The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1922-05-27
THE STENOGRAPHER
What an old hand thinks
of the game)

DcleIlllc ITeSS Oh DeCeihDeI "a,
1921: General Dawes reports
having received the following sug-
gestion from a western farmer:
Abolish all these stenographer
jobs and make the highbrows take
most of their own dictation'".
The writer has been in the game
for over % years and agrees with
the western farmer to this extent,
it would be of great value to the
stenographer, financially, if the
jobs were abolished and he had to
earn his living in some other man.
ner. Whether or not business
would be conducted as rapidly and
smoothly, is open to doubt.
1t is the intention of this article
to explain, in a general way, the
advantages and disadvantages of a
stenographer's life. The writer
does not claim that the statements
made below are, necessarily, the
experiences of all stenographers,
but he does venture the assertion
chat they apply to large number
Of cases.
To take up the advantages first,
the writer does not believe there is
more facinating profession, taken
all in all than that of stenog-
raphy. The opportunities for broad
ening the mind and a gaining of
general knowledge of many varied
subjects, are unlimited. The work
Is not nearly so monotonous as
bookkeeping, or making determi-
nations for gold, silver, lead, etc. in
the assay and chemical laboratory
of some large mining or smelling
company. The stenographer, in
order to become really proficient in
his particular line, will naturally
read up on his subject, thereby in
creasing his knowledge. The Sec
retarial Stenographer obtains a
better insight into the business of
his employer than any other clerk.
It is through his hands that prac-
tically all of the confidential cor
respondence passes. He is most
likely to be the first employe to
learn of any possible curtailment in
operation, and, if he so chooses, can
take advantage of the fact to get
from under if he sees the walls
beginning to crumble. There is
something fascinating that in all
probability tomorrow's work will
not be the same as today's or yes
terday's; that something may come
up which will tax your ability to the
utmost: that the rush of work will
be such that you will have to do
just a little bit better than you
thought you could. There is also
something attractive in being able
to get your work out in frst-class
shape, no matter whether it is
simple letter or complex type
written form.
1t will be readily understood that
the above remarks apply largely to
the really good stenographer and
we now come to the question, what
are the qualifications of a good
stenographer? In order to be a
first-class stenographer, as stated
above, one requires a general knowl-
edge of many subjects, ranging
from the ordinary words in COM
mercial correspondence to the most
technical words and phases used in
chemical, metallurgical, theological,
medical, military, naval, and legal
work. 1t is possible, of course, to
write shorthand and to write it
correctly, without being an expert
in any of the above lines, but how
much easier it is to write when you
have a general idea of the subject
being dictated. For instances: The
writer ran across the following just
short while ago which tends to
illustrate the difficulties a stenog-
rapher is apt to find himself up
against on account of not being
familiar with his subject. The en-
ployer was debating about a fur
mace to be used in reducing certain
ores and used the expression "sin-
tering' heat The stenographer
evidently had not heard of this
word and assumed the word to be
''simmering". The word Cute"
was used in the sense Of luting up
the furnace. This word was trans
cribed as 'loot". To cap it all,
the Boss evidently used the word
Chalcopyrite, which is pronounced
Kalkopyrite, and the stenographer
promptly transcribed his notes to
read Calcopyrite. Possibly this was
the first technical letter ever written
by that poor stenographer, but the
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