, 1888-05-20
REPORTING CONGRESSIONAL DolNes.
The Graphaphone Coming Into Use ms an
Aid to the st~enoRraphers.

The G~raphnphone Coming Into Use ms an
Aid to the stenographors-
Few people away from Washington are
aware of the fact that every word ut
tered upon the floor of either house or
senate, when addressed to either speaker
or president, is taken down and appears
in The Congressional Record. 1t Is true
that much time, money, paper and
printers ink is wasted by this, but never
theless it is a fact. But to do this, of
course, requires the employment of the
most rapid and experienced stenogra-
pliers. Five of these are employed upon
the door of the house simply to take
down the speeches, debates, etc. The
chief of the corps receives a salary of
SO, 900, while the other four are paid
$1,000 less. These men simply take
down the words in shorthand, working
for fifteen minutes each In succession.
When each one's fifteen minutes expires
he repairs to the official reporters room,
where ten more stenographers are en-
ployed-two to zach man-to whom are
read the reports taken On the floor, and
who take a copy in shorthand. They
then translate this into long hand, using
a typewriter to prepare the copy for the
printer. These men are paid by space,
getting 81 per column in The Record.
The same is also gone through with in
the Senate daily.
The s~tenographers have recently
secured a machine to facilitate work
which has already proven of inestimable
value. 1t is one OF Edison's inventions,
and is called the graphaphone. The
machine very much resembles a lady's
sewing machine and is worked in the
same manner-by a pedal. The instru-
ment is used in this wise, When one of
the principal stenographors concludes his
floor report, he goes to this machine,
reads his report into a fnnnel connecting
with the main cylinder, which Is gutta
percha coated, and r~evolves while the
point Of the needle connecting with the
tube from h funnel mouthpiece rests
against it. The cylinder envelops a
screw which prevents the needle tracing
a firmer line. When the stenographer
finishes reading his report another opera
tor attaches tubes to the cylinder, con-
Meeting with his ears, works the machine,
and the words of the st~enographer are re-
peated to him in the same tone of voice
of the previous talker. The rapidity of
the talk a be regulated, and the operator
can thus with ease take down tho exact
words by the use Of a typewriter or an
ordinary pen. The machine is certainly
wonderful and enables a person with the
assistance of a typewriter to do the work
of two ordinary stenographers, who first
have to take the report in shorthand and
then translate it.
These gutta percha cylinders, I neg
looted to mention above, oan be stored
away, and years after, If placed upon the
machine, the Same words used today will
be repeated in the exact tone Of the
speaker Of today. Thus should any record
become destroyed these cylinders may be
resorted to. Another thing about this,
machine is that a person here can talk
for an hour into one, mail the cylinder to
Atlanta, where by tho use of a machine
the exact words used here will be re-
peated, thus saving the labor of writing
long communications.-Atlanta Consti-
tuition.