Arizona republican., 1906-10-14

close application and long continued
 Accuracy is all essential; speed without accuracy is worth next to nothing: and accuracy without speed having little commercial value.
 MT. w. $. Townsend, of New York City. private secretary to the president of the Southern Railway, in a letter to the author, says:
 My views are:
 That the principal advdn'age of stenography, to young men, lies in the :nertal training which tends to cor centTation of thought and purpose. ard thus establishes mental hao'rs which are valuable in any business or pre- fession. No young man can be good StCnC grapher unless he is temperate, alert, accurate and thorough; and these qualities cannot fail to prove of material value whether or not he re- mains a stenOgrapher.
 -' That the principal disadvantages of stenoG1 aphy lies in the absence of re- sponsibility and the consequent neg lect of some of the most important Qualiies necessary in the conduct of business affairs. The average stenog- rapher is not called upon to assume re- SDOISlDllllN transcription of his notes, and there fore does not mentally grow after find ing his level but gradually deteriOr- ates. and falls into a rut, from failure to cultivate his powers.
 MT. w B. Kirkpatrick, of the Navy Department, at Washington, D. C., in letter to the author says:
 At no time in the history of short hand has it been necessary>in a town of five thousand or more inhabitnts, where the English language is spoken, for a stenographer of even ordinary intelligence to go hungry or remain out of work any length of time; and as bus mess develops. competition becomes keener and the necessity for quick, sensible action increases, average sal aries are higher and the demand for competent stenOgraphers grows more urgent.
 TO be a successful stenographer. GOV must first obtain a basic educa- ton in the common English branches. Having secured such basic education every boy should learn to write snort hand It requires less time than to learn any of the trades or professions, and the returns are quicker and surer. As job insurance" in times of trouble it has no equal. If a competent stem Ographer should at any time fail in other business. he can at once return to his old work, and pay rent and liV- ing expenses until the can again get on his feet. As long as he is able to do any work it is not necessary for him to ask for aid from others. He is inde- pendent, and it gives him a feeling of
  helps him to succeed in other lines of work on his own account.
 Every man should be a stenogra- pher.
 While a stenOgrapher usually starts at a higher salary than other employees he will sooner or later find that there exists a kind of prejudice against pro- noting a stenOgrapher to the highest places in private concerns industrial and railroad companies, and govern ment and state offices. A few stenOg- raphers of unusual strength. win out and go clear to the top in any busi- ness, but as a rule it is easier to over come this handicap by working with another aim in view; that is. in the first place, always accept a position where a business can be learned and put to other use. For instance. if man desires to succeed in his own com mercial business some time during his life. let him take a stenographic posi- tion under a good man in a conner cial house; if in law, with a judge or lawyer of the highest standing: and in railroad or government service. in the best office where he can learn the whole business. and afterwards open an agency for handling some special line of work, where such knowledge as he has acquired through his stenO- graphic position will be of value to his patrons He can in this way honOrably overcome this unjust prejudice and without friction with his employer or co-emplOyes. When employers see stenOgraphers successfully handling their own business, they will allow them to work up to their proper level I say this from general observation and this statement has no reference to my personal experience