Britain at Work
A Pictorial Description of Our National Industries

SWaaaMaSiäii AT WORK. all others in the matter of working hours. From ten to four he is bound to his desk ; but as soon as the clock strikes he is free. The mercantile clerk, on the other hand, often works from eight until six or even seven. At times of exceptional pressure Stock Exchange clerks are busy until close upon midnight, but they are always paid well for overtime when such an exceptional strain is imposed upon them. The Govern- ment servant is relatively independent of the whims of his superiors, and the “ fixity of tenure ” which he thus enjoys, coupled with the certainty of a pen- sion in his declining years, constitute, doubtless, the most substantial advan- tages of his position. The two or three pounds a week allowed a brilliant young University man when he suc- ceeds in entering the first division of Government clerks cannot be described as a handsome return for the use of his brains. The future, however, may bring him a post of real worth, perhaps of distinction, while at the worst he is certain to be drawing within a reasonable time a salary of several hundreds a year. Clerks of the lower division can rarely, however, look forward to the excellent appointments which occa- sionally come to the men who begin life in the higher branch of the service. The Foreign Office clerk is a prince amongst his kind. His official salary is generally but a small fraction of his income. The Law provides more satisfactory employment for the rank and file of clerks than, perhaps, any other line of business. A good lawyer’s clerk is a man with special knowledge, much of it of a highly technical character, which has been acquired by years bf patient industry. He is a skilled worker who commands a good wage and cannot be 296 BRITAIN youths nominated by the directors. The . working of a great line is an exceedingly complex matter. And the boy who takes an interest in his work has plenty to learn. Heavy demands, however, are made upon his patience as well as upon his intelligence, if the special department in which his duty- lies brings him into direct contact with the travelling public. The Government service in every country is generally regarded as a sort of earthly Elysium for clerks. There are no earthly Elysiums! But this particular delusion is easily under- standable, seeing the keen competi- tion which is waged for all vacancies in the Civil Service, whether the clerk- ships be in the House of Lords or in His Majesty’s prisons. Thousands of boys annually compete at the various examina- tions, and thousands of necessity fail, falling back, as a matter of course, , , ’ A LADY TYPIST upon the already congested battalions of mercantile clerks. Civil 'Service tutors probably turn over a couple of hundred thousand pounds a year from the fees of aspirants to State clerkships. Great Britain pays her servants all round better than any other country. But amongst them are the well and the poorly paid. A junior clerk in a country post-office often has to make ends meet on twelve shillings a week. Hundreds of boy-copyists employed in the Government departments in London, Dublin, Edinburgh, and other important towns receive very little more for their services from an appreciative country, notwithstanding that their appointments have been obtained by competitive examination, with the prospect of another examination when they reach the threshold of manhood, failure in which in- volves the loss of State employment. The Government clerk enjoys an advantage over