attaches te
on street Cars. the women AT
work. especially employed in capaci-
ties in which the general public is no,
used to seeing them. One of the po'
sitions which never fails to attract at.
tention is the woman as a street car
conductor. The Department Of Labor
has recently completed an inve6tiga-
tion Of the woman as street railway
employe.
In the present world crisis women
must do some of the work heretofore
done by men. Already many of the
occupations previously restricted tc
male employees have been opened to
women. and as the war progresses
the need will become more imperative
and the practice probably more prev.
alent. Women are eager to do their
share in the war and for that very
reason are likely to accept, withou,
employment offered. especially when
appeal Is made to their patriotism to
take up the burdens dropped by the
drafted men.
| In this country woman car cleaners
and ticket agents and choppers have
4
panfes in some cities even in normal
| times, but the car crews have always
| heretofore been men. 1t is only re-
Gently. however, inspired perhaps in
part by the accounts from other war
ring nations. that women have been
taken on as street car conduct
ors. Information is not available as
| to the total number of women thus
| employed throughout the country or
the number of cities in which the ex-
pertinent is being tried.
| The plan to increase the number OF
women on the surface lines of New
York city and Brooklyn 'as rapidly
as housing accommodations for won
en- can be provided for at the various
depots." together with the large num-
Der Of woman applicants for this work
emphasizes the need. say the labor
| experts. of a careful consideration OF
this particular problem in dilution OF
labor.
| The companies employing women en-
phasize their impartial treatment OF
woman employees. The women take their
turn with male employees both as extras
and as regulars. AS regulars some
women must have afternoon and night
runs. come must have might hawks" OF
| fowls" running into the morning hours
and some will draw day runs. AS extras
| through thei: position on the extra list
they may be able to choose for each
days work runs fairly uniform as to
duration or as to the time of beginning
and ending. But it is inevitable that a
considerable number of those on the
extra list will not be thus favorably
situated.
The hours that employees are actu-
ally engaged in operating the cars
give but little notion of the suitable
ness Of the employment for women
The within time, or the period
between the time of reporting at the
barn and the time when they are re-
leased for the day gives much
better idea of the demands Of the oc-
cupation upon the time of employees
For the most part. the expects point
out. the time between Swings" or
portions Of the days work is simply
dead time. with the choice of loafing
about the car barn or on the street
II suitable waiting and rest rooms
lind comfort stations were provided
| a working day for woman employees
OF nine hours actual work to be
| completed within ten hours could be
regarded with some degree of com
| placency as not being necessarily in
| furious to health.
| Those who advocated the employ
ment Of women as street car con-
| ductors have given scanty considera-
tion to irregularity of hours. to
| within" time and to night work
the experts say. or else they regard
! 90 'iioi enoii compensatory LOT
by the comparative lightness of the
! work. 1t is necessary. however, to
| take into account the nervous strain
| resulting merely from riding for
hours at time on car that is
constantly starting and stopping, and
that Of handling crowds at rush
hours: On many cars the conductor
Is obliged to be on his feet constantly
| and the principle has been clearly
established that woman cannot work
| at employment requiring constant
standing without seriously endanEer-
ing her health. The experts, after a
| thorough investigation. say that the
danger OF injury, resulting seriously
to woman doing this work, is by no
| means negligible.
AS means OF promoting meat pro-
duction in the south, the cattle-feed-