Ethel M Smith

Ethel Marion Smith (November 1, 1877 – March 23, 1951) was an American women’s rights activist and a union activist in the early 1920s. She participated in women’s organizations such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and the Women's Trade Union League (WTUL). She also worked with other union organizations such as the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

Early life and education Smith was born in Sangamon County, Illinois, the daughter of Richard Peter Smith and Marion Elizabeth Patterson. Smith’s father, Richard Smith, was a wage worker; his work ranged from farmer to teacher to deputy sheriff. In 1895 Ethel Smith graduated from high school and went to work as a stenographer.

Career In 1897 Smith went to Chicago to take a test in order to qualify her to become a stenographer at the Census Office. In 1901 she was transferred to the Bureau of Fisheries to work as a clerk and as a stenographer making $720 a year. After a few months Smith was promoted by the Civil Service Commission to be the private secretary to the Chief of the Division of Scientific Inquiry with a pay increase to $1000 a year, making Ethel Smith one of the highest paid women in civil service. and the Resident Secretary for its National Legislative Committee.

Publications

"Working Women's Case against 'Equal Rights'" (1924, The New York Times) "Women Working for New Laws" (1925, The New York Times) "The Women's Industrial Conference" (1926, The Woman Citizen) "Woman Worker Fights for Higher Standards" (1926, The New York Times) "Federated Women Number 3,000,000" (1926, The New York Times) "Equality Divides Women's Congress" (1926, The New York Times) "Women Take Note of New Problems" (1926, The New York Times) "America's Domestic Servant Shortage" (1927, Current History) "Equal Opportunity for Women Wage Earners" (1929, Current History)

Personal life Smith's hard work took its toll on her health, and in late 1920 Ethel Smith collapsed due to extreme exhaustion. Smith spent the next several months recuperating. She was buried in Rock Creek Cemetery.