the
salaries for similar work of women and of men, one realises to what
an enormous extent the Exchequer, and, consequently, the taxpayer, has
benefited by the economies practised at the expense of the women Civil
Servants ever since their introduction in the early seventies.
There is not a shadow of doubt that economy was the motive for their
employment, but even economy would not have justified the continued
increase in their numbers, had they not exhibited what has been
called by a high official, "remarkable efficiency," and also the very
desirable qualities of docility, patience, and conscientiousness.

When the Government first took over the telegraphs from the private
companies, it found women in their employ, and decided to retain them
in the service. Women Telegraphists and Counter Clerks are now a very
large body numbering in London about 2,000, and in the Provinces about
5,000,--a total of 7,000 women as compared with 16,000 men. The duties
of men and women telegraphists are more closely comparable than their
respective work in any other class in the Civil Service, practically
the only differentiation being that women are debarred from night
duty. They are also generally exempt from Sunday duty, excessive late
duty, and special duties in connection with race meetings, although
the Hobhouse Committee in 1907 recommended that women should do the
Sunday work if required. (As, however, payment for this is made at a
higher rate, there is usually no lack of volunteers.) Their scale
of salary in the Central Telegraph Office is 18s. a week at eighteen
years of age, rising to a maximum of 40s. The men's scale is 20s.
rising to 65s. When the necessary technical qualifications are
acquired, an allowance of 3s. a week carried beyond the maximum and
pensionable, is now given to both sexes alike. Formerly the technical
allowance for women was 1s. 6d. per week only, and this would appear
to account for the lower proportion of women who have qualified for
the technical increment.

There appears to be a tendency to stereotype certain kinds of work for
men only, in order to justify the differentiation in pay, but in
point of fact, most of the work now exclusively allotted to male
telegraphists was at one time done by women. The work done by men and
women Counter Clerks is identical. The women in the Telegraph Service
have no separate organisation, but combine with the men in the Postal
Telegraph Clerks' Association, which ha