About 1876, when her first regular work began with Henry G. Haves, of the corps of stenographers of the
House of Representatives, in Washington, D.C., women engaged in practical stenography in Washington could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and upon them fell the burden of introducing woman into a profession till then occupied entirely by men. In her extended congressional work of 13 years, she appreciated the responsibilities of the situation, beyond merely doing the work well, in establishing a new field of labor for women, always insisting that, while she might not go upon the public platform and plead and argue for financial independence for womankind, she could help supply the statistics of what had been successfully done for the use of those who would speak. After several years of most difficult and rapid dictation work in the
Capitol, she became ambitious to try her skill in the committees of
Congress, but the conservative controlling powers there felt it would be most unbecoming for her to do what no woman had ever done before. So she had to wait till one day when the committees in session outnumbered the official force, and a newly arrived authority gave her the satisfaction of choosing which committee she would undertake. She decided upon the
committee of military affairs. General
William Rosecrans, the chairman, being a genial man, she thought he would be less likely than the others to object to the radical change in having a woman reporting the grave and weighty proceedings under his charge. And so it turned out. After a few questions, he seemed resigned. In her choice of chairman, she had neglected the selection of matter to be reported, and she was obliged to plunge into the obscurity of "
heavy ordnance", just as fast as General Benet saw fit to proceed. She presented her report, it was accepted, and the bill was approved just the same as though she had been a man, except that the manuscript was first thoroughly examined. Constant application to her business finally affected her health, so that she was obliged to seek rest and seek a change of climate. She spent one winter in
Los Angeles,
California, which was helpful. The year after her return, her friend,
Clara Barton, asked her services during the relief work of the
Red Cross in
Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It was while there that she received her appointment, through
civil service examination, from the Pension Bureau, going in as an expert workman on a salary of per year. ==Later life==