Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1868-07-24
NUMBER FOUR.


they deem it hardship if by any chance they
are deprived Of the attendance of a stenographer
at any court where they preside. trust that
tins consideration viii not be dsregarrled by any
/ Judge who may chance to read this paragraph.
II such there shall be; can assure such a reader
that the best talent and widest experience has
decided that there Is method by which the re-
[ sponsibilites and labors which press so heavily
upon the faithful judge may be in part and
fairly delegated to another. There may be a
fair and honorable division and separation of the
law from the testimony
There are some questions which any lawyer
who may become interested in this matter of
stenography in the courts will be very likely
to ask, and which will here answer. so far as /
can anticipate them.
First.-How does the speed with which testi-
mony nay be taken by the new method compare
with the ordinary way Of taking testimony
In answering this question will state for the
information Of those not accustomed to this kind
! Of work, that to take a hundred folio, of testi-
mony in ordinary writing, Is long and hard
days work. By the new method, in a busy
day, from four to six hundred foHo~ of testimony
is about the average. The bulk of the testimony
in the Cole and IIiscock trial which recently
took place in this city, was taken in some TX or
seven days, aud it amounted to about three
thousand folios. The sessions If the court were
from ten in the forenoon TO about -ix O'Clock
p. VI, with am hour aud half iuteruissiou for
dinner
To state the fact more generally may Say
that the circuits Of the supreme Court, in the
larger counties Of this state usually hold about
two weck, Ia these circuits trials Of moderate
length a, "a general rule follow one after another
pretty rapidly. At the end Of the two weeks
the stenogrlpher usually has upon his record
from twenty-five hundred to three thousand f.
lio- ot testimony and proceedings Of the Court
II ought 10 be remarked in connection with
tine answer To- the above question, that it Is the
practice Of the -teuogrpher in recording testi-
mouy. TO put down the questions Of the counsel
a, well Us the statements of the witness This
Of course adds about one-f,urth part to the
amount of writing and number Of folios rs COM
parcel with testimony taken in the ordinary way.
Perhaps "a fair estimate would be that about
three witnesses can be examined by the new
method in the time that is required to examine
one witness by the Ola method The result Of
the examination by the new method is much
more satisfactory for two reasons. first, because
70 d ...r.. B. d
20 deiuee of words from the witness being no
great Inconvenience where they can be- taken
down as rapidly as they are uttered, and second,
because, with -kilul -teuorrapherl. the re-
cord is complete and perfect Of the very language
used. and not. as by the ordinary mode, con-
den>ltion or statement drawn somewhat in ac-
corlauce with the views Of the writer
Where eases have To be reviewed the aIyan-
tlseS Of full and strictly literal reports Of trials
is found To- be very great. There vas, perhaps,
never ease tried in which ambiguous passages
did not occur either in the testimony or the
rulings of the judge or in both. Counsel, IL "A
matter Of course, interpret these ambiguous pas
~ige- differently. Hence arise many di,crepan-
ee- in their understanding Of the c.,,t, and the
judge finds ii difficult task To settle the case
for review. in such "a way THAI il shall be salts
factory 20 the parties. ON locking over literal
and full report the antiquities from which
these differences arose are at once made appa-
rent. This advantage, which have heard COM
mentei upon frequently by lawyer, and judges,
neel- only to he suggested TO be appreciated
now come to part Of this subject which
would like Wen enough to omit. but IL Is ueces-
,ary To- alluIe to it in order to Just fy what
have already written 1t comes properly as an .
answer To the second question which shall sup
pose that one interested in this >ubev, might
ask, viz: Are -tenographers always reliable,
- far as can ascertain Of the thousands who
have what they themselves claim TO be- Il know
ledge Of shorthand. very few are competent or .
reliable, and of all uuisanceS in a court Of JUS
tice an incompetent stenogapher Is said to be
the worst.
When We consider the amount If work done
by the few competent -tenogaphcrs who have
gained well-re.aruizai position in their profe~-
sion. it does not seem at all remarkable that few
men Of talent and ability are willing To- devote
themselves To- this pursuit. Perhap~ many Of
them would fail to succeed in il if they should
bend their energies ia that direction. While
ability of % high order does not seem to be re
quirel in the steuognpher, certain qu.ckneS>
of perception aud a very good degree of physical
endurance are indispensable We sometimes
hear it said that clergymeu have considerable
manual labor to perform in writing two or three
sermons a week 1t sometimes becomes neces
sary for a single -teuorrapher to become rcspon-
sible for an amount Of writing per week equal to
thirty sermons Of average length.-that Is, to .
write the thirty sermons twice over, once in
shorthand, taking down the proceedings in
court, and then again in ordinary writing, tran
scribing the notes into fair running hand
Suppose AN important trial is in progress and
fair copy Of the proceedings has been contracted 4
for by one Of the parties The >teuographer
may find it impossible To- secure the services of a
brother in the profession to aid him. He is
thrown entirely upon his own resources How
can this very large amount Of work be got
through with, If the man is merely short
hand writer who can only take notes and copy
them himself Of course he is overwhelmed The
competent reporter, however, in such an emer-
cency. employs sufficient number Of swift PEN
men to do the work and dictate. from his notes
to several writer, nt once thus getting the copy
ing done as rapidly as several pens in constant
motion can do it. | have supposed in this case
that stsnographer l. responsible for one half
Of the testimony required to he written and
Transcribed in the progress Of protrtctel trial
a. conducted by the new method 1t will be
perceived that very fair general abilities and a
complete mastery Of the stenosraphic art are re
quirel to meet emergencies Of this character.
Second rate men Of limited requirements in other
respects hut with Il knowledge Of shorthand,
serve only As amanuenses or assistants to those
more competent than thcm>el es They cannot /
successfully undertake to meet the demands made 4
upon the stenogapher in the course Of pro I
tracted trials
In very large proportion Of the cases, a. I
tried, the stenographer's notes do not have to /
be Transcribed at all The notes are used on the .
trial a required by the Court or to aid the .
counsel if memory fails them. If the termina-
ton Of the trial is the end Of the case, then the
notes are not ordinarily required for future re
ference
The stenognpher, however, keeps his notes on
file, and they are subject to the order of coun-
sci that Is, to be copied, and the copy forward