Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-03-07
RAPID TYPEWRlTlNG.
The Methods by Which Expert Operator
Are Able to Attain Great Speed.

The Methods by Which Expert OPERATOR
Are Able to Attain Great Speed.
Not one person in hundred who has
dictated to an expert typewriter is
aware of the numerous devices and
methods of practice which the operate,
resorts to in order to keep up with the
dictation. Five years ago pupil was
thought to be qualified to be an Office
amanuensis who wrote correctly an
average of one hundred and ffteer
words minute in shorthand, ample
time being allowed for TRANSFERRING
the notes. Nowadays shere are those
| who maintain this speed direct on the
| typewriter without resource to any
form of abbreviation vshatever. An
observer OF the peculiarsies of many
| speedy typewriter operators said that
in almost every instance tbs most rapid
were piano players.
| "Piauo players" said he, ''have
great facility of finger movement and
evenness of touch and pressure upon
| the keys. which is indispensable to
hfast typewritinR- They also hsve the
sfaculty Of SO covering the keyboard
with the hands as to strike each key
| with great skill and precision. By a
ssuch improved method of typew-sting
| al the fing srso of each hand are utilized,
! and piano practice is highly beneficial
in strengthening and adapting for use
thtthi and fourth fingers, which are
always weather and less easily con-
trolls than the Others It also edts-
Gates the fingers to cooperate with the
m ind land on the whole is quite an es-
se ntisl preliminary training for the
eEoerStypewriter:"
lhisstheory was denied, however, by
exp ert typewritsrs whom the reporter
inte rviessed. It was found that, in
stead OF using al of the fingers, as on
the l,iaEo, comparatively few of the
best typewriters employ more than
two Fl nge-s- of each, hand, and that at
least one of the foremost operators
uses only the index fingers. Great
speed is ASHAMED. these experts said,
not by specially training the fingers to
act quic klys but by learning to write
rapidly the component parts OF words,
and by becoming familiar with the
relative position of thekeys, that must
be struck to form words. 70 follow
the speech of the average person die
tatIng it S necessary so strike at least
eight keys; every second, and She pres
ure upon EACH key must be. uniform
and yegula i. or the writing may appear
ragged ant indistinct.
4 skillfu typewrites" usually imag-
ines the KEY board of his smachine to be
divided neal its center and each divis-
sion OF keys he operates with the right
or lefs han1 exclusively By always
using the sa me fingers TO. write fire.
4uently-recu rring words and conbina-
tScns he beco mes 80 famil sarvita them
as~uo be able to write with great speed
AID accuracy even when blind5olded
UEtfl within very fev~ years the
ability of the ope rator seems to- have
been greater than the, capacity of the
machine and ii lie latter world Hos re-
spend to more titan ten" or twelve
strokes OF the keys per second. New
machines and devices are now provided
by WHICH sixteeI, characters. have BEEN
written in a second, with perfect ira
preston and spacing. T3iss woald
equal a speed of more thar one kayn-
dred and sixty word , a minuGes which,
if i51oouEd be mainta ned, woata besuf-
ficfsnt to record vel batim 1ere Tram
nine-tenths of all pablic speeches as.
they are delivered.
In very rapid wri mig every. LITTLE
hiEssranee to speed lnssto be-avoitDed,
aRGs3 the operator ca q, -seldoIusstou to,
examine any part of his:wo1K4untiE tt
is finished. Many br siness fousess Of
the city now employ experts type
writers Cor the purpos IS of coerespcnd-
eEee. Instead of having shorthand
writer's TO receive dict Esion and afser-
bsr,of operators relied upon to do This
work is very small, fossto become an
expert typewriter requires apaness and
ability and many months, if Tot years.,
Of methodieal practice and if .amiEar-
isyswitA the piano assists typewriter
TO- speed, it is prin' fipally, through
strengthening the operators nernDny
md pafseverance.-N.X 3Suu1.