The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-06-29
MEN STENOGRAPHERS SCARCE.
They Are in Demand in Spite of the
Girls in the Business.

Chicago Inter Oceon.
Unless some sort of a revolution strikes
the profession, the male stenographer may
soon become a thing of the past" said the
local manager of a typewriting company.
1T would be hard matter to explain this
dearth OF men typewriters 1t is attributed
to many different causes. but still the fact
remains that it exists 1t is a common
saying that the girls have crowded the
young men out of the stenOgraphlc pro-
fession. 1t would be wasting tine to refute
this absurd notion. The girls, of course,
have a great place in the profession, and
they fill it well, but if the number of girl
stenOgTaphers were double what ii now IS
the demand for men would still be as
strong as ever. They are wanted for
different class of work. But this, after ALL
is not the point.
THE fact of the matter is that men who
contemplate becoming stenoSraphers nave
unwittingy hypnotized themselves into the
belief that the field has been covered by
girls. If person believes something TO be
a fact. that thing, however absurd becomes
a fact TO him. Ii il what the professors
call a subjective fact. If however. the
boys have got the idea in their heads that
the girls have crowded them out, the effect
becomes exactly the same as If their idea
correct.
But where have they got the idea? Ger
tainly not from the employers. Perhaps 1t
is simply an inference in their minds from
now in the profession. They may, in
short have come 10 look upon stenography
as girls work. Even this, however is
hardly a full and adequate explanation
believe that the dearth of men stenog
raphers is due TO careleSSneSs on the part
of employers. Young men should be i'm
pressed with the fact that by becoming
stenographers their futures are far more
promising than those of clerks or other
similar professions.
lit will cause you to open your eyes in
grl,~ = IL h. r.f
famous men who began life as stenOgra-
pliers.
ITO begin with, 1 could cite Mayor Tom
L. Johnson of Cleveland. as an instance.
He began life by humping a typewriter,
was promoted rapidly, and now he is one
of the richest men in Ohio.
"In Illinois | can name Senator William
Z. Mason. Robert r. Hit, chairman of the
foreign affairs committee of the House of
Representatives, was once q stenographer
also were George G. Smith. president of
the Westinghouse Air Brake Company; eX-
Governor Frank S. Black, of New York;
Congressman Eddy, of Minnesota; Arthur
Pue German: Senator Chandler, of New
Hampshire; Colonel Daniel S. Lamont, eX-
secretary of war; Governor McBryde, of
Washington; Vice President McNicon. of
the Canadian Pacific Railroad; George b.
Perkins. who is ]. Pierpont Morgan's right
hand man. and William II. Newman, presi-
dent of the New York Central & Hudson
River Railroad.
Now how does the stenographer succeed
in getting promoted He starts in as a boy
fresh from school, and is employed by
some big concern. He performs his duties
with fidelity and dispatch. The brains of
his superior flow through his fingers so
long that he gets permeated with them
The man he is working for is advanced in
his position. They figure out whom to get
to fill his place, and they hit upon the
stenographer. because he is accustomed to
the work and methods.
But l started out 10 tell of the present
dearth of stenograDhers- The government
dearth. for the largest single employer of
United States government. / was reading
only the other day about the trouble Uncle
Sam has in getting his stenograDhers. For
some years past ii has been impossible to
get sufficient supply of young men to fill
the vacant places. The pay is good and
the work is not hard. Uncle Sam paws his
stenographers $1,000 per annum at the be-
ginning. with an increase to 81 400 in six
months where competency is shown, vet
the dearth continues.
There are all kinds of branches to the
profession of tyDewriting nowadays There
is the touch system-which consists Of
grinding out matter without looking at the
keyboard and many other new schemes
which have come into existence only during
the last few years The thoroughly unto.
date operator never thinks of watching the
keyboard of a machine any more He or
she keeps looking direct at the matter TO
be copied off. never bothering about the
letters on the machine. These are struck
by instinct. BY means of this system
blind persons also use tyDewriters
do you know when the first typewriting
machine was invented? There isn't one
out of a hundred persons that can answer