Omaha daily bee., 1888-05-20
THE LADY STEN0GRAPHER.
Some Valuable Hints for the Many
"Would-be'e"
HOW 1T MAY BE LEARNED
One who Knows Gives the Girls Some
Points on short-Hand and the
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
ure-Salaries-EtCg
Women as stenorrnnhers.

ness habits and methods of conducting
correspondence. The evolution of the
typewriting machine, which, from n
cumbrous instrument as large rs an old
fashioned spinet, has now developed
into a compact little machine, in some
places so light hat a lady can readily
carry one under her arm, has greatly
aided this revolution. Everywhere the
click of the typewriter is heard through
out the land. AS Colonel Higginson
says: Go into those great hives OF men
collected under one roofin a city for the
pursuit of law or brokerage or business
agencies, and any door that opens may
show you some modest young woman
busy as n copyist or typewriter. No
body thinks of it, nobody notices 1T;
when her work is done she ties her bon
net under her chin and goes out of the
door,"
Every year hundreds of young women
are trying to fit themselves for just such
positions; in too many cases the net re-
suit is only wasted money, time and en-
ergy, and bitter disappointment. To
give a few practical hints upon the best
methods of learning the art. and of Sc
curing "a position, is the object of the
present paper.
In the first place it must be remem-
bered that ste~nography is by no means
an easy art to acquire. In his early
life Dickens was u stenographer; he
has left a vivid picture of his struggles
in David Coppertield.
No doubt, since the time of Dickens
the noble art of stenography has been
nn,,lil zee Ia A. 81 nr,1iH Nod nnl nnn1nncn1
but enough difficulties still remain to
make it q severe task for any but the
earnest student. So, before you begin
to study shorthand, count the cost and
regard the end. 1t is not a light amuse-
ment to be laid down or aiken up at Il
moments caprice. To become Il ver-
batim reporter requires years of hard,
earnest, steady work, and constant prac-
tlce.
Certain mental qualities add greatly
to the chance of success. Intelligence,
alertness, accuracy, Il good memory, q
quick ear and hand are all points in
your favor. No II should begin to
learn shorthand who cannot read,
write, spell. p%unctuate and paragraph
her mother tongue correctly and with
out hesitation, and compose the answer
to a business letter (f need be- without
dictation. In the highest and most lu-
crative positions every portion of
q liberal education. will be
brought into play. There are plenty of
poor stenographers and typewriters-
ignorant, unframed, careless girls, who
cannot read their notes, or punctuate Il
page of ordinary English correctly, are
a drug in the market. A harassed bust
ness man of New York who employs a
large numberof girls as stenographers
and typewrIters, and who was greatly
troubled by incompetent help, lately
remarked that skill in stenography and
typewriting alone amounted to almost
nothing unless supplemented by intel
ligence and knowledge of the world.
He summed up the wants Of the bust
ness men of New York in one short. i'm
patient sentence: We want writer's
who know s~omething!"
Besides mental qualifications. a physi-
cal basis is necessary. DO not decide to
become a stenographer unless you are
quite sure that you can stand bodily and
mental strain. No woman of delicate
health should undertake it. In the Ia
jority of business and law offices the
work is constant and often hurried. The
hours are usually from 9 to 8 every day
in the week, and Il vacation OF only two
weeks in the summer is allowed.
l. iilolO. "ll u VI"
of men are encountered. Here is a case
in point. At $50 n afternoon a tired
young ste%nographer was bending over
her machine, finishing her afternoons
work. A lawyer came hastily in with a
long law paper to be copied. AS she
finished the first page, closely covered
with figures, the lawyer took it up from
her desk. Hurrying through the other
pages, she put on her bonnet and took
the finished work to her employers
desk.
but, Miss Jones, where is the first
page?" said her nervous, hurried, en-
ployer.
Mr.. Adams. the lawyer, took it. I
thought he gave 1t to you. Mr.. Smith"
Haven't seer it. Adams, what did
you do with that paper?" called out Mr..
Smith.
II laid it on your desk as soon as Miss
Jones finished; it must be there"
"You didn't do any such thing; it
isn't here. You've lost il, Adams, and
| shall lose my train"
Miss Jones' heart sank as she thought
of the long columns of figures.
IN copy it over again, Mr.; smith"
you'll do no such thing! Adams
lost it, and he must find it," Down on
their knees vent Adams and Miss
JOHtS. utShS, DOTtlOllOSs ullu HOOE WcFc
rausacked in vain. A bright thought
at last struck Mr.. Adams.
~ say, Miss Jones, I'll wager a pep
permint that Mr.. Smiths thrown it in
the waste-basket himself"
"There, indeed, crumpled into a lit
tie illegible wad, lay the missing
paper, showing plainly how the nervous
Mr.. Smith had nsciOusly rolled it
up and flung it away. The laugh turned
on Mr.. Smith, who rushed off wildly to
catch the train. Miss Jones patiently
took off her bonnet, and, without a
word, sat down quietly to recopy the
page. If, like Gail Hamilton, she had
been ''strong in the wrists, but weak in
the temper" she would eve have
done for the heroine of this lower
true tale" or for a s~tenographer in a
New York Office.
If, after you have counted the cost,
you are determi&pd to p%ersevere, the
next question is, when, where and how
to study. 1t is easier to see how to do
it. There are three standard systems,
and hosts of limitations and so-called
improvements. Isaac Pitman. the VEN
cradle inventor of photography, who
resides IN Bath, England, celebrated
the semi-centennial of his wonderful
invention a few months since and the
grateful stenographers of America and