davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-09-13

being engaged 10 that q possible difficulty
oil understanding the reading had to 10
guarded against. as well as the fact that
often reading 10 at a rate Of speed which
no shorthand yet invented has been able
TO cope with. In the 1895 New York Stat,
association paper already referred 10
MI. Reed expressed the opinion that
Whatever the manual dexterity Of :he re-;
porter ne cannot In point OF speed equal
the terrible powers OF the vocal organs,
wen when no approaches hat speed
II IS only by the constant use Of short
cuts. disregarding altogether many OF
the sounds uttered by the speaker, retain
ing only such as will enable him to supply
the others when he zones to read or tran
Scribe
The above Will have indicated to the
reader the truth. familiar to every pro-
~ieaslonal sterographer that the ability
70 report Q rapid speaker verbatim IS
but ope of the qualifications, and often
Is not the principal one. OF a thoroughly
equipped stenographer. Several years
ago n Washington reportorial ranks
writer, the late David Wolfe Brown.
senior membcr-apd the chief. IL il may
be said to have had one--ot the Com
gress'onoi Record force in the House.
Abtu. midway In his last seasons work
there he wrote to the writer about the
unusually heavy work they we're having
and added that the reports had been
printed substantially without revision
by members. which meant that the re-
porters themselves had corrected sole
c'sms, cut out repctitions brought every
thing into harmony in a parliamentary
sonse. Whether they would have cor
rected such q bull as Lord Castlereagh ia
said to have once perpetrated in the
British Parliament when he described
himself Gs standing PROSTATE" at the
foot o. the thro1e seems doubtful. Per-
haps they would have thought history
was entitled TO have such a delicate NOR
sci preserved.
There are npre than n score OF official
stenographers in the Supreme Court in
Manhattan alone tFirst district. several
the Court OF General Sessions sew
eral In the Special Sessions, others
IN the .S~urrogates' Court. in the cry
Court. In the Magistrates courts. St!'
others act as amanuepses to the Justices
OF the Appellate Division and the JUS
Of the Trial and Special Terms.
Then IL you consider the large number
In the Supreme Court IN Brooklyn anN
the number outside of tho city in the
judicial districts. with those m
county courts, ~Surrogatcs' courts n
a Grand Jury stenographers.
one can begin to comprehend the mag
n''ude Of the advance in importance IN
the courts Of tho stenographer IRON the
MODEST beginning Of 1900.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-09-13

may find concrete chicken houses. con-
crete cisterps, concrete root cellars.
1t hasn't been reported officially, but
undoubtedly there are cyclone cellars in
Kansas.N 1t is certain that there are
fence posts and clothes posts. They
make pigstys out of concrete and defy
the pig to root his way out. Concrete
makes very ~servioeable icehouses.
Almost all garages N this country are
made Of concrete. They don't burn
and they keep the smell inside away from
the landscape.
An enterprising Frenchman who wished
to erect a chimney In a grove Of trees
hit upon the idea Of making 1t Of con-
crete 80 as not to spoil his landscape.
Americans arc not usually so careful
of preserving natural beauty. This
Frenchman had the concrete moulded
10 resemble a tree and the result was
a success. II looks like an old monarch
of the forest still defying time; in reality
IL is the smoke vent for an electric plant.
Down in Nashville. Tenn, a circular
bandstand has been built Of reinforced
concrete. 1t was rather a difficult job,
but the completed product justified the
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-09-13

ness the speaker may be induced to re-
form his stylel The Proceedings FOR
1898 OF the New York State Stenogra-
pliers Association contain an elaborate
PAPER by NJ. Alphonse' Desjardins, the
| official Of the Canadian House OF Com
mons, who reports the speeches IN that
body delivered in French-in' which he
DISCUSSES this question, unfolding the
French contention; citing n remarkable
series OF opinions Of expert parliamentary
stenographers practising about the French
capital, with those Of several English
men, such as Mr.. Gurney-Salter, given
before Parliamentary committees.
Cpriously the only paper the late
member OF the New York State associa-
ton. ever contributed to the Proceed
ings' Of that body was one in which he
discussed this very subject, with Others,
and ga We an example OF a badly arranged
short speech, followed by q rewriting OF 1t
In the form In which as a reporter he would
have presented It obviously sympa-
thizing with the French view.
In England the legal shorthand writer's
intervene In the making up Of h great
law report compiled there in a way not
known here. Those published reports.
we'll known to American lawyers. are
prepared for publication by the council
Of law reporting, 80 called; the peculi-
anti arising from tne CUSTOM among
English Judges. especially In the House
OF Lords and other appellate tribunals.
OF generally pronounciug their judg-
ments orally. this necessitating the daily
attendance OF very skilful shorthand
writer's to take down those judgments.
Some Of those Judges speak accurately.
so that their language can be transcribed
verbatim, and unless condensation seems
desirable printed substantially as ut
tered; while Others leave many sentences
incomplete. Mr.. Atlay in his recent
Victorian C~hancellors,' Vol. H.. de-
SERIES Ua style of Vice-Chancellor
William Page Wood. later Lord Chancellor
Hatherley. This jurist was very ncgIi-
gent about the form Of his judgments;
often they were discuraive and lacked
conciscness. Mr.. Atlay adds:
THE real sufferers from Woods Pc
culiar form of delivering judgment were
the shorthand writer's. who to;led after
him in vain. desperately ~endoavoring to
hy upon paner the stream Of broKon
words which he poured forth, and finding
often when they hni done 80 that they
had only got q string Of unfinished sem
tences.r
Obviously in such a situation, with an
obligation to furnish report OF a judg-
mont thus delivered, The problem for tho
stenographer would he far removed
from one merely Of making a verbatim
Having such a record as a
basis his Interior duty would be 10 make
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-09-13

tinctly uttered words. may not be able
to hear you.
Then turning to Mr.. Hayes he said:
-Nr. Hayes, do you understand what
the witness is saying?'
To which Mr.. Hayes, in his thin, piping
voice. responded:
Not q damned word Of it! Not q
damned word OF it!'
Then Chairman Potter. obviously
alarmed lest he should have no record
Of the mans testimony. said:
Then il you do not understand him
how do you expect to make a record Of
his testimony
To which Dir. Hayes promptly replied:
.Guess at Ill Guess at III"
There are many associations Of short
hand writer's whose purpose Is to benefit
the profession.
Alexandria Bay has been a favorite
meeting place OF the New York State
association. Many guests from outside
the State have been entertained at its
annual meeting. many Of them honorary
members. many giving first allegiance
to home associations. such al the Char
tered Stenograp hic Association Of On
tario. across the lake; the New England
Shorthand Reporters. the Pennsylvania
State. the Ohio. DC. while a custom pre-
walls OF each associations distributing
to members Of the others copies Of it's
annual proceedings. this interchange
keeping tho members In close touch and
promoting cooperation for mutual In
terest.
There is also a national association
of large membership. which was organ
lied 4 few years ago. at whose meetings,
hold annually In different clues or sum-
mer resorts, such as Put-ip-Bay. Chau-
tauqua. Biltmore, papers Of great valuo
have been read and discussed by well
known members OF the Conoressiond al
Record corps and prominent members
Of the State associations. Its proceed
ings may yet rival In value those OF New
York State Association. which latter
have been enriched by contributions
from many States and from other coun-
tries-from Germany by the late Prof.
j. W. Zeibig. tho most erudito Of steuog-
raphers. and by two East Indians elected
TO honorary membership, n OF whom
has compiled an adaptation Of an English
system 20 Bengalee.
The writer had the honor Of proposing
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-09-13

a part Of which is shown In the accom-
panying illustration. This church !,
built of concrete blocks, the pillars are Of
concrete. the steps are of concrete. the
cross or top is concrete and the friezt
work in the gable and the images in the
inches on the second story arc Of con-
crete too. The illustration shows merely
the upper half OF this church. The detail:
for which concrete may DO used arr
especially well illustrated In the friezc.
The conservative maker Of concrete
will tell you that tho proper fold for con-
crotc is in big jobs. whore it may DO uscd
by the ton. The Florida East Coast
Railway. about which mitch has boon
for bridging stretches Of cea with n
crotc. A section Of the road Dea- Koy
Wost is shown on this rage.
That is tho kind of job that delights tho
manufacturer Of conont. for In the big
jobs thoro is profit commensurate with
tho capital invested. 1t costs money to
make oomont The machinery is costly
and 1t 500 oats out its life crushing noun
tains Of rock into powder.
Nevertheless tho Q Of concrete In
small quantities produces results none
the less interesting. Take this matter
Of cororote boats; rather startling. isn't
1t. to think Of building boats put Of stone.
aad We. the Fronch and Italians have been
doing 1t for years.
Tho most important work in this limo
has been on tho Tibe-. the same yellow
Tibcr we krow In our SCHOOL days. Tho
most pretontious boat built there yet Is
a 100 ton barge which has been found very
adaptable.
Now this country has taken up this
branch Of tho industry. Concrete boats
arc being built on the Missouri and tho
Mississippi. Some Of them arc moro
than bargcs. a paddle wheel at the stern
making 1t possible for Tho boat to movo
by he- own powor.
These boats are simply and quickly
made and cost less than hoats Of wood
or iron. They will stand rough ueage,
withstand time and fire. and II is taid that
the smooth surface offers less resistance,
than wood and that the bottoms do not
foul easily.
The fern is q grea. place for concrete
to make itself useful. Cow EARNS are
o made entirely Of concrete. One
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-09-13

for such membership a correspondent
an Englishman, the official shorthand
writer OF both houses Of Parliament
W. H. Gurney-Saitcr. whose name indi
Gates his direct descent from the Gurne,
who, almost exactly 1s years ago. brough
out in London the first textbook OF tn,
Quincy system. This is the system still
in use by almost all the official Parlia,
mentary corps in England: it has beer
used extensively In the courts during the
last thirty years by several New fori
city court officials and Is still used Off
cially in far OF Melbourne and India.
1t was this systom that was used by
another Of the name 10 i7ss In report.
ing the proceedings Of the Warren Hast
ings Impeachment trial. including the
speeches OF Edmund Burke. Thus O
strong tie binds together the swift writers
Of the various civilized nations. As q
further example OF this closer relationship
may be cited the international Shorthand
Congress. whose first session wa held In
London In 1887, of whose general com
mittee half o dozen Americans were men,
bers. and TO whose 500 page volume OF
sTransactions' two Americans made con-
tributions. Az a revelation OF conditions
In England. Scotland and on the Con-
tinent this volume may be declared the
most valuable volume or professional
shorthand ever issued.
The professional character Of the
high or ranges OF stenographio practice
Is illustrated by a discussion. somewhat
animated, that has taken place over the
question, to what extent may the reporter
who is competent to do this critical sort
CT work justihably c!it or amend the
language Of a speaker? This would not
arise In the reporting OF testimony. in
which the ipsissima verba are required.
but in reporting speeches and arguments
1t might.
A difference Of view on this subject
has developed among Continental stem
ographers, especially between prominent
German Parliamentary officials n well
known French official Parliamentsriane,
the former declaring that the speech and
debate reporter completely fulfls his
function when he presents a strictly YER
batim rendering; the latter holding that
II is the duty OF such a reporter 10 reshape
sentences that are faulty In construction
or ambiguous.
The Germans even contend that the
reporter has n missionary function In
such cases; that Ia il he leaves q report
in all Its verbatim crudeness and faulti-
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-09-13

In fact. there Is no end to the purposes.
both useful and ornamental. to which
cement and its big brother. concrete.
may be put.
For the benefit Of those persons who
still believe that Portland cement comes
from Portland, Me-. or from Portland,
who doubtless know cement and con-
crete when they SEQ il but have no idea
how Il arrives at it's completed state o
few historical facts are in order.
Concrete h Q mixture OF sand. stone
and cement. Given these three ingredi-
ents and mix them properly and You
get all the concrete you want. The
point 10 to get the right proportion and
TO put the ingredients together under
proper conditions. And right there zones
the difference between good and bad
concrete and also the ability to adapt 1t
10 o variety Of uses.
The important factor In making con-
crete 10 Portland cement. There is no
secret about this either. Roughly speak
ing. Portland cement 10 two-thirds lime
stone and one-third aluminium clay.
Simple. isn't it2 just two things mixed
IN q known proportion. But as the an
aser Of q Of the big cement companies
expressed II:
1t looks very simple to make cement.
but there 10 an art about It. especially
whom Il comes to making good cement
II 10 Just like q druggist putting UP a
prescription. He's got TO get his mate
rials right and he's got to mix EN- right,
The slightest error may make o mess of
thines."
Nov. about this business OF Portland
cement coming from Portland. As a
matter Of fact II was made first IN Eng
land In 1874. An Englishman who took
out the patent called 1t Portland cement,
because the artificial stone which he
made out Of 1t resembled a natural build
nag stone known as Portland stone. This
stone came from the Isle Of Portland,
which Is called an isle because 1t Is
really q peninsula-a British jest CON-
mitted centuries ago.
There wasn't much doing In Portland
cement until 1850. when the French and
Germans took hold Of it and made things
bum. Since then Germany has done
more for the industry than France. Up
to o few years ago about all the good
csment came from Germany.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-09-13

ties Of concrete. Oae company got re,
Gently the contract to supply the Govern
ment with 4.5OO.O 900 barrels Of PORTLAND
cement for the Panama Canal. From
1000 to 1000 barrels are 10 be shipped
daily. II is n IS. SOC. 600 job.
Then there is the water supply system
which the city of New York is building
Eight huge rcscrvoirs In tho Catskills
and an artificial river Of concrete eighty
five miles long will call for millions OF
barrels OF cement.
or courss there is the subway and the
river tunnels and the rcw Pennsylvania
station and the reconstructed New York
Central station which ere eating up con.
crete at = tremendous rate. but tho public
secs little Of this as yet.
The enlargement Of the Erie Canal
calls for o concrete river bottom and side
walls TO be built across the State; docks,
and dams. bridges and entertainments
are being built everywhere throughout
the country. In fact. no important mod
ern undertaking In the construction line
gets along without the use Of concrete.
The building Of houses out OF concrete
ID not u neV tning, put the vast spread
Of this part Of the industry 10 q matter
Of the last few yeas. Concrete has
proved its durability and It's ability 10
withstand fire. Hous:s built a. far back
es 1880 are beginning to show age. but not
decay. What the makers OF cement are
trying to convince architects now, some-
thing theyNre doing with success. is that
artistic effects may be produced by the
Use OF concrete.
An important work 10 being done by
the Concrete Association Of America,
which s,eks to encourage and develop
the intelligent and scientific uss Of con-
crete, to stendardize methods Of con-
struction, TO promote social intcrcours,
among men engaged in the industry and
to exchange and circulate reliable data
affecting the industry. Meetings are
held ono a month and a permanent ex-
hibition Is maintained in this city.
The concrete exhibition occupies half
a floor in the Brunswick Building at 225
Fifth avenue. Ralph C. Davidson. the
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-09-13

secretary Of tho association. is on hanc
to explain what 1t is all about. A looh
around the exhibition rooms is al
eye-opener to one outside of the trade.
Particular attention is paid here to the
ornamental adaptations Of cement ont
concrete.
There will be no excuse hereafter foi
persons with en- alleged artistic tempera.
ment to decorate their lawns with cast
iron dogs. Thcs, familiar iron fountains
which depict a very snail and worry naked
boy holding up an umbrella from the tor
Of which q stream Of water asoends may
be relegated to the back yard with the
iron dogs, for n may decorate the
landscape now with pergolas Of concrete
in really, artistic forms. with statues Of
Pan. with benches Of artificial stone and
| with urns and frieze work.
In this exhibit a csment garden table
10 shown which 10 a thing OF beauty.
| The rais,d work looks like the product
OF q soulptor's tools. IL has three logs
f.. With lion heads at the top and lion
claws at the foot. This table IL shown
in the accompanying illustration. There
are also on view two Egyptian sphinxss
which look as rcal e. any sphinx you
ever saw. and cupids. and weeping Mag
dalens end an American eagle all ready
to cream.
Ono may zoo OF this exhibit how O lat
tice work fence may 30 built Of iron rods
and concrete. There arc examples in
miniature q factory buildings made Of
steel and cohcrets. 1t Ii possible to get
somo idea Of what may be done In color
effects. There is an Interesting exhibit
ton Of white concrete. which is expensive
to make but worry effective when you got
1t right.
Country homes Of concrete in one form
or another are going up rapidly all over
the land. An example shown here. the
home Of Bramhall Gilbert at Great Neck.
L. l.. is one Of the best houses Of this
type. Thees houses may be built Of
concrete blocks Or solid by means Of
moulds, This latter mothod is called the
mono!ithic. 1t has proved the most
serviceable up to dato. tho architects
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-09-13

Although this country Is ut tho top OF
the heap to-day In doing thing s with con-
crets, tho industry hero Ii q, matter OF
only fifteen yoars growth. Twonty years
ago we imported nj! oir coment. certainly
all our good comont- Now the United
States may be said to have arrived. Some
makers tell You that American cement
is as good as or better than tho foreign
product, and evou the conservatives say
chat with tho exception of possibly two
foreign brands our product Is just as
good.
The American output to-dny 10 about
so. ZOO. 900 barrels q year. Against this
amount possibly $1,000 barrels are i'm
ported. chiefly by conservatives who
have been using one brand for years and
don't like to change.
You can make cement wherever you
can find the raw materials, but freight
rates and accessibility to market are con
trolling factors. For these reasons most
Of the big cement works in the eastern
United States are on the Hudson River
and in the Lehigh Valley. The Leh!gh
Valley has more OF them.
1t 10 rather startling to an outsider to
learn that cement may be made ONT Of
iron alag. Yet the United States Steel
Corporation is doing this through q sub
sidiary company. Makers Of famous
brands say that this isn't the very best
cement to be had. but they admit that it
does very well for certain kinds OF rough
work.
Dw4llera In the city SEQ very nttlo evil
dencs 81 where these 10000. 600 barrels a
year 60 TO-. The building OF factories
out Of reinforced concrete has aroused
much interest because Of the method OF
construction. and We walk on concrete
sidewalks. but there is little to show the
manifold uses Of this modern giant.
One has to 60 far aield to the vast
engineering works and to the country,
where farm and pretentious estate show
what really a be done. About the best
example hereabout Of an extensive use
Of concrete is the Brighton Beach line
Of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company.
On your trips to Coney Island this last
summer you have noticed the vast sweep
of retaining walls as the train goes through
the cut, and later, on the ~embankment.
the artistic concrete stations.
The big engineering works which are
To- under way are absorbing a s quanti-
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-09-13

bates, has other official reporters. who
the committees.
Twenty-Five years ago the proportion
Of members Of the craft here whose lineage
wal Celtic was much larger than it Is now.
One well known Supreme Court official Of
such lineage used to visit the home Of his
ancestors each year. and when there dated
his correspondence from the picturesquely
named town Of Ballybunnion, a place on
the west coast Of Ireland. facing the At
lantic, where. standing with his feet on
the ancestral adamant. he could look
westward toward the land Of his adoption.
with no island or strip Of land between.
A former member Of the Congressional
Record official corps. Mr.. Devine, a Cana
dian by birth and now retired. often
started from his boyhood home on the
Ottawa In a birch bark canoe. passed down
that river with its many rapids and en-
tered the st. Lawrence. to explore its
channels and island recesses and paddle
up into Ontario and beyond. He liked
the birch bark so we'll that he brought
several canoes 10 Brooklyn after he came
10 live In the United States and often took
his recreation on Gowanus Bay, demon
strating that under skilful handling that
description OF craft Is not entirely desti-
tute Of ~seagoing qualities.
Before he became n of the Record
corps he was for a number Of years one
OF the committee ~stenographers Of the
House; was such at the time Of the in
v~estigation by the Potter Committee into
the question OF whether Mr.. Hayes or
Mr.. Tilden was elected President in 1876.
An incident Of that investigation so i'm
pressed him that he narrstes IL as one Of
his most humorous personal experiences.
At that time the other committee stenog-
rapher Of the House was Henry Hayes.
whose peculiarly thin squeakiug yoice
is well remembered by his friends. Mr..
Hayes was taking notes before that COM
mittee. a witness who spoke very indis-
tinctly. almost inaudibly. being under
examination. Chairman Potter expostu-
lated with the witness, telling him that
members were complaining that they
could not understand what he was saying,
and asking him TO speak more distinctly.
He then vent on:
Il fear that ever the stenographer.
whose ears are trained TO catch indis-