Arizona republican., 1921-06-29
By Frederic J. Haskin


 WASHINGTON. D. c. June 2S- That several of the government de- partments, by discriminating against married women in cutting down their office forces, are in effect penalizing marriage for those who are already married. and making it less attractive for those who might be. is the claim of women here who are active in the movement to get women working op- portunities equal to those enjoyed by men.
 Miss Elsie Hill, of the National Woman's party. states that several of the government departments. which are reducing their payrolls. have issued questionnaires to their women employees in order to find out which are married and which are single. A questionnaire sent out by the air service. of which we have a copy, is evidently designed to gain further information about the cir cumstances of the married women It asks. each of these to tell whether she is living with her husband: if not. ' whether she is legally separated from him; whether the husband is depend ent upon her for support; and wheth- CT any members of her immediate family are employed by the govern ment. and if so. how much each earns. Following the issuance of these questionnaires. Miss Hill states. a large number of married women have been dropped from the rolls of the departments. without regard to their efficiency. In many cases. she says. married women of long experience and established value, have been dropped for no other discoverable reason than that they are married. At the same time. she says, the civil service is holding examinations for employees of similar grade and kind.
 The object of the various depart ments in dropping married women from their rolls is plain They are compelled to drop some employees and are eager to drop those who will suf- fer least hardship as a result Ob- viously the married woman who has an employed husband. is less apt tc suffer from the loss of her job than the single woman entirely dependent upon her own resources
 Good Intentions
 The women recognize this motive and it's practical Justification. They realize that the bureau chiefs are mol trying to strike a blow at marriage But they claim that in effect 1t i' a blow at marriage. and also at thu right of woman to work and be in dependent.
 It is this latter phase of the ques tion which chiefly interests thu women politicians. As far as the ef feet on marriage is concerned the, simply point out that the same con servatives, who contend that woman place is in the home. are often keep ing her out of 1t, when. by measure like this one, they destroy her earnini capacity.
 For the modern American womai generally works because she mus She may also work because she want to do so, but it is necessity far nor than choice that has brought wome into the working world In Americal cities the number of men who ca support a wife and children in a real ly adequate way has been on the de cline for a long time, as both price and standards of living have riser while salaries and wages hay climbed slowly after them- The de partment at Washington like the of fices of other American cities. ar filled with unmarried girls betwee the ages of 20 and 30.
 The feminists will tell you tha these girls are working because the love their independence. and that the would want to continue to work an be self supporting even though the married. Unprejudiced observers. O | the other hand, have estimated Una an offer of marriage and suppol from an attractive man with an as sured income of s10.000 year woul | be rejected by onls about one-tent of one per cent of these bachelor girl Most of them are working becaus they have to. and most of them hay not married because the good chanS has not come along. No doubt man of them do appreciate their indeper dence and they probably appreciai 1t more after they have made son progress in their work and have b' | come accustomed to the blessings freedom. But they are workers abo' all from necessity. Not only ter thousand dollar men. but even fiv' thousand dollar men are lamentab scarce. They are quickly captured the more attractive girls. and usual by girls with social setting ar enough money to dress in styl rather than by stenographers livir on s25 a week. What the stenograph
 actually finds available in the way
 a spouse is usually a clerk. in Il
 same office. making anywhere fro