Which System of Shorthand 
 should we learn? 
 
 by 
 
 Enoch Barker 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
WHICH SYSTEM 
 
 OF 
 
 iSHORTHAND 
 
 Should we Learn? 
 
 BY 
 
 E. BARKER, Toronto. 
 
 REVISED EDITION. 
 
 ' 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 ISAAC PITMAN & SONS, 
 
 THE PHONOGRAPHIC DEPOT, 31 UNION SQUARE. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Introduction ... ... ... ... i 
 
 SYSTEMS: 
 
 Modern Phonography ... ... ... 4 
 
 The Natural System ... ... ... 4 
 
 The Sloan-Duployan ... ... ... 5 
 
 The Pernin System ... ... ... 6 
 
 Simple Phonography ... ... ... 8 
 
 The New Rapid ... ... ... 8 
 
 The New Standard ... ... ... 9 
 
 The Gregg System ... .. ... 13 
 
 Cross's Eclectic ... ... ... ... 23 
 
 Isaac Pitman v. Variations ... ... 24 
 
 Benn Pitman ... ... ... ... 25 
 
 Graham System ... ... ... 27 
 
 Munson System ... ... ... .. 29 
 
 Various Pitmanic Systems ... ... 29 
 
 Various non-Pitmanic Systems ... ... 24 
 
 The Light-Line Principle ... ... ... 14 
 
 The Writing Slope ... ... ... 15 
 
 The One Position ... ... .. 17 
 
 Connective Vowel Arrangement ... ... ... 19 
 
 Curves v. Angles ... ... 21 
 
 Elliptical Writing Forms ... ... ... 23 
 
 Uniform and Universal System ... .. 30 
 
Ulhieh System of Shorthand 
 should uae Iieat*n? 
 
 By . BARKER. *. 
 
 DALLAS, 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THIS is an old title for a new pamphlet. Some ten years ago, 
 the repeated inquiries of students and others about the re- 
 spective merits of the different systems of shorthand in use, 
 induced me to put into print my own convictions on the 
 subject, which were the conclusions of nearly half-a-century's 
 study and experience. The demand for two editions of the 
 little booklet proved that there was a place for such a publi- 
 cation; and now that these are exhausted, the demand seems 
 equally strong for a third. But the complexion of the short- 
 hand world has undergone a considerable change in a decade; 
 systems formerly in vogue have disappeared from public view, 
 and new ones have sprung up which are now exciting interest. 
 For this and other reasons, the booklet requires to be almost 
 entirely rewritten. 
 
 Less attention, or none at all, will be given to those sys- 
 tems that may be counted by the hundred, but which have 
 only a sporadic existence, and show no prospect of ever 
 becoming anything else. They may be used as illustrations 
 jnly, when this would serve any purpose ; they would be 
 unworthy of serious examination. 
 
 It is pleasanter to speak of systems than of their authors, 
 especially when need is felt for criticism. If this is not 
 always done, it will be because the two cannot well be separ- 
 ated. In many cases, it is, "Touch my dog, and you touch 
 me." More than ever, it is my desire to write without 
 personal feeling, or unworthy bias of any kind. Sometimes, 
 however, when men will show themselves ridiculously per- 
 verse, and regardless of other people's rights or interests, it 
 would be neither human nor divine to manifest no displeasure 
 towards such. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to say that this booklet is intended 
 
 449599 
 
principally for North America. In Britain, there is at the 
 present time no call for anything of this character, because 
 the question in the title above is not asked, but one 
 system of shorthand being in actual use there. But on this 
 side of the Atlantic, the shorthand field is like our broad 
 prairies, glowing and bristling with an almost endless variety 
 of flowers and weeds in wild confusion. The question is with 
 us still a live one: would that it were otherwise ! But though 
 the two countries differ so widely in this respect, the subject 
 is by no means a national one, and patriotism has nothing to 
 do with the decision of the question- especially that spurious 
 thing miscalled " patriotism," which consists as much in 
 ignorant prejudice against everything foreign, as in loyalty 
 to the institutions of pur own country, and which chooses an 
 article more because it is a home product than because it is 
 the best. " Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? " is 
 hardly the question for a truth-seeker. If we want to get the 
 best, we will take it, whether it comes from England or from 
 America, from China or from Africa. 
 
 Look out for misstatements. This is about the first 
 piece of advice that is needed, but it is too often the last to 
 be taken. Even in the higher and sacred sphere of religion, 
 there was need of the warning against those who cry, " Lo 
 here!" or "Lo there!" as false leaders would rise who would 
 " shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, e\> n 
 the elect." If such things could exist in this higher sphere, 
 it should not be hard to believe that they might exist in the 
 humbler sphere of the shorthand art, and it is not surprising 
 if our " elect" should be deceived sometimes. \Ye need not 
 he quite so pessimistic respecting human nature as Thomas 
 Carlyle, who spoke of the population of Great Britain not 
 that they were worse than other people as " about thirty 
 millions mostly fools ;" or the old minister, who, after 
 reading the passage, "I said in my haste, All men are liars," 
 calmly surveyed the congregation and remarked, " Had David 
 lived in our day, he might have said this at his leisure." 
 Still it is both safe and wise for us to believe in the possibility 
 of deception on the part of rival shorthand publishers, and 
 not take for granted everything they say in their own favor, 
 especially when we find their statements in direct conflict 
 with one another. Had the Pitmanic systems, so-called, been 
 a unit in America as they are in Britain, inferior and worth- 
 less systems would have had no better chance here than they 
 
have had there. But, sad to say, many have been brought 
 over here where they have flourished, after they have been 
 killed out there ; not because they had not liberty in Britain, 
 for there was no law to prevent them : but while the Pit- 
 manites here are quarrelling among themselves, and so divided 
 that no united movement in education, in the press, or in anv 
 other way can be undertaken, these useless methods have 
 every freedom and encouragement for their growth. 
 
 Generally, there is no difficulty in detecting misrepre- 
 sentations. " Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of 
 thistles ? " As a rule they can be detected by the modes 
 employed in propagating them. If these are full of blow 
 and bluster, trumpeting their own merits and decrying all 
 others, keep on the watch. They will have some gran- 
 diloquent title, perhaps, such as " Excelsior," " Eureka," 
 etc. ; they will be far the easiest to learn, the most legible, 
 the swiftest, the cheapest ; reporters everywhere will be 
 eagerly catching them up, and throwing away the old thread- 
 bare systems ; colleges and schools by the score and by the 
 hundred will be hailing them as a great boon ; experts in 
 other systems will be investigating them and be over- 
 whelmed with delight ; the nobility will be patronizing 
 them ; those too prejudiced to examine them will be old 
 fogies and away behind the times ; in fact, a great revolu- 
 tion will be under way, and the old methods will soon be 
 swept away ! If you see a system announced in this way, 
 don't get alarmed. You may be sure there is hollowness 
 there ; truth does not need to parade herself in such gar- 
 ments. The gaily dressed folks are the dudes in society ; 
 it is not under feathers and diamonds that you look for 
 brains. Letters like the following come from sensible men : 
 
 " I enclose a letter from a ... writer. Read it, and then pity the 
 poor man, and a little later when he gets on the market as a full fledged 
 college proprietor, your pity will go out to the public who are being gulled 
 I am rather amused at his reference to my changing systems, or getting 
 left. This threat of the coming of a . . . writer has hung over the 
 heads of many a poor man like a nightmare. I consider it a direct thrust 
 not at the Isaac Pitman system, but at the many Pitmanic forms which are 
 said to be so ' arbitrary that the average student cannot learn them.' 
 Two of these new systems have struck this town within the last five years. 
 They lived here about three months, and the parties vanished. Where the 
 Isaac Pitman system is taught effectively, and there is a certain public 
 sentiment about standards, these simple 'systems' cannot go. Whtre the 
 public is ignorant, they will swallow anything." 
 
 So then, vou cannot be too much on your guard. Do not 
 
accept superlative laudations without testing for yourself. 
 Remember, too, that testimonials are cheap. All have them; 
 some are good, others otherwise, and you must judge for 
 you'rself. Take the Master's simple rule : " Ye shall know 
 them by their fruits." It will be my part to endeavor to 
 show you the fruits, and leave you to decide for yourselves 
 whether the tree be " good " or whether it be " corrupt." 
 
 In the former editions of this pamphlet, mention was made 
 of what was styled 
 
 Modern Phonography, 
 
 for which there was no little rush for a time in certain parts. 
 It was " so easy to learn ; " one or two months was sufficient 
 to gain fitness for a position. It had no shading, and no 
 detached vowels, besides other wonderful features, the most 
 striking of which was the stringing together nearly all the 
 words of one line into a phrase. On asking the author what 
 one of these sky-rockets meant, as the system was more 
 easily written than read, he replied that such a phrase was 
 " no good," and it would be " fired " in the next edition. It 
 was fired, and so was the whole book, the very preface of 
 which was a plagiarism, and that was the best part of it. So, 
 of course, Modern Phonography needs no notice in this edition. 
 There is another book published, entitled : 
 
 " The Natural System of Shorthand 
 Writing," 
 
 by August Mengelcamp, Stenographer, 1889." An extract 
 or t\vo from the Prefaces will sho\v both the aim of the 
 system, and the knowledge of grammar and composition that 
 the author possesses : 
 
 "Other points of merit will readily suggest themselves upon closer ex- 
 amination of the system, above all its comparative great brevity, respectively 
 speed which, owing to the graphic character of its word-forms, absence of 
 shading, connective vowels, great lineality, etc., far exceeds that of any other 
 system extant." 
 
 " A good pointed pen or also a medium soft pencil, are equally well suited 
 for class work. For speed exercises, a lead pencil or a good fountain pen 
 will be found preferable." 
 
 The ideas in these sentences are not very clear, but one is 
 not so much surprised after reading them that the system of 
 which August Mengelcamp calls himself '' the author," and 
 to which he gives the name of " The Natural System," is 
 really "The Roller System," invented by Heinrich Roller of 
 
Germany ! The "author" wanted to bind me to give him a 
 two-page notice in this pamphlet ; but this is quite enough. 
 Then we have the 
 
 " Sloan=Duployan Light=Line System," 
 
 which appeared first in Britain under magnificent, yet very 
 suspicious auspices. There lies before me as I write a small 
 pamphlet clad in a flaring red cover. On the outside of the 
 front cover, we read in display letters " THE SHORTHAND 
 REVOLUTION." Under this comes the Royal Arms a Crown 
 surmounted by a Lion. Then we read again -" Recognized 
 by His Grace the Duke of Fife, K.T., P.C., D.L. ; The Right 
 Hon. The Earl of Pembroke ; The Right Hon. C. T. Ritchie, 
 M.P., P.C. ; Sir Richard Temple, Bart, P.C., G.C.S.I., C.I.E., 
 F.R.S. ; And over Forty Noblemen and Members of Parlia- 
 ment." There are some, probably, with whom such a pon- 
 derous title-page would have great weight, but it should not 
 take very well in democratic America. Because people belong 
 to the gentry, they may not be the best authorities in Short- 
 hand Literature; they may not know as much about it as their 
 butlers or boot-blacks. It is a common thing, as we all know, 
 for the underlings to give testimonials, etc., to grovelling 
 suitors just to get rid of them, without their masters knowing 
 anything about the matter. But we ought to know that our 
 beautiful art does not depend on blue blood for its nobility 
 and worth. It is rather a friend of the toiling class. After 
 such a flaming introduction, we are not surprised to read a 
 preface like this : 
 
 " Why is it that shorthand, which is so useful and essential to many and 
 so beneficial to all, is acquired (with any degree of efficiency) by such a com- 
 paratively small number ; and of the many who have fairly left the starting 
 post, scarce ten per rent, have ever reached the wished-for goal ? 
 
 " The secret to this query is not far to seek. The old systems have been 
 too complicated and artificial. They required for their acquisition an undue 
 amount of mental effort, and hard dry-as-dust practice. They took years to 
 learn, and burdened the memory with multitudes of rules and grammalogues; 
 and were illegible, owing to vowels being omitted, which brought about a 
 state of affairs calculated only to please those who g'ory in unravelling 
 mysteries. 
 
 " But with the introduction of the Sloan-Duployan system, all these 
 difficulties are done away with, and shorthand can now be learned in one- 
 twelfth the usual time. It is no fable But an established fact, that the labor 
 of years is reduced to months, and a few easy lessons will suffice to learn the 
 most perfect system of shorthand extant. Sloan-Duployan shorthand is 
 the system that not only promises, but, as thousands can testify, has accom- 
 plished this transformation." 
 
There is a lot of this blather, shall we call it ? about 
 the "ingenious devices," "the great and incomparable 
 services of Mr Sloan," " a new educational era commencing, 
 the results of which had been hitherto deemed impossible ; " 
 but I have quoted already ad nauseam. The usual number 
 and style of testimonials follow ; and after quoting a flatter- 
 ing one from Newfoundland, which place, in the author's 
 estimation, seems to be the hub of the shorthand universe, 
 the pamphlet says : 
 
 "The above clearly shows how the SIoan-Duployan system has taken 
 the place of the old style in Newfoundland. The same change is gradually 
 taking place in the United Kingdom, but of course the transformation will 
 take longer, as the country is much larger ; nevertheless, it will not be long 
 before Sloan-Duployan has triumphantly superseded the old style in this 
 country (Britain)." 
 
 This prediction was uttered some ten years ago in 
 England, and by this time the promised transformation 
 should have been effected ; but judging from the quietness 
 of the "Sloan-Duployan Association'' (apparently consisting 
 of one member) at the present in P'ngland, and from reliable 
 information furnished by those who are in a position to 
 know, the transformation in Britain has changed like some 
 other systems that we know to a transportation to our 
 shores, thus to increase the "confusion worse confounded" 
 that already prevails here. But for this I would not have 
 occupied so much space with the Sloan-Duployan. It is 
 well that we should know what kind of immigration we art- 
 getting. The strange feature of the whole thing, however, 
 is that thePet'fiin Monthly Stenographer charges the inventor 
 of these "ingenious devices," with as " bold a literary theft 
 as was ever perpetrated;" and savs of the Sloan-Duployan 
 text-book : " It was an exact reprint of ' Pernin's Practical 
 Reporter,' made possible by the absence of an international 
 copyright law. and a disregard of the eighth commandment ! " 
 
 And what also is the 
 
 "Pernin System," 
 
 so-called ? Its text-book acknowledges that it is not original 
 at least the basic part of it ; it admits that its alphabet was 
 originally brought from France in 1887 by Mr Pernin, but 
 asserts that it has been modified from time to time until 
 "but little resemblance can now be traced between the two 
 systems." Mr Sloan, however, retorts by saying : 
 
 " Mrs Pernin really possesses little or no copyright. Over her shorthand 
 
alphabet she prints, ' Pernin's Phonographic Alphabet, 'but it is the alphabet 
 of the Rev. E. Duploye. As regards the abbreviations in the Pernin method, 
 we have a letter in our possession received from M. Duploye, in which he 
 states, ' They are nothing but a translation of my work.' " 
 
 Leaving the twin sisters to settle their own quarrels, it is 
 evident that neither of the systems is original ; they are both 
 trading on the fruits of other men's labors, and calling by 
 their own names what is not theirs. But the Pernin text- 
 book is equally guilty with the other of attempts at misleading 
 by such statements as the following : 
 
 " The body of the contractions in all systems but the Pernin are arbitrary, 
 requiring a constant effort of the memory to keep them in practice." 
 
 " One system the Graham has a dictionary of 60,000 word-signs to be 
 committed to memory, besides the great variety of other arbitrary contrac- 
 tions upon which the method is based." 
 
 " The Cross shorthand employs characters to represent letters instead of 
 sounds as in Phonography, and uses seven positions in writing." 
 
 " Phonography should be made a school study. Before the introduction 
 of the Pernin shorthand, this could not be done, as all other methods, on 
 account of shading, position, memorizing of so many arbitrary contractions, 
 etc., are entirely too difficult for the comprehension of the children." 
 Pernin's Universal Phonography." 
 
 These quotations need not be multiplied. I do not know 
 any system except perhaps the Gregg, that has so many con- 
 tractions as the Pernin, and these are, as a rule, exceedingly 
 arbitrary ; that is, made without rule. Anyone may know 
 that a dictionary, whether it be a shorthand dictionary or an 
 English dictionary, is not made to be committed to memory. 
 On the contrary, teachers of the Pitman system will not 
 allow their pupils the use of a dictionary until they have nearly 
 completed their course, lest they lean on it for outlines 
 instead of on the rules. The Cross shorthand has only five 
 positions, not seven. And as to children in the schools not 
 being able to learn shorthand before the Pernin came into 
 use, the writer of that paragraph, unless exceedingly ignorant 
 of shorthand history, must have known that, since 1848, when 
 Oliver Dyer taught the class in Philadelphia High School 
 from which Murphy and McElhone emanated, children by the 
 thousands and tens of thousands have been learning the 
 Pitmanic systems, both in Britain and in America. If the 
 Sloan crime was made possible by a disregard of the eighth 
 commandment, these statements of the Pernin text-book 
 were made possible by a disregard of the ninth command- 
 ment ! 
 
 There was also a form of the Duployan system, alias 
 
Pernin, alias Sloan-Duployan, taught at Truro, Nova Scotia, 
 and other parts of the Province, under another alias, that of 
 
 Simple Phonography, 
 
 by Mr S. G. Snell. It is but a trifle more modest in its 
 claims, and in its disparagement of other systems. These 
 three borrowed systems all come into one category, the 
 foundation principles of which will be explained shortly 
 under the head of " Hobbies." 
 
 This would, perhaps, be the most appropriate place to 
 notice the McKee group of systems, as the peculiar method 
 of introducing them to the public renders it unnecessary to 
 refer at any length to their construction, although about three 
 pages of the former editions of this booklet were devoted to 
 a critique on the construction of one of them. Mr McKee 
 speaks of having invented "a number of systems " how 
 many he does not say ; but, so far as I know, only two were 
 published, the first of which was 
 
 The New Rapid. 
 
 In a letter from Mr J. G. Cross, author of an " Eclectic 
 System," he says : " My publishers years ago sued the 
 publisher of the ' New Rapid ' for piracy of my system, the 
 'New Rapid' being mine in a little different form. In the 
 suit, he put in the plea that mine was not an original system, 
 and therefore any one had the right to use it. Second, that 
 his system was not in any sense like mine, and therefore was 
 not an infringement. Finally we beat him, and he put out 
 another system." Certainly, the resemblance is not very 
 close, but such is the charge. But what we would direct 
 attention to particularly is the inconsistency of Mr McKee 
 himself, which completely discredits both his systems, ren- 
 dering unnecessary, as has been said, an examination of the 
 merits or demerits of the systems as such. In the preface to 
 the " New Rapid" text-book, it is said: 
 
 "The author's former work on shorthand [what was that ?] has met with 
 unprecedented success, and proven itself superior to other previously existing 
 methods. But, as was stated in its pages, it was not, in the author's mind 
 the ultima thule to which improvement could be carried ; and, living in a 
 progressive spirit, we have sought for greater advancement and improve- 
 ment, and are happy to say that, in ' New Rapid ' we have reached the goal, 
 having produced by far the most harmonious, complete and perfect system of 
 shorthand ever devised." 
 
 Then, after stating the seven fundamental principles that go 
 to make up a perfect system, he adds : 
 
" These foregoing requirements, which are absolutely essential to m a ke a 
 perfect and complete system of shorthand, are all embodied in ' New Rapid 1 
 Phonography. . . . Hence, we have reason to believe that this system will 
 open the eyes of the stenographic profession, though blinded as they are by 
 the intervention of the old systems." 
 
 Now, after perfection, what? Though, as stated in my 
 critique, perfection in that line seemed a long way off, yet I 
 was not prepared two years later to find perfection super- 
 seded by another system, 
 
 The New Standard, 
 
 which, without apology or blush, is introduced to a credulous 
 public in the following style : 
 
 "The great advancement that has been made in all the departments of 
 human activity within the past few years renders the systems of former days 
 behind the times in many ways, and incapable of meeting all the require- 
 ments of this progressive age. ... In the New Standard shorthand, 
 we have a method which is equally well adapted to all classes of shorthand 
 work. It is so simple that all are able to learn it ; so legible that all are 
 able to read it ; and so swift that all are able to write it. These three im- 
 portant features -simplicity, legibility, and rapidity are the three cardinal 
 virtues of New Standard shorthand, and it is the securing of these three in 
 such a high degree of perfection that renders this system of shorthand so far 
 superior to others. . . . This, our latest work, comes as a settled 
 standard, in which every writer can repose with confidence in its unchange- 
 ableness. It is the author's ideal system . . . and the completeness of 
 the structure is such that the foundation must ever remain the same." 
 
 Supposing that, between the litigation of Mr Cross and 
 the condemnation of the author himself, the New Rapid was 
 no more to be heard of, it occasioned me no little surprise, 
 about a year ago, to receive a letter from an educationist in 
 Colorado holding a public position (judging from the headline 
 of his letter), speaking in no mild terms of rny old criticism, 
 and declaring that there was no equal to the New Rapid. 
 So it may be alive yet in some dark corners. If so, instead 
 of repeating my criticism, I would simply direct its adherents 
 as I did the one mentioned, to rub their eyes and wake up ; 
 the author himself has reminded them that they are " behind 
 the times," and there is nothing so alarming as this. And if 
 the author misled us before, can we trust him now? 
 
 The question naturally comes in here was not the appro- 
 priating of the Isaac Pitman system by so many modifiers in 
 this country an act of the same character as those we have 
 mentioned previously Mengelcamp, Sloan, Pernin,Snell, etc.? 
 There is this important difference, that when the Isaac Pitman 
 system was first propagated, the author gave it away in his . 
 large-hearted desire to bring a blessing to the world. He 
 
10 
 
 gave Pearl Andrews the seed which was brought to America 
 and planted here. Those, however, who took the system and 
 made their own changes in it, publishing the whole in their 
 own name, were wronging the author; and that was no small 
 wrong either. The copyright at home prevented a like fate 
 befalling the system there, but that copyright did not extend 
 to this country; pity that it had not ! Mr Benn Pitman says 
 very truthfully : " If ever the true story of these varied 
 schemes shall be written, the display of idiosyncrasy, vanity, 
 and sometimes of shocking dishonesty that will appear, will 
 form a strange chapter in the history of shorthand." He 
 also says in his own defence " The text-books were mine, 
 the system was not." And again, " The title, ' the Benn 
 Pitman System of Phonography,' is not of my selection ; 
 and personally, I never use it." It seems to me that ex- 
 onerates Mr Benn Pitman at least so far. But no one else 
 of the many modifiers have said as much. Theyhave sever- 
 ally, though not denying that the system is Isaac Pitman's, 
 acted as full proprietors of it; have changed it as thev liked, 
 have called it by their own names perhaps with the addi- 
 tion of another, and have copyrighted what they could, so as 
 to retain all the advantages in their own hands. But it is 
 a question whether Mr Benn Pitman should have assumed 
 even the title, "The American System," though it was not 
 he who gave it that title at the outset; for it is not even an 
 American system, let alone being the American system ; it 
 is an English system, though its birthplace is a matter of 
 inferior importance. Dr Harris, Commissioner of Education 
 at Washington, was found great fault with for calling the 
 group, "the Isaac Pitman system"; but he was right. If a 
 man either borrows or steals my horse, and then crops and 
 docks it, it is my horse still, and it would be wrong to call 
 it anything else. All the " systems" are the Isaac Pitman ; 
 > others can claim nothing but the cropping and the docking, 
 and that they are welcome to. 
 
 The peculiar mode of advertising some systems must 
 be here noticed. There are phenomenal records of speed 
 attained, in incredibly short periods of study, which it is 
 safer to disbelieve than to believe ; at all events, it is 
 always safe to question and demand ocular demonstration. 
 I have seldom or never tried the latter plan without having 
 to discount heavily on the record. " There are tricks in 
 every trade," they say ; certainly, there are here. One 
 
II 
 
 could very easily get a pupil, who was perfectly raw, to learn 
 to write 150 words a minute with any system, after only five 
 minutes' practice. The matter dictated may be very familiar 
 and studied, or full of contractions and phrases, such as the 
 Gregg phrase for, " I am in receipt of your letter," which 
 contains only five letters Im-r-le ( an n might follow the m 
 in the same line, but it would be indistinguishable), and is 
 joined thus o ^_P. Such phrases are charming in their 
 brevity, and one could be written consecutively at leisure 
 some forty or fifty times in a minute, which would mean a 
 gait of from 280 to 350 words a minute. And you could learn 
 those five letters in almost as many seconds. Sometimes 
 dictated matter is court evidence, in simple conversational 
 language, not only with an unusual proportion of phrases, but 
 also with a large number of words that are implied without 
 writing at all, such as the Q's and A's for Question and 
 Answer. In the 395 words of evidence which Mr Dement, 
 of Chicago, is said to have written in one minute, there are 
 no less than forty-eight words of the Q and A omitted, besides 
 others that are implied without writing. Such matter, too, 
 is very easily memorized, especially when read back imme- 
 diately ; and errors are not so easily marked as when a tran- 
 script has to be furnished. And the writing is illegible letters 
 omitted, scrawls resembling anything else but the letters 
 intended; it is certain that no one however expert not even 
 the writer himself, could read the matter if unaided by mem- 
 ory. It is not a test of writing unless others can read it also. 
 Mr Isaac Pitman's tests are certainly the fairest of those 
 generally used: dictation for seven or ten minutes ; matter 
 perfectly new to the writer and of an ordinary style of com- 
 position, say, a speech or an editorial ; full transcript to be 
 furnished ; only two per cent, of errors allowed. It would be 
 a still fairer test of the writing if the dictation lasted for half 
 an hour, and the writing be sufficiently legible for a stranger 
 to be able to make out a transcript : or if it were left to lie 
 for a month or even for months until perfectly " cold." A 
 test is really nothing if the writing itself be not capable of 
 being read, as well as of being written at a certain speed. 
 
 Then we have statements published of converts from other 
 systems, and schools rejecting one system and adopting 
 another \ these have to be sifted. Of course, people will change 
 from system to system, but it is often for other reasons than 
 a preference for one system above another. Within my own 
 
12 
 
 observation, teachers have gone for situations and salaries 
 instead of the merit of systems ; colleges have added systems, 
 besides those used in the colleges ordinarily, just to attract 
 a certain class of pupils ; and many have professed to change 
 when they never had anything to change from. In the list of 
 Shorthand Institutions furnished by the Bureau of Education 
 at Washington for 1890, some of these institutions are entered 
 as teaching " Any modification of Pitman's Phonography;" 
 others, "Graham's, Pitman's, Munson's, Cross's, and 
 McKee's ; " others again, "Any of the leading systems." 
 These colleges send for the books of different systems perhaps 
 merely for examination or trial, and immediately they are 
 claimed by each system as adherents and converts. A few 
 years ago the Pernin Publishers sent me a list of the colleges 
 using their system, and among the rest there were two that 
 I knew were using the Isaac Pitman altogether. On enquiry, 
 for further satisfaction, I was informed that they were using 
 none but the Isaac Pitman, and were perfectly satisfied with 
 it. This got into the press without my cognisance, and cost 
 me a hair-pulling from the " Pernin Stenographer;" but the 
 only explanation was that one of the colleges had some time 
 previously ordered some of their books. I know three similar 
 cases with another Light-Line system : and such cases make 
 one suspicious that these are only samples of many. 
 
 The little experience, too, that I have had with professed 
 converts from the Pitman to the non-Pitmanic systems, is 
 not any more satisfactory. I have come into actual contact 
 with only one convert from Pitman to Light- Line a Pro- 
 fessor of Gregg in New Jersey who kindly wrote out for 
 me a list of words, by way of contrast, in the two styles 
 the one abandoned and that adopted. Out of forty-one 
 words that he attempted, twenty-four are written wrongly 
 in the Pitman style, showing how little he ever knew of 
 Pitman. I give a few samples : 
 
 Gregg ... ... ... 69 Sarah, CQ_, Supplant, C.9^ Spinster. 
 
 Pitman (as he wrote it) \( <). ) iL^f etc., 
 
 Pitman (as it should be) o^ & \> 
 
 A former well-known teacher and vigorous champion of 
 the Gregg system in an advertisement announces himself 
 as a " Former teacher of Isaac Pitman's shorthand," 
 and gives two samples of the Isaac Pitman, one to 
 
13 
 
 ridicule the positions, and the other to contrast the forms. In 
 the former, of only seven words, he makes three errors 
 nearly half of the words ; and in the other, with only four 
 words, he writes one as no Isaac Pitman writer would write 
 it ! An Isaac Pitman writer might have known better after 
 two weeks' study. This teacher, too, is something of a 
 poet ; probably the poet laureate of the Gregg style, since 
 Mr Gregg honors his poem of six stanzas with a page of 
 his text-book. In that poem we have this couplet : 
 
 " Oh ! why should a shorthand omit all the vowels, 
 And leave you to guess if 'tis tells, tales, or towels ? " 
 
 Here again these words, instead of being alike, are all written 
 differently. They differ more in the Isaac Pitman than in 
 the Gregg, thus : 
 
 Gregg : ^ i tells, , -< tales, /&* f towels. 
 
 I. Pitman: [ [^ 
 
 So much for those who have left the Isaac Pitman for the 
 Gregg ; if they are fair samples they are the only ones 
 that I have seen draw a comparison then inquirers need 
 not be alarmed by the stories told by converts. 
 
 There is a class qf systems that ride special HOBBIES, 
 which are pushed to the front as if of transcendent importance, 
 and which, it is claimed, give these systems an immense 
 advantage over the older ones, especially the Pitmanic. 
 Some of this class ride one of these hobbies, and some ride 
 more; but The Gregg System 
 
 combines them all, and presents them thus : 
 
 " (i). No Compulsory Thickening'. May be written either light or heavy. 
 
 ' (2\ Written on the Slope of Longhand, thus securing a uniform manual 
 movement. 
 
 ' (3) Position Writing Abolished. Maybe written on unruled paper, and 
 in one straight line. ( 
 
 " (4). Vowels and Consonants are Conjoined, and follow each other in 
 their natural order. 
 
 " (5). Angles are Rare. Curves predominate." 
 
 And here I may say that, when examining the Gregg 
 system for myself some ten years ago now, some difficulties 
 were met with, which I lately submitted to Mr Gregg 
 himself for an explanation, not wishing to misrepresent 
 his system when reviewing it. I sent him a short list of 
 puzzling words puzzling, at least, to me. He replied that 
 he recognised me as the writer of the pamphlet " Which 
 System, " and by way of banter or benevolence (it mattered 
 
not which), he invited me to investigate the system, and 
 offered to give me a complete course of lessons gratuitously, 
 which offer was gratefully accepted. Having completed the 
 course, I can speak with more confidence perhaps than 
 before, especially as Mr Gregg had been kind enough to 
 answer many questions that were submitted to him aside 
 from the regular course. \Ve will examine these hobbies 
 as briefly as possible : 
 
 i. The Light-Line Principle. " No compulsory thicken- 
 ing;" that is, thickening or shading any letter is optional. 
 But the lines are generally light, and hence the name. It 
 was a beautiful discovery by Mr Pitman that the consonant 
 sounds of the English language are nearly all paired according 
 to the force of expression, each of eight pairs having one light 
 and one heavier sound; as p, b; t, d; etc. He made use of 
 this beautiful correspondence of sound by shading the 
 heavier one, thus, \ \ p b, | | t d, etc. The systems that 
 object to shading double the letters in length instead; thus. 
 C f~~ p, b (Gregg); I | (Pernin). The objections to shading 
 are thus stated in the Pernin Manual (Introduction) : 
 " Leading stenographers admit that this alone detracts at 
 least 25 per cent, from rapidity ; besides, in rapid writing, it 
 is impossible to shade accurately, and consequently great 
 illegibility is the result." I do not know who are these 
 " leading stenographers ;" but their experience differs widely 
 from mine. It may be a little difficult at first to shade 
 horizontal letters ; but there are not many of these only 
 three, and these not the most frequently used. There are no 
 heavy strokes besides these but down strokes, and it is 
 generally more difficult to keep pupils from shading these 
 than otherwise, especially with the pen. In writing a word 
 for me (Trafalgar), Mr Gregg unconsciously shaded in his 
 beautiful hand, not only a % down stroke, but even a horizontal 
 one ; thus, -g^-^ ; or abbreviated, ^^ (Trafal.) (The 
 original is given the engraver, that he may produce an exact 
 imitation.) I am not conscious of shading less in rapid 
 writing than in slower and more deliberate writing, and am 
 unconscious of either loss of speed, or neglect of shading in 
 rapid work, and cannot but feel that the objection is a mere 
 bugbear to frighten the inexperienced. Who the " leading 
 stenographers" are that speak of a loss of 25 per cent, in 
 shading letters, many would like to know ; that assertion is 
 
15 
 
 certainly stretching a point, and made for a purpose. But 
 whether there be a loss in the shading or no, it is easy to see 
 that there is a great loss in the lengthening of the letter in 
 lieu of the shading. 
 
 First, the lengthening process requires the pen to travel 
 over a good deal more ground, and at the same time makes a 
 far worse zig-zag motion than what Mr Gregg complains of 
 
 in the use of "geometrical" outlines. Compare xb babe, 
 (s> brave (Gregg), with X^ Xi (Pitman). And how 
 
 awkward it would be to have two or three double letters 
 strung along in one line, even though horizontal, as d-d ^^ 
 in dead, m-m-n D =_ in mammon, m-n-m-m o-o => in 
 minimum. Probably some of the vowels would be omitted 
 
 in these words, as o > though we cannot tell 
 
 without a dictionary what to omit, or how much of a word to 
 cut off altogether (it is Mr Gregg's empty boast that the 
 simplicity of the system makes a dictionary unnecessary, and 
 yet his dictionary at the end of his text-book grows longer 
 with every new edition); the words might be simply mam for 
 mammon, and min for minimum. But Mr Pitman would 
 never allow m-m or m-n to be joined in one line ; he is too 
 careful about legibility ; the Gregg, however, does it contin- 
 ually, and you must guess whether it is only one m, or m-n, 
 or m-m. 
 
 Secondly, the Pitman system utilizes the double length for 
 a very common and powerfully abbreviating scheme, which 
 advantage the Gregg, Pernin, etc. lose altogether, namely, the 
 expression of the whole syllable -ther, and its cognates -ter, 
 -der. For instance, ^ < is mother; in the first position or 
 
 above the line, it is matter The Gregg uses the letter th 
 
 for -ther, which therefore is ambiguous, because f maybe 
 
 either mouth or mouther, ^ sooth OK soother. Of course, as the 
 author would say, the context would easily determine ; but a 
 system is lame that has to lean much on the context. We 
 sometimes get the sense of a sentence only by going some 
 words beyond the doubtful word, and then have to back up 
 and repeat, losing time and bungling. And the Gregg has no 
 sign for -ter or -der, so that matter would have to be written 
 in full T$^ or contracted to mat tf, which makes ambiguity 
 again. The Gregg leans on the context continually. 
 
 2. The next hobby is the one slope" The Slope of Long- 
 
i6 
 
 hand." This is peculiar to the Gregg system. The Pernin 
 does not use it. MrGregg says (Preface to First Edition): 
 
 " I believe that the trend of shorthand progress is towards a more complete 
 identity with our ordinary longhand writing, whic-h in its adaptability to the 
 hand embodies the wisdom of ages." 
 
 But what about the vertical method of longhand which is 
 now so strongly contended for by many educationists, and 
 so largely practised in schools ? What about the physical 
 argument : 
 
 " A Belgian doctor has been making observations in the schools of Liege 
 on the effect on children of the upright, as opposed to the sloping style of 
 handwriting He finds that fifty-eight per cent, of the children who are 
 taught vertical writing have their shoulders in the normal position, as 
 opposed to thirty-two per cent of those who are taught the sloping style " 
 
 It is easily conceived that the effect of sitting with one side 
 to the desk, as is usually done in sloping writing, with one 
 shoulder elevated and the other drooping, might become a 
 permanent deformity, and might even cause curvature of the 
 spine. But we may pass that by. Mr Gregg thinks that 
 the habit of sloping in longhand makes it easier to slope in 
 shorthand. Of course, this has no application where the 
 habit of vertical writing has been acquired ; in such case, 
 vertical forms in shorthand would be the easiest. But what 
 does this amount to, if other points of much greater import- 
 ance are involved? Whether a certain form be harder or 
 whether it be easier, matters little ; the great thing to look 
 after is to get the best. Lazy folks alone will prefer the 
 ' easiest. 
 
 But here is a strange inconsistency again. While Mr 
 contends so vigorously for the one slope, almost half 
 the letters of his alphabet have no slope at all, but are 
 horizontal, and two letters slope in the opposite direction to 
 the one contended for namely, ^ "^-. ng and ngk. This 
 makes really more than half of all excepting the little straight 
 and curved dashes r and / , that have not the longhand slope! 
 One cannot but question sincerity in such a case. But 
 supposing all were of the one slope, there would be these two 
 difficulties: 
 
 a. So many strokes running in the same direction would 
 cause them to collide and intersect continually, and thus 
 make illegible forms. How can you join J _/and / (up), t 
 or ^ tli (up), and put either of the small circular vowels 
 between ? How much better when some have the opposite 
 slope, such as "V 
 

 b. With so little variety to choose from, the alphabet is 
 necessarily very limited. There are twenty-four simple 
 consonant sounds in the English language, and Mr Gregg 
 has only eight, long and short, on the writing slope, 
 except the little dashes mentioned ; then he has six hori- 
 zontals, two letters sloping like backhand, and one dot, 
 making twenty-six in all. In the two diagrams of the 
 
 Pitman forms, H-^ 0*y> twenty-four distinct letters of 
 uniform length, light and heavy, can be contained. You see 
 the contrast at once, and the advantage the Pitman has. 
 Mr Gregg has spoken more wisely than he has acted when 
 he said in his preface : 
 
 " It is almost needless to say that a faulty allotment of the alphabetic 
 characters would have entirely nullified in practice the value of the natural 
 principles which form the basis of the system " 
 
 His faulty alphabet nullifies the value of the whole system. 
 It is as though a building contractor was required to con- 
 struct a building with a scanty allowance of material, and 
 some of this too short and gnarly. He will have an un- 
 finished building, and a poor one at that. When we come to 
 examine the Gregg vowels, we find them worse still. But 
 we have no more time for the one "slope;" does it not seem 
 to be a mere fad? 
 
 3. The next hobby is "Position writing abolished." What 
 is meant by position writing is this. The Pitman system 
 has three positions in which short words may be placed, 
 so as to distinguish them without inserting the vowels ; 
 
 thus, ..LT. ..I __ and .\ ...... without vowels, are the same as 
 
 L_ L_ L_! (talk, take, took) with the vowels. The objec- 
 tion to this method is thus expressed by the "poet laureate " 
 already mentioned : 
 
 " Oh ! Why should a shorthand fly hither and there ? 
 To write so in longhand, you scarcely would dare 
 This form written sky-high, the next one below, 
 You bob here and there like a bear in a show. 
 'Tis all far from natural, take this as a sign 
 They write one position in Gregg's modern Light-Line." 
 
 And the same poet illustrates it in this manner, which is 
 more ludicrous than true: 
 
 I nice. 
 
 say it not 
 must is 
 
i8 
 
 Well, he is certainly humorous. But it is rather " phunny " 
 for an old " Isaac Pitman teacher" (as he declares himself) 
 to make three mistakes of position in this short, simple 
 sentence, as has been observed before. Had he known more 
 about position, his objections to it might have had some 
 weight. We will now compare the two systems in correct 
 form, and you can see for yourselves, even if you know not 
 a letter in shorthand, which " bobs" most: 
 
 Gregg : Qr QI S __ _p x Pitman : ^ ^ "^ x 
 
 In this case, the Gregg forms do not happen to be the sloping 
 ones, except the short dashes; but even then it cannot be said 
 that any of the Pitman words are "sky-high," though they are 
 in different positions, three of them in the first or highest ; 
 and the line is not quite so straggling as the poet's imagina- 
 tion pictured it. But suppose we take a sentence where we 
 have some of the sloping letters in the Gregg style ; say the 
 line, " You bob here and there like a bear in a show." 
 
 Gregg : o * ^ ^ ^ v_p . 
 
 Pitman : n N^ S^ ' ) (^ ' \^ ' 
 
 Now by drawing lines along at the points that the letters 
 reach above and below, it is easily seen which system bobs 
 most. No one can say this is not a fair comparison, for the 
 extreme positions are represented in Pitman, and it would be 
 very easy getting worse words in the Gregg style than are 
 represented there. The fact is this : In the Gregg writing, 
 not only are lines used to write upon just as in other systems 
 and a rule for placing letters with respect to that line, as the 
 rule says "The first consonant (except S when followed by a 
 downward stroke) rests on or starts from the line of writing" 
 (Gregg text-book) ; but these lines of writing require to be 
 further apart in the Gregg than in the Pitman. By actual 
 measurement, comparing the brief reporting style in Pitman's 
 Phonetic Journal with the same style in the Gregg system, 
 there are eight lines of the former to seven of the latter ; in 
 the exercises of the two Manuals there are five of the Pitman 
 to four of the Gregg ; and in the blank note-books gotten up 
 by Mr Gregg for pupils, five lines occupy as much space as 
 seven or eight of those used ordinarily by Pitman pupils. I 
 don't think we should therefore hear any more about the 
 Gregg system using no lines, or having no " zig-zag; " or of 
 
19 
 
 the " bobbing " that the poet sings so sweetly about. It is 
 a pity, however, to spoil the poetry. 
 
 4. But the great hobby is " The Connective- Vowel A rrange- 
 ment." That is, the vowels are written in with the con- 
 sonant strokes, instead of being detached as most of Pitman's 
 are. Here comes inconsistency again : 
 
 a. These systems all leave out many of the vowels, though 
 boasting of their being inserted between the consonants, 
 the Gregg especially. Many of the words are as bare of 
 vowels as Pitman's, without the position method of Pitman 
 that indicates the vowel sound, and here they lose in com- 
 parison. Got is written with g-t ; progress with p-r-g; 
 patronage with p-t-r-g, etc. no vowel. Awkward vowels, 
 such as &> are generally omitted, and o is changed into 
 o a ; thus the Gregg text-book says : " In writing might, for 
 example, it will be sufficient to write mat, as 'it mat (might) 
 be,' ' in ma (my) opinion.' ' (Sec. 59.) 
 
 b. The great argument for inserting the vowels is, that it 
 is not required to lift the pen in making them, and thus 
 speed is gained. Whereas the fact is that, in both the 
 Gregg and the Pernin, many of the vowels themselves are 
 not complete without lifting the pen ; in Gregg, eight out of 
 twelve of the simple vowels. Thus, d d Psalm,, same ; 
 
 ^^ ^^^ red, read ; c^" f^ awed, owed ; L_^ L_^ full, 
 fool. Pernin has two such vowels, or rather diphthongs : 
 
 <4- 9- trite, trout. And both of these systems have even 
 
 consonants requiring dots beside the strokes to distinguish 
 them as > 2, J. (up) th (hard), 6 ha. They say that these 
 dots and dashes can generally be omitted; but they cannot 
 be omitted and be as legible as Pitman's writing when his 
 dots and dashes are omitted. Look over a page of reporting 
 style of the two different systems, and see which has the 
 most dots and dashes for which the pen has to be lifted. 
 This argument seems but a hollow pretence. 
 
 c. But the loss of time in writing the inserted vowels is the 
 great objection to the plan. Mr Gregg says : 
 
 " In the body of a word, it is usually as easy to include a circle as to 
 omit it, and it frequently happens that by taking away an angle that would 
 obstruct the continuous movement of the pen, the circle actually increases 
 the speed, with which an outline may be written." 
 
 Did Mr Gregg ever try that ? If he did he will probably 
 be compelled to come to a different conclusion. You can 
 
20 
 
 write more forms in a minute with the angle alone than you 
 
 can with the simplest circle added, i.e. more of I than of 
 
 J . But Mr Gregg is very careful to say nothing about the 
 
 more complicated vowels and diphthongs : c x roll, oL 
 
 fine, ,T" mouth. Pitman's easy forms for these are "/" 
 ba. _4-. There is a great loss of time, on the whole, in 
 writing the inserted vowels. 
 
 d. The great difficulty with these connected vowels is that 
 it is a perfect impossibility to devise a sufficient number of 
 forms to meet the need. Mr Pitman tried it and gave it up 
 long ago. Mr Gregg is still sweating over it, and trying to 
 get new forms for ie, io, ea, etc., etc., by putting " wheels 
 within wheels," dots in circles, such as &r science, to dis- 
 tinguish from &r signs; ^_9- lion, to distinguish from ^J- 
 line, etc. One can imagine what would be made of these 
 little curlicues in a 150 or 200 gait. But the idea of at- 
 tempting to represent some dozen and more of these diph- 
 thongal sounds by connected vowels is preposterous. My 
 correspondence with Mr Gregg commenced by asking his 
 help in writing such words as Ohio, oyez, Oivhyhee , on the 
 connective vowel principle one of the bases of the system. 
 There being no consonant forms for h, w, h, there was 
 nothing to connect the vowels with. I was told that I knew 
 nothing about the system, and was trying to write difficult 
 words before I knew even the principles ; and then came the 
 kind offer of a gratuitous course of lessons, which, as said 
 before, was accepted. As my teacher had not at first 
 answered my questions and given me the outlines I 
 asked for, when the point was reached in the lessons that 
 bore upon these questions, I repeated them, only to get a 
 severe castigation for "desiring to find out what cannot be 
 done with Gregg shorthand, rather than what can be done 
 with it ; " he asserting that he had never heard of the word 
 " Owhyhee," and could not find it in the dictionary; that the 
 system was equal to writing any word, even Owhyhee, and 
 he wanted to know whether it was "necessary to sneeze in 
 pronouncing it ! " He then gratified me with this explana- 
 tion : " All that the stenographer has to do is to write the 
 signs for the sounds as they occur, vowels and consonants 
 following each other in natural order, and draw a line under- 
 neath to show they are connected, thus : ^Ojt O-:ch\'licc, 
 
21 
 
 v y_^, oyer, ^_^ Oyez, ~$__0^, Ayah, <_5$. O'Hara. 
 
 "This," Mr G. continued, "will no doubt commend itself 
 to you as being more natural than the Nominal Consonant 
 plan of the Isaac Pitman, which always appeared to me a 
 very arbitrary expedient." I had simply to assure Mr 
 Gregg that I had no intention to offend ; that I was investi- 
 gating the system at his invitation, and certainly did desire 
 to know both what the system could do and what it could not 
 do ; that I thought he was anxious to show what it was 
 capable of, and should have been pleased to receive my 
 questions; that " Owhyhee " was one way of spelling 
 Hawaii once the common way and was to be found in an 
 Atlas before me -one of the latest published ; that the same 
 name in sound Owyhee was a familiar name in Nevada 
 and the West, and should have been in every dictionary, as 
 it was in two of mine ; that reporters had no time for 
 sneezing, especially if they had to write the letters all 
 separate and add to them a connecting stroke ; and, finally, 
 that Isaac Pitman does not use the Nominal Consonant with 
 such words, as he has plenty of real consonant forms for the 
 
 purpose, 'as &f* Owhyhee, 2^ Oyer, ^ O'Hara, 7* Ohio. 
 
 This is not a mere pleasantry, but a simple illustration of 
 the hollowness of the pretensions that insist on a " One 
 Slope " that robs the consonant alphabet of strokes for h, w, 
 and y on which to hang the dependent vowels so often 
 occurring; and that insist also on a "Connective-Vowel" 
 idea where the vowels cannot be connected, but that in the 
 attempt to do so, the vowel alphabet is impoverished to such 
 an extent that about half of the vowel and diphthong sounds 
 of the language cannot be expressed. It seems to me a fad, a 
 farce, a hobby and a wooden hobby at that only for child's 
 play. There is another of these hobbies in the Gregg system 
 that must be little more than barely mentioned : 
 
 5. " Angles are rare, Curves predominate." Why? Be- 
 cause "curves are written more easily and more quickly." 
 Sometimes they are ; sometimes they are not. /"" ^ (up 
 strokes used for /~ _/ ) are no doubt written more easily than 
 and / ; and Q (^ more easily than what they repre- 
 sent /} [_/ . But the difficulty is that you will have to 
 depend on the letters or words of the context to know what 
 these outlines are always a lame expedient ; for instance, 
 
22 
 
 /^"~ is f-n, d-n, t-m, d-m in -V^ contains, condense, contemns, 
 condemns ; but it is only d or t in ^3 flte^y, ^^ active. The 
 same stroke written downward is sometimes g, but generally 
 b. This makes difficulty in reading, and illegibility. But, 
 in some cases, a curve is much harder to write, and slower 
 than an angle ; as ^L_ ^ f-m, f-r are much more difficult 
 than 1 and <L. To make such as the former with any kind 
 of grace requires a good deal of that training of the hand that 
 Mr Gregg calls drawing. But we cannot, and need not dwell 
 longer on this peculiarity. 
 
 Taking these five hobbies together as the Gregg system 
 attempts to do (none of the other systems takes them all), 
 the foundation is unsound, and the whole superstructure suffers 
 in consequence. By insisting on these hobbies, as we have 
 seen, the whole alphabet is impoverished to an extent that 
 forbids some of the most important qualities of a good 
 shorthand; and what is infinitely worse, the awkward at- 
 tempts to connect unnecessary vowels forces out the many 
 and beautiful expedients of the Pitmanic varieties for 
 abbreviating words by hooks, circles, loops, halving, etc. 
 Instead of using a simple circle, larger or smaller, for s, sr, 
 ns, STV, in different positions ; or a loop for st, str, nsf, nstr ; 
 instead of a hook for /, r, n, f, and -tion ; instead of halving 
 a letter to add t or d ; instead of such simple, yet powerful 
 and ever recurring expedients as these, these light-line and 
 connective-vowel systems are obliged to write all these 
 letters out at full length, or what is even worse behead, 
 or betail, or disembowel the words in order to obtain the 
 needful brevity, until they are so maimed or murdered as to 
 be unrecognizable. S and t {r /) make a poor joining, so 
 the t has to be omitted, and mus is written for must, mos for 
 most, bes for best, etc. ; t and d cannot be written distinctly 
 after r and / (/ ^ t, d, - *> ^ r, /), and so these are left 
 out altogether and hold becomes hole, port becomes pore, etc. 
 Omissions are necessary everywhere. There is one lesson 
 on the " Omission of Words," another on the " Dropping of 
 Terminations"; another on the "Omission of Consonants," 
 and a parallel one on the " Omission of Vowels." Then we 
 have more than a dozen " Joined Prefixes," all of which are 
 distinguishable from the single letters only by the context ; 
 and two dozen or more " Disjoined Prefixes," and a goodly 
 number of "Compound Joined Prefixes," and "Irregular Com- 
 pounds," while Pitman needs less than half a dozen prefixes 
 
2 3 
 
 altogether! We have, in like manner, the "Joined and Dis- 
 joined Affixes," with their "Compounds," and some twenty- 
 one "Analogical Abbreviations," which is only another 
 species of Affixes and Prefixes. And thus the words are 
 mixed and mangled (take, for example, > interested, in com- 
 parison with Pitman's simple connected "f with just as many 
 letters') until the beautiful promises about " not lifting the 
 pen," " vowels and consonants conjoined," etc., are forgotten. 
 And all this confusion simply because of riding these hobbies ! 
 Is not that about riding them to death ? As said before, these 
 illustrations are mostly drawn from the Gregg system, be- 
 cause he makes rather more use of these methods than Pernin 
 or any other of the so-called " Light-Line" systems; but it 
 can be easily seen how they would all be affected alike. 
 
 Cross's Eclectic Shorthand 
 
 has a hobby of its own, which the author styles the " Chiro- 
 graphic Ellipse," and explains thus : 
 
 " In writing, we constantly employ two forces, viz. : the protective and the 
 retractive. The projective force of the hand, acting on the pen, carries it 
 upward and forward, corresponding to the centrifugal force acting upon the 
 spheres. The retractive (orce carries the pen backward and downward, 
 corresponding to the centripetal force in its action on the spheres. These 
 two forces combined must produce elliptical outlines, all outlines evolved in 
 the act of writ'ng being more or less affected by the two motions. This is 
 espec ally true in rapid writing," etc. 
 
 Mr. Cross certainly goes to a high source for his theory ; 
 but we imagine most people would say that "an ounce of 
 practice is worth more than a pound of theory," especially 
 such theory. Ellipses lying in five directions two sloping 
 to the left, two to the right, and one lying horizontally with 
 five straight lines in the same directions, form the basis of 
 his alphabet. He abhors perpendicular strokes. The con- 
 sequence is, as a practical man will observe at first sight, 
 that the sloping letters written so nearly in one direction, 
 and the curves taken from the longer sides of the ellipses 
 being so nearly straight lines, they cannot be distinguished 
 except written very slowly and carefully, as his diagram will 
 
 show: ///' (I) ^^ \\A \\\ Another weakness which 
 is quite as evident is the use of five positions, thus: -^^- 
 
 Both of these defects tend strongly to illegibility. A third 
 weakness leading to the same result is the use of six 
 
24 
 
 different lengths or sizes of the same character to represent 
 different letters ; and the author advises thus : " Practise 
 the following exercise until you can preserve the relative 
 sizes when written rapidly __ __ _ 
 
 o o jo! d d 
 
 etc." It is very evident that these would require a good deal 
 of practice, both to write them with the needed distinction, 
 and to get a keen eye to observe the distinction when written. 
 The Pitman systems allow no such indistinctness between 
 letters. This Eclectic also uses the connective vowel plan 
 to a certain extent, but with no better success than other 
 systems that attempt the impossible. The awkwardness of 
 joining such outlines as the alphabet contains cannot but 
 make clumsy forms, which retard the writing as well as 
 interfere with legibility. The huge number of prefixes and 
 affixes, with the method of dividing syllables, is also a 
 peculiar and objectionable feature of this system, of which 
 contra-ct, conce-al are ordinary specimens. But we can go 
 no further, and there is probably no need to do so. You, my 
 reader, can form a fairly correct idea of the system from 
 what little has been said. 
 
 There is no need at this date of dwelling upon such systems 
 as Lindsley's Takigrafy, which is more like an abbreviated 
 longhand than shorthand, and is very little in use now; nor 
 the Scovil system, nor Towndrow's, which are not phono- 
 graphic but bitterly anti-phonetic, and which are not pushed 
 now ; nor Gabelsberger's system, of German origin and 
 adapted specially to the German language; nor the Script, 
 though an attempt was made to introduce it among us, after 
 a dismal failure in Britain ; nor the Eureka, the author of 
 which publishes two systems, which he has tried to foist 
 upon some of our school authorities on this side of the 
 " pond," but happily in vain. No wise man would wish to 
 spend his time and money in chasing after Will-o'-the-wisps, 
 when he has light that is evidently more real and reliable. 
 
 Isaac Pitman versus the Variations. 
 
 The Isaac Pitman was first published in England in 1837. 
 It was brought to this country, as said before, by Mr Pearl 
 Andrews in 1846, and published in the form that the system 
 then had reached. Webster soon after published it when at 
 a little more advanced stage. In 1852, Mr Benn Pitman, 
 
25 
 
 brother of Isaac, brought it to this country, and disseminated 
 it in the still more advanced style then existing in England. 
 This is 
 
 The Benn Pitman 
 
 of the present day. He says of it later: "Up to 1857, 
 there was but one form of Phonography used. All suggested 
 changes in, and additions to, the system were amply dis- 
 cussed by the general body of phonographers, and were by 
 them either rejected as worthless, or concurred in as being 
 in the direction of progress, and tending to the best develop- 
 ment of the system." That is very true ; and what was true 
 of Mr. Isaac Pitman's method then is true still ; as the 
 improvements up to 1857 were " amply discussed by the 
 general body of phonographers, etc.," so has it been with all 
 the later improvements, but Mr. Benn Pitman was not 
 willing to follow any further. It is true that some others, 
 like Mr. Benn Pitman, objected to these further changes 
 and there always will be objections to changes ; but the 
 " general body " moved on : and now which is more likely to 
 be correct ? To prevent divisions in such cases, Mr. Isaac 
 Pitman was obliged to copyright his system, thus rendering 
 impossible in Britain those inroads upon it that have pro- 
 duced such an unfortunate effect in America, upon not only 
 the Pitman system, but upon the art of shorthand in general.* 
 This system, also now claiming the title, " The American 
 System of Shorthand," therefore lacks the many improve- 
 ments that have been made in the Isaac Pitman (pure) during 
 the past half-century. It has still the old vowel scale of the 
 Ninth Edition ; that is, the e of that edition in such words as 
 pea is ah now, as in pa ; and / short, as in pit, is a now as in 
 pat. This, of course, reverses the positions of words con- 
 taining these vowels, making quite a gain, as most phono- 
 graphers have thought, in both speed and legibility (see 
 Preface to Munson's first edition). Then the Benn Pitman 
 
 still retains the old forms ~^ f~ S for w, y, and h, instead 
 of being put to better uses for -rer, -Ir, and y. The " Irregular 
 
 * The copyright of the Twentieth Century revision of the Isaac Pitman 
 system is secured by the publishing in America of the " Shorthand 
 Instructor," and all rights reserved. If ordering through a bookseller, 
 special attention should be called to the fact that worthless piracies of old 
 editions will be refused, and only those bearing the imprint of Isaac 
 Pitman and Sons will be accepted. 
 
26 
 
 Double Consonants" of the Benn Pitman have also now been 
 superseded by others, in the interests of simplicity and 
 harmony ; while the newer duplicate forms for f and th in 
 conjunction with the liquids / and r, which greatly increase 
 legibility, brevity, and ease of execution, are entirely lost in 
 the Benn Pitman. The initial sway circle, too, adopted in 
 1888, which produces the simple forms ^ P \ *") for 
 sweep, sweet, sweeper, sweeter, etc., and such convenient 
 phrases as Q^ p ) for as we have, as we do, as we say, etc., 
 displace the much longer forms of the older system. The 
 doubling of straight letters for -ther, etc., is not only more 
 in harmony with the like treatment of curved letters, as ^/ 
 
 surrender, printer (like (^ slander), but makes easier 
 
 and briefer forms ; this is lost in the older Benn Pitman. 
 There are some other changes ; but enough has been said to 
 give any one an idea of the nature of the difference between 
 the two systems. In the face of the fact that these changes 
 have been made after careful tests ; that they have been 
 adopted by the general consensus of experts ; and that they 
 have stood the severest trials in actual practice, it seems 
 idle for a comparatively few and these parties mostly inter- 
 ested in propagating their own systems to protest that 
 these are not real improvements. Is it reasonable that any 
 new invention of mortal should stand still for half a century? 
 Or that the great majority of practical business men would 
 hold on to poorer methods while better ones were within 
 easy reach ? 
 
 But there is a greater difference between the Isaac Pitman 
 and the Benn Pitman than the mere construction of outlines. 
 There is really no comparison between the amount of short- 
 hand literature in the two systems respectively. The Benn 
 Pitman has a monthly publication, containing only a 
 few pages of phonography, the rest being in common print ; 
 it would pay to publish it as a mere advertisement of the 
 system, whether its subscription list would support it or not. 
 But no one has ventured to publish a pure Benn Pitman 
 Phonographic periodical simply in the interests of general 
 literature, or as a paying speculation. On the other hand, 
 the organ of the Isaac Pitman system, The Phonetic Journal, 
 has a circulation itself of about 33,000, and is a weekly. 
 Then there is Pitman's Shorthand Weekly, having also a large 
 
27 
 
 circulation, and filled with general literature, all in shorthand. 
 Besides these, Isaac Pitman writers can have the choice of half 
 a dozen monthly Phonographic periodicals, stored with inter- 
 esting reading, disconnected altogether from the Pitman 
 propaganda, and some of which have been paying invest- 
 ments for decades ! 
 
 And while there is nothing worthy of the name of a book 
 published in the Benn Pitman style of shorthand, some two 
 hundred standard literary and religious works in the Isaac 
 Pitman style are put within our reach, from the Bible and 
 Pilgrim's Progress, down to works of history, science, bio- 
 graphy, romance, novels, etc. These facts show plainly 
 enough the superior advantages of the Isaac Pitman student, 
 as well as the brighter prospect of this system's becoming in 
 time the universal one. 
 
 Most of what has been said about the Benn Pitman system 
 applies to what is generally known as 
 
 The Graham System, 
 
 called, however, by Mr. Graham himself, " Standard or 
 American Phonography." It is as old, within a year or two, 
 as the Benn Pitman ; and like it also, has undergone no 
 change since its first publication. It has the same old con- 
 sonants and vowels, also double letters ; and it lacks all the 
 improvements that the Isaac Pitman has made in its onward 
 march the last sixty years. It started out with a few new 
 devices of the author's, such as a large hook on a certain 
 side of straight letters for the termination -five, which makes 
 an inconvenient outline when an initial hook happens on the 
 same side, and which cannot be used with curves. Its rules 
 for halving letters in the addition of d and t, with the excep- 
 tions, are numerous and complicated, leading to ambiguity, 
 
 such that the single outline ^ without vocalization, would 
 represent broad, brought, bride, bright, and breed. In fact 
 the complaint about his numerous rules and exceptions is so 
 general that a number of modifications of the system have 
 appeared in the direction of simplifying it, and especially of 
 reducing the size of the Manual. It has no more literature 
 than the Benn Pitman, and perhaps not so much as it. 
 
 These two have been the leading systems in the United 
 States since they came into the field, and so far they have 
 kept the lead. Both claim precedence ; and the methods on 
 
28 
 
 which they base their claims show how easy it is to manipu- 
 late figures to prove just what we like. Mr. Jerome B. 
 Howard, the acting propagandist of the Benn Pitman system 
 since Mr. Pitman himself retired some years ago, bases his 
 claim on the tabulated list of Educational Institutions where 
 shorthand is taught, as furnished by the Bureau of Educa- 
 tion at Washington for the year, June, 1889-90. To show 
 how poor a basis this furnishes for an accurate estimate, 
 schools are mentioned where not only two, three, four, five, 
 and six systems are taught, but "any of the leading systems," 
 or " any modification of Pitman's ;" schools with 15 teachers 
 for 23 pupils ; and to offset this, one teacher for 510 pupils. 
 A pretty well-known Academy of Houston, Tex., returns 
 four Benn Pitman teachers, and no pupils, and none as ever 
 having graduated from the school. The Graham publishers 
 base their estimate on the list of " Official Court Reporters 
 of the United States." This list is very partial, including 
 only 30 States and Territories out of 50, and wholly exclud- 
 ing some of the largest cities such as even Washington and 
 Chicago. We know of one case where returns were sent for 
 publication in this list, namely from Rhode Island ; but for 
 some unknown reason, these are omitted. 
 
 On such unsound bases as these, is it any wonder that the 
 estimates widely differ? The Benn Pitman statistics reckon 
 34.7 per cent, of teachers to Graham's i6'8 per cent, or 747 
 to 363 ; while the Graham method of reckoning gives that 
 system 48 per cent, to Benn Pitman's 12 per cent., or a pro- 
 portion of 305 to 77 ! If the respective parties do not 
 manifest a sufficient sense of shame to induce them to with- 
 draw such data and conclusions, we may well blush for the 
 fraternity. Instead of withdrawing them, however, they are 
 making matters worse by publishing them to the present day, 
 as if the conditions of a decade ago were the same still. In 
 the Benn Pitman statistics, the Isaac Pitman comes fifth in 
 rank ; and in the Graham, it is put fourth. They now make 
 no allowance for the fact that, up to 1890, when the Bureau of 
 Education published the list of teachers and taught, the 
 Isaac Pitman system had no business representation in 
 America, but was left to the mere accident of immigration ; 
 but since that date, when the firm of Isaac Pitman and Sons 
 opened a house in New York, and the Copp, Clark Co. 
 started an Agency at Toronto, the system has been extend- 
 ing by leaps and bounds, as evidenced by reports from 
 
2 9 
 
 Colleges, by its exclusive adoption into the High Schools 
 of New York and elsewhere, by the fact that some of the 
 most influential and widely circulated papers (such as The 
 Christian Herald and the American Boy the former 
 with a weekly circulation of about 300,000) have published 
 courses of Isaac Pitman lessons in them. Whatever the 
 Benn Pitman and Graham statistics amounted to ten years 
 ago, they cannot speak for to-day, either for the Isaac 
 Pitman system, or for other systems, some of which have 
 faded or died out altogether, and others have improved in 
 circulation. 
 
 The Munson System 
 
 has probably ranked third among the " variations " in public 
 patronage, since its Hrst appearance not long behind the 
 Graham. In some respects, especially in the newer vowel 
 scale of Isaac Pitman, and the large initial / hook on curves, 
 it was in advance of its compeers when it first set out; but it 
 has been, like them, languishing ever since. It has some pecu- 
 liarities of its own that the author and his followers thought 
 valuable, but they have never gained a wide acceptance, and 
 only served to make another division in the ranks. Mr. 
 Munson publishes no organ, and comparatively no literature, 
 which itself would be sufficient to account for the limited 
 constituency of Munson writers. 
 
 It is needless to more than name Longley's Eclectic, The 
 Burnz System, The Osgoodby, The Thornton, The Barnes, 
 Eames' Light-Line, The Moran, The Dement, The Day, 
 The Gilbert, The Allen ("Universal"), The Watson, The 
 Scott- Browne, The Bishop ("Exact"), The Haven, The 
 Beale (" Simplified"), The Robert F. Rose, and I know not 
 how many other modifications and remodifications, variations 
 and deviations, of the Pitman family. Each author is 
 perfectly confident that he has made improvements more 
 confident than others seem to be; one thing is certain, how- 
 ever, namely that each " improvement " helps the confusion, 
 and weakens the general cause. If this be the fruit of liberty, 
 there is reason to fear that too high a value has been 
 attached to it when so much blood has been shed on its 
 behalf. If any of these derived systems had really improved 
 the original in its principles, then there would be less 
 occasion for departing from the principles and adopting con- 
 tracted forms or arbitraries in their stead. But the fact is 
 
 449599 
 
30 
 
 patent that the pure Isaac Pitman has a much smaller list of 
 contracted words than any of these variations, and yet it is 
 safe to say that none of the latter has stood severer tests of 
 speed or legibility than the parent system. Not one of them 
 has done the same amount of difficult work, or has been so 
 carefully and fairly attested by formal official trial. About 
 thirty persons have now carried off the Isaac Pitman silver 
 and gold medals for writing at a speed of from 200 to 250 
 words per minute, for seven to ten minutes, perfectly new 
 matter, and transcribed before examiners, free from any grave 
 errors. Higher rates have been attained for shorter tests, 
 and the writing read off at once, and not written, and 
 specially selected matter ; but I have never known any per- 
 formance that has surpassed or even equalled these, by any 
 of the so-called " improved " Pitmanic systems, and certainly 
 none by the non-Pitmanic ones. 
 
 No argument is needed to show the importance of having 
 
 One Uniform, Universal System. 
 
 Personally, I would like to be a writer of the system that 
 seemed to stand the best chance of reaching that desirable 
 position. And were I occupying a post in which I had any 
 influence upon the schools and colleges of a country, I would 
 use that influence in securing the introduction into these 
 institutions of that system which had the best prospect of 
 gaining the precedence ultimately. From the facts presented, 
 you may judge for yourself, and I think very easily, which 
 system has the advantage in this respect. What superior 
 opportunity has the Benn Pitman to climb to the top every- 
 where, taking into account its construction, its amount ol 
 literature, or its constituency ? \Yhat the Graham ? \Yhat 
 any other of the varieties of Pitman ? What chance has 
 Gregg, Pernin, Cross, or any of the non-Pitmanic systems to 
 v drown out the practice and the literature of Isaac Pitman, or 
 even the Benn Pitman or the Graham ? The chances of 
 success on the part of any but the one of these, to my mind, 
 seem slim, but you may see it otherwise ; form your own 
 judgment and act accordingly. Looking at the subject from 
 my standpoint of long experience and a somewhat wide 
 observation, and seeking to be divested of any prejudice, it is 
 a beautiful vision that confronts me: one system of short- 
 hand writing, ever growing in efficiency through the combined 
 wisdom of practical experts, for at least the whole English- 
 
speaking race, having its origin in one continent ; and its in- 
 dispensable handmaid, the typewriter, springing to its assist- 
 ance from the other continent, both combining to carry their 
 rich blessings to aid in the education, commerce, and religion 
 of humanity generally ! May this vision soon become a reality ! 
 
 DR. WM. T. HARRIS. 
 
 (Formerly Supt. of Schools, St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 The Commissioner of Education of the United State.-:, said in his 
 Riport of 1893 : 
 
 " It will be seen, in the chapter giving the statistics of instruction in Short- 
 hand in the United States, that the system mainly folio-wed is 
 that Of Isaac Pitman. Few inventors within the last two hundred years 
 have been so happy as he in discovering devices that have proved useful in 
 practice, and at the same time called forth universal admiration for their 
 theoretic perfection." Extract from ''Circular of Information No. 7" 
 (Washington, D.C.), 1893. 
 
 COURT REPORTERS' ENDORSEMENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 ISAAC PITMAN'S PHONOGRAPHY. 
 
 te^"* The highest authenticated record for ten minutes' continuc 
 writing from new matter in any system is held by an Isaac Pitma 
 writer. See particulars in " Pitman's Shorthand and Typewriting Year Book." 
 
 Superior to any other. 
 
 " I have been a practitioner of the Isaac Pitman system for many years, and believe 
 it.is superior to any other Although lam personally acquj in ted with many- fast and 
 accurate writers among the users of the various Pitmanic systems, I regard this fact as ^p 
 an endorsement for the Isaac Pitman system, because, 'imitation is the sincerest form of Wjt 
 Mattery.' I can, however, truthfully say that I am not acquainted with, ** 
 nor do I know of by reputation (excepting two veteran Gurney writers), a 
 single rapid and accurate writer who is not a Pitmanic follower. It 
 does not follow, of cour:-e, that such dp not exist, but I do know they are not conspicuous 
 in this vicinity. I am a firm believer in the orthodox manner of teaching and practising 
 Phonography as laid down in the authorized text-book of the Isaac Pitman system, viz. : 
 ' The Complete Phonographic Instructor,' and am decide lly of the opinion that any 
 serious departure therefrom will only produce harmful results." Frank D. Curtis, 
 Official Stenographer, U.S. Circuit Court, New York Citv. 
 
 Compelled to Abandon Lght=Line. 
 
 " For the past twenty-three years I have be.-n an official court stenographer writing 
 the Isaic Pitman system. In addition to court work, I have reported verbatim political 
 meetings lor the Press and a n imber of Conventions both in Canada and the United 
 Stales. All the High Court stenographers in Ontario use the Isaac Pitman or modifi- 
 cations of it. My assi-tant in court work can easi y read my notes, and, with her assis- 
 tance in dictating my notes to typewriter operators, I have transcribed a trial of over 
 i, 300 pages of foolscap in five days. I have yat to meet the court reporler or rapid 
 stenographer who uses a ' light-line' system. I have met several whj started out with 
 such systems, but were compelled to give them up and adopt the Isaac Pitman in order 
 to do fast work." Wm. C. Coo, Official Court Reporter, London, Ont. 
 
32 
 
 TEXAS The s y stem of To-Day. 
 
 " I learned the Pernin system nearly five years ago, and used it in office work with 
 rather indifferent results. I was offered the position of court reporter here in Detroit, 
 some three years ago, and found that the Pa-nin system was about as good for reporting 
 as longhand, and hen I could not read it. I finally took the advice of a young court 
 reporter here, and learned the Isaac Pitman system, and I wish to say that I do not think 
 there is a system m existence that can compare with it. ! certainly think it is the system 
 of to-day." L. B. Caldu-ell, Detroit, Mich. 
 
 Equal to every Emergency. 
 
 " I find the Isaac Pitman system equal to every emergency, both as to speed and legi 
 bility. It is a notable fact that the entire English stiff of the Canadian House of Com- 
 mons, numbering six, are all writers of the Ii-aac Pitman sjstem, ard that eight out of 
 the eleven English Official Stenographers in Montreal (including the Superior and Police 
 Courts/ are writers of this system. I believe the ' Shorthand Instructor' the most satis- 
 factory text-book yet published." C. F. Larkin, Official Stenographer, Superior Court, 
 Montreal, Canada. 
 
 Wasted no Time on Modern Fads. 
 
 " I hav.i been engaged in official court reporting Lir fifteen years. I have never used, 
 nor desired to use, any o:her system than the old original I-aac Pitman, the only 
 system found worthy of notice in the great Encyclopedias. A circle can be made no 
 rounder a square can b<* made no square a perfect system of shorthand can not be im- 
 proved up >n therefore I have wasted no time on modern fads and fakes." John Y. 
 Mardick, Official Steno ^rapher, Charleston, Mo. 
 
 Is more Legible. 
 
 " Although a writer of one of the ' modifications ' of the I^aac Pitman system I claim 
 that the use of the later and Improved Isaac Pitman vowel scale (used by all Britis-h 
 phonographe s since it* introduction in 857) gives me a better differentiation of outlines. 
 For instance, with the present Isaac Pitman vowel scale I can at once (without the- aid 
 of context) disti >guish between at and out ; see and saw ; laivs and lease (construction of 
 the laws or const- uction of the lease) ; fall and fill ; by-laws and bills, and hund eds of 
 other words wh'ch I need not mention at this time. I adopt many of the Isaac Pitman 
 principles, for instance adding dr, tr, and thr after the final hooks, by lengthening the 
 stems." Mr, Robert S. Taytor, Official Court Reporter, St. Paul, Min. 
 
 High Speed with Legibility. 
 
 " The Isiac Pitman system is an admirable one. Avoiding alike the cumbrous, e'e- 
 mentary fulness >>f some systems, and the grotesque and illegible brevity of others, it 
 strikes the happy medium ;ind combines theoretical perfection with entire practicability. 
 This system can be written at a great speed without sacrifice to legibility an invaluable 
 quality in court work, where note-; have to be read months and even years after they are 
 written." Harold Eyre, Official Stenographer, Municipal Court, New York City. 
 
 NO HIGHER INDORSEMENT. 
 
 Isaac Pitman's Shorthand 
 
 OFFICIALLY ADOPTED BY THE 
 
 NEW YORK HIGH SCHOOL OF COMMERCE, 
 
 AND 
 
 GIRLS' TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL. 
 
 (Under Control Board of Education). 
 
 "Destined to be the two leading commercial educational institutions in the United 
 States." N.Y. Commercial Advertiser. 
 
 01 C 
 AT 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
20th Century 
 
 EDITION OF 
 
 ISAAC PITMAN'S 
 
 Shorthand Instructor. 
 
 This work is a new presentation of ISAAC PITMAN'S 
 system based on the accumulated experience of the past 
 sixty years, and includes many valuable improvements which 
 appear for the first time. 
 
 Cloth, gilt lettered, 276 pages. Price $1.50. 
 
 " I am de'ighted with the Twentieth Century Edition of the ' Instructor.' It is terse, 
 compact, and comprehensive. In short, it is multum in parvo. Chapter XVIII., on 
 ' Disyllabic Diphthongs ' should be extremely interesting to professional shorthand 
 writers, because in theological, scientific, and medical reporting, they encounter words 
 with comparative frequency in which there are more vowels or diphthongs than there are 
 consonants, and such words are difficult to decipher by the bare consonantal outlines ; 
 hence an accurate knowledge of the shorthand characters to designate the diphthongs is 
 very essential. The vari us sections devoted to 'Advanced Phraseography ' illustrate in 
 a clear and striking manner to what extent one may phrase in accordance with sound 
 principles, and not adopt a slipshod method of phrasing. These sections deserve special 
 stress, and should be hailed with delight. In Chapter XXXVII., your admirable elucida- 
 tion of the principles of intersecting words deserves the highest commendation. Inter- 
 sections are time-savers, and they can be applied to almost any form of commercial work 
 or professional reporting, To sum up : Judging from my familiarity with other systems, 
 I think the majority of those who write the Isaac Pitman system will agree with me when 
 I say that you have produced the greatest and best one volume text-book on shorthand 
 that has ever been published." William Whitford, Medical Stenographer, Chicago, 111., 
 Official Stenographer for The Medical Age, The Medical News, etc. 
 
 " In its present form it will considerably modify the difficulties for the student who 
 
 rectmg some of the awkward outlines which were necessary before, by the introduction of 
 rules similar to that in Paragraph 82. I welcome these changes as fully in keeping with 
 the advance of the times." JV. T. Jackman, Teacher of Isaac Pitman Phonography, 
 I 'nii'ersity of Vermont, Burlington, Vt. 
 
 "'A Ne\v Shorthand Instructor ' has been issued by Pitman and Sons, entirely revised 
 and improved, designed for class-work or self-instruction. This Twentieth century 
 edition presents the accumulated experience of over sixty years, and the student has the 
 benefit of that array r.f data which has made the Pitman shorthand publications standard 
 authorities wherever they have been introduced." School, Official Organ of the Public 
 
 ..herever they 
 
 and High Schooh of New York City. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 Isaac Pitman and Sons, Publishers, 31 Union Square. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 3AN1 
 
 * 7 
 
 AUG I* 1950 
 
 MAY 2 6 
 
 
 Form fe9-25m-9,'47(A5618) 444 
 
 9. it is taught in tne Commercial High Schoo 
 New York City, Brooklyn, and other large citi 
 
 10. The U.S. Commissioner of Education (Dr. W. 
 Harris) says : " It is the Best system and o 
 which forms the basis for a hundred or mo 
 modifications." 
 
UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY Wt 
 
 A 000 564 835 7 
 
j 
 
 if J7