The Treasurer’s office receives and keeps the moneys of the United States in his own office, and that of the depositories created by the Act of August 6th, 1846, and pays out the same upon warrants drawn by the Secretary of the Treasury, countersigned by the First Comptroller, and upon warrants drawn by the Postmaster-General and countersigned by the Sixth Auditor, and recorded by the Register. He also holds public moneys advanced by warrant to disbursing officers, and pays out the same upon their checks.
The Registrar’s office keeps the accounts of public receipts and expenditures, receives the returns and makes out the official statement of commerce and navigation of the United States, and receives from the First Comptroller and Commissioner of Customs all accounts and vouchers decided by them, and is charged by law with their safe keeping.
The Solicitor’s office superintends all civil suits commenced by the United States (except those arising in the post-office department), and instructs the United States attorneys, marshals and clerks in all matters relating to them and their results. He receives returns from each term of the United States courts, showing the progress and condition of such suits; has charge of all lands and other property assigned to the United States in payment of debts (except those assigned in payment of debts due the post-office department), and has power to sell and dispose of the same for the benefit of the United States.
The Light-House Board, of which the Secretary of the Treasury is ex-officio president, but in the deliberations of which he has the assistance of naval, military and scientific coadjutors.
United States Coast Survey. The Superintendent, with numerous assistants, employed in the office and upon the survey of the coast, are under the control of this department. A statement of their duties will be found in a future chapter.
The new rooms of the Internal Revenue Department are very beautiful. They run the entire length of the new wing of the Treasury, looking out on the magnificent marble court, with its central fountain below, the north entrance, the Presidential grounds and Pennsylvania avenue. They are covered with miles of Brussels carpeting, in green and gold. Their walls are set with elegant mirrors, hung with maps and pictures. There are globes, cases filled with books, cushioned furniture—all the accompaniments of elegant apartments, and one opening into the other, forming a perfect suite.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
WOMAN’S WORK IN THE DEPARTMENTS—WHAT THEY
DO AND HOW THEY DO IT.
Women Experts in the Treasury—General Spinner’s Opinion—A Woman’s Logic—The Gifts of Women—Their Superiority to Men—Money Burnt in the Chicago Fire—Cases of Valuable Rubbish—Identifying Burnt Greenbacks—The Treasure Saved—The Ashes of the Boston Fire—From the Bottom of the Mississippi—Mrs. Patterson Saves a “Pile” of Money—Money in the Toes of Stockings—In the Stomachs of Men and Beasts—From the Bodies of the Murdered and Drowned—Not Fairly Paid—One Hundred and Eighty Women at Work—“The Broom Brigade”—Scrubbing the Floors—The Soldier’s Widow—Stories which Might be Told—Meditating Suicide—The Struggle of Life—How a Thousand Women are Employed—Speaking of Their Characters—The Ill-paid Servants of the Country—Chief-Justice Taney’s Daughters—Colonel Albert Johnson’s Daughter—A Place Where Men are Not Employed—Writing “for the Press”—Miss Grundy of New York—The Internal Revenue Bureau—“Marvels of Mechanical Beauty”—Women of Business Capacity—A Lady as Big as Two Books!—In a Man’s Place—A Disgrace to the Nation—Working for Two, Paid for One—How “Retrenchment” is Carried Out—In the Departments—Beaten by a Woman—The Post Office Department—Folding “Dead Letters”—A Woman who has Worked Well—“Sorrow Does Not Kill”—The Patent Office—The Agricultural Department—Changes Which Should be Made.
In several branches of the Treasury service, women have risen to the proficiency of experts. This is especially true of them as rapid and accurate counters, as restorers of mutilated currency and as counterfeit detectors.
General Spinner says: “A man will examine a note systematically and deduce logically, from the imperfect engraving, blurred vignette or indistinct signature, that it is counterfeit, and be wrong four cases out of ten. A woman picks up a note, looks at it in a desultory fashion of her own, and says: ‘That’s counterfeit.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because it is,’ she answers promptly, and she is right eleven cases out of twelve.” Yet this almost unerring accuracy is by no means the result of mere instinct, or of hap-hazard chance. It is the sequence of subtle perception, of fine, keen vision, and of exquisite sensitiveness of touch.