Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-23

ba tim report of the previous day nepate
lay on each members desk.
To accomplish such feats as these ti H
congressional reporter must De one man III
a thousand He should be familiar with lhe
intricacies of his art-a study In ltsei.tV
begin with. He shourd know the technicai
terms of a vast number OF calllngs. he re-
ports every day the speeches OF doctors'
lawyers, ministers, merchants, teachers
bankers farmers-in short, men from every
walk of life. Then, too, the range OF oe-
bate is from China to Peru. There are plils
to be considered affecting the tarlf, the
mighty manufacturing interests, the stat
ute law, treaty rights, the navy, nanks'
banking laws, river and harbor needs, IN
dian affairs, the postal service.
1t is not the set speech, however, that
tries the reporters skill, but the excited
play of question and answer, OF challenge
and retort, among half dozen members
when the difficulties of hearing increase
and the demand FOR accurate note-taklng Is
more imperative than ever.
The Ideal Reporter.
Suppose that the congressional reporter
has written down every word uttered on
the floor during his turn. He must remem-
Der what famous member of Congress
orce said to a predecessor of his: ST, L
do not doubt your accuracy; l dread 1t.
The mixed metaphor. the unfinished sem
tence the slip of the tongue, all faults
which the best OF speakers Will cOIilnll al
times must be set right by the congress
sional reporter. This work of revision is
one of the most laborious and delicate
which he is called upon to perform.
What should the congressional reporter
know" was the question put by The Star
reporter to Mr.. David Wolfe Brown. dean
of the House corps of official reporters.
st might answer after the fashion of a
veteran reporter and say everything Ser
iously, there is no field of human know
ledge, no bit of information, which will not
prove of benefit to the congressional re-
porter. In general. i would say that the
more reporter knows the better reporter
he is
Rewards of the Congressional Reporter.
On the other hand the rewards OF the
congressional reporter are many. The
practice of my profession" said Mr.. e. "
Murphy, official reporter of the Senate.
has always yielded me a comfortable sub
sistence. The pay of the congressional
reporter, 5000 a year, is large. Then
too, there is the daily hourly opportunity
of meeting men of national renown, the
flower of American intellect in almost
every pursuit. l think | may say with all
due modesty that my many years of serv-
ice in the Senate have greatly enlarged my
view and broadened my knowledge of a
variety of subjects
Mr.. Murphy. who comes of a famous
family of shorthand writers, was born in
hand as a boy. He acted as amanuensis
to his two brothers Dennis f. and J. J.
Murphy, who at the time did all the
porting of the Senate, until 1855, when
he was appointed one of the reporters at
the famous trial of the conspirators
against the life of Abraham Lincoln. He
was made n member of the Senate report
ing corps in 1869, and has held that posi-
ton up to the present day. Mr.. Murphy
is known throughout the country as an au-
thority in his profession. al ready speaker
on its many phases and as a frequent con-
tributor to magazines on the subject.
Another Noted Reporter.
Mr.. David Wolfe Brown is also Phil
adelphian, and when boy took his first
lessons in shorthand from Oliver Dyer
author and journalist, who reported some
of the great speeches OF Clay, Webster
and Calhoun. Mr.. Brown has done excel
lent service in newspaper work and also