Anybody who can write may be a clerk: that is the general notion, which
is far from correct. Among other accomplishments, an accurate and
thorough knowledge of book-keeping is required, and so is a knowledge
of the style employed in official and business letters. In numerous
cases, parents in selecting avocations for their sons are induced,
from perhaps laudable, but somewhat false notions of 'gentility,' to
make them clerks, frequently with little regard to their aptitude for
such an occupation. They seem to forget or to ignore the fact that
there are other departments of the commercial world where there is room
enough and to spare for more candidates, and many branches of skilled
labour where ready and well remunerated occupation could be found.
The consequence is that among those now in the service there are many
who have mistaken their avocations, numbers who would probably have
succeeded well in some other sphere, not a few others more fit to wield
a sledge-hammer or handle a wheel-barrow, than to write a letter, keep
a ledger, or prepare a balance-sheet.
Of course, as is generally known, there are grades in this as in other
professions. As might be expected, there are not only skilled and
half-skilled labourers, but an admixture of drones. The variety of
employment and responsibility of clerks is almost endless; there is no
common level to which they are subject. Their position is peculiarly
one of trust. In many cases the clerk has to control the expenditure
of his employer's money, which necessitates the possession of certain
habits and characteristics. It is not only important that he should
possess the requisite competency for the performance of the duties
intrusted to him, but his employers should know of what his peculiar
individuality consists; for clerks are to a large extent intrusted
with the important task of working out the general principles on
which the business of their employers is transacted. The man who is
naturally unsystematic can hardly be expected to work by system in his
business; he who in personal and domestic matters is extravagant, will
not be very likely to introduce habits of economy into his business
transactions. Genteel appearance, good hand-writing, the ability to add
up dexterously the columns of a ledger, are not the only qualifications
needful in a really efficient clerk.
The object of account-keeping should be the production of a picture
which in every detail, as well as in one general view, should at all
times shew what and how work has been done, and with what result it has
been performed. Unfortunately it is sometimes the case that clerks,
especially youthful ones, do not seem to possess an adequate idea of
the great object in view, and which they are intended to assist in
carrying out. In the matter of correspondence too the ability of clerks
is put to the test, and their natural temperament often exhibited. The
art of correct letter-writing is not to be gained by the perusal of 'a
Complete Letter-writer' however complete, but can only be acquired by
study and practice, combined with some natural aptitude. Business-like
and civilly worded letters are an earnest of business-like
transactions, and may be taken as an index to the ruling principles
which guide the actions of the principals. In this way, clerks are
intrusted by their employers with an important responsibility, in which
there is need of the exercise of tact, judgment, and sound principles.
In no small measure does the treatment of employers mould the general
disposition of clerks; and no more powerful incentive can be given to
the latter than that of knowing that they are in full possession of
their employer's confidence. But before extending this confidence, and
appealing to the higher motives of his clerks, it is all-important that
the employer shall have selected men fitted for the places they are to
occupy. If an air of suspicion prevails, occasional deceit on the part
of the suspected can scarcely be wondered at. It is no less requisite
that clerks should put confidence in each other, but unfortunately the
existence of petty jealousies often stands in the way. And this is
one of the peculiar characteristics of clerks. There often exists a
feeling that one encroaches on the domains of another, and not without
cause; for there are those who 'run cunning,' if such an expression
is admissible, and those who obtain favour and promotion by mere
arrogance and effrontery. Then there are the excessively plausible
men, whose working capital is well nigh restricted to the glibness
of their tongue. Moral and mental excellence are as a consequence
sometimes overridden, though as a rule but temporarily, for sooner
or later the higher and more stalwart qualities of the quiet-spoken
but thorough-going man must prevail. It must not be forgotten that
employers need to have a good knowledge of human nature, to be
proficient in the art of judging character, and to possess considerable
tact; for unfortunately it sometimes happens that the more confidence
placed in a man the less is he worthy of it.
There have been discussions innumerable as to the hours of manual
labour; and important changes, some the result of legislation,
have taken place. The overtaxing of mental power is, however, of
graver import than the overtaxing of physical strength. In a large
number of instances, clerks are in an easy position in this respect,
those especially in certain government departments, banks, and some
commercial houses. There are too many cases, however, in which clerks
are grievously overworked. The case of many branches of the railway
service may be cited where clerks are almost incessantly employed
twelve or fourteen hours a day. Long hours are prevalent too in
connection with many commercial houses, in which monotonous and
unceasing labour during unreasonable hours, is a great tax on the
nervous energies, and can only result in permanently weakening the
system of those engaged in it.
The number of hours occupied is not, however, always a criterion to
the amount of work performed. Could such a standard have been taken
as a measure of tasks accomplished, the labour question would not
have been one so difficult to deal with as it has come to be. It is
sometimes the case that long hours are associated with comparatively
little work. When time is not fully occupied, there is a tendency to
procrastination--work is put off and put off, and then comes a final
scramble to get it done by the specified time. In many instances, were
shorter hours adopted and the time fully occupied, the same amount of
work might be done, and done better; it would not appear so irksome,
punctuality and method would be more easy of acquisition, and thus
employers and employed would be alike benefited.
In point of salaries, the railway companies, and some other large
companies, adopt a uniform scale applicable to junior clerks; but
beyond this rule, each individual case is dealt with according to
its merits, the rate of remuneration varying in proportion to length
of service, nature of work performed, and responsibility entailed.
Newspaper advertisements occasionally convey an idea as to the rate
of remuneration in some instances. An advertiser in _The Times_
recently required the services of a clerk in London, age nineteen
to twenty-three, salary commencing forty pounds. Another, 'Wanted
a man as clerk; salary twenty shillings weekly; must write a good
hand, and be well up in arithmetic.' It would be interesting to know
what is here meant by a _man_? Three-and-fourpence a day for a _man_
as clerk in London, who possibly might have a wife and what some
call 'encumbrances!' One would indeed be sorry to quote this as a
representative case; but it gives some weight to the assertion that
there are instances too numerous of hard-working, underpaid clerks. No
wonder that there should be among this class of men, so many pale and
careworn faces, and coats threadbare at the elbows with long service.
Since Dickens in his inimitable style first published his tale of
Scrooge and his unfortunate clerk, many changes have taken place; but
it is to be feared that this character created in fiction is still
reflected in some realities. It is a law of nature that everything
flourishes in proportion to the encouragement it receives; and in the
same way the actions and motives of servants are in a considerable
measure ruled by the disposition of employers. Isolated cases there
always will be in which good treatment will be abused; and the result
of such circumstances naturally induces some hesitancy to repose
confidence in any; but as a principle of general application, results
must depend upon the nature of the treatment adopted.
Clerk-labour would seem to be frequently employed at the lowest
possible price for which it can be procured. But the same principle as
that employed by the manufacturer in paying a good price for a machine
that shall do its work expeditiously and well, is equally applicable
to the purchasing of clerk-labour, in which much discrimination and
tact are necessary. Sometimes those who are least competent and
painstaking are the most dissatisfied; some there are who do not appear
to understand degrees of merit, but think that all should be reduced to
something like a dead level--that mere length of service, for instance,
should command the maximum of reward. To length of service some reward
is due, but the tools should be put into the hands of those who can use
them, and who should of course be rewarded accordingly. Mr T. Brassey,
M.P., in a speech on the labour question said: 'It is most economical
to pay labour well. It is better to employ fewer men at high wages than
more men at low wages. Every individual is better off, and the total
expenditure on labour is reduced. For the non-employed, fresh fields
must be found, and these will be opened by the ingenuity and enterprise
of mankind.'
The employment of females in certain departments of clerk-labour
would seem to be a thing much to be desired and encouraged; and
there is ample scope for such employment where the duties are
light, straightforward, and not too onerous in character. That the
candidates are numerous may be judged from the fact that some time
ago, in response to an advertisement for eleven junior counter-women
at metropolitan post-offices, from one thousand to one thousand five
hundred young ladies presented themselves as applicants at the offices
of the Civil Service Commissioners on one day! In cases where certain
active business qualifications are essential, it is not to be desired,
nor is it expected that females will in any degree displace the other
sex. The opposition manifested by certain of the male sex to the
opening thus afforded for the extension of female labour may fairly be
characterised as somewhat unmanly. But as we had occasion to say in an
article on 'Female Occupations,' this extension of female labour will
by natural laws not proceed beyond natural limits. The field for female
work is circumscribed, and an extension in such a direction should be
hailed with satisfaction. If the introduction of female clerk-labour
displaces some of the overplus of boy clerks, and induces some to adopt
avocations more suited to their natural fitness, much good will have
been effected; for is not the accomplishment of account-keeping and a
training in good business habits calculated to make better wives and
mothers? An intimate acquaintance with simple account-keeping would
be a valuable addition to the education of many ladies of the present
day, and might save many a man's income which, but for his wife's
accomplishment, would be unwittingly muddled away.
As a social animal, clerks possess some peculiar characteristics. The
banker's clerk cultivates not the acquaintance of the lawyer's clerk;
the draper's clerk prefers not to associate with the grocer's clerk. In
the same establishment even, the spirit of caste has often a prominent
place: those who by chance sit at a mahogany table would seem to say by
their demeanour that they are far removed from those who occupy a deal
desk. 'At Birmingham,' says Samuel Smiles in his _Thrift_, 'there was a
club of workmen with tails to their coats, and another without tails:
the one looked down upon the other.' What a great thing it would be if,
in society generally, people would always have the courage to appear
what they are, rather than try to seem what they are not! Some clerks
if asked to describe their avocation would disavow anything so common
as a clerkship; they would be 'an accountant'--anything but a clerk.
What will not some folk do for the sake of keeping up appearances? and
amongst clerks this disposition prevails to a considerable extent; as
if appearance to the world, and not the ruling principles of a man's
life, constituted the sole test of respectability. Douglas Jerrold
said: 'Respectability is all very well for folks who can have it for
ready-money; but to be obliged to run into debt for it, it's enough to
break the heart of an angel.' Let those who are anxious for sound and
wholesome advice upon this important subject read Mr Smiles' book above
quoted.
The social life of unmarried clerks is capable of improvement,
especially in large towns, into which there is continually flowing
a stream of young men, who frequently have to be content with the
first apparently comfortable lodging that presents itself, and to
which nothing may be so foreign as the most ordinary home comforts,
in addition to the accompanying risk of new associations formed of a
kind both unexpected and undesirable, often likewise accompanied by
impositions various and numerous. It has been suggested that clerks'
inns or clubs should be established; and the idea is well worthy the
consideration of all those who in any way are interested in the matter.
The advantages to be derived from undertakings of this kind would be
incalculable. Employers of clerk-labour would be indirectly benefited,
and they would do well to assist in the promotion of any movement in
the direction indicated. As regards clerks themselves, their comforts
might be considerably increased and their expenses lessened. Such
establishments might of course be made something more than mere
lodging-houses. Under proper management, they might become a general
resort both for amusement and intellectual pastime. The constant social
intercourse of clerks with each other would tend to engender good
feeling, and by this association an entirely new state of things would
be brought into existence. The exercise of some amount of discipline
would alone result in untold good, and the fact of membership would
constitute a permanent recommendation as to respectability. As regards
expense, economy would be created by co-operation; the quality of every
article of food might be insured. In fact, by this means might be
secured a maximum of happiness and comfort for a minimum of expense.
A larger amount of judicious physical exercise than is now practised
would be of great benefit to clerks. In the case of thousands in the
large towns, this is seldom resorted to beyond the mere act of walking
to and from business. In large establishments, organisations for such
recreation might be more encouraged, and thus conduce to the great
desideratum, of a healthy mind in a healthy body.
There is some doubt as to the future position and prospects of clerks
generally, but as we have ventured to hint, little improvement can
be anticipated until supply and demand become more equal. In many
departments of skilled labour there is ample scope for educated men; in
fact there is great need for them, and many a man now in clerk-service
would have met with far greater success had he become an artisan.
Indeed one sometimes hears an expression of regret to the effect
that the task of wielding the pen, though it be 'mightier than the
sword,' had not given place to the tools of a skilled workman. The
fact of receiving a salary and working short hours seems to possess
a considerable attraction to many, but it would be well if this
unsubstantial state of feeling were removed. In many trades, such as
book-binding, there is often great difficulty in obtaining a sufficient
number of hands, especially 'hands with heads,' the services of a
tasteful 'finisher' being highly paid.
Without in any degree depreciating the importance of and necessity
for efficient clerk-labour, it would seem, taking a broad view
of the question, that the chances of success in life of educated
and persevering mechanics are fully equal to the prospects of the
majority of clerks. In many cases the comparison is in favour of the
artisan. The man with a trade possesses a sort of independence, and
opportunities are frequent for his becoming his own master.
The Council of the Society of Arts has taken an important step in
the matter of education. It has been arranged for examinations to
take place, particularly for young men; certificates are to be given
to those who are successful, and this will act as a passport to
commercial employment. The subjects of examination are as follows:
Arithmetic, English (composition, correspondence, and précis writing),
book-keeping, commercial history, and geography, short-hand, political
economy, French, German, Italian, Spanish. To entitle a candidate
to this 'certificate in commercial knowledge,' he must pass in
three subjects, two of which must be arithmetic and English. Every
encouragement should be given to such a movement, calculated as it is
to raise the general standard of efficiency of clerks in the future;
and to those now in the service such a scheme is calculated to convey
some benefit.