Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1884-11-25
THE TYPE-wRiTING GIRL.

The TYPE-WRiTING GIRL.
She Supersedes the stenographer anc, Like
Him, Has Various Eccentricities.
brooklyn Eagle.l
The stenographer is rapidly being suc-
ceeded by the typewriter. Men who have
devoted years of work and have brought
considerable intelligence to the art of stem
ography are pushed out of the field by nim
ble-fngered girls, who apparently have a
special aptitude for this sort of work.
There are now several schools in New York
where type-writing is taught, and almost
every pretentious law Office in town has it's
own operator. Men are too clumsy TO ac
quire great facility at this sort of work.
and it seems especially suited to women.
The advantages which it possesses over the
Older fashion is that the work is finished
when the operator has reached the end. A
large element of uncertainty enters into
life when one employs stenographer. l
have had some experience that way my
self, and it has not been of a char
acter to predispose me strongly in
rapher. after you have dictated
your '.ork~ 80 nnn, will assure you with
an unblushing countenance and an honest
eye that it will be written out for you by
''three o'clock" If you dictate six col
umns and finish by 2:30 you will receive
the same placid assurance about "three
o'clock" as though there were ten hours to
spare. And the peculiar thing about it is
that the stenographer invariably believes
what he says. / don't know what is the
cause of this peculiar fancy, but it is ap-
parently rooted in every stenographer's
brain. OF course you never get the stuff
by ''three O'Clock. If you have luck when
you look for him in heat and anger the fol-
lowing day you will find him ink stained
but dignified, and you will receive the same
cast-iror assurance as you did before. that
it will be through by ''three o'clock" With
the type-writing girls it is different. As a
rule they are busy copying Supreme Court
papers which, by the way, they lay aside
without the slightest regret, and they are
apparently the only people who look with
contempt upon the Supreme Court, and be.
gin at once to prepare for work. The prep
aration is the longest part of it. After a
few general remarks about the weather,
she removes her rings one after the other,
looks at them carefully, places them in an
orderly row beside the typewriter, pulls a
hairpin out of the forward part of her bang,
examines it, and then thrusts it with un-
questioned belligerence into the back of her
head. Then she yawns prodigiously, leans
back in her chair, and says she is ready.
When you begin she suddenly remembers,
rises from the machine, goes TO the wash
stand, toys with the faucets for few mo-
ments, touches the ends of her fingers TO
the towel, then comes back by the way of
the mirror. / have become convinced. by
long experience, that the average female
typewriter never really cares to wash her
hands. II is strategic subterfuge for the
purpose of affording her an opportunity to
look iu the mirror. She returns, throws
herself carelessly into the chair, and brisk
ly puts sheet of paper into the machine.
Having done this, she withdraws the pa
per, turns It around and puts it in in that
way. This is system they never depart
from under any circumstances. She is not
ready yet, however. At this point il becomes
necessary to open a small drawer at the right
and side OF the typewriter. fish out g
more or less snowy purse, glance critically
and somewhat sadly within, throwing the
purse back again. and bring forth an ink
eraser, rubber, a fruit knife and half
esten apple OF peach. Some one viii prob
ably interrupt her for quiet chat. and af-
ter that il you are still there ven viii be
thoroughly started. Once under way. an
expert typewriter is fully as fast as the
average stenographeT, and when you have
finished debating you may take the nlapn-
script away with yoa. I have Observed
one popularity about the female type
writer. She never makes mistake. IL is
always the machine. if she puts sixteen
vosxels in the word ''throgghv she FIRST hits
the keyboard violently. and then raises the
roof Ct the steetare, poses 81 the tyTss
with her irst fiagsr, i1ssnlges In some airy
criticisms q thssmar.ufacturer- brings tie
whole thing together again. and continues
% make the most grievous and absurd er-
rors with face Of utter satisfaction and
unruH1ed high spirits. She eventually
naryses TIE managing elerk Of the Law a.
fee