The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-05-11
PROGRESS OF SHORTHAND
Great Improvement in the Useful
Art Within the Last Fifty
Years.
Como OF tho Qualifications Re-
Quired to Make a Success
full Writer.
The Important Part 1t Played at the
Time Of the Impeachment of
Andrew johnson.
ywritten for THE INDEPENDENT

hand within the past decade has been so
rapid, and, outside of those channels in
which its usefulness has been largely aug
mented, so im~palpable, that the great ma
iority Of people are unaware what gigantic
strides have been made of late years in this
department Of human effort. Cicero had
his stenographic secretary who reported the
great orators speeches; but during all the
centuries which have passed since the age
of Cicero shorthand did not make as much
progress up to within the past quarter of q
century as it has from that time to the
present, 1t might without exaggeration be
said that it ia an art of such exquisite pres
emit perfection, with SO many n such var
led adaptabilities to the needs and neces-
stiles of human intercourse and human af-
fairs, that it has required this great stretch
and reach Of time to attain its present matur-
ity. Fifty years ago it was almost impossl-
Bile to make an accurate report of the
speeches of even deliberate public speakers;
to-day the only speaker who has been able
successfully to battle the skill of the best
photographers is the Rev. Phillips Brooks,
of Trinity church, Boston, and then it is
not because of the i~nadeauscy Of the art
itself, but because the average human mind
il unable to follow the rapid eyolusions of
Mr.. Brooks mind, not to speak of trans
ferrinp to paper his elevated and beautiful
diction. At the time of the impeachment
of President johnson the most important
witnesses against him were the innocent
but MYSTERIOUS little hooks and hangers
of the stenographecs that had reported his
public speeches; and so little progress had
been made in the art q. that late DAY thst
there was but n stenosraphsr OF the num-
Der that had taken reports OF tee pres
ident's speeches whose notes were eonsIc-
cred ~indisputable or ST all rsliabis. But
the cause of this is lot attributable to the
imperfectionS of shorthand % much IS 30
the fact that was not as universally known
and utilized as is Is so-dar. There Is no
doubt that the very highest perfection In
this profession, as In nearly every other,
depends upon the individual: if its useful
ness is circunseribed and It's development
restricted, it naturally follows that there
will be o scarcity Of the best The fact Is
that shorthand. like every oths, time and
labor-saving science, has received an I'M
petus in the last quarter OF q century which
has raised it from that level OF i%nocuous
desuetuds in which it was popularity held
Is q species Of witehraft, to a high degree
Of excellence and usefulness.
A good deal more goes to make q good
stenographer than the simple knowledge
how to write shorthand. One of the quail
fcations of q stenographer is hard, common
sense. It is indispensable. A man Nigh.
as we'll try to successfully practice law in a
police court ana preserve his self-rsspect as
TO be a good stenographsr without the
faculty Of hard, sound sense. An omnivor-
u mind, an aptitude for the rapid &C
quirement of all kinds of practical knowl-
edge. is another qualification Of the
called the professional" stsnographer.
The trouble with three-fourths of the
young men and women who learn short
hand and typewriting is that they do not
take the pains to acquire this outside
knowledge. They expect to get along by
knowing their one branch and they ignoel
that although they become very proficient
In the art of writing shorthand. when they
transcribe their notes, if, as is often the
case, mere than one construction or inter
pretation can be placed upon a shorthand
character, they are certain to put the wrong
results; as If one should say that a certain
young lady was too romantic, the pervers
disposition of the average stenographer 70
the inappropriate, would lave him say sh
was too rheumatic. Take a clever girl VIII,
can rattle of the Declaration of indie
pendence, LonRfsllow's Psalm of Life, O
anything else she knows by heart, on tn
pyPOW4ACOA Nv ~ hAuO "a SAShpF
minute, and let her sit down to write
business letter from dictation, and she will
stop and turn up the typewriter carriag,
every two lines to see if she has spelled
word correctly. If her employer happen
to say "Buenos Ayres," she probably won.
"Chattahoochs'' or kalamazoo viii
dumbfoand her forever.
A knowledge of the classics is %frequentl
serviceable to the all-round stenographel
He never knows what he may be called upol
to report. J. we'll remember an inciden
that occurred in my " experience that il
illustrates this. At one of the annual ban
quets of a very influential political club i
one of the eastern cities, l was employed
with three other stenographers, in re2ortin
the speeches. The room was filed wit
prominent men from all sections of tn
country. The stenographer whose take
came before mine. a very bright young fel
low and a good stenographer. was 30 unfo1
tunate as to have the speech OF Senator
Mcpherson, of New Jersey, among his al
loted number for the evening. Senate
Mcpherson is almost as noted in his da
for his illusions to Grecian history a
the first President Harrison was i
the days of Webster and Clay. He La
just fairly launched himself upon a sea O
eloquence when he INDUCED IN one of hi
classic ~revivals of Grecian history, and &
the names of Xerxes, Arohimedes. Psusan
fus, Socrates, and a score of others, role,
from the fluent tongue of the speaker, tn,
result on the poor fellow was pltiful to be
hold. 1t rendered him wholly unfit for til
remainder of his task, which another re
porter had to complete for him. Anothe
striking illustration comes to my mind, i
which a reporter was deficient in sacre
history. A very eloquent divine of til
Methodist Episcopal church was ~selecte
on the second day of one of the genert
conference to deliver the opening sermo
the next morning. He sent for one of tn
ablest law stenographers in the city, natui
ally presuming that if he could tai
the very rapid utterance of lawye
and witnesses he would be able
assist him i'll the preparation of his sermon
The divine and the shorthand man spal
n most laboriGus evening together, the mi
lister delving into a deep mine of sacrt
lore from which to draw his illustration
and metaphors, and the shorthand m;
committed them carelessly to paper. Wi
the aid of three other stenographers
spent the entire night and until day lig
the next morning, endeayoring to deciph
his notes. II the sermon had been deli
cred as 1T WAS prepared by the stanograph
from his notes, it would have created
most profound sensation, and a commi
SIGN de lunatico inguiriando would ha
set to determine the sanity or insanity
one of the most esteemed ministers of /
Methodist Episcopal church. As it WI
nothing saved the life of the innocent scri
but the fact that the crime was perpetrat
on q minister of the gospel. The morni
sermon was omitted on the third day
the conference.
Not one out OF every twenty who beg
the study of shorthand ever pursues it
the attainment of the highest success 10 t