The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1886-11-04
FAST WORK on TYPE Writers
Western Editor Turns Off Enough Copy to
Let His ConTrercs Take n Day on

| '-St iiis CohirefcB Take n Day on.
Type writer's of the best class will, in
the hands OF an expert, transfer to pa.
per, space and punctuate from seventy
to eighty words II minute. In copying
| matter, or writing from dictation, even
better can be done; but the operator who
depends upon his own brain to supply
his fingers must be very expert, and
Rave constant mental flow TO reach that
standard. The fastest peuman rarely
exceeds forty-five words minute, so it
will be seen that the little machine, has
greatly the advantage. But the saving
OF labor is also great blessing. Nobody
better than newspaper men realizes the
drud8ery OF the pen or pencil. Let a
man write continuously for two or three
hours with the speed that most news
paper men acquire and his wrist and his
arm and his eyes all ache alike He must
stop and rest or his nervous and over
wrought hand will soon begin to make
"spldcr marks" To lawyers clerks who
used to have to copy with labored pen
the awful and unintelligablo verbiage
made necessary by centuries Of tradition,
tho type writer has indeed been O. bless
ing. He can now rattle Off u little COM
plant IN suit to recover the price Of u
COW killed on railroad-a little matter
OF 6OO or 700 pages of cap-in day at
most. 1t used to take him week to do
1T with the pen. The merchant can now
dictate hundred letters in tho same
time he once took to write twenty, and
have them oil ready for his signature
when the dictation is over.
Many persons refrain from the use of
the type writer, and especially those
matured In years, from the fear that they
could never learn to operate it proficient
~, but that is q false idea. 1t is very
simple. Indeed, those accustomed to
compose and who are at all apt, can
learn in short while to drive the ma
chine at its best The Herald writer
knows OF an editor who had never touch
ed key until the other day. Then
somebody got him to buy type writer.
lie hunted up his topics for discussion,
mostly newspaper scraps and clippings,
laid them beside the machine, got out
his Oil can and oiled her up, took off his
coat and put on his cuff protectors, and
then, with kind of hard and aggressive
lct-her-go- Gallagher look on lis face.
squared himself for business. The kew
worked little hcsitatingly at first, and
the "cllcks' were infrequent, but the
editor tolled away. Pretty soon it was
observed that the chestnut bell on the
end OF the machine struck little oftencr
than 1T had done for an hour or so. Eyi-
IDENTIFY the triumphant editor was getting
the hang OF things. BY night he had
many sheets Of copy" piled up, and his
lace wore gleam of triumph. True,
some OF the copy was little rickcty in
alignment, and few Of the capitals were
out Of plumb, but these fault we're easily
corrected with the pen.
The next day the editor was at The
machine bright and early. He told tn,
rest OF the staff they might take vaca.
tlon that day, as he was going to fill the
paper-he wanted to see Just how much
there was IN a type writer, anyhow. He
turned on the steam about 9 a. m., and
now the chestnut bell was going at the
rate OF ten strokes to the minute. Sheet
after sheet of F'copy" flew off. and the
machine fairly quuvcrcd, but the editor
never stopped except twice to wipe his
prov and three times to cool off a hot
box. BY 2 O'Clock the supply of sub
Jects began to get low and the machine
cooled down, but toward night, when
the editor turned loose on his column Of
Jokes, the strain was too much. He had
Just Whlzzed off the fourteenth funny
paragraph, the bell was making twenty
strokes to the minute, the smoke was
rising from the heated cylinder when
snap: went an eccentric, the crank pin
leW INTO the ash-pan, and the poor little
machine lay prone and lifeleSs.