The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1904-05-14

force University and is the editor of
the indianapolis World He is a
lawyer and at one time was clerk in
the office of the state>statistician Of
more than ordinary intelligence, he is
all orator of considerable ability and
has long been regarded as an impor-
tant factor in the politics of Indiana.
Gurley, as he is popularity known, was
an alternate at the last national con-
vention and we fully expected to hear
OF him as delegate to the coming
convention.
Messrs. Rufus Estees and Chas. A.
Jordan, two wellAknown citizens of
Chicago, spent several days in the city
ings of the Afro-American Mercantile
Association in which they are promi-
nent stockholders.
Mr.. Charles w. Chestnut of Cleve,
land, Ohio, addressed the Bethel Lit
erary Tuesday evening on ':The Ele.
ments of citizenship" The music was
furnished by the pupils of the Arm
strong Manual Training School, Miss
H. A. Gibbs directress, assisted by
Miss Mary Europe, pianist.
Mrs Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Miss
Mabel Brooks and Miss Kruse, teach.
ers in the schools of Wilmington, Del.
are enjoying their spring holidays in
this city.
Mrs. Chas. E. Hall, who has been
quite sick for several weeks, is conval
escent
Mr.. Webster Barton Beatty of Oak
Park, ILL.,, graduated from the dental
college of Howard University this
week
The friends of Mr.. Chas. J. Pickett
gave a German lunch in his honor
last Saturday evening, and those who
were present will long remember the
occasion. Mr.. Frank A. Byron of Chi
cago was POSTMASTER. Although Mr.
Pickett made no special announce.
ment, his friends are inclined to be.
lieve the rumor that his engagement
to a charming Washington teacher and
society leader will soon be announced
and in anticipation of this event Mr.
Pickett was congratulated. Among
those who ate the cheese, ''red hots, y
sour kraut, etc., were Messrs. Chas. J.
Pickett, Henry P. Slaughter, Frank A.
Byron, J. C. Campbell J. Harry Harris,
l.. G. Davis. w. S. Grouse, Fred D.
McCra cken, Willis Mitchell and Chas.
e. Hall.
It has been discovered by one of the
capitol expert stenographers, Joseph E.
Johnson, an Afro-American, who was
!! Speaker Henderson's confidential
shorthand man, that the author of
what is known as the "Tironian Notes.
was an African freedman by the name
of Trio. This ex-slave invented actual
shorthand characters and an alphabet
over a hundred years before the birth
of Christ.
While looking over some old manu-
scripts in the Congressional library
the other day, Mr.. Johnson hit upon
an ancient volume which was printed
in the fifteenth century in Latin. and
which gave him an inkling to this in
formation. A further search in the
same direction revealed the fact that a
modern author as late as the year 1882
had made similar discovery and had
written book upon the subject.
It is now Mr.. Johnson's intention to
interest as many foreign stenOgraph-
ers as possible in the subject of the
s'Tironian Notes" and obtain picture
or likeness, if one can possibly be had,
of the celebrated though long forgotten
Marcus Tullius Trio, called by histo-
rians sThe Father of Stenogfaphy.'
zone interesting feature of this sys-
tenn of shorthand" said Mr.. Johnson
in speaking of the subject, lis that
Trio did actual verbatim reporting with
his system, and history shows that the
great orations of Cicero. which he re-
ported verbatim, would have been lost
to posterity had he not invented his
'tTironian Notes. which consisted of
certain shorthand signs, many of
which are still used in the best sys-
TENS of the stenography Of the present
day.
Mr.. Johnson. who numbers among
his friends many Of the white stenO-
graphic reporters of the country; is an
expert stenographer and was appointed
as an assistant in the House of Repre-
sentatives by the late ex-Speaker
Thomas B. Reed, who held him in very
high esteem. Mr.. Johnson was re-
tanned by ex-Speaker Henderson and
also by Speaker Cannon.
Il The WOman's League, an organiza-
tion Of Afro American women of this
city, which has for years maintained a
day nursery-a place where the chill
Edren of poor mothers can be fed and
cared for while the. mothers are absent
at daily labor, has just closed a very
successful rummage sale which has
been in progress for two weeks. Mrs.