Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1893-02-09
IN WOMAN'S BEHALF.
sTENoGRAPHY.
4 Calling IN Which Girls May Find Profit
able Employment.

Ouc OF the many opportunities our
land of the free presents to girls who
are SO fortunate as TO be among the
"bread-winners" Of the country is stem
Ography and typewriting.
If it is entered into and carried out
with a consciousness of doing ones best
in the most thorough and businesslike
manner, 1t becomes an absolute pleas
ure, rather than mere drudgery or hard
work, as many claim it to be- The
hardest part of the work is past when
one has mastered the art; then comes
the pleasure of feeling secure in your
ability to transcribe a neat, accurate
and bUsinesslike copy of your notes.
With what pride can we hand the man
uscript of our notes to our employer
when we are sure it is we'll done. only
those who are at present earning their
living by hook and by crook" can APP
preciate.
Girls, you will find if you would sue
coed, you must study and work, work
and study necessarily. 1t is the penalty
of success Do not, l beg of you, go
into it if your ability falls short of the
requirements because you think t less
degrading and more ladylike," as 1
have heard many give as a reason for
taking up stenography and typewriting.
All work is honorable if the object for
which we are working is honorable.
There are many ways for acquiring
this profession. You can go to a bust
ness college, where you can take up
any study-notably spelling-which is
of the greatest help to youth connec-
ton with stenography and typewriting.
For a course Of six months-and j
would advise you to take no shorter
time-day session, it win cost you from
$40 to sos. This latter sum also in
cIudes either or both spelling and
writing, and almostany of the branches
taught This is really the best and
cheapest way Of acquiring a business
education if you do not already pos
sess one. If, however, you are accus-
toned TO clerical work, 81 have had eX-
perienced in that line, there win really
be no need of taking extra time to gain
an education for anything but that for
which you entered You must be a
good speller to succeed, and if you are
up to the average in that needful study
do not waste time over it, but give your
whole attention to the stenography and
typewriting.
Your hours, in case you take day ses-
sion, are practically the same as if you
were again little maid in school, Z"
beginning at 0 o'clock in the morning
lasting until II O'clock noon, beginning
again at half past ! and lasting until
in the afternoon; no school on Satur-
/ days.
There are cheaper ways of learning
than taking a college course; it will
take longer, however, and you can use
your own discretion which would be the
cheapest in the long run.
In case some girls are employed dur
! ing the day and are contemplating talk
ing a course in stenography and type
writing, but are still obliged to keep on
with their work, there is the night
| school. which is an auxiliary of most
business colleges Your tuition in the
case would be s25 for six months SIS
! for three months. The hours are from
to 9 O'Clock. Good teachers are pro
vided in both cases, and in some in
stances regular reporters are employed
as teachers, from whom the greatest
good can be obtained.
In either plan stated, your books, OF
which you will need bat two, hand
book and a reader, will cost you in the
neigh borhood of So rs to ST.
Another way of procedure, u the
funds are not forthcoming. is to teach
ones self This can be done to good
advantage il ones whole mind is put to
the task.
Provide yourself with plenty of paper,
pencils, erasers, pens and ink. Get
paper that is not ''stringy" but smooth,
so your pen can slip over its surface
without 'sputtering" like the wick of a
long-used, tired-out candle. The rules
in the book are easily followed, so there
is no difficulty in soon acquiring thor
ough knowledge of shorthand at very
small expense. If you wish TO learn
typewriting also, by yourself, you will
have to put aside small outlay (say
about s. or So per month"; and rent one;
a secondhand one will do
There still remains one other way TO
do, which l mention last because it has
the least to commend it-learning by
mail. However, it has been done, and
] know few personally who have be-
come competent stenographers in this
way. 1t has its advantages, as one
| learns to read correctly and rapidly all
one writes, as letters, written entirely
in shorthand, are exchanged between
pupil and teacher, which the former is
obliged to read and copy correctly and
return. However, this is a slow and
tedious method OF getting along and
should really be taken as a last resort.
At the colleges you will, as a rule,
not have as much time to devote to
typewriting as you would wish, or as
much as your teachers would like TO
/ give you. owing to the great number Of
scholars enrolled You will probably
be given half an hour each day in which
To use the machine, but if you are per-
seyering il viii give you a knowledge
of typewriting which further practice
win make perfect / would say, if