Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-03-03

operators De given a
hearing, although we are used to writing
other peoples thoughts rather than our
own.
L have never belonged to any organiza-
ton of typewriters or stenographers, but
l have met incidentally a number Of opera
tors. some of them ranking high as experts,
and l have never observed that we have
any traits in common. at least none that
may be considered incident to our calling.
Typewriters do not differ as a class from
women who follow other vocations. If you
were to meet US on the street nothing
would tell you that we belonged to the
much-discussed class. None of us wear
masks to conceal our beauty, as the para
grapher has it; some of us don't need to-
We are SO uniformly referred to as
pretty typewriters.'' young and attractive.
that 1t may be surprise to the careless
and unobservant reader to be told by one
who knows that many of us are far from
being striking beauties; some of us are
horribly disagreeable: and a few of us have
grown gray in the service.
They Don't Marry the Employer.
Nor do We all marry our employer. In
fact some of US do not marry anybody; and
If we do. our employer is least likely to be
the man, for while we see his business side
thoroughly, and know his every whim re-
garding his work, his social side is entirely
unknown to u.s. as ours to him. If we were
to meet outside of business We would rot
know each other.
short time ago / saw an article regard
ing a system of Geographic communication
by the use of the space bar which had been
established between two typewriters, and
thought: How nice. But, although the
space bar of typewriter could be used fer
the purposes of a telegraph key tas can
almost anything yet it would be a clumsy
substitute, and would not enable the tele-
graph operator to attain his best speed.
Therefore while Miss Number One might
have been debating her notes to Number
Two at the rate of sixty words a minute.
she was clicking them to her at not over
twenty. Few employers would enjoy that
sort of performance If repeated very often.
1t was stated. moreover, that Miss Num-
Der ones employer, having observed the
peculiar understanding between her and
Number Two, had given the work as a
trap, and then had watched Number one
closely to see if she did anything out of
ordinary but was unable to see that she
did. Now, If, for any reason, / run my
machine over by striking the space bar, my
employer is sure to stop work and ask with
eager curiosity what the dickens / am
doing But, of course men differ; and
some men might not notice the peculiar
saund produced by contiguous manipula ton
% the space bar.
DictatiOn VS.. Copying.
In recent article it was stated that oper-
ators prefer dictation to copying, although
the price was the same. There are days, as
every operator knows. when the fingers
won't work, and there are also often times
when the head cat least of a typewriter
won't work. But for taking dictation the
fingers and the mind must both be at theil
best. The greater part of dictation is siver
by court reporters, who can read their note:
as fast as they wrote them, and whose worl
Will take from four to eight hours in trans
cription. The notes represent their day:
work. and must usually be transcribed DUR
ing the evening and night. Therefore, sine,
they want to get few hours sleep, and b,
at court again by 10 a. m, they want L
spend just as little time as possible over tn
dictation. and consequently push the oper
ator to her very highest speed, no matter
! how rapidly she may write.
typewriter naturally feels proud of be
| ing a fine dictation operator. because 1t Il
| difficult work; but the strain is awful Will
| taking dictation the mind may not wande
or the attention be relaxed for a moment
| These hgh-speed dctation workers breal
down or give up the business for somethin,
| less wearing to the mind. Even the physica
able. have had my fingers famed and m.
| left thumb swollen tight after working sew
| en- or eight hours a day for week or two
AS to the price of this work. when 1 wa
| engaged In it the reporters paid four cent
| per folio 600 words, while six cents wa
! the price paid for copying, they arguing tina
|. the greater speed to be attained in dicta
! ton made the price per hour to the operato
about the same. But, for approximately tn
! same price per hour, you are on the on
| hand kept on the tensest nervous strain
| generally from or to IL or II d. M
! sometimes till daylight, while on the othe,
in copying, you can work during the da
and take it easy" as advised. And Their
| Is no reason why this class OF work Shout
ruin your health or nerves.
| S15-a-WeelS Lady.
| In the article last referred to, one youn
! lady is reported as saying that one cen
seemed small for 800 words, but eff 1 can
make $15 week at that rate, and max
1t easy, l want to get out of the typewritin
business" Since she makes it easy, she, q
| course, does not work over eight hours pc
day. That is. in week she makes sl5; i
a day, $3.50, and in an hour, 81 ii cent.
j for which she writes trife over $50
words. And yet the same article represent
the busy and sagacious reporter as ''rushin
off to a first-ciass typewriter" who turn
out for him 1900 words In two hours. Tn
9,3O0word young lady just mentioned woul
have done ii for him in less than half a
hour and left him somewhat over an hou
and a half to rest his throat.
!, But stayl 1t is hardly fair to figure 81
per week down into an hour rate withou
!, allowing occasional breathing spaces. A
a matter of fact, the Sl5-a-week lady woul
need to write 10000 words per hour
order to make $50 week easy, at tn
, price she named. That would be 16G 2
words per minute. If there Is anotht
operator in town who can write even 6,ot
, words an hour for four consecutive hour
. l have yet to learn of her, through my a.
quaintance with operators and reporter
, And yet this lady, to judge from her oW
! expressions. keeps up this 10,0OO-word ra
! not only hour after hour but week aft
/ | week.
1t was a great surprise and gratificat tic
, TO me to learn that Washington had sue
/ an OPERATOR and one, too, so modest Il
, she evidently does not pose eXper
/ but speaks of her capabilities thoue
they were by no means eXtraordinar
Seventy-five hundred words in a day
Z IL hours, is considered In the depar
ments to be excellent speed; and the ope
ator who can copy 5000 words is safe fro
reprimand.