Evening star., 1920-01-07
POLITICAL WOMEN
GET CLERKS PLEA
Letter Is Sent to Mrs. Bass
and Mrs. South of
Two Parties.

| WOmenS organizations today lined VI
behind the joint congressional commits
sion on reclassification of salaries in the
| District in an effort to have the com
| missions forthcoming recommendations
! to Congress enacted into law.
Represe ntativeS of the Women'S Trade
Union League and its affiliated organlZa
tons of women in government service
today wrote to Mrs. George Bass, chair
nan of the women's bureau of the dem
Ccratic national committee, which will
meet here tomorrow, to ask for oppor-
tunity to present the question in full
and ask their support. and are wiring
to the republican women's conference
at Denver to the same effect.
Signers of Petition.
The communications to Mrs. Bass
chairman of the democratic women. AND
i to Mrs. John Glover South, chairman OF
the republican women, were signed by
Miss Ethel NJ Smith. executive secre-
tary of the Washington committee OF
the National Women's p'rade Union
League; Miss Gertrude McNally, secre-
tary of the Women's Union of the Bu-
reau of Engraving and Printing; Miss
Mamie T Daniel president of the Wom-
ems Bindery Union; Miss .Juliette Steb-
bins president of the Women's Unit
of Federal Employees Union, No 2; Miss
Alice Deal president of the High School
Teachers Union, and Miss Maude f.
!, Alton. president of the Grade School
Teachers Union.
They call attention to the fact that
there are 10000 women who will be
directly affected by the reclassifica-
tion commissions work, and state
that until American women are just
ly treated by their government, the
largest employer in the world. it will
continue to be difficult for them tc
obtain economic justice from private
employers.
Excerpt From Letter.
"The commissions report" says the
letter, eff the recommendations fol-
low the results of the commission S
work as published to date, will pro-
vide the first Standardization of wom-
ems wages on the same basis as men
ever made in the history of the world
The women employed by the govern
ment are engaged in almost every
kind of occupation-not only clerical
and professional work. but in the sew
ing trade. the printing trades, ma
chine trades of many kinds, and the
various miscellaneous callings. all of
them underpaid from any viewpoint
and notoriously underpaid as com
pared with men doing the same or
comparable work.
The principles which the women ask
the reclassifcation commission to en-
body in it's report. and for which the
support of democratic women and the
democratic party is asked follows:
Equality of opportunity for men and
women and equal compensation for the
same work or work of corresponding
skill.
"A minimum wage for government
service, which minimum shall not be less
than the cost of living as shown by
authentic and official Investigations.
Classification of salaries above the
minimum. according to degrees of skill
or training.
IAN enlarged Civil Service Comnis-
sion, with broader powers. as a central
administrative agency for the civil serv-
ice. the membership of this commission
to include representatives of the depart
ment heads, of the employees, and of
the general public, with an equal num-
ber of men and women in each of these
three groups"