The sun., 1909-06-27

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meetings Take for instance the recon
jerome heokllng at Cooper Union. Their
the stenographers had table on th'
platform. with uninterrupted aooess Il
and from their workroom In the rear
They worked in relays Of from three Il
five minutes and the last sheet Of the or,
tire record OF the three and ono hal
hours proceedings. amounting to abou
24ooo words. was In the hands Of th1
newspaper Representatives exactly sever
minutes after tho meeting closed.
1t has not always been 90. In 1885,
during the Low campaign an afternoon
meeting was held at Cooper Uiion unde'
the auspices OF q women's ooniihittee
and on that occasion the stenographert
reporting the meeting for the press were
not only robbed OF their table on the
platform, 1t being preernptsd by soms oi
the tired or lazy holders Of platform tick.
cts, but they were. at least In one instance
forced to take notes Of speeches while
holding their books against q wall and
with barely room to move their arms.
or course as the business has grown
80 have the concerns and associations
handling 1t increased In number and Inn
portance. One Of the largest Of these
concerns has four Offices In New York,
one Of them occupying three floors Of a
downtown otfloe building. a. well a.
Offices in Chicago. St. Louis and Kansas
City.
There are probably one hundred CON-
petent reporters ON this firms stat. either
under contract or on salary. 1t would
be impossible 10 estimate accurately the
amount OF business that this firm does
in year. but in one branch alone Of the
work for which 1t has contracted the
number OF folios 1t turns out runs into
the hundreds OF Thousands.
Consider to what length lawsuits have
grown In the matter OF testimony. With.
out taking notice Of public trials Of great
importance In which days are sometimes
spent in the selection Of tho jury and
the stenographio record runs up-to thou
sands OF pages, many cases have been
sent TO a referee IN which enormous
masses OF Transcript have resulted. In
one case there has already been taken
nearly 1000, 900 words OF testimony. and
one aide OF the case is not yet completely
finished.
When We recall that Dickens and Scott
ranged from $1,000 to 10000 words a
volume for their novels and that the
average novel OF the present day con-
tains from $4,000 to o0,0Oo words. many
OF them not over 10000. II will be seen
at once what a library the testimony Of
even a few cases would make.
On practically every court day OF the
year In the city Of Greater. New York
there are about eighty-ssven distinct
stenographio records made OF the pro-
ceedings. taking the various United
States. State and city courts as q whole.
A fair average record would be 100 folios
an hour, and assuming that the average
court day includes only four hours Of tes-
timony for the record there would be a
total Of 3, sc, 900 words recorded.
II 10 this 10 added minimum estimate
Of the records made at hearings before
referees and public committees and COM
missions It viii be seen that not less than
5000, 900 words are taken daily. At tho
average price Of 20 cents folio, and some
OF these transcripts foot UP much moro
owing to tbs large number OF 6optes de-
manded, about $4,000 day ID the e1pen-
diture for this work. Each day there
are turned out about fifty volumes Of
100000 words each. or figuring the mod
ern novel at an average Of say t0.0oo
words, l2S volumes a dAy-a fair sized
library In very short time
A brief mention Of few hack records
may not be out Of plsoe. Tho Armstrong
insurance investigation. for instance, made
a stenographio record Of about $500, 900
words Forty copies daily were Furnished
OF this matter. which was handled officially
by two stenographsrs.
The sittings lasted usually from 1880
to $50. with an hours intsrmission for
lunch. The first take In tho morning or
afternoon was limited 10 fifteen minutes.
the second take lasted until the first man
had dictated his notes to stenogrspher
and the takes grew longer during each
session. The copy was stenoilled and
duplicated by machine. Az q result
the entire diotation Of tho notes was
finished by $50 and Q complete copy OF
the record was In the hands Of Gov.
Hughes, then counsel for tho committee,
by O'Clock
As a contrast take the Molly MCCLURE
trials in Pennsylvania in 1879. These
trials were handled by a single stenog-
repher, who furnished daily copy by do
tatine from different parts OF his notes
TO two or three longhand writer's. their
copy being turned over TO relays when
additional copies were required.
The celebrated fire engine patent case
against the city OF New York resulted
In q record OF about s.5oo.0oo words. The
Drawbaugh-Bell telephone oase filed
moro than 10000 printed pages and about
4 zoo. 900 words were contained In the
record. Tho various interstate COM
meroe hearings In tho course OF o year
ran up to about $50. 900 folios. or the enor-
nous figure OF 1000. 900 words.
As a result OF an experience Of thirty
yeers s'ccessful practice ~ a rsportsr
one Of the best known shorthand men OF
this town says That within bis recollection.
starting In tho days when lawyers took
their own lonRhand notes and were very
deliberate In the examination OF Witnesses,
the quantity Of language used by both
lawyers and witnesses has more than
doubled. with the increased use Of short
hand.
An article OF this kind would hardly
be complete without = relersuce TO the
most pleasant and At tbe sane time least
frequently used method OF getting out
Transcript. This method 10 to turn the
original Dotes over to somebody else to