Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-01
.PLAN TO DISMISS
WORKING WIVES HIT
Knutson Job Relief Proposal
Meets General Dis
approval.

Government officials and members of
Congress expressed the opinion today
that nothing would come Of the sug-
gsstion of Representative Harold Knut-
son, Republican, of Minnesota for dis
missal from the Federal service, tern
porarily at least of married women
who are without dependents and whose
husbands also are employed by the
Government.
At the same time organized women's
groups here busily denounced the rrac-
| tice of divorcing married women from
their Jobs as an emergency unemploy
ment measure.
Miss Mary Anderson, chief Of the
Labor Departments Woman's Bureau
pronounced this growing practice" an
| "unsound economic policy" which
penalties that stabiliZing force-family
life"
Workers Held indispensable.
Federal officials pointed out today
I that some women occupy almost indis-
pensable positions in the service. per-
forming work it would be difficult to
get any one else to duplicate, and that
any such "lay off, order would result
in confusion.
In advancing his proposal, Repre-
sentative KnutSon said
In times like these 1t would seem
desirable to distribute employment as
much as possible throughout the Gov
eminent service.
Women with dependents should not
be disturbed, but in instances where
| beth husband and wife are employed.
! enc or the other should be laid of
until times become normal
Il realize that there are exceptional
cases which should be considered
separately and on their individual
! merits by the Civil Service Commission
and administrative officials. But this
is also the time to abolish nepotism in
Congress and elsewhere"
Centers Disturbed.
Following closely the recent proposal
! of Chairman Wood of the House Appro-
priations Committee that the pay of
Government employees should be re-
duced to 10 per cent. the Knutson
suggestion further disturbed the Federal
employment centers.
AS a member of the Civil Service
Commission. Miss Jessie M. Dell, for
many years a Government worker, and
who was put on the commission as a
| representative of the workers, said:
Il am emphatically and unalterably
opposed to any such idea as Mr.. Knut-
son proposes.
Fear. Further Abuses.
ITO take seriously his proposal would
be to open the way to innumerable
abuses It is ridiculcIs.
IT do not believe his plan will get
very far, but If it does, 1 shall fight it
with all the power at my command"
In discussing the KnutSon plan, Miss
| Anderson, director Of the Women's
Bureau, further stressed conviction that
much harm would result from such &C
ton. She said:
II do not believe this is an idea that
will relieve unemployment. Nobody
knows exactly how many women en-
ployed by the Government are mar
ried. Some of them are married and
are keeping it a secret.
Asks Fundamental Measures.
I'VE must turn to more fundamental
measures than this for relief. I be-
lieve a great deal of harm would be
done by laying off women with families
to support Comparatively few women
work who do not have to. Back of
each case there is an economic problem
which only the women themselves fully
understand"
William H. McReynolds. director of
the Personnel Classification Board,
called attention to what he termed the
relatively small number of married
woman workers who would be affected
by the Knutson plan.
For number of years." he said, at
has been the policy of all departments
when making necessary reductions in
personnel to let out the married women
rather than the unmarried men or
women.
About one-half of the $4,000 or
~,
are women. OF this number of women
I do not believe there are 10000 that
are married.
Although have no exact statistics
on the subject, my guess is that there
are not more than $50 or 300 married
women in the Federal service whose
husbands also are employed by the
Government in Washington.
1T should be borne in mind, and the
department heads have taken it into
consideration for many years, that a
number of married women are retained
In the Federal service because of their
special fitness and qualifications for the
positions they hold"
Marriage Peril Seen.
Feministic Miss Muna Lee, in private
life Mrs. Luis Munozmarin, secretary of
the National Woman's Party, said:
IF employers keep on dismissing
married women they will abolish mar
riage. Women must have jobs to live.
Couples may settle the matter by living
together or living apart, but they won't
marry"
Neither Miss Anderson nor Miss Lee
could estimate the total inroad on the
jobs Of married women resulting from
the unemployment emergency.