The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-07-16

engraving" at Washington, there are deep depres-
sions made by the footsteps of the women wage
slaves as they move forward and backward in
steady, monoonous tread about the presses at their
work as printers assistants. The men and women
IN this room are employed by the u S. government
to make its paper money. There are few windows
on one side of the room, but the light is insufficient
and over each printing press there are electric
burners whose heat vibrates the close depressing
air in which ink oil and foul dust mingle with the
breaths and sweat from the bodies of seven hundred
men and women at work.
The clothing by the printers is caked with
INK, While the dresses of the drip with grease
which flies from the presses in their revolutions A
girls dress is ruined by days wear. Said one
worker to me: "We went to Superintendent
Ralph to ask if shields of zinc or some other sub
stance coaN not be placed around the presses to
protect the tethes of the women" With satirical
smile he replied, "Oh yes a bow of pink ribbon on
every press if you say So"
Two years ago Alice Roosevelt and other society
declared that they wanted to do some good
They said that they wanted to help improve the
sanitary conditions of the bureau. One day these
women drove down. Mr.. Ralph knew of their in
tended visit, and he ready for them In the new
wing of the building dressing room was made
clean and fine that these idle danes of society might
see for themselves just how wei! the U. S. govern
ment at Washington took care of It's workers These
ladles were not shown any of the work-rooms nor
did they see the dressing rooms in actual use
Last week, following guide I went thru the
bureau l stood upon elevated platform in the
press room, where, as the guide said ''You can get
a better view OF the place" What l saw was a
long, low room having a dozen windows or less at
one side An open iron grating higher than the
head OF the tallest in the room encircled all
sides. Within this grating l saw a mass of men and
women and machines so huddled together that it
would nave been dangerous for visitor to have at
tempted to move around among them The noise of
the presses drowned our speech, but woman, from
the open spaces of the far west who stood beside
me, shouted in my ears "How awful!' Then apoo.
getlc for her government, she added, "But these
men and women work only four hours day." "You
are mistaken, madam" l called back to the woman
government workers here go on DUTY at eieht in
the morning, they have half an hour at noon for
lunch and they quit work at four-thirty at nightn
There is a night force at work in this bureau at
Washington, and on this force over 200 women are
employed. One pale faced worker said to me: az
prefer to work at night Of course get no evenings
Tor recreation of any kind; but at night the bureau
IS less crowded, the air is better and am not so
tired get home about one o'clock in the morning"
Alice Roosevelt has said that the Bureau of Print
ing and Engraving was place for woman to
work. but she didn't say by what means the de-
pendent bureau girls to make living
We have all heard of the ingenious remark of the
famous French queen, when told at the time of the
great revolution that the people were starving for
bread-"But why do they not eat cake" said she
This is the logic of the idle rich
Unsantary Conditions
Most of the workers in the bureau eat their
lunches in the building. They bring them in the
morning and Put them in the lockers provided for
thelr clothes Every man and woman in the press
room is compelled to make complete change of
clothing before they go home. One girl worker said
to me: The lockers are but eighteen inches long
ana INTO this go my soiled Clothes my dirty shoes
and my lunch When we shake clothes at night
red ants and mice from them in all directions"
The dressing rooms of the bureau workers are taken
care of by charwoman but they are never clean
Ii girl wants her locker to be decent she must
scrub it herself Six towels day are allowed for
two hundred women.
A. F. of L. Falls Down.
The superintendent of the bureau claims that the
women workers receive sufficient wages but strange
to say the women think differently. Three years
ago handful of bureau girls came together to talk
union. The men printers willing to assist them
IN organizing. Mr. Dalph, the superintendent, said
he had no objection but the idea seemed to worry
him. Later some 300 women rallied to the organiza-
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