, 1884-09-09
FOR NIMBLE FINGERS.
The Type Writing Art Opening q
New Field for Women.
Scenes In n BuAy Downtown ONCE
A Task by which Many Earn
Livings and Pin
Money.


New York SUM-
A plump little woman, with her brown
hair drawn hack from her forehead into a
coil at the back OF tho neck, sat in an Office
on the top floor Of a big building in Nassau
street, and scratched away busily in a ledger.
The room was small, but two Of the corners
were taken up by type-writing machines, at
which two trim and well dressed girls were
banging away vigorously. They struck tho
machines with the same careless vigor that
tho clearinghouse young woman displays
when she plays her favorite waltz for the
TOOth consecutive time. When they looked
around at the reporter they did not cease
their rnpid playing for a moment.
It was at first difficult to realize that they
were spelling words lett0r by letter, making
punctuation marks in the proper places, and
keeping a weather eye 10 the windward for
quotation points, paragraphs and capital let
ter. Their hands, which were decorated
with rings, flew up and down, and their fin
gers played with great agility on the key
board, which was about four by eight inches
square, and was dotted with numerous disks
about rs big as a penny, each one marked
with u letter, figure or sign. They were
copying law papers, taking four impressions
at a time. The noise OF the machines re-
semhled the clicking Of a dozen or two tele-
graph instruments. From an adjoining room
came the sound Of many more type-writers.
1t was noticeable that they were operated
much more slowly than those in the first
office.
1t was one Of the many ~type-writing estab-
lishments in New York, and the little brown
haired woman vas the manager, originator,
and owner Of it.
TYPE writing she said briskly, "has
opened the why for woman workers wider
than all the legislation Of England and Amer
lea combined. 1t ia a new field for the en-
ployment of women, and they have taken
every advantage Of 1t. Very few people are
aware OF the number Of girls and women
who make n comfortable living by means Of
this new branch Of labor. There are hun
dreds and hundreds of just such places as
this, though with some pride, they are not
all so prosperous and extensive as my place.
Every large business building in town now
has its t%ype-writing firm. Wherever
lawyers are plentiful you will find
some enterprising woman with a typewriter.
As her work increases she enlarges her place
until she has a regularly organized usine
place. Usually-in fact, nearly always-the
~type-writors' rooms are in the top stories OF
the big business structures. II some great
giant should take a big knife and slice Off the
upper stories Of all the high buildings down
town he would find on his hands a remarka-
BILE collection OF pretty girl t~ype-writers.
They arc good girls at any rate. and, with
only a few exceptions, they belong to highly
respectable families. More than that there
are a great many who are ladies in reduced
circumstances who tnke this method Of earn
ing a living rather than TO go out TO service,
teach school, or wait on customers in one Of
the big shops"
allow much does a good operator earnfT
II pay my most expert writers Sl3 a week.
but there are some who can make much more
than that. The hours, however, are very
easy. The girls come at 8 IN the morning,
ave an hour for luncheon. and get away be-
tween 4 and 3 o'clock. They are secluded
from the annoyances which shop girls and
governesses encounter. Many OF them never
refer to their work when up town, and 1t is
not generally known that they are employed
There are always pleasant things turning up,
too. For instance, l have one young lady
who has been Mt he house Of a well-known
author up town for many weeks. She is a
sweet girl, and the authors wife has taken a
great fancy to her. She eats luncheon Mt the
house every day. and seldom does more than
four hours work. She dr. W. her salary Of
$12 just the same. There are others who
take the work Of journalists and prominent
lawyers from dictation either at their resi-.
dences or at their Offices
"Do you employ menf"
"Tve tried them. The trouble Is that men
usually get up firtations with the girls here.
and then attempt 10 capture the business.
Many lawyers prefer male operators because
they can stand fatigue and are capable of
staying up all night if necessary in order to
get out a set OF papers. Girls are too delicate
for that sort Of labor, though they are faster.
heater, and moro systematic workers than
men. II you have never been In a lawyers
office you cannot imagine how necessary type
writing has become. Formerly, when papers
were needed in n hurry, the whole Office
principals, clerks, Office boys, and all-went
to work copying them. Now the office boy
runs up to the type-writing offices near the
roof, and within an hour or two everything
is really
"What part does stenography takei7
"A very important part, The majority OF
operators learn stenography. 1t adds 10 their
usefulness, and consequently to their income.
We usually take testimony by shorthand, and
then write it out on the machine, though we
have an operator here who has taken testi-
mony directly on the typewriter. A number
OF girls can write eighty words a minute
without trouble
DO you teach type-writingf'
"Oh, yes. 1 have fourteen pupils Mt the
present time, and there arr "A number OF
lnrger schools than mine. This is the school
room,' she said, rising quickly and Leading
the way into the adjoining apartment A
dozen or more women and girls were seated
close together in front Of rs many type
writers, which were clicking away with a
great noise. 1t sounded ms though all the
kilograms in the world were pouring in. On
the wall was a blackboard, and there were IA
number Of signs scattered about. admonish-
ing the pupils not TO talk, and informing
them Of tho value Of silence. The pupils
were pleasing in appearance. There were
three or four handsomely dressed young
women whose beauty would have attracted
attention in any crowd.
Harm Of Uood