Arizona silver belt., 1894-04-21
SHORTHAND WRITER'S
THOUSANDS TAUGHT sTENoeRAPtiY
 EACH YEAR IN AMERICA.

ihe Art Not New one, ns it Dates Hack
 Co Cicero, Who Used More Than s.ooC
 Charactcrs--N New yorl,'s Veteran.
 There arc more stenographers in New
 York and its vicinity than there are
 lawyers or doctors, But not all of them
 arc competent. A first class shorthand
 writer is very difficult to find, and if
 he is fast writer he is sure of good
 salary.
 Shorthand writing as means of earn,
 ing a livelihood is not as lucrative as
 many other callings. but it affords a
 young man, if he is quick witted, fine
 chance to watch the internal workings
 of a business house, and ther, by helps
 him toward a busin ss education such
 as he could get in no other way. The only field that is highly remu
 nerativo is law reporting, but to become
 competent for this work requires years of assiduous practice, and the field of 1 employment is limited. The highest salary paid to q court stenographer in 1 New York is in the surrogate's court.
 Mir. Edward r Underhil, probably the oldest practicing stenographer in Amer. ica, holds this position and receives a salary of S8, GOO per year He has been in the service since lS49.
 The municipal departments and courts ! in New York city pay annually in sal aries for stenographic services Sl5A,. 000 This salary list includes 90 ste. nOgraphers, 21 of whom are court re- porters, each receiving e,500, and 10 S2,OU0 annually as salary. In addition to thls, however, all court stenographers arc allowed by the code 10 cents per fo- lo of 100 words, for furnishing copies of transcrgts tu the parties interested in any case when desired.
 Up town at 3G3 West Twenty third str et the stenographcrs of Now York have a club, where they meet each oth. CT socially, In connection with the club Is classroom, where the mom- bers may practice the art of shorthand writing, Here nearly every evening are gathered scores of ambitious young shorthanderS industriously driving their pans for love of perfection in their craft, while some one of experience reads or dictates The classroom is provided with all the different styles of typewriting machines for the use oi members when there is no dictaiion. The club also maintains an employ ment bureau. The club is open to ei thcr sex. In fact. it is the large mem bership of young ladies that gives zcst to the social side of the club, which is one of its important features. In the winter the club gives receptions. cnter. tainments, occasionally a dinner and once every year ball.
 In many of the public schools of the country stenography Is a part of the training. An evidence of its recent re. markable growth Is shown by a circu- lar issued by the bureau of education at Washington.
 Here itiSshown that from July 1, 1880. to June 90, 1890, 57.315 persons rcSeiy- ed instruction in the art of shorthand in schools and colleges in the United States. Five thousand five hundred and fifty of these were in New York and Brooklyn, 4 similar circular was is- sued by the bureau in 1884. in which it was shown that during the year 1882 the number of pupils receiving such instruction was i2,47O. It is therefore qui,e safe to say that the number fer 1893 exceeded 75. 900.
 But this uum1er docs not tal.e into an army probably equal ly large who receive instruction from some other source or from professional 
 Out of this vast army, however, but l a very small minority are either phys ically or mentally qualified to become l court reporters or even office amauueu- ses.
 Cicero is said to have been the invent or of shorthand writing. and the freed man, Marcus Tullius Tiro, his friend. inc first stenographer. and he undoubt- pdly did use a method of shorthand | writing as early as 60 B. C.
 The first English treatise was by Tim. ofhe Bright, entitled An Arteo of Shorte Swifte and Secrete Writing by Charac- lure, lnucuted by Thnotho Bright, Doe tor of Phisike. Imprinted at London by |. Windet, the AssiEgee of Tim Bright. l5ss. Cum priuilegie Rcgiae Maiesta- .is. Forbidding all others to print the iame
 Dr. Bright in this work says; Cicero lid account it worthie hIs labour. and 10 less profitable Co the Roman common geale (Most Gracious Soueraigne). to nuent a speed;e kinde of wryting by character, as Plutsrch reporscth in the fife of Cato inc younger. This inven- ion was increased afterward by Seneca. hat the number of characters grue to 1000. Whether through inure of time. 'r that the men gaue 1t over for tedious less of learning, nothing remaineth ex- ant of Cicero's intention at this day." Every stenogapher who recalls the dorts required to properly master the sw characters used in the art today will not wonder that of Ciccro's system, with its 1000 characters. nothing re- nains at this day.
 It was not until 1642 that the art be. aiue of any practical use. and it was rst used in the house of lords in 1899 ] D taking testimony in a divorce suit. were not regularly em- loved in parliament. however, until S02.-New York World.
 Undmunted by Defeat.