The Helena independent., 1893-11-20


speakers manuscript tor the speech itself.
In this way the reporters OF the senate
found they had very little to do during
many days of the recent silver debate, and
though The Record made n bulky showing
1t contained very littleof their work.
Dlnicult Work. b1F
When the silver question was up In the
house and there were sessions Mt night az
we'll as by day, each Of the stenogrnphers
took down l3 or IA columns Of Tho Record.
or about 1900 words. This was q pretty
big days work, and while taking the notes
WAS not 10 difficult he would have found
1t impossible to transcrilte them with his
own hand. As soon as the reporter finishes
his turn on the floor he goes to his room In
the basement and dictates his notes to q
typewriter operator or to a phonograph,
from which it is afterward taken upon the
typewriter by young women operatives
Not all Of the reporters use the phono-
graph, some preferring to dictate In the old
way, and one or two OF the old fogies OF the
senate corps still write their matter out
with pen, as they were taught to do IN
the days when typewriters and phono-
graphs were unknown.
/. One of the botherations of official report
ing il the desire OF members to revise their
remarks. The reporters take down the
speeches exactly us they are delivered, and
large proportion of the statesmen like to
get hold Of the copy and fix it up to suit
themselves. Every one knows what Of
lenses are committed in the name OF re-
vision. New speeches are written or old
ones so transformed that no one who heard
them delivered would be able to recognize
them in print. The only yrestriction that IN
placed upon a member by rule is that
in revision he must not interject per
sonal matters. 1t often occurs when two
senators or members have had o personal
alteration on the floor that by mutual
consent they arrange to haSe all reference
to the quarrel cut out OF The Record. In
this way the hot dispute between Sena-
tors Carey and Wolcott . few days age
was kept out Of the official reports
A High Com pliment.
Ex-Congressman Horr, in recent public
address, paid high compliment to the Off
cial reporters of the house. 1T is won
derful requirement., that power Of taking
down words as fast as they are uttered, =
he said. "Amid the jargons and wrangles
of congress, when half dozen statesmen
were all on their feet at once, all yelling
like SO many lupatics, have seen these
wonderful men. with their pencils flying
do their work SO well that they would never
miss a single foolish utterance or skip q
single disgraceful word. As typewriters
are the bane of poor spoilers, SO these short
hand writer's are the terror Of public speak
erS 10 have them come in and take down
in cold blood Just what fellow does say
aye, there's the rub. It's enough to make
ones blood curdle even to think Of IT,
know the usual way out of the trouble Il
to get relief by abusing the reporter
make this confession, however, here to
night Up to date it is their accuracy that
has got me into difficulty. l have suf
fered vastly more from their printing ex
actly what did say than have by theil
putting down what it seemed to them
would better have said"
Webster's Reply to Hayne.
Official reporting of debates in the Ameri
can congress began in 1S48. Before thai
time semiotficial reports had been made b!
contract with newspapers, and stenogra
piers were used, but not to make verbatim
reports. They took down what they though
was important and let the remainder go
Among the first official reporters in tn
senate was Mr.. Murphy, then boy of IA
but a brilliant reporter, who had learned
his profession from Oliver Dyer in Phila
delphia. A third of a century Mr. Murph,
has been taking senatorial speeches, and h
is not an old man yet. In the house corp
! David Wolfe Brown is the senior, having
been 25 years on the staff
Two or three weeks ago when objection
| was made in the senate to the reading c
speeches Senators Hoar and Vest had dis
cussion as to the famous speech Of Webste
in reply to Hayne. The point was as t.
whether that speech had been given to pos
terity as it was delivered, or whether it ha4
| largely been made up afterward. No sucl
! contention would have been possible
! there had been official reporters in the oil
senate chamber Mr. Brown, the brillian
veteran of the house corps, gives me tn
facts about this speech of Webster an.
! shows that great oratorical effort to hav
been rescued from oblivion by woman
! The story as Mr.. Brown gives it was tolt
to him some years ago by James Watson
I Webb, the far 3us New York newspape
publisher, who was correspondent ii
! Washington in his earlier career. Web
got the story from Webster himself in thes
words
An Interesting Postscript.
II had no idea of the Importance tina
would be attached to my speech in reply t.
Hayne," said Mr.. Webster, land as l ha
only meager notes of the speech. when m,
8 S4(h;5&; s : i; ::
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