Telegram-herald., 1890-07-21
THE TYPEWRITER GIRL.
One OF Thsn Has Sonsrhtng 70
Say About ths Profession
what o01d stszsxrsPkss Must kasw-
fas wages Essa sox G00a aork Ia sAs
Large ezuzs-eot saagsstsnss
Bzs b4slasss nszasa-

Every gizl nowadays IS lsaraiag 20
use the typewriter ane Studying short
hasa. Jasl As soon IS they Gassh school
thay bsain % learn. &ad = gFe@E nGay
yoang xomen wb0 ussa - be clerks ia
stores ard copyists nave learned. and
ths result i there are 100 many appll-
e2ats for every position.
II don't think il is any particular ad-
vantage % young woman Who has her
living 20 earn 20 be stsnographer, any
moro than it IS 70 be book'keePer. II
she is good stenogFapher, and that
means more than being rapid writer.
or IL she IS good bOos-keeper, she
stands good chance fora good salary.
And know, for have tiled both," said
the young woman as she replied - .
Boston Traveller mans inquiries in re-
gard 70 her work.
"pecpls don't understand all that
sterography Includes" she continued.
"A good stenographer must under
stand the rules Of punctuation. must
spell correctly and have intelligence
enough 70 catch the correct form OF die
t@tion. even when IL is given Incorrect
". No matter how stupid an employer
may be nor how awkwarhly he may
dictate his letters, he expects 20 see
them come from the typewriter models
of correct expression and intelligence.
IL work for lawyer, and when be-
gan in his ofico he had a serious con-
versation with me in regard 90 exact
ness. was 20 take word for word as he
dictated and never omit or add a
syllable. Well, after few days no.
ticed 40 looked over the letters uneasily
and that he did not seem 10 approve OF
them. Finally one morning he said:
/ "Miss l., er-I don't know as you
/ will do for the work want. You seem
10 write rapidly. but don't think you
always catch the exact meaning OF my
words
/ II had taken his exact words, but be
dictated hastily and his letters were
not models of expression. After that
eadeayored to understand what he was
trying to say. Gradually got TO know
his clients as we'll as he did and TO un-
derstand about what his views were, and
now be considers mo the most exact
stenographer be ever had, although |
/ frequently add and occasionally omit in
copying"
''What pay do stenographers get?"
"It depends on how much they will
work for. The average pay is Sl3 a
week, but a great many who don't un-
derstand the work very well will take
positions at SO. II they prove compe-
! mi nd ,nt
orally get up 70 tho average pay. II
they can't spell, and don't have any
brains, they keep along at S3, and are
not worth that. | know Of a young
woman here in Boston who gets
SIS . week, and who begins work
at 0 a. N. and finishes at 4 p. m.
She is an expert. She worked six
I years ago for SO week, and she is q
bright girl who would succeed anywhere.
1t all depends on tho girl. l know two
young women, clerks in a dry-goods
house, who began work at 50 week;
one now gets $50, tho other about the
same, and they are both experts in laces.
They can tell the make, almost the his
tory and price of piece of lace the mo-
ueat they touch it. Ono of them buys
the laces for the department in which
she works. Are you going to write an
article about the typewriters?" the
young woman asked, with smile at my
/ questions.
''If you do, there Is one thing / want
you to say, and say it firmly, that is
about all this nonsense about type
writer's flirting and all that. OF course
there are simpletons who learn to
be stoDographers, and there are simple
tons who are lawyers, but as rule the
typewriter girl has something else TO
think about than flirtations; and her
employer usually thinks about her as he
would Of e young man in his Office, and
Ii he treats her with perhaps degree
moro of courtesy and consideration than
he would the young man. why put il
down to his credit and to the advance in
civilization"