WOODEN SHOES REQUIRED AT BUREAU OF ENGRAVING MUST BE BOUGHT BY EMPLOYEES
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On March 14, 1926, Associated Press reports Controller General John R. McCarl* has ruled that employees at the Bureau of Engraving "must buy their own wooden shoes."
The shoes, which cost $1.95 a pair, are necessary because "new processes...require acids that quickly eat the soles off the leather shoes of workers."
A proposal for the government to provide 37 pairs of wooden shoes for the workers was turned down by the Controller General.
JFK+50 NOTE
In 1926, work done in the macerating room at the Bureau of Engraving required the use of machines that were filled with caustic acid & soda ash.
*John Raymond McCarl (1879-1966) was born near Des Moines, Iowa & graduated from University of Nebraska Law School in 1903. JRM served as the 1st head of the General Accounting Office 1921-1936. He established key audit divisions & ensured the independence of the agency.
SOURCE
"Engraving Bureau Workers Must Buy Own Wooden Shoes," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C. March 14, 1926, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
