The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-12-15
Gets scooped Every Day and Carries
no Advertisements Yet Its Sub
scrlption List is
Growing.
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
Reporters Are Speedy and Have
Some Speeches Reported Even
Before the Speaker Has
Finished.

WASHINGTON, Dec. IA, Uncle
Sans only daily newspaper venture
is booming along these days. Every
morning the sheet appears at the
home OF it's subscribers, the reporters
are hustlilg o prepara heir pieces
for the paper" and down at the gov
eminent printing office there Is hurry
and hustle every night as the edition
is hustled off to print, Only one ed
tion is prepared-it is both bull
dog and a "City" edition Moreo,...,
the newspaper is really daily maya
zine. 1t records no presentday
crimes, 1t hasn't a society column, v
doesn't print advertisements. it does.
MT carry sports, it is very frequently
late in recording news, and 1T Is
! scooped every day in the year by even
the measliest little newspaper in tho
IbackIwoods. But it has a power1W
! subscription list and the government
really couldn't dispense with it, even
if the publication costs an enormous
sum. 1t is the Congressional Record
the daily verbatim chronicle of
/ what happens in the house and SEN
/ ate.
In many respects the Congressional
I Record is the most remarkable pub
\ LEGATION in the world. The system by
which it is issued is duplicated no.
4 where. No other Legislative body is
covered with such speed, accuracy
and comprehensivenes as the Record
/ covers the American congress-.
The most interesting part OF the
preparation of the Congressional Rec
ord is the work of the reporters
| That is their official designation.
They are the house and senate stem
ographers. whose duty 1t is to take
/ down every spoken word uttered in
/ debate during the session. There are
1 six Of them in the house--five active
stenographers and stenographie edl-
tor. and they take turns" each man
copying down what he figures is
enough stuff to fill half page OF
/ the Record The senate has six stem
i ographers. who work similarly. Be
! cause of the size OF the house cham
! Der and the confusion. the reporters
4 there stand close to the speaker and
run about the hall, writing as they
60. In the senate, where things are
i ouiet and more leisurely, the steno-
graphers very seldom leave their
4 desks along the front of the vice-pres-
ident's rostrum.
Fred Inland, who Is dean OF the
corps OF stenographers and famous
all over the United States for his
mastery of shcrthand--he at one time
held the speed record explained the
4 reportoriai duties Of himself and his
4 colleagues as follows:
Il 80 far during the 62nd congress-
the debates on the floor Of the house
Of representatives and the senate have
amounted to 1868, 900 words, This
enormous total, which is greater than
that in any preceding congress, is an
indication of the manner in which the
business of congress is rapidly grow
iT. With the short session now in
progress and an extra session Ger
tainty for the coming spring and sum
, rner, ii is apparent that in the future
congress will be in session most OF
the time.
There are three great parliament
tary bodies which are In session near
ly all the time. whose proceedings are
daily published; the French chamber
of deputies, the British house of com
mons and the house of representa-
, tives. The corps of official reporters
of the French chamber Of deputies
} consists of "a men. one set of whom
continually take check notes on the
others, there being one corps of re
visers who pass upon the work of the
: note-takers.
III 'In the British house Of commons
e for many years the debates We're re
: ported and published by contract, bu
under the contract system there wa
' a continual tendency TO employ in
: competent men and an insufficient
+ number of them, and after q Yer
s thorough investigation the Britisl
9 house of commons has recently adopt
9 ed an official reporting system mod
g eled after that of the United State
d house of representatives. with thi
r difference. that twelve reporters, a
editor and o sub editor are epploye
a = - rs - - 49,