Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-12-19
DECLARES WOMEN
TREASURY CLERKS
SUFFER HARDSH|PS

Charges that women operating add
ing machines in the loans and curren-
cy division of the Treasury Depart
ment were forced to sit for hours on
chairs without backs, and sometimes
work eleven hours a day, were made
by Mrs. Dorothy G. Hyde of the De-
partment of Agriculture before the
joint congressional commission on re-
classification of salaries in the Dis
trict today.
In asking that working conditions
in the loans and currency division be
investigated by the commission, MRS.
Hyde declared that her own daughter
works there. and that one night her
daughter, after working seven hours
during the day. had TO work until 2
o'clock am. Mrs. Hyde is employed
in the bureau of crop estimates.
Mrs. Hyde's charges came as an
anti-climaX to the hearing afforded
the mechanical tabulating and the
statistical clerical services before the
commission. in which the model condi-
tons among mechanical tabulators in
the office of the auditor for the Post
Office Department were eXtolled.
While clerks on the mechanical ma
chimes in the Treasury Department
division are not forced to work over
time. Mrs. Hyde told the commission,
they were given the impression that
if they did not do so their efficiency
record would suffer.
Girl workers on the mechanical
tabulating machines often punch as
many as $4,000 holes a day in the
cards used in the preliminary steps of
such work, it was brought out by
Louis Brehm and James n. Soit. both
of the office of the auditor for the
Post Office Department., who presented
plea for salary increases ranging
from $500 to $4,000 for all such
workers.
The work of these girls. who. it was
testified. perform the work better
than men. took on added interest to
the classification commiss mem
hers owing to the fact that stan
of them are at work on immense tab
ulations for the commission. one OF
the key-punch operators at the com
mission tainted in the course OF the
work.
These punch operators get from
5000 to s1440 year, 1T was teStlned
One girl punched 5000 cards day
for two weeks without an error, and
the general average is $500 cards
day. eighteen holes to the card. or
ASSOC holes punched Gay.
Federal employees who may nave
,otten the idea that under reclassl-
fication automatic promotions VIII
come like clockwork had their IDEAS
iolted today by the COMMISSION IN tne
discussion that followed the presenta-
ton of brief by ~. >. 1tahuai u ~
bureau of pensions in heha'f OF 'he
STATISTICAL clerical workers.
I'VE speak for automatic promo
lions. unless there is some real rea-
son for holding a man back Mr.. KAN
dali stated. J.,
You don't mean automatic. do
you?" asked Commissioner Henry
Allen Cooper. THE commission has
been criticised in some quarters Tor
the use of the word automatic, ana
7 do think that the word does not give
the correct idea
Efficiency promotion would be bet,
ter" suggested Commissioner Edward
Heating. stressing the idea that un-
dor any system of merit promotions
ultimately recommended to Congress
the advancement of federal employees
would depend upon efficiency above
everything else.
Marine operating and operating en-
cheering services are being heard
before the commission this afternoon.