Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-12-28
OFFICIAL REPORTING IN FRANCE.
How the Speeches in the Chamber of
Deputies Are Recorded.

How the Speeches in the Chamber of
Deputies Are Recorded.
Fifty-one candidates assembled a few
days ago at the Palais- Bourbon to compete
for one of the vacant posts in the steno-
graphic corps of the chamber. Their ex-
animation furnishes the occasion to say a
word upon the ingenious service which
permits everybody TO assist at the legisla-
tive debates while seated at home in his
armchair.
The first serious application of stenog-
raphy for the reproduction of parliament
airy debates dates back as far as $780, One
of the few surviving reporters of this time
is NJ Lagache, who was for nearly fifty
years attached to the official services. His
compatriots of the Disc sent him to the
senate in 1879. His colleague was NJ. Flo
con, minister of commerce in 1915.
Abroad considerable number of cele-
brated men began life in this modest pro-
fession. In England we find Charles Dick
ems, Lord Campbell and John Payne Col
lier.
The verbatim report published by The
Ofhciel is the result of a division of work
carried TO its extreme limits, not on &C
count of the fatigue which il occasions, but
on account of the necessity to give the
speeches to the printers about as soon as
they are pronounced Twelve stenopra-
pliers succeed each other every two min
utes at the foot of the tribune. The edit
ing in clear style Of each one of these
takes requires from eight TO ten times
as much time as the take" itself. When
1t is terminated the stenoGrapher returns
to the desk to take" for two more minutes,
and so on to the end of the session, which
Is completely written out about twenty
minutes after the adjournment.
Another stenographer called the re
wiser takes check notes for a quarter of
an hour, in order to have n clear under
standing of the discussion, so that he can
dovetail the takes Of his colleagues and fill
in the gaps.
In addition TO the embarrassment OF the
man who, after having assisted at the dis
cUsSion, for example. Of an Interpolation
upon the Dahomey question, returns after
twenty minutes to hear Il discussion on
something else, there is the difficulty and
often the impossibility of following some
orators. ". Dcroulcdc, for irscance,is ''un-
taxable for most steaographers on account
Of the irrcgularity and the rapidity Of his
utterance, which attains the maximum Of
human force, 30 words a minute, while
the average rate OF speed Is $50 words, and
represents seventeen or eighteen lines of
The Ohiciel. NJ CIemenceau Is also verv
difficult, while N. de Freycinet and NJ.
Rouvier spare the reporters by their uni
formity.
The reviser is also charged with the cor
rection of the proofs, and his work is some
times prolonged until o'clock in the
morning, owing TO the alterations in man
uscript Of the speakers, VINO often 20 be
yond the delay OF midnight allowed them
by the rule. 1t is, however, his duty TO
suppress all abusive corrections or altera-
tions, and to give the matter its final re
vision.
The recruiting of the stenographers is
extremely difficult. The competent men
are so rare that the chamber has been
obliged to extend the age for admission to
the competitive examinations to forty-five
years. The salary varies from 4, 200 to S, 600
francs. The work is very arCiuous 1t re-
quires a tension OF the mind which it is
difficult to form an idea of, and during
the last few years there occurred in the
staff Of the chamber four cases of mental
failure and two cases of blindness. 1t is
hardly necessary to add that a considerable
number of these valuable functionaries
must pay their tribute to the writers
cramp.-Paris Figaro.