The Washington times., 1920-10-18
Shorter Hours, More Pay To
Raise Bank Clerks Efficiency

an atmosphere of good fellowship
among the employees, and the en-
ployes now return to work on Mon
day at or 9:l5 a. m, feeling ooth
physically and mentally better en-
ployes, giving more efficient service
to the public. which necessarily gives
results to the employers.
REASONABLE HOURS IMPORTANT.
Reasonable hours of labor tend to
make efficient employees. Overwork-
ed employees give poor results, and in
conjunction with the reasonable hours
of labor there is another important
factor and element-reasonable COM
pensation for the purposes Of main
tanning employees and their families.
The employees. and more especially the
bank employees, who sleep in badly
ventilated rooms. without light. air
and sunshine, and eat poorly cooked
food, come to their work in drowsy.
half-hearted, don't-give-a-rap fashion.
Their work is the work of machines
an dnot of men. and they do not give
their best individual efforts: but on
the other hand. IL they arc given the
proper sanitary housing conditions
and given proper food to eat they
come full of energy and the work
shows the result.
We all remember the poem by
Thomas Hood:
Work, work, work!
My labor never flags:
And what are its wages? A bed of
straw,
A crust of bread, and rags.
That shattered roof, and this naked
chair,
A table, broken chair.
And a wall SO blank my shadow i
thank
For something falling therel
What result can be obtained from
an employe in a struggle for existence
with energy at low ebb. 1t is a
very serious problem and one that
must receive attention. For we all
must realize when the employe is
compelled to work long hours, and for
a meager wage prevents him from
obtaining many of the necessaries
of life, therefore, his mental attitude,
as we know, is not conducive OF the
best results for either himself or for
his employer.
PROBLEM Is SERIOUS.
This problem the banks are facing;
1t is a serious one and ought to re-
ceive the serious attention of all who
employ men anu wohNh ".
money and securities, and while / do
not say that long hours and small
pay creates dishonesty, still we know
that temptation placed in the way of
men and women who handle money
and securities, who are deprived of
some OF the necessaries OF lift, is
dangerous. The work Of the en-
ployes of n bank is tedious and nerve
racking; the refusal of the payment
of a check when funds are on deposit,
the mistake in not Identifying n sig
nature, miscalculation of interest. any
or all of these errors may cause either
the bank or the patron loss of money,
loss OF credit or loss of reputation.
How would one like to have des-
tiny take you by the hand and lead
you behind a teller's cage and point
to you one who Is receiving 81 200
per pear, or say S1,400 a year, sup
porting his wife and his child or
children; one who handles 100000 or
$4,000 a day in cash or collateral,
and. who perchance, IN compelled to
work from s o'clock in the morning
to s O'Clock at night with the snatch
of a few minutes off for lunch. One
continuous struggle from morning to
night with figures, with counting
money. catching up errors: one who
cannot wait until the 1st or 18th to
come around so that he might pay
them three-eighths to fvo-eighths OF
his salary for rent and struggle
through the balance of his salary for
clothes and food-but never recrea-
tIon. How can he find time for
His hours are too long
and for recreation In tho evenings,
which costs money. he has not the
wherewith to pay. 1t is n struggle
for him from day to day, from month
to month. from year to year. lie
is one of the propolling forces that
moves the golden car OF commerce.