Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-04-10

lump sum for doing the work, instead
of a salary, and would incidentally al
low him a free rein in the selection Of
contract in the early '70s and after
his death It was transferred, i'm 1896.
to his brother Edward V. Murphy and
Mr.. Shuey, who hold it Jointly.
The price paid for reporting the
proceedings of the senate is $3O.0 q
year, so that it would appear on the
face of things the house Of represen-
tatives pays somewhat more for the
verbatim record Of its proceedings
than does the senate. 1t was the or
iginal intention, however, that the
expenditure for this purpose should
be about equal for the two houses Of
congress. In the investigation Of tie
matter which resulted in the adoption
of the contract plan in the senate and
the salary scheme in the house it was
discovered that there was very little
difference in the volume of the re-
porting in the two houses. A compu-
tation covering several years showed
that on an average the variation be-
tween the chronicles of the senate
and house of representatives did not
exceed thirteen columns Of the Con-
gressional Record for an entire ses-
sion of the law making body.
To the army of stenographers en-
ployed on small salaries in all parts
of the country the $1,000 received by
a congressional official reporter for
work that seldom occupies more than
seven months of the year, and some
times does not exceed three months
in twelve, may appear decidedly al
Turing. AS a matter of fact, however,
the pay is not excessive considering
the high order Of ability and excep-
tional qualifications required. The
shorthand sharpS at the capitol are
in literal truth the pick of their pro-
fession. First of all, it is requisite
that they shall have the ability to at
tain the acme of high speed work
not i'm an occasional squirt but as a
regular daily grind.
Many of the achievements in rapid
writing which the congressional otti-
cial reporters dismiss lightly as a
commonplace feature Of their regular
routine are little short Of miraculous.
Isaac Pitman in his text books claim
ed that 12O words minute is the
average public speaking, whereas
many of the revised modern text
books on shorthand promise the be-
ginner that a speed of $50 words
minute will qualify him to do verba-
tim reporting. A speed of 200 words
a minute is generally considered am
ply sufficient for all court and conven-
ton stenogra ply, and yet even this
rate of writing would fall far short OF
the requirements in recording the
sharp colloquies that occur in any eX-
citing debate in congress. Just to IL
lustrate the skill of the official report
ers it might be cited that one of them
in a recent demonstration before the
students of a shorthand school wrote
on an ordinary blackboard with COM
mon chalk at the record breaking
speed of $50 words a minute, making
characters that were legible in, all
parts Of the large schoolroom. The
principal of the school was so dunn
founded that he had the blackboard
photographed and had a number OF
the persons present make affidavit to
the time occupied by the test
That the congressional reporters
must keep up their whirlwind writing
in abbreviated form not merely for a
minute or an hour but for working
day Of six or seven hours is attested
by the fact that at one recent sitting
of the house of representatives there
were spoken and recorded in the leg
islative chamber an aggregate Of 6n
600 words Of course no one report
er keeps tab on the proceedings for
any protracted interval. When his
note book is filled he is relieved by
another reporter and repairs to the
work room of the corps in the capitol
where he reads his notes to a recep-
tive phonograph or listening stem
ographer. This done he can if need
be go back and in turn relieve his al
ternate. Meanwhile his dictated notes
are being transcribed on the typewrit-
er and later in the day he must cor
rect the manuscript duty of a very
exacting character.
-, h11t in work
ing methods have the passing years
witnessed an evolution in the most
difficult form Of reporting in the
world. Years ago when the member
ship of congress, and particularly of
the house of representatives, was
smaller it was entirely feasible for an
official reporter to sit near the speak
er's desk and hear clearly all that
took place. With the larger body OF
lawmakers and the perhaps more
strenuous proceedings this is no long
er possible Nowadays the official
stenographer must be on the firing
line, so to speak. Instead Of sitting
at his own desk he must in most in
stances take the debates standing,
lodging up and down the aisles wher-
ever the colloquy is hottest and con-
sidering himself in rare luck if he
gain the temporary use of the unOccu-
pied chair of a member. TO success |
fully carry on work in such an environ
ment requires not merely mastery of
shorthand but a cool head and quick
Judgment. Several members talk at
once, sentences overlap and there are
Interruptions without end, but
through it all the official reporter
must preserve his law of continuity
Washington Star.