The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-13
SHE GOT THE PLACE.
AND THE TYPEWRITER MAN LONG
ED FOR OTHERS LIKE HER,
4 story of stenOgraphy Ont of
Seven Applicants Only One Was
Qualified - Mistakes of Girls Who
Are Incompetent and Yet Seek PO-
sitiOns As Amanuenses.


sttiOns As Amanuenses.
From the Chicago Inter-Ocean.
When the young man in charge of the
shorthand and typewritng employment
bureau of the typewriter firm reached his
office about o'clock in the morning, six
silent, naughty young women sat ranged
about the rolltop desk Gloom sat heav-
lily upon all Of them. They regarded one
another disapprovingly from the corner
of their eyes. In entering the office the
young man bowed in a sort of collective,
non-cOmmittal fashion to the young wo-
men. Then he deposited his hat upon
the top of his desk and raised the rolling
front thereof This was the signal. The
six young women all rose from their seats
at once and made for the one particular
conversational chair beside the young
mans desk. The race was to the Alta
lanta of the half dozen, a tall young wo-
man with a skirt that wasn't altogether
tidy. She swiftly thrust the yellow back
I novel she had been reading into her black
bag and gained the coveted chair in two
strides. The other five, regarding her with
unconcealed aversion, fell back to their
chairs
"oh, yes, yes, yes" said the young man
without any particular applicability.
Now, you are seeking employment as
-"
" Manuensis," replied ATLANTA, the
young mans pause calling for a reply.
Yes yes" said the young man. Nov
your experience has been"
The panse here also demanded yprIH.
We'll" said the young woman, appar-
emily collecting the threads of the little
speech she had prepared, "as yet 1 have
not succeeded in obtaining a stenographio
position such as I think"
'Um-m, yes" said the young man, at
| the same time pulling out the dictation
board at the right hand side of his desk,
and fumbling around for a pad and pen
ell. Suppose, now we just see how rap
Id you"
He had his head buried in the desk.
looking for a pencil, and so the rest of it
was lost Presently he found bundle of
pencils, and he put one of them into Alta
/ lantas hand, which, by the way, seemed
to shake rather neryously. Then he
placed the notebook on the dictation board
and ATLANTA drew up her chair, with her
pencil at the ready"
Lets see; you know all about the date
line, and all that, of course?" said the
that indicated that he wasn't altogether
certain that she did know all about the
date line, and all that. "Al right. Now
James Castlewood & Co., No 1922 Market
street San Francisco, California'-you alb
breviate the California; into Cal of
course, in writing it. Dear Sirs: Reply
ing to your esteemed favor of the 2Sth ult
we hasten to say that the shipment to
which you refer was made on the End
ult., in ample time to have reached you
at the time you specified in your order,
| and "
Just a minute please" interrupted Alta
| lanta. ATLANTA was plainly in trouble.
| Yet the young man had only logged along
in his dictaton at a rate of about eighty
! words minute. Just a minute, please"
! again said the girl" shipment you re-
ferred to- and the young womans pen
Gil laboriously crawled over the notebook
| page.
| "Um-m, yes" said the young man, Civ
| ing the girl a quick glance" shipment to
| which you refer though, would be better
! Did l not put it that way? Um-m. Got
! the rest of it?-"and we are at a loss to
| understand the delay in its arrival at your
| plant Apparently the young man con-
| cluded that it was not of much further use
] 10 prolong the dictation. VERY truly
yours. he concluded shortly, winding up
the letter somewhat abruptly.
| For fully minute after he had finished
| ATLANTA, with her face as red as a
peony, and her pencil hand plainly suffer-
ing badly from the rattles, worked away
| to get the tail end of the dictation down
in pothOoks. The young man watched her
| efforts obviously
"Finished"' he asked her, when she
| looked up. Now il you'll kindly sit
| down at this machine and transcribe that,
| We'll see" He conducted the young
| woman over to a corner where stood a
81 1tsasr Fv-r,,
| and digging some papers out of a drawer,
placed it beside the machine. The girl
drew up chair rather gingerly, put a
| sheet of paper between the typewriter
| rollers, and began slowly TO pick out the
letters. The young man started back TO
| his desk But Atlanta was again in
! trouble
Have you an eraser?" she asked.
The young man handed her an eraser
BY The time he gained his desl. seat again
| the five other young women in waiting
were again making for the chair beside
him, and went through the same mill.
Atalanta finally came to the young man s
| desk with the result of her work on the
| typewriter in her hand. She handed il
obviously to the young man. 1t bore a be-
| daubed evidence of much erasng, and as
| transcription of the letter the young
man had dictated to the San Francisco
| firm it was not a spectacular success In
| FORM, orthOgrapny, punctuation or neat
ness. The young man went over it hastily
! with a pencil, proofreading 1t as he went
along, and addressing Atalanta at the
| same time.
Yes yes" said he. "You have finished
I then? A bit nervous no doubt? Lack OF
practice, of course. Um-m! There's only
one p in Shipment you know. of course.
Natural error And only one m in 'ulti-
| mo- Not common word, though as
written in fun. Um-m And, oh, yes
ample Is pie instead OF pei, you'n re-
member. Yes, yes. Just a little slip OF
the keys no doubt. By the way, you re-
call that specified has a C but no s. in
it. Just happened TO notice it here Very
| well Now, your name and address ?
When I hear of an opening for which you
are fitted" And the young man was
! standing beneath the Intel Of his Office
| door bowling out ATLANTA.
The same programme was repeated with
the remaining young women. All wanted
stenographic places paying up to $40 a
week. The young man took the addresses
-. ~ - ~.