The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-10-29
The TYpE.wRITINa GIRL.
She supersedes the stenographer and, Like
Him. Has Various Eccentriclties.


brooklyn Eaglel
The stenogapher Is rapidly being sue.
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 MIN.
ble-hngered girls, who apparently have o
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 its
own operator. Men are too clumsy TO ac-
quire great facility at this sort Of work,
and IL 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 a stenographer.
have had some experience that way my
self, and II has not been Of a char
acter 10 predispose me strongly In
their favor. The average stenog-
rapher, after you have dictated
your work to him, will assure you with
an unblushing countenance and an honest
eye that IL will be written out for you by
''three o'clock" II 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 APP
! 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 dignifed, and you will receive the same
cast-lron assurance as you did before. that
it will be through by 'three o'clock" witt
the type-writing girls II is different. As
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 il. 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
hairpin out of the forward part Of her bang,
examines II, and then thrusts IL 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. 1t is strategic subterfuge for the
purpose Of affording her an opportunity to
look In 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 Il around and puts IL in in thai
way. This is a system they never depart
from under any circumstances. She is not
ready yet, however. At this point II becomes
necessary to open n small drawer at the right
hand side OF the Typewriter, fish out n
more or less showy purse, glance critically
and somewhat sadly within, throwing the
purse back again, and bring forth an ink
eraser, rubber, fruit knife and half
eaten apple or peach. Some one will prob
ably interrupt her for quiet chat, and af-
ter that II you are still there you will be
thoroughly started, Once under way, an
expert typewriter is fully as fast as the
average stenographer, and when you have
finished debating you may take the manu-
script away with you. | have observed
one peculiarfty about the female type
, writer. She never makes q mistake. II Is
always the machine. II she puts sixteen
: vowels in the word "through" she first hits
the keyboard violently, and then raises the
roof Of the structure, pokes at the type
; with her first finger, indulges In some airy
> criticisms Of the manufacturer, brings the
whole thing together again, and continues
' 10 make the most grievous and absurd err
rors with face Of utter satisfaction and
, unrufiied high spirits. She eventually
: marries the managing clerk Of the law Of
| fee.