, 1884-04-18
LEARNERS OF sHoRTHANo.
A brooklyn Woman Removes Ono of
h Difficulties In the Way.

nv "a
y NtNew YorkSun.l
A young woman in Brooklyn advertises
her willingness to read for Photographic stu
dents at % cents an hour. This indicates Il
knowledge of the chief difficulty which con.
fronts the learners of s~horthand-ths oppor-
tunity for profitable practice. The number
of those who acquire proficiency as
shorthand writers is very small COM
pared with those who attempt il
and fail Failure is due very often
to a lack Of appreciation of the amount of
practice Required to secure proficiency. Per-
sons are discouraged often with the learning
Of shorthand because, having merely learned
the signs, they find themselves unable at the
first attempt, to follow a rapid speaker. The
difficulty with the beginner is that when he
attempts to follow a speaker or reader the
speech goes off at express train speed while
the writing keeps that OF a canal boat.
What is needed, therefore, is a reader who
will accommodate the speed OF reading TO the
capacity of the writer. To do this with ex.
actness, to keep reading fast enough for the
writer's utmost speed, and at the same time
slow enough to enable him to keep up, is a
delicate and difficult task that has often
bafiied the patience of the most affectionate
reader, In the vain effort to assist a learner
of short hand to the necessary practice, fond
mothers have been wearied, maiden aunts
o4a ~ " Ouby.A OLutI
eIaspernted, and other relatives ~disgusted.
The Brooklyn young woman has, therefore,
opened a fruitful field, and one long waiting
to be cultivated. She proposes to substitute
the experienced reader, familiar with the
wants of the student, in the place OF the tired,
unskillful, and perhaps unpaid relative.
Many inquiries are made by correspondence
Of The Sun in regard to the best method of
learning shorthand, the best book to buy.
pfr Without p,akfpy fnt,iII,,,. AIN
between authors, 1t is safe to say that the
student is less likely to be led astray by a
wellestablished book than by one with a fit
ness untried. 1t is wise to beware of sys-
TENS that promise tuition in shorthand In
marvelously short periods OF time. 1t is a
question often asked, "How long will 1t take
mo to learn shorthandf' The reply might
well be "How long should you require to learn
10 play on the piano or the violin, or to learn
French, or to learn a trader This Is GER
tain, that a young man can generally learn
to be n good stenographer in less time than
1t Is required to become a good billiard
player, or a good poker player, or a good
checker player.
One thing must be understood by those
seeking to learn shorthand-that you can re-
port only what you know. The most expert
stenographer cannot report a thing he does
not understand. Yot persons who are not
only uneducated but almost illiterate sup
pose that they can write a sentence in short
hand when they cannot write 1t In longhand.
There are 80 many subjects that come under
the attention of the stenogapher that, be-
fore one can become proficient, 1t is neces-
sary TO acquire at least a superficial hnowl-
edge Of many technicalities. When 1t comes
to the reporting of expert testimony a very
wide range Of Information becomes neces.
sary, because the reporter may at any mo.
ment be called upon to wrestle with a chem
list, a machinist, an architect a physician, or
u mesmerist, and, unless he knows their
lingo, ho will find himself suddenly dazed
with helpless pencil, while the yoluble expert
gallops off glibly into the regions of the unre-
portable.