Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission

by Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission

Miss —— was assigned to duty on Board of Pension Appeals to typewrite decisions for signature of the Assistant Secretary and act as his stenographer. Afterwards transferred to patents and miscellaneous division of the Secretary's Office. Duties: Stenographer and typewriting; indexing; in charge of issuing authorities for open market purchases to the Geological Survey and to Howard University, and issuance of permits for admission to the Government Hospital for the Insane, and to Freedmen's Hospital and Asylum; assistant in abstracting various reports to be embodied in the Secretary's annual report to the President. A knowledge of law was of considerable assistance in the work of the division, and after entering the Government service she took a three years' course in the Washington College of Law and was admitted to the bar of the supreme court of the District of Columbia.

Library of Congress.—The Library of Congress employs 135 women in a force of 302 persons. The salaries range $1,500 to $360 a year, and they are employed in almost all the divisions. None of them, however, rate as laborers.

At $1,500 there is one woman at work in the catalogue division as an expert reviser of printed catalogue cards and proof reader. At $1,400 three women serve as assistant readers of catalogue cards and proof readers in the catalogue division, and another is the chief reviser in the record division of the Copyright Office.

At $1,200 there are 11 women employees. Of these, 5 are in the Copyright Office as translators, indexers, and cataloguers; 5 are in the catalogue division as cataloguers of the first class, and one is in charge of the reading room for the blind.

Post-Office Department.—One clerk of class 3, salary $1,600, prepares correspondence for the signature of the Postmaster-General and the Chief Clerk reads and refers the Congressional and Departmental mail addressed to the Postmaster-General; assists in the compilation of the estimates of appropriations for the Department and postal service; also assists in the compilation of the Postal Guides; in charge of the distribution of the Postal Laws and Regulations and of the Postal Guide throughout the postal service; stenographer and typewriter.

One clerk of class 2, salary $1,400, to whom is assigned the duty of preparing the three lists of post-offices published each year in the Official Postal Guide, and lists of changes in post-offices published each month in the supplemental postal guide.

One clerk, assigned to the claims division. Duties: Preparation of correspondence connected with claims of postmasters for reimbursement for losses occasioned by burglary, fire, or other unavoidable casualty, and for losses of money-order and postal funds in transit to depositaries.

Office of the topographer: One woman skilled as draftsman, at $1,400, prepares the guides for the colors printed on the post-route maps, and has supervision of the map sheets transmitted from and to the photolithographer. Three other women draftsmen note the reported changes in the postal service of a group of States, revise and post-route map sheets of those States, and correct monthly the corresponding diagram maps for the use of officers and clerks of the Post-Office Department.

Office Second Assistant Postmaster-General: One clerk, salary $1,600, on work relating to ocean mail contract service; occasional translating, indexing, and briefing. One clerk, salary $1,400, on work relating to domestic statistics in connection with the international service; stating accounts of steamship companies for the sea conveyance of mails; occasional translating, and assisting in general correspondence. One clerk, salary $1,400, "corresponding clerk," whose duties consist in the examination of applications for establishment of star and steamboat service; changes therein; preparation of cases to be submitted for decision; preparation of orders and correspondence for official signature.

In most of the examinations which women pass in order to be appointed in the departments technical skill is required, as shown by the following list of subjects: