Evening star., 1943-12-19

IIIlISlIIldS JOUS
Post Office, Stores
More than 5000 District high
school students, 16 to 18 years old,
are making history In history
making Capital.
Pressed into the Christmas holi-
day breach to relieve an acute man
power shortage, boys and girls al
ready have won the commentator
OF their employees.
without them We would have
been sunk; they are the only res
ervoir of labor available in sufficient
numbers to do the work." POST
master Vincent c. Burke said yes
terday. He is working approx
mately 5000 of them. One of Mr..
Burkes assistants estimated l.
100000 more letters can be handled
a day because of the students.
To these notes of praise was added
that of personnel executive of
large department store employ
ing TOO high school pupils to help
take care of pre-holiday shoppers.
We are very pleased with the
results" he remarked. "They come
in with great enthusiasm, they play
little in idle moments, such as is
to be expected of young people, but
when they are busy, they are all
business" More significantly, he
added, They are setting a pace
for our older, permanent employees"
Have Dual Motive.
Interviews with these youthful mail
sorters, Jumpers" delivering parcel
post packages and statesmen and
saleswomen at store counters in
dicate they are guided by two i'm
pellipg reasons: First, to make some
money for themselves with which to
buy clothes and Christmas gifts;
secondly, to do their patriotic bit
where the nondelivery of a Christ
mas letter or gift may sadden the
hearts of servicemen and parents.
Since the City Postotflce is hiring
the bulk Of these youthful workers,
1t may be fitting to tell that story
first. Here are salient facts.
They are restricted to maximum
OF 48 hours week, not more than
hours in any single day nor more
than six days in any week. Girls 16
years old may not work after pm.
Boys may work until 10 pm. The
70 1f &c FE how.
Postmaster Burke estimates these
high school youngsters will earn ap-
proximately $l75,000 during the hon-
day season.
About $500 reported for work at
the City Postoffice yesterday between
s and 10 am, on staggered shifts
Their presence was felt in more ways
than one by the 2,180 regular clerks
on duty. Youth was definitely in the
saddle. One gazed along row upon
row to find only teen-age girls at
work.
Girls Are Segregated.
Every protective measure Is thrown
around the girls, Postmaster Burke
pointed out. The girls are segre-
gated under direct supervision of
experienced postal mail clerks. Their
only contact with boys is when the
latter push loaded trucks into the
sorting room.
Boys, too, are distributing mail,
but in section to themselves. Boys
also run cancellation machines load
trucks and serve as delivery agents
on parcel post trucks.
To augment the package delivery |
service, the Post office secured 210 I
Army trucks to reinforce the Post
Offices IS vehicles. The Army trucks
are hauling parcel post goods to dis
points for transportation
to points outside of Washington.
City Post office anticipated the
season situation several
ago and began to shape
plans for overcoming the manpower
shortage High school students,
Postmaster Burke said, offered the
source of relief.
Held Examinations.
Beginning November 5, the City
Post Office began employing selected
students for two hours work at night,
three nights a week. With this group
as nucleus, authorities held exam
nations for high school applicants,
with the result that those revealing
the most desirable aptitudes secured |
jobs.
In peacetime the City Postoff1ce
employed college students general
ly to handle the preholiday tempo
rary jobs. But the vacations Of COL
lege youths, those not in uniform,
have been shortened incident to the
wartime acceleration of educational |
processes.
A large downtown department |
store employing 700 students is
utilizing the teen-age group in diff
ferent capacities. Boys are working
as truck helpers. stock keepers, and |
bundle collectors. Girls are selling
merchandise over the counter
Other girls, not seen by the public,
are working in offices, in stock
rooms and in wrapping rooms Some .
525 girls, a personnel executive said,
are SaleSWomen.
Other students are selling Christ
mas trees, some are working in bar
Der shops, still others are doing
various holiday season jobs to tide
overcroWded Washington over its
greatest manpoWer shortage.