The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-15
THERE IS ALWAYS PLENTY OF
ROOM IN THE GOVERNMENT
DEPARTMENTS
FOR GOOD sTEN0GRAPHERS.
THEY CAN GET WORK EASILY IF
THEY POSSESS SPEED AND
ACCURACY.
For Their Work Transcribing the
Proceedings of the House and
Senate.
Special Correspondence of the Globe.

Special Correspondence of the Globe
WASHINGTON, March 1.-THE list
Of shorthand reporter congressman has
been increased by one, in the person
Of Samuel j. Barrows, of Massacnu-
sets. There are all sorts and condi-
tions of men in congressman who
have been farmers mechanics, clerks
government agents, ministers of the
Gospel lawyers, merchants, editors
doctors, scientists, miners, sailors, SOL
d1ers-there is hardly a branch Of pro-
fessional or commercial activity which
/ has not it's representatives. And among
these are several shorthand ~eporters
! Mr. Chandler of New Hampshire is
/ one, and he has found his knowledge
of stenography of great value il follow
| ing debates and committee hearings
Senator Chandler is also an editor and
publisher of a paper at Concord.
Mr.. Barrows is an editor and pub
Usher but of religious journal, not a
newspaper. He has been for sixteen
years the editor of the Christian Reg
lister, published at Boston. Before he
/ became editor he had a curious and
varied career. He is a native of New
York city. When he was nine years
:
ing press firm in New York That is
where ne got the odor of printers ink
in his nOstrils. He was an errand boy
] there and telegraph operator, and al
most all his education was obtained
! at night school while he was doing this
work. Among other things he learned
shorthand, and having done some work
/ as a stenOgTapher he went to work for
! the New York Sun as a reporter. Later
/ he was stenOgrapher to Secretary Sew
ard here in Washington, and served as
/ a clerk in one of the bureaus OF the
! state department.. Then he entered the
! Harvard divinity school, acting as Bos-
! ton correspondent of the New York
| Tribune until he took the degree of
! B. D. He went for the Tribune on the
! Yellowstone expedition under Gen.
Stanley in 1873 and the Black Hills ex-
petition of Gen. Custer in 1874 taking
! part in the battles of Tongue River and
I the Big Horn. He followed this expert
ence with year at Leipsic university.
studied political economy under RIOS
cher, became pastor Of the first parish
Dorchester, Mass, and final Y was made
editor of the Christian Register. Dur
ing his editorial term he has spent one
year studying archaeology in Greece
and visiting European prisons. In
1895 he attended the international prison
/ congress at Paris as secretary Of the
United States delegation, and President
/ Cleveland last year appointed him a
/ representative of the United States on
/ the international prison commission
! AS if that was not variety enough for
any mans career Mr.. Barrows has row
/ come to congress, and there is no telling
/ where he will go next, for a man of
his versatility is just as likely to land
in the White house as anywhere else.
A VALUABLE ACQUISITION.
! All his varied experiences have been
/ of value to him but Mr. Ba,rOws thinks
one Of the most valuable of them was
his study of shorthand 1 would advise
any young man who is looking for a
career to study shorthand and type
writing. Personally I had a strong
prejudice against it when l entered on
newspaper work. l had the feeling
that stenographer was little better
/ than machine; that his Intelligence
was subordnated to the mechanical
work of making notes. That is un-
J
reporter getting an interview. The
fewer notes he takes the better He
seldom wants the exact language of the
man he is interviewing. In fact, the
late j. B. McCullagh, who is credited
with being the inventor of the inter-
view, told me that no attempt should
be made to quote a man interviewed;
that all interviews should be written
in the third person. But for ether pUr-
| poses stonOgraphy is often a valuable
aid, and as a last resource, when a
man wants to find work, 1 know Moth
ing so sure of commanding employ
ment as a knowledge of shorthand.
If you look in the New York newspa-
pers, you will see few advertisements
of stenOgraphers in want of occupa-
ton. The condition which exists there
can be found all over the country, the
civil service commissioners tell me-
While the roll of applicants for govern
ment places is filled to OVERLOOKING
there is not a competent stenographer
to be found on the list today. On the
other hand, the market is crowded with
incompetent ones. Maryland and Vir-
ginia have exceeded far their quota of
| offices, and no one from either of those
states could get an ordinary c,orksh p
But stenographer from Maryland or
Virginia would be snapped up by che
of the departments in a minute.
In these days, when labOr-saving ma
chinery is driving so many men out of
| employment and cheapening labor
through undue competition it is re-
freshing to find one branch Of work in
which the demand is greater than the
supply.
The labor saver did make an assault
on the stenographer a few years ago
when the graphophone and the phono-
graph were put on the market. But
| they failed to take the stenographer's
| place except in special cases. A great
many of them are used in the depart
ments here, and some at the capitol
At the capitol they have taken the
place of some half dozen stenograph-
ers who used to assist the regular re-
porters of house and senate. But, as
a rule, they only supplement the work
of the shorthand men. The attempt
| to use them in the business of report
| ing hearings and conventions has new
! er been more than an experiment.
| Practically it is not feasible
REPORTERS DUTIES.
The reason the stenogra pher holds
his own against the talking machine
so well is that the stenographer is in
telligent, and reporting-even letter
writing-cannot be done in mechan-
| ical way. When the reporter Of the
Does theGOr:
I~~ I'll