McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1884-09-04
STENOGRAPHY AT WASHING.
TON.

Ho,c the Work is Done on the Congressional
Record.
Washington Correspondent Cleveland Leader.
The cream, however, of shorthand
writing in Washington is obtained from
the government. The president, all of
the cabinet officers, the heads of bu-
reaus, each of the seventy-six senator's,
and the chairman of committees in the
house of representatives, have clerks
or private secretaries, who receive sal
aries of from 81 800 to $4,000 a year,
and the stenographic work for the Con-
gressional Record costs cool $4,000
every session. The presidents steno-
grapher has an annual salary of 81, 800,
Secretary Folger's $4,000, Secretary
Lincoln's $4,000, and Secretary Gresh-
ANS 81, 800. The shorthand man of
the bureau of engraving and printing
gets $1,000 annually, the one of the
civil service commission $1,000, and
the one employed by the commissioner
of internal revenue $500. Private
secretaries of senators and committee
clerks are paid Sc day, and some of
them are employed the year round.
1t costs S245,000 to print the Con-
gressional Record, and this does not
include the $4,000 paid for the official
reporting of congress. Twenty-Five
thousand dollars is allowed for the re-
porting of the debates of each house.
In the senate the contract is given to
one man, Mr.. Dennis Murphy, who en-
ploys a certain number of assistants to
help him, and in the house five official
stenographers are employed at salary
of $4,000 year each.
The reporters of the house sit at
long, low table below the speakers
desk, facing the members. They use
foolscap paper, and write with both
pen and pencil. They take turns in
reporting the proceedings. One man
will write for an hour, say, and then 90
off to little room in the basement of
the capitol, where the matter is to be
written out in long-hand, and another
man will take his place. These repor-
tiers must be very expert, and must be
able to take 200 or more words in
minute. During an excited debate
speeches are delivered even faster than
this, and in animated colloquies they
have to leave their tables and stand or
sit among the members speaking, in or
der that nothing may be missed. Some
times it happens that certain passages
occurring in debate are left out, but
this is oftener due to the desires of the
speakers thau to the negligence or inef-
fciency of the reporters.
These official reporters do not write |
their notes out into long-hand them
selves. In the transcribing room in the |
basement they have number of short |
hand amanuenses, and to these they |
whose salaries range, perhaps, from
S15 to S25 week, take down the notes |
in their shorthand and then write them
out in lOng-hand for the printers. So |
you see congressman speech is writ |
ten out twice in shorthand and once in |
long-hand before it goes to the printer.
These notes as written out are carefully |
revised by the official reporter before |
being sent to the printer. All of the |
proceedings and speeches of congress
to-day will be given in full in the Con-
gressional Record of tomorrow morn
ing, and when it is considered that this |
pages as large as the pages of the big
gest family bible, closely printed in
two columns of small type, some idea
can be gained of the immense work it
The senate reporting is done in the
same manner as that of the house, as
far as the work is concerned, and it is
a curious fact that Dennis F. Murphy,
the chief of the reporters here, and Mr..
the chief of the reporters of
the house, were in the same steno-
graphic class in Philadelphia in 1S49.
st.