THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
B. 0. BAKER 
 LAWYER 
 
 DALLAS, TEXAS 
 
ONE HUNDRED 
 
 TO 
 
 SHOKTEAND STUDENTS. 
 
 COMPILATION OF IMPORTANT FACTS RELATING TO 
 EVERY BRANCH OF THE STUDY AND PRAC- 
 TICE OF SHORTHAND WRITING. 
 
 SPECIALLY ARRANGED FOR STUDENTS, TEACHERS, 
 YOUNG REPORTERS OF ALL SYSTEMS. 
 
 BY 
 
 SELBY A. MOEAN, 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, 
 
 THE STENOGRAPHIC 
 ANN ARBOR. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN : 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOE. 
 
 1890. 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1886, 
 BY SELBY A. MORAN. 
 
 ALL BIGHTS RESERVED. 
 
 ANN ARBOR REGISTER PUBLISHING HOUSE. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 It may seem presumptuous on the part of the author to 
 place before the public a work of this kind when there are 
 so many others whose more varied experience far better 
 fits them for such an undertaking. 
 
 Feeling, however, that others who have written works 
 relating to Shorthand have almost wholly neglected to ren- 
 der to the student and young reporter the special help 
 which this little volume is intended to give, and believing 
 that there is a real demand for a work of this kind, the 
 author makes no further apology for its appearance. 
 
 The aim of this work is to render assistance to students 
 of all systems of Shorthand by a series of suggestions con- 
 cerning important facts only a few of which have ever 
 found a place in any text-book, yet facts which every stu- 
 dent should keep constantly in mind. As such, it is be- 
 lieved that it will prove especially serviceable to that large 
 class of students who are undergoing a course of self- 
 instruction. Since that which has been written heretofore, 
 in the same line of the present work, has been confined 
 almost wholly to court and newspaper reporting, more 
 attention is given to amanuensis reporting, a new branch 
 of the profession which has, of late years, far outstripped 
 all the others, both in its numbers and requirements. 
 
 Simplicity of expression has been kept constantly in 
 "view, that the book may be used by the student for general 
 
PBEFACE. 
 
 dictation work as soon as all the principles are learned. 
 It is hoped that, in this way, it will serve a double purpose ; 
 not only to give the student many valuable hints in regard 
 to his study and practice, but also to furnish suitable 
 material for speed work, whereby facts which every Short- 
 hand student should know may be fixed more firmly in 
 mind. 
 
 That the contents of this little volume may assist that 
 large number of young men and women who are deter- 
 mined to win success in the practice of this beautiful art, 
 is earnestly hoped. 
 
 To the many kind friends who have so freely placed at 
 his disposal the valuable lessons learned in their long ex- 
 perience as reporters, and especially to that one who, by 
 constant encouragement, has proven an inspiring genius, 
 not only in this, but also in other and more difficult under- 
 takings, this work is respectfully inscribed by 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 STENOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE 
 
 Ann Arbor, Mich., May, 1886. 
 
 NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 When the first edition of this little book was placed 
 before the public, it was with some feeling of uncertainty 
 as to whether there was need of such a work. That there 
 should be a demand for a second edition almost within a 
 twelvemonth after the first was published, is certainly more 
 than the author expected. It plainly shows that there is a 
 demand for a work of this kind, and to supply this demand 
 
 a new edition is offered to the public. 
 
 S. A. M. 
 
 STENOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE, September, 1887. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Shorthand is a beautiful theory and a successful art as 
 well. To acquire a knowledge of the theory is one thing, 
 to put this theory into practice is another. 
 
 The text-books on the various systems of Shorthand 
 writing have given a general explanation of the principles 
 of these systems, but have omitted many important facts 
 relative to learning the art, and are almost entirely silent 
 upon the practical application of Shorthand. In present- 
 ing these facts which are intended to cover this neglected 
 part of the student's work, it has been thought best to 
 arrange them in the following order: 
 
 I. Suggestions for students before beginning the study. 
 
 I XVII. 
 
 II. Suggestions for students while pursuing the study. 
 XVIII XLY. 
 
 III. Suggestions concerning the necessity of learning to 
 read Shorthand. 
 
 XLVI L. 
 
 IV. Suggestions relative to increasing speed. 
 LI LIX. 
 
 V. Suggestions for the Amanuensis. 
 LX LXXII. 
 
 VL Suggestions for Court, Newspaper, Convention, and 
 Speech Keporters. 
 
 LXXIII LXXXIIL 
 
INTBODUCTION 
 
 VIL General Suggestions for all Reporters. 
 LXXXIV C. 
 
 The student who will give a little careful attention to the 
 suggestions coming under the first heading may be assured 
 that his chances of success in learning the art will be much 
 greater than if he were left to depend entirely upon his 
 own resources. 
 
 During the course of his study he will receive much real 
 help from the suggestions under the second, third, and 
 fourth headings. By applying them in practice to those 
 points to which they refer, the study will prove much more 
 interesting and far better results will be obtained. 
 
 Under the heading for Amanuensis Keporters, the stu- 
 dent will receive some very material assistance. These 
 suggestions carefully followed out, will save many disa- 
 greeable experiences to the young reporter and enable him 
 to do much more satisfactory work. 
 
 So much has been written upon the different branches of 
 reporting given under the sixth heading that but two or 
 three suggestions are devoted to each of them. In these 
 are given those points which will prove of the greatest help 
 to the reporter who aspires to success in any of these lines 
 of work. 
 
 In the last division, under the heading of General Sug- 
 gestions, have been grouped those hints which reporters in 
 any branch of the profession will find it advantageous to 
 know. 
 
ONE HUNDEED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 TO 
 
 SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 I. Have Faith in Shorthand.* 
 
 There is probably no other one thing that has caused so 
 many people to fail in their endeavors to become reporters 
 as a lack of confidence in Shorthand. Too often we hear 
 beginners say : " I will try it and see whether I can suc- 
 ceed or not." The young man or woman, who, after seeing 
 that thousands of others have made a success of Shorthand, 
 cannot say, " I will succeed," had better not spend time or 
 money upon it, or, in fact, upon anything else that requires 
 a little study and application. 
 
 To become a fair reporter is no Herculean task demand- 
 ing the work of years, and then to be acquired by only a 
 "born few." 
 
 Shorthand has been greatly improved of late years, and 
 is based upon real scientific principles. Any one with only 
 ordinary ability can master it and become able to write 
 from four to six times faster than in longhand. 
 
 Do not doubt the merits of Shorthand, but rather say, "I 
 will succeed." You can, if you will, make it an acquirement 
 
 1 See note immediately following the last Suggestion. 
 
ONE HUNDBED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 that will be of much value to you every day of your life. 
 If you will only throw your whole soul into the work and 
 "believe that you can do what many others, no smarter than 
 yourself, have done, you need have no fears of making a 
 failure. 
 
 II. Take a Course of Instruction in some School. 
 
 You may, by your own individual efforts, be able to suc- 
 ceed in becoming an expert reporter, but the chances cer- 
 tainly are against you. There is, to my mind, no doubt 
 whatever as to the truth of the statement that not one in 
 one hundred succeed in their efforts to master the art un- 
 aided. On the other hand, my experience has been that not 
 one in twenty-five makes a failure when they conscientiously 
 pursue the course under a competent teacher. This may seem 
 to conflict with statements made in another suggestion 
 wherein it is stated that the student, by finding it neces- 
 sary to have a teacher, will come to depend upon his help. 
 Tliis, however, is not the case since the true work of a 
 teacher is to guide the efforts of the pupil in the right 
 direction and in this way make him more self-reliant. Al- 
 though the aim of this little volume is to supply in a per- 
 manent form the valuable suggestions that a teacher would 
 make to a student and to assist, as far as possible, those 
 who are unable to have the help of a teacher, yet no book 
 can be made to cover every individual case, much less 
 to arouse an enthusiasm in the work that an earnest teacher 
 and fellow students will inspire. There are, however, many 
 young people who are anxious to learn Shorthand but who 
 are so situated that attending a school is entirely out of the 
 question. Such will find that the next best course to pursue 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 is to take lessons by mail from some of the schools that are 
 doing excellent work in that line. There are none to whom 
 the mails are not accessible and who may not in this way 
 receive much valuable assistance. 
 
 III. Shorthand Schools Guaranteeing Positions to 
 Students are Frauds. 
 
 It is true that many schools are able to render consider- 
 able assistance to their pupils in helping them to secure 
 positions, but to guarantee places at a certain time is per- 
 fectly absurd. Parties who have no interest in the school 
 whatever are the ones who have the say in giving the stu- 
 dents situations. 
 
 If the young man who contemplates taking a course in 
 some Shorthand school will give the matter a moment's 
 thought, he will see the fallacy of such offers. It is ex- 
 pected, by such inducements, to deceive a class of young 
 people who do but little thinking for themselves. We 
 would be much more willing to recommend a school which 
 positively stated in its advertisements that it did not guar- 
 antee situations to its graduates than one which offered 
 everything and charged accordingly. This class of schools 
 is, as a rule, of mushroom growth. It is impossible for 
 them to fulfill their promises since they have no positions 
 actually at their disposal and, also, because the class of 
 students drawn to such schools are not usually of the kind 
 likely to become able to fill good positions. It does not 
 take long to detect such frauds, after which they soon dis- 
 appear. It is much safer to attend a school that has main- 
 tained its reputation through a long series of years. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 IV. Do not be Discouraged by the Cry of an 
 Over-Supply. 
 
 The young man or woman who takes up the study of 
 Shorthand will surely be compelled to endure the constant 
 cry that there is an over-supply. To be sure there is an 
 " over-supply " of Shorthand writers. So is there an over- 
 supply of workmen in every industrial pursuit, yet people 
 go on learning the various trades just as though the cry 
 had never been heard. The over-supply comes from that 
 large class who do things only by halves. We have all 
 heard the cry of an over-supply of lawyers, teachers, car- 
 penters, blacksmiths, etc. ; yet a good lawyer, teacher, or 
 carpenter is never out of employment and at a loss for 
 something to do. You never hear of a man who stands 
 well up in his business or profession making any complaint 
 about the competition which he may have. People who can 
 do their part well are always in demand. Of course there 
 will always be poor reporters, just as there are poor work- 
 men in all vocations in life. These will always stand in 
 the way of those who can do good work, but prove yourself 
 to be deserving, and you will have no trouble in pushing 
 past them. The demand for competent Shorthand reporters 
 and type- writer operators is rapidly on the increase. No 
 one can better judge of this increasing demand than those 
 who have been, for a long time, engaged in supplying the 
 calls for this kind of work, and these will invariably tell 
 you that the demand has increased many hundred per cent 
 in the past few years, and is likely to increase at the same 
 rate in the years to come. It is true that the number study- 
 ing Shorthand is proportionally large. The only effect of 
 this, however, will be a demand for a higher standard of 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 proficiency in those practicing the art. Ambitious students 
 need have no fear because of this, since the standard is not 
 likely to be so high that any one, with a fair amount of 
 common sense, may not reach it. 
 
 The day may come, although we doubt it, when there will 
 be an over-supply of good reporters, but if ever, it is so far 
 in the future that no one now living need have the least 
 fear of being thus crowded. 
 
 V. More Depends upon Yourself Than upon Any 
 
 One Else. 
 
 There is no surer way to success in any undertaking than 
 by a firm reliance upon self. This applies with especial 
 force to the study of Shorthand. The most successful 
 reporters we have ever known were those who did not 
 depend upon the help of teacher or friend to learn Short- 
 hand for them, but relied upon their own ability to suc- 
 ceed. Real determination will go as far, if not farther, than 
 natural endowments, hence he who will rely upon the former 
 may have as much or even more hope of success than one 
 who is otherwise naturally fitted for the work but lacks self- 
 reliance. There are now too many "hangers on" in the 
 reporting business. This is very sure to result in failure 
 when one is obliged to cut loose from all former support 
 and act for himself. Eesolve that you will do what others, 
 no more capable than yourself have done, and then go ahead 
 and do it. 
 
 VI. Do Not be Influenced by the Advice of People 
 
 Who Know Nothing about Shorthand. 
 
 Nothing is more absurd than to hear a certain class of 
 people decrying Shorthand when, in fact, they know noth- 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 ing at all about it. We have known many young people 
 who would have become excellent reporters had they not 
 been induced to give up the idea of learning Shorthand by 
 the advice of persons who had never before even heard of 
 Stenography. 
 
 In a court of justice the testimony of a witness would be 
 rejected at once were it concerning matters of which he 
 had no knowledge whatever. This same principle ought 
 to hold good in everything. If you wish advice in re- 
 gard to the reporting business, ask it of some one who is 
 competent to advise you intelligently. It will be found that 
 those who have given the subject enough attention to en- 
 able them to speak authoritatively are the ones, with rare 
 exceptions, who have made a success of it and who will 
 advise you to begin the study and stick to it. Also, do not 
 allow yourself to be influenced against Shorthand by those 
 who pretend to know all about it, but who, in fact, cannot 
 answer a sensible question concerning the art. 
 
 VII. Ladies Should not Hesitate about Learning 
 Shorthand. 
 
 Shorthand writing is a very artistic work and, as such, is 
 well suited to the finer nature and more delicate organiza- 
 tion of womankind. Judging from the large number of 
 ladies who have entered the Stenographic field and from 
 the excellent satisfaction which is almost always given, I 
 see no reason why any lady should hesitate for a moment 
 to accept this calling, if she feels the necessity of engaging 
 in any kind of employment. The work is light, interest- 
 ing, and in every sense respectable. Of course there are 
 kinds of Stenographic work which would be distasteful 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 to ladies, but these are only a very small portion of the 
 places where Shorthand is used. Large commercial houses, 
 railroad offices, insurance offices, banks, and other places 
 where a large correspondence is conducted, the offices of 
 professional men, editorial rooms, and all places -where orig- 
 inal documents are prepared, offer excellent opportunities 
 for ladies, and in many places they are preferred to gentle- 
 men. As compared with teaching it is far more desirable. 
 
 VIII. The Student can do Much Better by Having a 
 
 Fellow-Student with Whom to Practice. 
 Shorthand, unlike most other studies, is not one in which 
 the student can succeed quite as well, or better by studying 
 alone than he can by working with some fellow-student. 
 Learning Shorthand consists, for the most part, in constant 
 practice; and the nearer this practice approaches actual re- 
 porting, the better it is. A person may learn to do rapid 
 work in Shorthand and practice only by copying, but this 
 is quite different from following a speaker. By copying, 
 he gets his matter in sentences or parts of sentences, and 
 learns to give his whole attention to writing, but when 
 he comes to follow a speaker he finds it entirely differ- 
 ent. He does not receive a sentence at a time, the speaker 
 pausing until that has been written. The words come in a 
 steady flow, one sentence immediately following another, 
 whether the reporter is ready or not. He must learn not 
 only to give off that which has been received, but also to 
 receive constantly new words and retain them in his mem- 
 ory until they are written. The good reporter as a rule, 
 closely follows the speaker, but he should also be able to 
 retain fifteen or twenty words, or even more at once, so that 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 in case of an unexpected spurt on the part of the speaker 
 he will not lose a single word. Since the practical work 
 of the reporter consists entirely in following a speaker, the 
 more practice of this kind he gets the better qualified he 
 will be. By taking the course with some other student 
 and the two dictating the exercises to each other, actual 
 reporting will come much easier. There is no doubt but 
 that many who learn Shorthand by themselves and fail 
 when they come to try actual reporting, could trace the 
 cause to having learned to copy and not to report. 
 
 IX. In the Beginning of Your Practice Use Paper 
 Properly Ruled. 
 
 This is quite essential, for two reasons. First. Students 
 are apt to get into the habit of making the characters of 
 uneven length. They do not see the disadvantage of this 
 until they come to the double length and the half length 
 letters, a device made use of in most systems of Shorthand 
 writing. Unless the student has become accustomed to 
 writing the characters of nearly uniform length, he will be 
 sure to have difficulty sooner or later. And what is more, 
 a habit once formed is much harder to overcome than it is 
 to learn the right way in the first place. The most suc- 
 cessful method we have tried in order to secure uniformity 
 in the length of letters is to use paper ruled both ways, so 
 that the squares formed will be the right size for a letter 
 of medium or standard length. The beginner should strict- 
 ly adhere in his practice to the use of this kind of paper, 
 allowing each character to correspond with the size of the 
 square. One or two weeks of this kind of drill, at first, 
 will develop uniformity in the handwriting sufficiently to 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 enable one to use ordinary reporting paper with no danger 
 of difficulty resulting. 
 
 Second. Students are apt, in the beginning, to write 
 their letters a third longer than necessary. This not only 
 makes their work look cumbersome and is a waste of paper, 
 but takes more time. The principal object of Shorthand is 
 to save time, and the writer who makes his characters 
 longer than necessary defeats, in a large measure, the 
 efforts he is putting forth to save time. A small, plain 
 handwriting should be cultivated from the very beginning, 
 as it not only looks neater but is a saving of much valuable 
 time. The student, and the reporter as well, should use 
 paper ruled with purple lines, as they are distinct at night 
 as well as in daylight, and also show plainly horizontal 
 characters written upon them. Paper ruled with pale red 
 lines should not be used, as the lines are apt to be so dim 
 that to follow them would be too great a strain upon the 
 eyesight while writing at night. 
 
 Shorthand students will also find it advantageous to use 
 paper uniform as to width of ruling. This will help very 
 considerably in enabling one to maintain uniformity in the 
 length of letters, since most writers gauge the size of their 
 characters to a large extent by the width of the spaces 
 between the lines. If the spaces differ in width, one will 
 form the habit of varying upright letters while the hori- 
 zontal letters will remain unchanged. 
 
 X. Be Careful as to the Position of the Light by 
 Which You are Writing. 
 
 As a rule, the first thing to fail the scribe is his eyesight. 
 This is generally caused by neglecting to pay attention to 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 the position of the light by which he writes. This is 
 especially the case while writing at night and using gas 
 or an oil lamp. The position from which the least injury 
 will result is the one which admits the light upon the paper 
 without either shining directly into the eyes, or casting a 
 reflection into them from the paper upon which one is 
 writing. Such position of the light as brings about either 
 of these results should be scrupulously avoided as both are 
 very injurious to the eyes. The best results of lighting the 
 paper may be obtained by using a shaded light placed in 
 front and far enough to the left so as not to throw the 
 reflection into the eyes. 
 
 With the lamp in this position and shaded low enough 
 to protect the eyes, little trouble will follow. The light 
 should also be strong enough to light the paper and ruling 
 very distinctly, but not so strong as to dazzle the eyes. As 
 a rule, more trouble comes from having too much light than 
 from having too little. Another very important feature 
 is, that the light should be a steady one and always 
 kept at a uniform distance from the place of writing. By 
 becoming accustomed to a light just strong enough to make 
 it appear as much like daylight as possible, and in proper 
 position so as not to injure the eyes by direct or indirect 
 light, one will find but little inconvenience from the very 
 great amount of night work which every reporter is obliged 
 to do from time to time. 
 
 The position of the light when using the Type-writer is 
 also important. It should be placed so as to throw the 
 light fully on the front of the machine, and be high enough 
 to light the keyboard plainly. This can be done to the best 
 advantage by having the light either to the left or right, 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 according to the position of your copy, and about as high 
 as the shoulder. It should be shaded so as not to throw 
 any light whatever upon the operator. 
 
 XI. Learn to Pronounce Distinctly. 
 
 The student can hardly expect to become a correct writer 
 in representing words by sound signs unless he can first 
 pronounce the words correctly, or, what is more difficult, 
 correct the mistakes made by the speaker whom he is 
 following. 
 
 The English language, so far as pronunciation is con- 
 cerned and, in fact, in every other respect, is by no means 
 a scientific one. Being composed of so many elements, 
 there can be no rules of pronunciation which will, apply 
 even to a very small class of words. Still, with a little care 
 and a reference to the dictionary when any uncertainty 
 exists, little or no difficulty will be experienced with the 
 majority of the more commonly occurring words. 
 
 XII. Use a Pen Suited to Your Particular Touch. 
 
 The idea of having all conform to a particular style and 
 especially to a particular number of pen is perfectly absurd. 
 It would be quite as reasonable to require all reporters to 
 wear the same sized hat or shoes. We sometimes see 
 advertisements of some special kind of pen, not even in- 
 cluding different numbers of the same make, which is 
 recommended as just the thing for all students of Short- 
 hand. Yet people buy them, and the lady whose touch is 
 the most delicate vainly endeavors to do good work with the 
 same kind of pen made use of by the sturdy young man 
 who has just forsaken his maul at the rail pile and 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 begun to draw curves and make hooks. The pen to use is 
 the one best suited to your particular touch. Any person 
 of ordinary ability will have no difficulty in deciding what 
 particular pen suits his hand and with which he can do the 
 best work. There are, however, some styles of pens totally 
 unfit for any one to use in reporting, while there are 
 some brand? among the different numbers of which, almost 
 anybody may find one suited to his hand. A good gold 
 pen is by far the best to use in Shorthand work. It is 
 always ready for use and, if properly taken care of, will 
 last for years of steady writing. 
 
 XIII. It is Quite Necessary that the Reporter be Able 
 to Write a Plain Longhand. 
 
 It is commonly believed that the practice of Shorthand 
 will so affect one's longhand as to make it almost illegible. 
 This belief is caused by the fact that Shorthand writers are 
 generally very poor scribes. Their poor writing, however, 
 is not caused, to any extent, by the mere writing of Short- 
 hand. The poor longhand writing, so common among 
 reporters is, in almost every case, the result of rapid writing 
 in making transcripts. The same result would be brought 
 about by mere copying even though the writer had never 
 made a Shorthand character. 
 
 Now that the type-writer is used almost exclusively in 
 transcribing Shorthand notes there is no excuse at all for a 
 reporter not being a good longhand writer. It very fre- 
 quently occurs that the amanuensis, especially, will have 
 more or less writing to do with the pen. Some part of his 
 type-writer may give out and he will be obliged to use the 
 pen until it is repaired. It also frequently occurs that 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 some particular letter or paper is required to bo written in 
 longhand, or, it may be, copied in some book where the 
 type-writer cannot be used. Oftentimes blanks aro to be 
 filled out where it is necessary to use the pen. Newspaper 
 and court reporters may not always bo ablo to have a type- 
 writer at hand, and will then be obliged to resort to longhand 
 writing. There are numerous other contingencies that 
 may arise in which the reporter will bo expected to use the 
 old method. In order to givo satisfaction, ho should be 
 able to write readily a plain longhand, for, since type- 
 writing has become so common, people aro not apt to have 
 much patience with longhand unless it is executed nearly, 
 if not quite, as plainly as type -written matter. 
 
 XIV. Learn to Punctuate. 
 
 Although there are very few, if any, punctuation marks 
 used in any system of Shorthand, yet it is quito essential 
 that the reporter should know when to use the more com- 
 mon ones, since he has occasion to use them every time he 
 makes a transcript of his notes. It is truo that there is, in 
 the main, but little uniformity in punctuation; yet there 
 are some general principles which aro accepted by all. 
 These should bo understood by all Shorthand writers. This 
 would avoid much of the wretched work which is often seen 
 in type-written matter and which, in that form, stands out 
 in such a marked way. 
 
 It would be well for every Shorthand student, not pre- 
 viously prepared in this respect, to secure some treatise on 
 punctuation and make a thorough study of it. There are 
 various works on the subject, any of which contains many 
 valuable suggestions and is well worth a careful study. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 They may be had for a few cents each and no Shorthand 
 writer should be without one. 
 
 XV. Learn to Spell. 
 
 This, to some, may seem to be a very useless suggestion; 
 but any one who has an opportunity and will look over a 
 few type-written letters, such as are sent out by many large 
 business firms where Stenographic secretaries are em- 
 ployed, would think otherwise. One would be ID dined to 
 think that each reporter spelled his words according to the 
 dictates of his own fancy and that his fancy was constantly 
 varying. The use of the type- writer shows errors in spell- 
 ing very plainly, and the endeavor which is made by many 
 to cover up the mistakes only makes a bad matter worse. 
 
 Business men are, as a rule, aware of this failing on the 
 part of reporters, and are apt to treat with disfavor all 
 applicants who cannot prove their ability to spell correctly 
 the more common English words. The advice generally 
 given to poor spellers is, " Always look up a word in the 
 dictionary unless you are sure that you are right." This 
 advice will apply in some cases, but too often it occurs that 
 one is sure he is right when he is about as far wrong as he 
 could very well be. The great trouble is that, since the 
 old fashioned spelling school has become a thing of the 
 past, very little effort is made by young people to acquire 
 proficiency in this important branch of education. One of 
 the necessary things in becoming a good type-writer op- 
 erator is an ability to spell without a particle of hesitation 
 every word that may be used. That is, in itself, quite an 
 accomplishment. If one cannot spell readily, much valu- 
 able time will be lost in hesitating or in looking up words 
 
TO SHOETHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 in the dictionary. We -would advise every young reporter 
 to give special attention to this point as it is well worth the 
 while. 
 
 XVI. Use the Best Quality of Ink. 
 
 There is about as much difference between the various 
 kinds of ink that are generally kept for sale as there is 
 between a charcoal pencil and a good gold pen. And what 
 is worse, very few people have any idea that there can be 
 any difference in ink. Any liquid that will make a colored 
 mark, even though it be only indigo water, is, to the 
 majority of people, just as good as the best writing fluid. 
 Good ink is just as essential as good pens and paper. Ink 
 that flows evenly and freely from the pen should be used. 
 It should also be such as will make distinct lines when the 
 writing is being done and not become either lighter or 
 darker after use. 
 
 There are many kinds of ink which do this, and the 
 Shorthand writer whose system includes both light and 
 shaded lines (and this is the case with the majority of sys- 
 tems) finds it a source of much trouble, since letters which 
 were intended to be light will afterwards be mistaken for 
 heavy ones, and vice versa. 
 
 The stand from which ink is used should be kept secure- 
 ly corked while not in use, in order to prevent the ink from 
 becoming thick from evaporation or from dust settling in 
 it. The stands used in most offices are, as a rule, " large 
 mouthed arrangements" to which a cover would be a great 
 surprise, and, as a consequence, the contents soon become 
 more like ordinary mud than a writing fluid. An inkstand 
 with a large opening is far more convenient; but, in order 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 to keep the contents in a proper condition, it should be 
 carefully covered when not in use. Of the various kinds of 
 ink which we have used, we have found Thomas' writing 
 fluid to be the best for all purposes whatever, in longhand 
 as well as Shorthand. For a ready, even flow there is none 
 better. If the beginner would, as far as possible, remove 
 all impediments from the way of his becoming a successful 
 reporter, he should give special attention to securing ink 
 which will not make his writing seem the most discourag- 
 ing part of his work. 
 
 XVII. Use a Pencil of Medium Hardness. 
 
 Although we would not advise the constant use of a pen- 
 cil, yet there is no Shorthand writer who will not, at times, 
 be obliged to make use of one. He may break or lose hia 
 pen and not have time to secure another, or he may be com- 
 pelled on unexpected occasions to use paper totally unfit 
 for any kind of a pen; hence he should always be supplied 
 with a few good pencils sharpened ready for use. He 
 should also occasionally write with a pencil so as not to be 
 entirely out of practice when circumstances make it neces- 
 sary for him to use one. Many reporters use a pencil con- 
 stantly, preferring it to a pen. If one is able to do better 
 and more satisfactory work with a pencil than with a pen, 
 he certainly ought to use the former. 
 
 When selecting a pencil care should be taken not to se- 
 lect one either too hard or too soft. This will depend, to 
 a certain extent, upon the person, and also upon the quality 
 of paper used. 
 
 For ordinary use a good quality of uncalendered paper 
 will be found the best for a pencil. Of the various kinds 
 
TO SHOETHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 of pencils which we have tried, we have found that the one 
 most suitable for Shorthand is Dixon's "Stenographer." 
 This, we think, will suit most people, though some will find 
 a softer and others a harder quality of the same brand 
 more suitable. 
 
 XVIII. Do Not Fail to be Regular at Recitations. 
 
 If nothing more is gained from this suggestion than the 
 habit of attending regularly to your duties, it will have 
 served a worthy purpose. The habits you form in school 
 will be very likely to cling to you in the practice of your 
 profession, and if you become accustomed to being absent 
 from school you will also find yourself neglecting your 
 employer's work, and, as a result, lose your place. There 
 is, however, a more immediate disadvantage resulting from 
 being absent from class. A good teacher, which you are 
 supposed to have, if you have any, will bring up some- 
 thing of importance at each recitation. By losing some 
 important link in this way, that which is, in fact, a beauti- 
 fully connected whole becomes disjointed and confused in 
 the mind. The same result will be brought about by neg- 
 lecting to thoroughly learn all the little things connected 
 with the study. In many branches of knowledge a person 
 may neglect many details and not encounter any serious 
 trouble in the further progress of the study, but in Short- 
 hand it is very different. Here, is allowed no time for 
 reflection. No chance is given to recall things only 
 vaguely learned. If you do not have every little point 
 upon the tips of your fingers, failure is in store for you. 
 The only way in which you may be sure of avoiding such 
 a result is to attend promptly every recitation; and not 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 only attend, but make each point presented by the teacher 
 your own. 
 
 XIX. Do Not Become Discouraged. 
 
 At least three-fourths of those who begin the study of 
 Shorthand get discouraged when about one-fourth of the 
 work is accomplished. They do not stick to it long 
 enough to become accustomed to the study They make 
 mistakes, as beginners in anything do, and not yet being 
 able to appreciate the real beauties of the art, they get 
 discouraged and give up. Young man, stop and think. 
 Although there are thousands and tens of thousands who 
 have begun and then given up the study of Shorthand, 
 yet there are vast numbers who have made a grand suc- 
 cess of the work, and men, too, with no more natural 
 ability than many of those who gave it up; the only dif- 
 ference between the classes being, that, the one lacked 
 force enough to carry them through, while the other be- 
 lieved that they could do what had been done, and kept 
 at it until they succeeded. There is no study that does 
 not have its difficult parts, and the one who succeeds in 
 these is the one who will not allow every little thing to 
 give him the " blues," while his equally talented brother 
 falls behind and is lost sight of simply because he would 
 not do what he might. A steady application of will is a 
 very important factor in considering one's chances of suc- 
 cess in the line of Shorthand work. 
 
 XX. Do Not Change Systems. 
 
 Unless you have begun some system in which you have 
 afterwards found that it is absolutely impossible to become 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 a reporter, do not make a change. I would especially 
 urge this if you have studied a system any length of time. 
 After it has become fixed in the mind that a certain sign 
 stands for a certain sound, it is no easy matter to substi- 
 tute some other character in its place. 
 
 No matter how well you may learn the latter, there will 
 oftentimes be conflict and confusion. Especially will this 
 be the case when you are trying to do rapid writing, since, 
 in trying to do a thing quickly, one naturally does it the 
 way he first learned. Of course, this may, by a great 
 effort, be overcome to a certain extent, yet never com- 
 pletely so. A person will find himself unconsciously con- 
 fusing the two systems, thus making trouble for himself 
 in translating and his notes absolutely illegible to other 
 reporters of the system which he pretends to write. The 
 habit of representing a word or sound by a certain sign, 
 like any other custom, cannot be laid aside at pleasure, 
 like a garment. 
 
 Those people who have used some good system for years 
 and then all at once have found the "ultima thule," in 
 Shorthand, and have become expert reporters in some 
 other system in a few weeks, may be set down as something 
 phenomenal and quite differently constituted from the 
 ordinary mortal. If you are desirous of making some 
 improvement in Shorthand, or wish to test the merits of 
 the various systems, and do not desire to become a rapid 
 writer, you may be justified in making a careful study of 
 the various methods of Shorthand writing; but if your aim 
 is to be a reporter, the less you have to do with other 
 systems than the one you have decided to adopt, the 
 better. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 . It is not advantageous even to adopt contractions from 
 other systems, though, they may be more brief, if in any 
 way they conflict with your own. You may not have 
 chosen the best system, but to confuse the one you have, 
 even with a better one, will be very sure to lessen your 
 speed in writing. First, be very careful as to the system 
 you adopt, then stick to it. 
 
 XXI. Learn Thoroughly the First Principles. 
 
 This is of the utmost importance to the beginner, and 
 yet, as a rule, no part of Shorthand is so much neglected. 
 The first principles seem so easy and simple that students 
 are apt to get the idea that they are not of much conse- 
 quence. In this they make a very serious mistake. In 
 every system of Shorthand all that follows the first prin- 
 ciples is developed from, and dependent upon, them. If 
 these are neglected, as is very often the case, the student, 
 when he comes to the more difficult parts of the study, is 
 almost sure to become confused, get discouraged, and give 
 up. In our experience with persons who have begun the 
 study of Shorthand and made a failure of it, we have, in 
 the large majority of cases, been able to trace their failure 
 to this cause. By not having a thorough knowledge of 
 that part of the art which is the most easy to learn, the 
 whole becomes a complicated and confused mass. No 
 wonder that so many find Shorthand hard to learn and 
 make a regular botch of it, when they have not taken the 
 pains to learn the a, b, c's of the art. 
 
 The student of Stenography cannot impress too thor- 
 oughly upon his mind the elementary principles of Short- 
 hand As a rule, the extra amount of time spent in thor- 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 oughly mastering the elements will be more than saved by 
 the ease and rapidity with which the more difficult parts 
 are acquired. 
 
 XXII. Hold Your Pen in That Manner in Which You 
 Can Do the Best and Most Satisfactory Work. 
 
 There are teachers who would compel all students to con- 
 form to one fixed position. There are others who insist just 
 as strongly on some other position, declaring that there is 
 no success without adopting their particular hobby. But 
 man is not a machine, all the parts of which will fit exactly 
 in the same mould or move about in their spheres with the 
 same harmony. Even though every person had the same 
 style for holding the pen or pencil, yet to confine him to 
 this, with no chance of varying it, would be unreasonable, 
 since it would make the physical strain of writing much 
 greater. A slight shifting of the pen now and then from 
 between the thumb and forefinger to a position between 
 the first and second fingers will be a great relief in steady 
 writing. Again, many find it easier to write with the pen 
 held very nearly perpendicular. A person may compel 
 himself to conform to any particular style of holding the 
 pen and be able to do quite satisfactory work; but unless 
 the style to which he is already accustomed is a very 
 cramped and awkward one, it is better to retain it, since it 
 requires more time to become accustomed to another than 
 would be gained by the change. 
 
 There are, it is true, certain general rules to which all 
 should conform, but farther than this nothing can be said. 
 Hold your pen in the manner which is the most natural and 
 easy for you, and so that it will move easily and lightly upon 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 the paper. It will be found that the distinction between 
 the light and shaded letters can be made more readily by 
 holding the pen in a more upright position than it is gen- 
 erally held in writing longhand. 
 
 XXIII. Sit at the Table upon Which you are Writing 
 in an Upright and as Easy a Manner as Possible. 
 
 The Shorthand writer, as well as the longhand writer, 
 will find it advantageous to cultivate the habit of sitting 
 in an upright position while writing. Unless the left-hand 
 is used, the student will find the right-oblique position the 
 best for steady work. It will also be advantageous to some- 
 times vary this position to that of a full-front. Such a 
 change will afford a considerable rest to one who is writing 
 steadily. The muscles below the elbow should rest upon 
 the table so as to allow the hand to move freely across the 
 paper. Although the finger movement will be used in most 
 strokes in Shorthand, yet the wrist and full arm movement 
 may occasionally be used to good advantage. The feet should 
 be set squarely on the floor and not drawn up under the 
 chair, as is often done. Young people are very apt to form 
 such a habit, and will find it hard to overcome, yet in the 
 end they will be able to work much more comfortably by 
 assuming a proper position. 
 
 XXIV. Hold Your Paper or Note Book Firmly with 
 
 the Left-Hand. 
 
 This can best be done by placing the tips of the fingers 
 of the left-hand upon the edge of the paper at right angles 
 with the right-hand, keeping the thumb against the edge of 
 the paper. By a slight pressure of the fingers, the paper 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 can be held firmly in place, while, -with the thumb at the 
 edge of the paper, the page can be readily turned with it as 
 soon as the last line is written. This is a far more impor- 
 tant suggestion than it may seem, since but poor work, at 
 best, can be done, unless the paper is firmly held in its 
 place. 
 
 XXV. The Learner, as well as the Reporter, Should 
 Use a Good Quality of Paper. 
 
 The student can do a hundred per cent, better work with 
 good paper than with the miserable stuff that is for sale at 
 most small book and stationery establishments. The ap- 
 pearance of the work which a student does goes a great 
 way towards encouraging or discouraging him in his 
 efforts. The difference in price of paper will be a small 
 item compared with the real advantage to be gained. 
 Nicely calendered paper should be used in writing with 
 a pen, and the beginner should at first, confine himself to 
 one. After he has practiced for some weeks he may then, 
 to good advantage, make use of a pencil. It would be bet- 
 ter never to use a pencil at all were it not for the fact that 
 every reporter is occasionally situated so that he is obliged 
 to use one. This being the case, it is quite essential that 
 all reporters become accustomed to writing with a pencil. 
 When using a pencil a good quality of uncalendered paper 
 should be made use of. This will enable one to make a 
 clear distinction between light and shaded letters without 
 much effort, while the writing will not be blurred by the 
 pages rubbing together in handling. The learner will find 
 it convenient to use tablets of paper, of which each leaf may 
 be torn off as soon as used. These should not be destroyed, 
 but laid aside, and afterwards carefully read over. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 XXVI. Do Not Draw Your Shorthand Characters. 
 
 The exercises written in Shorthand in most text-books 
 have a tendency to cause students to fall into this habit. 
 The engravings are, as a rule, made "with as near an 
 approach to mathematical exactness as it is possible for 
 them to be. The student, in order to make his work look 
 anything like the illustrations which are given in his text, 
 finds it necessary to make his strokes with a great deal of 
 care, and, as a result, forms the habit of making them very 
 slowly. Although it is desirable that the student be 
 as nearly correct as possible, and although it is true in most 
 cases that the more perfect the model toward which one is 
 aiming the better he is likely to become, yet a near ap- 
 proach to perfection cannot be made at once. This is espe- 
 cially true of the beginner in Shorthand w ? ho would have 
 his characters exactly like the models in his text, if they 
 are made with mechanical exactness, for in his attempt to 
 closely imitate his model he is sure to form the habit of 
 drawing his letters. He could not fall into a worse habit, 
 both as regards his speed and the ease and neatness of his 
 work. The fine penman executes his most beautiful curves 
 and flourishes by rapid and easy strokes. So in Shorthand 
 the best work can be accomplished in the end by cultivat- 
 ing a free and easy movement. The work will be more 
 nearly correct, will look much better, and the speed will not 
 be sacrificed. The reporter is not supposed to have time to 
 draw his characters, and the less that is done of it, even in 
 learning to write, the better. The writing may not look 
 BO well at first, but by patient practice it will, in the" end, 
 look far better than though the student had continued to 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 draw out each letter, while the speed will be very much 
 greater. 
 
 If you try to make your strokes quickly, and your work 
 is not at first mechanically exact, do not be discouraged, but 
 bear in mind the fact that you can gradually bring your 
 work to approach that point by steady and careful practice. 
 
 XXVII. Do Not Make Your Characters Too Large. 
 
 There are several reasons why it pays to write a small 
 hand. I do not mean by this a cramped style which is as 
 difficult to write and looks no better than the other extreme, 
 or a large and sprawling style. It takes a great deal more 
 time to write a character twice ns long as need be than it 
 does to strike it the proper length. Many Shorthand 
 writers are not aware how much time they lose by making 
 all the characters much larger than is necessary. 
 
 To save time is the one thing for which Shorthand is 
 learned, and to spread the characters out over double the 
 necessary amount of paper is but to defeat, in a great 
 measure, the end sought. More timo is taken in making 
 larger characters, more time is taken in going back to the 
 beginning of lines, and more time is needed to turn over 
 the larger number of pages. These things, small, very 
 small, in themselves, count in the end of weeks or months, 
 and may be saved just as well as not. 
 
 Another thing worthy of notice is the amount of paper 
 used. Many reporters use at least twice as much paper as 
 others in writing the same amount of matter. This is 
 another little thing, but which in time will prove to be a 
 very important item. Shorthand written in a small, neat 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 hand also looks much better and more like the work of an 
 artist than does the ordinary scrawl which is adopted by so 
 many stenographers. 
 
 XXVIII. Make Your Shorthand Characters Uniform 
 
 in Length. 
 
 Almost every system of Shorthand makes use of the 
 principle of having different lengths for certain characters 
 to indicate certain additional sounds. This is a very im- 
 portant principle in Shorthand, and could not very well be 
 dispensed with. It, however, becomes a very serious stum- 
 bling block to many students for the simple reason that the 
 medium sized letters, which are learned first, are not gen- 
 erally made of uniform length. If there were but one 
 length for letters, this would not make so much difference, 
 since the only effect would be to make the writing look 
 uneven. The trouble comes when the same characters are 
 to be made double length or half length, and when so 
 written represent certain additional sounds. If, then, the 
 student has not acquired the habit of writing each class of 
 the characters of a uniform size, he will be sure to get 
 them confused when he comes to reading what he has 
 written. The only way to avoid trouble of this kind is to 
 give particular attention, in the very beginning, to writing 
 the letters of as near a uniform length as possible. 
 
 XXIX. In Shorthand No Silent Letters Are Written. 
 
 After one has studied the subject of Shorthand a while, 
 anil become accustomed to writing by sound, he will have 
 no difficulty at all in distinguishing the silent letters from 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 those which are sounded. At first, however, the student is 
 very apt to be more or less troubled with such letters, and 
 will find himself very often unconsciously inserting many 
 which, upon second thought, he will readily see should not 
 be written. The only way to avoid this, which to the be- 
 ginner seems a very difficult thing, is to exercise a little 
 care and common sense in the start. 
 
 XXX. Make Distinct Angles. 
 
 Most students do not give enough attention to making 
 distinct angles between the letters of a word and between 
 different words which are joined. Distinct angles are quite 
 essential to legibility in Shorthand notes. Without some- 
 thing to enable one to distinguish readily where each letter 
 ends and the next begins, the notes will be almost worthless. 
 In using the various ticks especial care should be taken or 
 they will entirely disappear. It is the tendency among 
 students to neglect angularity. This is, no doubt, caused 
 by the fact that many very slight angles may be made quite 
 distinct while writing slowly. The student must take into 
 consideration, however, that only those angles should be 
 formed which can be distinctly made while writing rapidly. 
 As it is not possible for a beginner to always decide just 
 what angles may be made rapidly and at the same time 
 plainly, the only way for him to settle such a matter is to 
 be guided by the experience of those whose opportunities 
 in practice enable them to judge correctly about such 
 things. Our experience has been that students, not having 
 had much practice and not being able to appreciate the 
 practical utility of such forms, oftentimes refuse to adopt 
 
 them, and accustom themselves to what they suppose to be 
 3 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 better outlines. The result is, -when they come to use them 
 in reporting, the outlines are found to be unsuitable, and 
 they are obliged to discard them and adopt different forms 
 before they can do satisfactory work 
 
 Although we would not advise students to follow blindly 
 everything a text-book or a teacher may advise, yet in many 
 things the learner may derive a great deal of benefit from 
 the experience of the teacher or author, and save himself 
 from the trouble of having to go through the ordeal of 
 finding out by practice the best form to adopt in each case. 
 
 XXXI. At the Beginning of the Study Be Careful 
 About the Slant of Letters. 
 
 Unless special attention is given in the beginning of the 
 student's practice he will be very apt to make too little dis- 
 tinction between slanting and upright strokes. Especially 
 is this true in attempting to make perpendicular letters, as 
 it seems almost impossible for most people to make them 
 anywhere near straight up and down. The majority of 
 people are sure to slant the upright letters more or less to 
 the right. As a result, they are almost certain to get them 
 confused with letters intended to slant in that direction. 
 
 A good way to overcome this tendency is to use, for a 
 while, paper that is ruled both ways. The upright letters 
 should be struck as nearly parallel as possible with the 
 perpendicular ruling. It will not take a great deal of prac- 
 tice of this kind to enable the student to readily make 
 enough distinction between the different strokes so that 
 there will be no danger of confusing them. Another good 
 plan is to make the perpendicular letters slant a little to 
 the left. But in this, care must be taken not to give them 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 too much slant in that direction, else no advantage will be 
 derived. As the upright letters are the only ones with 
 which students have any trouble, particular attention should 
 be given to them. 
 
 XXXII. Learn the Vowels Thoroughly. 
 
 Usually there is not one vowel in a thousand written by 
 the Shorthand writer, yet it is quite essential that the stu- 
 dent should thoroughly acquaint himself with them. He 
 should do this for two reasons. 
 
 First. In the few cases in which it is necessary to insert 
 the vowels, much time will be lost unless the writer is 
 familiar enough with them to insert them quickly. A few 
 moments lost in hesitating as to just where to place a vowel, 
 or the lack of one in an outline which will prove ambiguous 
 without it, will oftentimes cause considerable, and serious 
 trouble. For this reason it is important that the student 
 should thoroughly familiarize himself with this part of the 
 study. 
 
 Second. In most systems of Shorthand the position of 
 the consonant outline in its relation to the line upon which 
 the writing is done, depends very frequently upon the 
 accented vowel in the word. In this way many vowels are 
 indieated,*thus saving the time necessary to insert them. 
 It is for the purpose of indicating them by the position of 
 the outline that a knowledge of the vowels is of chief im- 
 portance. To be able to give words their proper positions, 
 according to the vowels governing them, it is necessary, 
 not only to learn the vowels as a whole, but also quite essen- 
 tial to learn the different classes governing the different 
 consonant positions. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 There are various suggestions given by the different 
 writers -who have published text-books on the subject of 
 Shorthand as to the best method to be pursued by the 
 student in familiarizing himself with the vowels, some of 
 which methods are very absurd. The plan which we have 
 adopted, and which has proven very successful, is to give 
 the student, for practice in vocalizing, lists of words which, 
 in ordinary writing, are generally vocalized. By practice of 
 this kind the student does not form the habit of vocalizing 
 words which, in actual practice, should not be vocalized; 
 and what is more, he does become accustomed to vocalizing 
 those words which require it. Lists of words, of which 
 the positions are governed by the vowels, should also be 
 used for practice by the student, as much real advantage 
 may be gained by so doing. The chief difficulty with this 
 plan is that so few text-books contain lists of words of this 
 kind. Students of the Benn Pitman or Graham systems 
 will find that the "Reporting Style of Shorthand" contains 
 many special lists of this kind which will be found very 
 serviceable to any one who will secure the work and make 
 use of them. 
 
 XXXIII. Practice a Little Every Day Until the Sub- 
 ject Is Well Understood. 
 
 A subject only partly learned is very easily forgotten 
 unless daily attention is given to its study. This is espe- 
 cially true of Shorthand. As Shorthand cannot be used to 
 much advantage until all the principles are learned, a little 
 time each day should be given to the study until it is well 
 understood as a whole. When the connection of the dif- 
 ferent parts is seen and the art well enough understood to 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 enable one to make practical use of it, it will be valued too 
 highly and too many occasions will occur when it can be 
 used to advantage to admit of the possibility of its ever 
 being forgotten. 
 
 The cry that unless Shorthand is constantly practiced it 
 will be entirely forgotten has undoubtedly been caused by 
 that large class of people who have once begun the study, 
 but have lacked the will necessary to succeed. They never 
 have had, at best, more than a vague idea of what Short- 
 hand really is, and, not having enough interest in the sub- 
 ject to keep it constantly before their minds until completed, 
 have given it up, and, as a matter of course, have forgotten 
 what little they ever did know about it. Anything thor- 
 oughly understood as a complete whole is never entirely 
 forgotten. But that stage in which it becomes firmly fixed 
 in mind can be reached only by constant and persistent 
 practice, no day being allowed to pass without having made 
 some advancement. By so doing there is no danger of 
 one's interest flagging and of his giving up what would 
 otherwise prove so interesting and profitable. 
 
 XXXIV. Until the Principles Are All Learned, Prac- 
 tice Only on Words Embodying Those You 
 Have Mastered, and No Others. 
 
 First impressions last longest and are the hardest to 
 remove. The same is true of the manner in which we 
 learn to do things, that which we learn first always coming 
 the most natural to us. This is especially true in writing 
 Shorthand, since a person in trying to do a thing quickly, 
 as ia necessary in reporting, is almost certain to go about 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 it in the manner in which he first learned to do it, even 
 though it be a much longer way. 
 
 This is one of the great objections to the manner in 
 which most Shorthand text-books are arranged. The most 
 satisfactory way would be to give for practice after each 
 principle introduced an exercise illustrating the use of 
 that principle, and to make use of no other principles 
 except that one and others which have been previously 
 explained. The student should rigidly confine himself to 
 exercises of this kind until all the principles are learned, 
 and he may then be assured that he will form the habit of 
 writing but few words incorrectly, since he would be given 
 no word to write until all the principles entering into its 
 approved outline have been given and explained. The 
 student, by rigidly abstaining from practicing on miscella- 
 neous matter until all the principles of the art and all the 
 word-signs have been learned, ought to have but little diffi- 
 culty in deciding at once what principles to use in each 
 word, and not to be troubled by long alphabetical outlines 
 continually suggesting themselves to the mind. 
 
 XXXV. Keep a List of Word and Phrase-Signs in 
 Your Pocket to Study at Leisure Moments. 
 
 At least one-third of the work of learning Shorthand con- 
 sists in thoroughly mastering the word and phrase-signs. 
 By always having a list of these signs at hand and making 
 it a point to improve now and then your leisure moments 
 which would otherwise be wasted, much of the mechanical 
 part of the work may be accomplished. The author of 
 this little volume was at first discouraged by what seemed 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 an endless task, but by adopting this method the whole 
 was accomplished with apparently no effort whatever. In 
 connection with this, it would be well for the student to 
 have about him some exercise, written several days previ- 
 ous, to translate as occasion offers. This will prove to be 
 a very great help in enabling the student to read readily 
 matter not fresh in mind. 
 
 XXXVI. The Student Should Make Use of a Dic- 
 tionary in all Cases of Doubtful Outlines. 
 
 Every good system of Shorthand has a dictionary giving 
 in that system the correct outline or word-sign for all the 
 commonly occurring words in the language. These outlines 
 are, as a rule, those made use of by the best .writers of that 
 system, and, in most cases, can be relied upon as, being the 
 best form for the word. By a regular use of , the diction- 
 ary the student will learn far more facile outlines for all 
 difficult words than his own skill will be likely to suggest. 
 Without such help he will learn to write many words by 
 more difficult forms than need be, since, from his inexperi- 
 ence, he would not be likely to think of, or.. even know, 
 which are really the best. Even if the student had thought 
 of the proper outline for some difficult, word, it would 
 afford him considerable satisfaction and encouragement to 
 look up the word and be assured that he had thought of 
 the correct form. , 
 
 Another great advantage in a constant use of a diction- 
 ary is that, in looking up words, many principles and word- 
 signs will be recalled, which otherwise would, in all prob- 
 ability, be entirely forgotten. It is only after reviewing 
 
 448304 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 the principles and word-signs over and over again that it 
 is possible to become thoroughly familiar with them. This 
 can be done in no better way than by constant reference to 
 a dictionary. Every reference of this kind will give an 
 illustration of one or more principles, and help to fix them 
 more firmly in mind. 
 
 XXXVII. Several Students Should Meet Together 
 Occasionally for Mutual Practice. 
 
 Every Shorthand student should, if possible, have a few 
 fellow-students or classmates with whom he may meet 
 occasionally for practice. Much assistance may be derived 
 from mutual suggestions, and by each making it a point to 
 correct the errors he may notice in the other's work. 
 Many a mistake may be pointed out and errors corrected 
 in this way that would otherwise be unnoticed. Another 
 advantage to be gained by this plan is to have some one 
 dictate to you, and to whom you could dictate in return. 
 The student should make it a point to do as little writing 
 as possible by copying, since in practice all Shorthand 
 work is done from dictation. This plan will enable one to 
 increase his speed much more rapidly than could be done 
 by mere copying. The student is also more apt to keep up 
 an interest in the study, if he has one or more classmates. 
 The natural disposition which most young people have, to 
 be as good as their classmates, is a very potent factor, and 
 may be made use of to good advantage in the study of 
 Shorthand. 
 
 The difficulty with most people is not what they can do 
 but what they will do. No one does all that he might. 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 The most successful man is the one who always places 
 himself in the position in which he will be likely to accom- 
 plish the most. Any student might learn history or math- 
 ematics at home, yet young people find it necessary to go 
 to some college or university, at a great expense, to learn 
 these subjects. They do this for the simple reason that 
 most men must have a greater incentive to hard study than 
 the mere love of knowledge. In class they feel that to fall 
 behind or totally fail is a disgrace. By sheer force of will 
 the same result might be reached at home, but only a few 
 have a sufficient amount of will-power to enable them to do 
 this. This being the case, other incentives must be sought, 
 and nothing will serve the purpose better than a few deter- 
 mined fellow-students. In the study of Stenography this 
 is especially desirable, and we would advise every one who 
 contemplates learning the art to secure some friend or 
 acquaintance to pursue the course with him. You may be 
 assured that by this method you will do at least fifty per 
 cent, better than by studying alone. 
 
 XXXVIII. First, Acquire Accuracy and then, Speed. 
 
 Too often students get the false idea that speed is the 
 only thing needful in order to make a first-class reporter. 
 This is a very erroneous notion ; for of what value is rapid 
 writing, if it is not done correctly ? It is true that a person 
 may, to a certain extent, become accustomed to his own 
 errors, yet he can never read his notes as fluently as if 
 they were properly written, while they will be entirely use- 
 less to any one else. It will be far easier to overcome the 
 habit of writing slowly than that of forming outlines incor- 
 rectly. In fact the latter is almost impossible to overcome. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 Although there seems to be, there is no real conflict be- 
 tween the two. The student ought to be able to form the 
 habit of writing correctly without any danger of retarding 
 .the increase of his speed. 
 
 XXXIX. Thoroughly Memorize all the Word and 
 Phrase-Signs. 
 
 Almost every system of Shorthand is made at least 
 twenty-five per cent, shorter by its word and phrase con- 
 tractions. 
 
 These are, by no means, arbitrary signs, but consist of 
 .abbreviations composed of the principal part of the outline 
 of the word or phrase for which they stand. In longhand 
 writing, the words for which we have abbreviations, are, as 
 a rule, words which very seldom occur, as, for example, 
 Rev., Mr., Sept., Pres., etc. In Shorthand, the words for 
 which there are brief signs are those which occur most 
 frequently. Such words as is, of, or, to, which, for, all, 
 shall, will, he, him, you, your, but, if, in, on, should, our, 
 the, etc., have in Shorthand contracted forms to represent 
 them. 
 
 Although there are but a few hundred of these contrac- 
 tions, yet it is almost impossible to write a sentence of a 
 half-dozen words without using one or more for which 
 there is a sign. This being the case, it becomes very im- 
 portant that you have these signs "upon your fingers' ends." 
 You need not expect, to gain any considerable degree of 
 speed without knowing them as well as you know your 
 a, b, c's. 
 Not only be able to write them correctly at slow dicta- 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 tion, but also know them so well that the sound of the 
 word will cause a picture of the outline to be instantly 
 formed in the mind. 
 
 XL. Leave Blank Lines or a Wide Margin for 
 Corrections after Dictation. 
 
 Every Shorthand student will find it advantageous to 
 leave every other line blank, or better, to have his note- 
 book ruled in double columns, and when taking dictation, 
 either in class or privately, to use one column only. After- 
 wards he should go over the work carefully, re-writing the 
 whole in the other column and correcting every mistake he 
 may have made. This will be excellent practice, as it will 
 enable him to see where he is most liable to err in writing. 
 This plan is also very valuable in taking rapid or technical 
 dictation. It gives the reporter room to make corrections 
 or to insert afterwards any part that may have been omit- 
 ted in his endeavor to keep up with the speaker. Any 
 report which is to be got up with a great deal of care, or 
 notes taken at a high rate of speed, should be gone over 
 soon after being taken while it is still fresh in the mind, 
 and all necessary corrections made. This can not be done 
 in a satisfactory manner unless blank lines or a marginal 
 column has been left for that purpose. This plan is adopt- 
 ed by a large number of reporters, especially in doing 
 technical work, and is certainly an excellent one. The 
 marginal column need not, in regular work, be over one- 
 third or one-fourth as wide as the one in which you take 
 your dictation, since, if you are a good reporter, the cases 
 where any corrections are needed will occur only occasion- 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 ally. The student, however, should have two columns of 
 equal width, and, for some time after beginning regular 
 dictation, should go over all he writes, copying the whole 
 and correcting every mistake that may be found. This 
 should be strictly adhered to by the student for at least a 
 month of daily practice. The real benefit derived from 
 such practice will amply repay the time spent in that way. 
 
 XLI. Shorthand Notes are Seldom Punctuated. 
 
 In verbatim reporting, and in very many other kinds of 
 work in which a high degree of speed is required, no time 
 is given for the insertion of punctuation marks. By a 
 great many they are not inserted even while writing long- 
 hand, that being left to be attended to afterwards, if done 
 at all. It is, in fact, next to an impossibility for one to 
 always correctly punctuate a sentence until he has heard 
 the whole of it, and, as the reporter oftentimes cannot afford 
 to fall so far behind the speaker, it is plain that he will 
 find it quite impossible to insert the marks in their proper 
 places. Since the words are taken down just as they are 
 spoken, it is easier to insert the marks of punctuation when 
 the transcript is made, for then more time is allowed to 
 attend to it. Generally reporters have no trouble in regard 
 to periods. By some they are regularly inserted. The 
 majority of reporters, however, do not take the trouble to 
 insert even these, but indicate them by leaving a blank 
 space of from one-half to three-fourths of an inch. It is 
 much easier to do this, and it serves the purpose quite as 
 well. 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 XLII. Do not Phrase Over any Pause or Break of 
 Any Kind in a Sentence. 
 
 Shorthand notes, when properly phrased, are, as a rule, 
 more legible than though each word were written sepa- 
 rately. In speaking, words are naturally combined into 
 phrases, clauses, or brief sentences, and, in reading, one is 
 enabled to grasp the meaning much more readily, if it is 
 possible to have these combinations of words, which are 
 related to each other either grammatically or rhetorically, 
 set off in some way from what precedes and from what fol- 
 lows. In longhand this is done, to a certain extent, by 
 means of punctuation marks, which are of great assistance 
 in enabling one to grasp the meaning of what is being read. 
 The same advantage may be gained in Shorthand, where, 
 as a rule, no punctuation marks are used, by uniting those 
 parts of a sentence which are naturally related to each 
 other. In order to take advantage of the help which may 
 be secured in this way, care must be taken not to unite 
 words between which there is any grammatical or rhetor- 
 ical pause. Phrasing, however, cannot be made use of, if 
 the words composing the parts which would naturally be 
 united do not form good angles in joining. 
 
 XLIII. Shorthand Notes Must be Legible. 
 
 Many of the preceding suggestions bear upon this one 
 point. This suggestion is made with the idea of impress- 
 ing still more strongly upon the mind the very great im- 
 portance of giving special attention to all the little things 
 connected with Shorthand. It is the neglect of details 
 that, in most cases, causes trouble in translating notes. 
 
ONE HDNDEED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 Carelessness in shading, in making the proper hooks, in 
 giving the letters the proper slant, in position, and many 
 other things to which reference has already been made, 
 go far toward making the writing illegible. Read over 
 carefully all that has been said concerning these points, and 
 do not allow your writing to be lacking in respect to any of 
 them. It is a common complaint among people who do 
 not know anything about Stenography, and even among 
 many who do pretend to understand it, that Shorthand can- 
 not be read. As a rule, this is caused by the poor writing 
 of those who have not thoroughly learned the art; yet this 
 is not always the case. It frequently occurs that notes 
 which have been taken very accurately cannot be read at 
 all by the writer. There is no other reason for this than 
 that the person has not learned to read Shorthand. There 
 is a vast difference between writing Shorthand and reading 
 it. And here is where a great many fail, simply because 
 they learn only one part of the art and almost entirely 
 ignore the other. Half the work of learning Shorthand 
 consists in acquiring an ability to read without hesitation 
 what has been written. Until one acquires ability in this 
 direction it will make no difference how plainly he may 
 write, his Shorthand will not be legible to him. The ex- 
 tent of one's ability to read notes will determine the extent 
 of their legibility to him, since legibility to each one de- 
 pends very much upon his familiarity with the characters 
 and the ease with which he can grasp the meanings of the 
 various combinations. 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 XLIV. Do Not be Afraid to Work. 
 
 The successful student does not become such except 
 through patient, determined effort. It makes no difference 
 what line of study he may take up, or how great an amount 
 of natural ability he may have, he must expect to make an 
 effort before he can hope to attain to any measure of suc- 
 cess whatever. 
 
 Through the misrepresentations so often made by un- 
 scrupulous teachers and authors, almost all people have the 
 idea that the study of Shorthand is different from that of 
 any other study, and that the application necessary to fit 
 one for successful reporting is nothing more than a mere 
 pastime. Though this idea is a common one, yet it could 
 not be farther from the truth. To master Shorthand re- 
 quires work, and for some the very hardest kind of work. 
 Until people get over the idea that Shorthand may be 
 " absorbed," we shall be obliged to contend with a large 
 number of incompetent writers. While people have such 
 ideas, it is little wonder that at least one-third of those who 
 claim to be capable of doing good work have never half 
 learned the art. 
 
 It does not take a great while for a person of ordinary 
 ability to acquire a practical knowledge of Shorthand, but 
 during his study he must expect to put some honest toil 
 into it Although it is, for the majority of people, by no 
 means the most difficult study in which one may engage, it 
 is a pastime for none, and the sooner people find this out 
 the better it will be for all concerned. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 XLV. Learn Thoroughly the First Principles of Gram- 
 mar, Punctuation, and Capitalization. 
 
 In taking down rapidly the words of another, no time is 
 allowed for giving any attention to matters of this kind. 
 Knowledge of them, however, is absolutely necessary in 
 order to make an acceptable transcript It will not do to 
 write out a speech or a letter as though it were one long, 
 loose sentence without a pause or a capital in it. Inability 
 to readily capitalize, punctuate, and re-arrange poorly con- 
 structed sentences will, and should debar one from the pro- 
 fession. There are, however, thousands of people who 
 have gathered a few vague ideas from some work on Short- 
 hand or attended some school with a " sis weeks' course " 
 in the art, and who do not know enough to capitalize the 
 word America or to place an interrogation point after an 
 expression like this: "Does he know anything?", but who 
 ihink they are competent reporters. It is such that are 
 lowering the standard of the profession, and are either 
 causing or raising the cry of an over-supply. To give sat- 
 isfaction, the young reporter must be able to carefully cor- 
 rect all obvious grammatical errors made by the speaker, 
 mark off sentences properly, insert the proper marks of 
 punctuation, and capitalize the right words. In order to 
 do this, no small amount of study and practice must be 
 given to the subject. 
 
 XLVI. In All Your Practice While Learning the Art, 
 Read, at Least Once, Everything You Write. 
 
 This is a part of the student's work which is quite as 
 essential as any other, and yet one more neglected than 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 anything else. It is just as necessary to read Shorthand 
 notes readily as it is to write rapidly. Ability to do this 
 can be attained only by perseverance in that part of the 
 work. We once heard a professor in one of our great uni- 
 versities say that he had, when a boy, learned Shorthand 
 and acquired a very considerable degree of speed in writ- 
 ing, but when he came to translate his first actual work he 
 was totally at sea. Like Dickens, he had either to go back 
 and begin over again or give it up, and he choose the latter. 
 By a few questions we learned that, up to the time he had 
 made his first attempt at reporting, he had never read a 
 single word of what he had written. 
 
 Beading and writing are two very distinct operations. 
 In the one, the word suggests the outline, while in the 
 other, it is the reverse, it being necessary for the sign to 
 recall the word for which it stands. As before stated, a 
 person may become expert in writing and at the same time 
 be unable to make any sense at all out of his notes. So, 
 also, might he become a very rapid reader of plain Short- 
 hand notes and not be able to write ten words per minute. 
 A very good illustration of a similar phase of the mind 
 may be found in almost any one of the large numbers who 
 study some foreign language in our colleges. They are 
 able to read French or German or Latin quite fluently, 
 while it is very likely that not one in a hundred can write 
 a single sentence readily and correctly. If we would only 
 bear in mind how long we were in learning to read long- 
 hand, we would not hesitate about devoting the compara- 
 tively small amount of time necessary to enable us to be- 
 come expert readers as well as writers of Shorthand. 
 
 The only way that the student may be assured he ia 
 4 
 
ONE HUNDEED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 giving enough attention to this part of the work is to read 
 over, at least once, everything he writes. With this amount 
 of practice he ought, by the time he is able to write one 
 hundred words per minute, to be able to read his notes 
 quite as readily as he does ordinary longhand. 
 
 XLVII. Occasionally Read Over Notes Written Sev- 
 eral Days Before. 
 
 The student can easily find time, and should make it a 
 practice, to read over immediately everything he has writ- 
 ten. When he begins actual reporting, however, he will 
 not always be able to do this. In Convention and Law 
 reporting, especially, he will oftentimes be obliged to tran- 
 scribe notes taken weeks or months or, it may be, years 
 before, and which he has never had an opportunity to read 
 over in the meantime. It also often occurs that an amanu- 
 ensis is required to go back to his file and make copies of 
 letters or documents of some kind, of which he does not 
 remember the first thing. To be able to do this readily 
 requires more or less practice in reading notes written 
 some time previous, a drill which should not be neglected 
 by the student. In reading what has been written only a 
 few hours before, the memory plays a very important part; 
 but help of this kind is entirely wanting, when it comes to 
 reading old notes. To read readily writing which, to use 
 the common phrase, has become cold, requires the peculiar 
 faculty of being able to grasp the sense where no better 
 clue is given than the context and some of the principal 
 words. The student will find this rather difficult at first, 
 but will be surprised, as he practices more and more, at 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 the ease with which each outline will suggest the proper 
 word. 
 
 The reporter's watchword, " Practice," is too often under- 
 stood only to mean write, when it should also mean read, 
 as well as to write. And it should not only mean to 
 read each sentence or paragraph as soon as written, and 
 while it can almost be repeated from memory and the notes 
 then to be destroyed, but should mean to go back every 
 now and then and translate notes where the memory will 
 not assist, and where there is nothing upon which to depend 
 but what has actually been written. 
 
 XLVIII. Be Able to Go Back and Read Readily Any- 
 thing You Have Just Written. 
 
 It quite frequently happens in dictating that a person 
 forgets 'tho precise statements he has made. This will 
 necessitate his calling for a reading of a portion, or, it may 
 l)e, of all the paper or letter which he has already expressed. 
 
 This is more apt to occur in legal work and in those 
 branches of commercial reporting where exact statements 
 are required. The reporter should be able to go back and 
 read without hesitation any portion desired. Ability to 
 do this can be acquired only by persistent practice. It 
 is, however, quite necessary that the reporter be able to 
 do so, and he should not consider himself competent to 
 fill a position unless he is able to read without hesitation, 
 that which he has just written. Though it may not be 
 possible for him to read fluently matter which has been 
 written at some previous time, in which case the memory 
 does not assist him, yet he ought not to hesitate in reading 
 matter which is perfectly fresh in mind. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 XLIX. Correspond in Shorthand with Some Other 
 
 Student. 
 
 There are several advantages to be gained by correspond- 
 ing in Shorthand with some other student. In the first 
 place, one can keep up a much greater interest in the 
 study. I would especially urge the student to do this, if 
 he ia not fortunate enough to have a fellow student with 
 whom he can practice. By corresponding in Shorthand and 
 carefully correcting each other's work, much benefit may 
 be derived; though this plan is not advisable until the stu- 
 dent is well through the principles. If an attempt is made 
 to write miscellaneous matter before all the principles are 
 learned, one will be certain to form many words with 
 wrong outlines. Afterwards, when trying to do rapid work, 
 there will be danger of confusing the outline first learned 
 with the correct one. A letter in Shorthand will surely be 
 read, and practice of this kind will aid the student very 
 materially in learning to read his notes readily a thing 
 which too many are unable to do. 
 
 Another advantage which will result from Shorthand cor- 
 respondence will be the ambition aroused in each to do as 
 well or better than the other. This spirit of emulation, 
 which is a plausible one, will, oftentimes, do more to spur 
 the student on to greater efforts than he is aware of, and 
 in all probability will, in many cases, lead on to a far 
 greater degree of success than one would otherwise attain. 
 
 L. Practice on Something You Wish to Learn. 
 
 As soon as you are able to write miscellaneous matter, 
 the best plan is to confine yourself, at least a part of the 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 time, to practicing upon something the subject matter of 
 which you wish to make your own. Since it is a good plan 
 to read over all the notes you take at dictation, you can by 
 this means become possessed of many important facts that 
 would otherwise never be learned. A good text-book will 
 have the explanations of the principles embodied, as far as 
 possible, in language suitable for dictation work. This end 
 has been kept constantly in view in the choice of language 
 in these suggestions. The student who is just beginning 
 general dictation work will do well to spend a portion of 
 every dictation exercise in writing some of these sugges- 
 tions and afterwards translating them and comparing the 
 translation with the original. This, in itself, will be an 
 excellent exercise for the student, while he will also be 
 acquiring, without effort, many valuable points which will 
 never come amiss to him, both in studying and practicing 
 the art. 
 
 LI. Keep Cool. 
 
 If there is one thing that needs emphasizing more than 
 another of a reporter's qualifications, it is to keep cool. 
 
 Shorthand needs too much attention to be written prop- 
 erly unless one is perfectly calm. There are times in every 
 reporter's career, even if he is only an amanuensis, which 
 will require all the nerve that he can control to enable him 
 to "get it all down." 
 
 To acquire the ability to keep cool under all circumstan- 
 ces is, for most people, by no means an easy task. It ia t in 
 fact, almost an impossibility for some. Confining ourselves 
 within the limit of Shorthand, there is no better way to 
 enable the reporter to be deliberate, under all circumstan- 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 ces, than a thorough preparation for the work, such a prep- 
 aration as will inspire a confidence that you are equal to- 
 the task before you. This, with a firm determination that 
 you will succeed, will go far towards making you deliberate 
 and insuring your success. Always bear in mind that a 
 slow writer with a cool head will accomplish far more than 
 a much more rapid reporter who cannot control himself, 
 but gets nervous at every little thing that occurs out of the 
 regular course of events. 
 
 LI I. Educate the Eye and Ear, as we!! as the Hand, 
 
 The eye and the ear need training quite as well as the 
 hand. There is little or no danger that the hand will not 
 receive enough attention, since no practice can be done 
 without its use. This is too often considered all that is 
 necessary. Many students get the idea that the chief requis- 
 ite is to get the pencil over the paper rapidly. The proper 
 cultivation of the ear, especially, is noglccted. The report- 
 er's work is done almost exclusively by writing from an- 
 other's speaking. To do this, well, the ear and hand must 
 be trained to act together. It is just as necessary that the- 
 ear be trained to catch every sound as it is that the fingers 
 be able to form the outlines rapidly. The ear can be 
 trained in no better way than by careful practice in writing 
 at dictation. In order to become accustomed to different 
 voices and different styles of dictation, it is well to have 
 different ones dictate or read to you. 
 
 The eye should be so trained as to recognize forms at 
 once, even though they are not mechanically e$act. The 
 best way to accomplish this is to read Shorthand. Read 
 over all your own notes, and as much as you can of others' 
 writing. 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 To be an expert reporter these two faculties should be so 
 well trained that one may, without effort, catch every word 
 of a speaker, and unconsciously form in the mind the out- 
 line which represents it. One can do this perfectly only 
 after years of practice, and it can never be done satis- 
 factorily at all unless the student is careful in the very be- 
 ginning. 
 
 Llll. Form the Habit of Picturing in Your Mind the 
 
 Outlines of Words You Hear in Conversation 
 
 or See in Reading. 
 
 Most students will find this an easy and, at the same 
 time, a very profitable habit to acquire. Many students 
 experience considerable trouble in training the mind to act 
 rapidly in recalling the proper outlines for words. They 
 know the outline well enough and can execute it rapidly 
 when once they are able to recall it, but too often they have 
 to stop and think what it is. The only way to attain abil- 
 ity to do this readily is by practice. Of all the qualifica- 
 tions necessary for a reporter, that of recalling outlines 
 readily is, without doubt, one of the most difficult to 
 acquire; yet by a little effort towards forming the habit of 
 recalling the outlines of words which are heard and read, 
 one will soon find it easy to write without hesitation the 
 outline for any word that may occur. The student, how- 
 ever, should not suppose that ability to recall words quickly 
 is all that is necessary to enable him to write rapidly. The 
 fingers must also be trained to move rapidly, and in har- 
 mony with the power of recalling the characters. Hence, 
 that kind of drill which will bring both into action at once, 
 and train them to act harmoniously should not be neglected. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 LIV. Write Your Shorthand Characters Near 
 Each Other. 
 
 There are three important points to be gained by making 
 use of this suggestion. In the first place, time is saved. It 
 takes as long again to move a quarter of an inch as it does 
 to move an eighth, and to save half the time generally 
 taken by most Shorthand writers who separate their char- 
 acters quite widely will be found to considerably increase 
 one's speed. A second advantage, though apparently a 
 trifling one, is the saving of paper, which may be made by 
 writing the signs much nearer to each other than most re- 
 porters do. It is undoubtedly true that a great many re- 
 porters leave nearly, if not quite, as much blank space be- 
 tween the characters as is occupied by the outlines them- 
 selves. With the reporter who is doing a large amount of 
 writing this will prove to be no small item. Besides, it 
 makes the work look more compact and connected than if 
 each word or phrase stood out as though it were an iso- 
 lated or disjoined part. A third advantage to be urged in 
 favor of writing the characters closely together is that it 
 enables the writer to indicate more readily by a blank 
 space a full pause or any important break in the sentence. 
 It would be hard to thus indicate these unless the words 
 were Avritten reasonably close together. 
 
 LV. Copy Several Times All the Phrases Given in 
 the Phrase Book. 
 
 Every system of Shorthand has or should have a book 
 of phrases as well as a dictionary. Much time may be 
 saved and in many places the sense made plainer by prop- 
 
TO SHOKTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 erly joining the words into phrases. 'All tha words of 
 short sentences even may be joined, if a good angle occurs 
 at each juncture. The student from his inexperience can- 
 not, of course, always know when it is best to join words, 
 and when not to join them. In fact he will find that learn- 
 ing to phrase is one of the most difficult things he will 
 meet with in his endeavor to become a reporter. 
 
 The beginner is very apt to phrase too much. He is 
 liable to join words when the angle between them is very 
 slight. This may be done while writing slowly, since a 
 slight angle could then be made distinct, but the student 
 must bear in mind that only those words should be united 
 which may readily be joined, and between which the angles 
 are such that they may be easily and distinctly made while 
 writing rapidly. He can learn this only by gaining his in- 
 formation from those who have had experience, or from 
 some work embodying the results of the experience of 
 some practical reporter, since the student himself can have 
 had no chance to gain such information from his own 
 practice. 
 
 A good phrase book will contain all the commonly occur- 
 ring phrases which are easily and readily formed while 
 writing at a high rate of speed. By writing them ten or 
 fifteen times, the student will find himself almost uncon- 
 sciously overcoming what before seemed an insurmount- 
 able obstacle. 
 
 LVI. Learn to Keep Long Sentences in Mind. 
 
 With the reporter ability in this direction is quite essen- 
 tial to success, not only in taking notes but also in making 
 transcripts of the same. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 Although it is advisable for the reporter to closely follow 
 the speaker, yet he should be able to occasionally fall con- 
 siderably behind, and at the same time not lose a word that 
 is uttered. Unless the student has acquired ability to do 
 this, he will be sure to fail when an unexpected spurt is 
 made by the speaker.^ He will have ample opportunity to 
 catch up during the pause which a speaker always makes 
 after every flight in his delivery. 
 
 Ability to retain long sentences in mind will also 
 prove of advantage in transcribing, since it will save a vast 
 amount of time in referring back and forth from the copy 
 to the work. A person in copying should be able to 
 retain at least twenty-five or thirty words in his mind at a 
 time. By being able to do this, work may be done much 
 more rapidly. 
 
 One's ability in this direction will depend, to a great ex- 
 tent, upon his practice and the kind of matter to be copied. 
 Much improvement, however, maybe made by constant and 
 patient endeavor. Persons who, at first, are not able to 
 retain half a dozen simple words can easily increase their 
 ability at least fourfold. 
 
 LVII. Reporters Often Contract Long Outlines. 
 
 In writing words with long outlines or terms composed 
 of several words which occur quite frequently in a long re- 
 port or in a business in which one is engaged, the reporter 
 will find it greatly to his advantage to abbreviate the out- 
 lines to a considerable extent. This would not do, if they 
 occurred only rarely, as very little and often times no help 
 at all could be derived from the context in reading; but in 
 matter in which they appear scores of times no trouble 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 need be caused by contracting them very considerably 
 every time they occur. 
 
 In various kinds of law reporting, especially, certain long 
 legal terms occur very frequently. The outline for these 
 should be contracted by the reporter. Every kind of busi- 
 ness, in fact, has a large number of words and phrases 
 peculiar to itself and for which the reporter can easily form 
 contractions. It may seem strange to some that word-signs 
 for such words are not given in works on Shorthand. This 
 is not advisable, for the reason that there has come to be 
 such a great variety of work for reporters that, if each were 
 to learn all the special contractions used in every kind of 
 business, he would be obliged to tax his memory with a 
 very large list of signs which, in practice, he would never 
 have occasion to use. 
 
 With the present confusion of so many systems we can 
 see no better plan than for each Stenographer to adopt 
 brief outlines for those words and expressions which are of 
 most frequent occurrence in the line of work in which he 
 is engaged. Care should, of course, be taken to adopt only 
 those forms which are both brief and easily written and at 
 the same time full enough to save trouble in reading them. 
 
 LVI1I. Do Not Allow the Pen to Stop Between the 
 
 Different Parts of a Word or Different Words 
 
 of a Phrase. 
 
 Students are apt to fall into the habit of making a full 
 stop at angles and even between letters where there is no 
 angle at all. Where there is an acute angle to be formed 
 a stop must, of course, be made, yet it need not be a per- 
 ceptible one. . If there is no angle at all and the parts are 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 joined by a curved stroke, no pause whatever should be 
 made. Much time is lost by pauses of this kind, and, un- 
 less the student is careful, he will allow this habit, which 
 lie necessarily formed in the very beginning of his prac- 
 tice, to become so strong that it will be hard to overcome. 
 
 LIX. Always Have the One Who Dictates to You 
 Speak a Little Faster Than You Can Write. 
 
 If nothing of this kind is done to urge you to greater 
 efforts, you can not expect to increase your speed very rap- 
 iJly. The teacher who understands his business will, by a 
 regular increase in his rate of dictation, gradually lead his 
 pupil up to a speed that will enable him to do practical 
 work. This, however, must be done slowly. Speed in 
 Shorthand is not acquired by long and rapid strides. It is 
 uphill work, and proficiency can be attained only by tak- 
 ing one small step at a time until the utmost limit is 
 reached. 
 
 LX. Learn to Operate the Type-Writer. 
 
 Shorthand and type-writing are twin brothers. I might 
 almost say Siamese twins. Until within the last few years 
 it was not considered a necessary qualification for a reporter 
 to understand the use of the type-writer. During late years, 
 however, writing machines have been so greatly improved 
 that by their use much time may be saved, both in writing 
 and reading. As a result, the majority of places where a 
 large amount of writing is done, and especially where a 
 Stenographer is employed, the type-writer is also used. 
 By the use of the writing machine, notes may be tran- 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 scribed in at least one-half the time required in long-hand, 
 and in a far more legible manner. Another very great ad- 
 vantage in the use of the type-writer is that one may make 
 two or more copies at the same time without extra work. 
 One can also write much longer without tiring the muscles 
 of the hand as is done in writing long-hand, since there is 
 more variation in the movement, and both hands are used. 
 Pen paralysis is destined to become a thing of the past, and 
 writing will come to be, in a great measure, a pastime in- 
 stead of the drudgery it is with the pen. 
 
 Before beginning to practice upon the type-writer the 
 student should have a thorough explanation of the ma- 
 chine made to him by some experienced operator, or make 
 a thorough study of it, guided by some manual of instruc- 
 tion. 
 
 Speed depends, to a great extent, upon a systematic man- 
 ipulation of the keys, and unless care is taken, especially in 
 the beginning, one will become accustomed to make many 
 moves which will retard rather than facilitate the work. It 
 may be monotonous at first, yet it is very essential that the 
 beginner adhere, as nearly as possible, to some regular 
 system of practice until he can follow it without conscious 
 effort. 
 
 LXI. Learn to Take Care of the Type-Writer. 
 
 There is, probably, not more than one place in fifty where 
 Stenography is made use of in which the reporter is not 
 only expected to know how to operate the type-writer, but 
 is also supposed to understand how to take care of the ma- 
 chine. For one who thoroughly understands the machine 
 keeping it in good running order is no task at all. The 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS. 
 | 
 
 later styles of type-writers are so simple that after a few 
 hours' examination, any person ought to understand the 
 workings of all its parts well enough to run it with the least 
 possible wear. This, however, is far from being the case. 
 So much so, that one would suppose the ordinary type- 
 written letters sent out by the majority of our large busi- 
 ness houses were written on a machine which had been 
 used for an age, when, in all probability, six months would 
 include the full extent of its usage; yet a good type-writer 
 properly taken care of ought to do five hours' work or more 
 every day for ten years. 
 
 Every type-writer company, in sending out its machines, 
 sends with each one a book of instructions. This is gen- 
 erally very explicit in its directions, and any one who will 
 give these a little careful study ought to have no trouble in 
 keeping his instrument in order. The great trouble is that 
 the majority of operators have never seen one of these 
 books. Another trouble arises from the fact that very few 
 ever pay the least attention to the mechanism of their ma- 
 chines. It does not require a mechanical genius to find 
 the difficulty when something gets out of order, nor does 
 it take an expert to regulate all the different parts; but it 
 does require that a little common sense be used, a thing 
 which is too seldom done by a great many so-called type- 
 writer operators. 
 
 The use of the type- writer would be greatly increased 
 were it not for the discredit cast upon it by the work of so 
 many poor operators. It is needless to say that the type- 
 writer is a really excellent machine, and that it will, some 
 day, supersede the use of the pen; but it can never be done 
 until a higher standard of work is demanded. This point 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS 
 
 cannot be reached until operators better understand the 
 machine they operate, and take more pride in their work. 
 
 LXII. Practice on the Kind of Business in Which 
 You Expect to Engage. 
 
 What we mean by this suggestion is to familiarize your- 
 self, as far as possible, with the nature and especially the 
 duties connected with the business upon which you intend 
 to enter. For instance, suppose you intend to act as an 
 amanuensis for some wholesale book and publishing house, 
 you will find that the more you know of the book trade, 
 and especially the correspondence connected therewith, the 
 easier it will be for you to secure a position, and to fill it 
 satisfactorily after you have secured it. 
 
 Of course there will be a great deal you cannot learn un- 
 til you are actually engaged in the work, yet a few general 
 ideas of a business will give a person more confidence in 
 himself than he would otherwise have, and also enable him 
 to understand many other things much more readily than 
 he otherwise would. 
 
 If possible, the student should secure letters or copies of 
 letters relating to the business in which he expects to en- 
 gage, and by their help familiarize himself, as far as may 
 be, with the technical terms and peculiarities of that par- 
 ticular kind of work. 
 
 The student who is fitting himself for general work can- 
 not, of course, profit much by this suggestion, and he will 
 find his work proportionally harder in the beginning. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 LXIII. The Amanuensis May Adopt, to Good Advan- 
 tage, Contracted Forms for a Large Number of 
 Words and Expressions of Frequent Oc- 
 currence in His Special Work. 
 
 Every kind of profession or business has a large number 
 of words and phrases peculiar to it Outside of the range 
 of these particular branches these words are very seldom 
 used. Hence it is not advisable for the student to spend 
 time in learning a long list of abbreviations, a large per 
 cent, of which are made use of only in special lines of 
 work. The better plan is for the student to learn only the 
 signs for the most commonly occurring words and phrases. 
 Then, when he has decided to engage in any particular 
 kind of business, or, better, after he has had opportunity 
 to gain some experience in it, he will find it an easy matter 
 to contract the outlines for the words and phrases peculiar 
 to that profession or business, and for the stereotyped ex- 
 pressions to which his employer is particularly addicted. 
 
 Most reporters devise contractions for such terms and 
 expressions, and find them very helpful in expediting their 
 work and in no way affecting the legibility of their notes. 
 
 LXIV. Do Some Practical Work for Some 
 Business Man. 
 
 The best kind of practice the student can have, after he 
 has learned the principles, is that which approaches most 
 nearly to the kind of work he will be obliged to do in act- 
 ual reporting. Business men, in fact, prefer those who 
 have had some practical experience, and in order to be able 
 to satisfy them that you are not a mere beginner, you should 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 secure some actual practice just for the experience it will 
 give. Go to some business man who has more or less cor- 
 respondence and offer to take all his letters for a while 
 without wages. You can well afford to do this. In the 
 first place, you would be fitting yourself for the actual 
 work in the most thorough and practical manner possible. 
 If your work is satisfactory, and you ought not to expect 
 a paying position until it is, it would be much easier to 
 secure a situation and to fill it acceptably than you might 
 otherwise hope to do. Another advantage that often arises 
 from such a course is in causing the man for whom you 
 work to learn to appreciate the advantages of Shorthand, 
 and, in this way, cause a demand for your own employment, 
 or for that of some other Shorthand writer. 
 
 LXV. A Knowledge of Book-Keeping and Business 
 
 Forms is Often Very Serviceable 
 
 to the Amanuensis. 
 
 There are many places where the services of a Stenog- 
 rapher are required, although there is not enough work in 
 that line to keep one constantly employed. In cases of 
 this kind an amanuensis is usually required to assist in 
 keeping the books, filling out orders, checking bills, or 
 something of a similar nature. 
 
 Situations of this kind are, of late, becoming very com- 
 mon. Heretofore, those whose business was not extensive 
 enough to enable them to give a Stenographer steady em- 
 ployment have not made use of such assistance at all. 
 They are, however, beginning to realize that they can gain 
 the advantage of such help by employing a reporter who 
 can also assist at other things when not engaged in steno- 
 graphic work. 
 5 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 This is opening for Stenographers a new field which will, 
 before many years, more than double the demand for Short- 
 hand writers. In order to occupy this field, the reporter 
 must qualify himself for the other duties which will nec- 
 essarily be coupled with it. 
 
 LXVI. Do Not Disturb the One Dictating. 
 
 This suggestion, it is plain, will apply more particularly 
 to those engaged in amanuensis work. 
 
 In composing letters the dictator is governed by the same 
 feeling which controls one while conversing with another. 
 He talks as if the party to whom he is writing were 
 actually present, and he were speaking to him, answering 
 some important question, or making some proposition. This 
 being the case, any interruption will be just as disagreeable 
 as though he were in actual conversation with the corre- 
 spondent himself. 
 
 It also requires considerable mental effort to indite 
 letters and other matter rapidly and correctly, and any 
 unnecessary interruption, either by lack of speed, being 
 nervous, or by asking questions, will tend to confuse the 
 dictator and make him impatient. In order to give satis- 
 faction, such things must be scrupulously avoided. 
 
 The amanuensis should also hold himself in readiness to 
 begin writing at the very instant his employer begins to 
 dictate. The necessity of so doing is caused by the fact 
 that most people who have amanuenses are people who do 
 not understand Shorthand, and who cannot realize that it 
 is possible for the reporter to get all they say unless he 
 begins to write at the very moment the dictating com- 
 mences. Although it may be perfectly safe to fall fifteen or 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 twenty words behind the speaker, still, in most cases, much 
 hesitation and nervousness on the part of the dictator may 
 be avoided by being ready to take, as soon as uttered, the 
 very first word, both at the beginning o letters and after 
 each pause made by the one dictating. 
 
 LXVII. In Doing Amanuensis Work, if Any Important 
 
 Statement Is Not Distinctly Heard, Call 
 
 for Its Repetition. 
 
 This may seem to be in contradiction to the preceding 
 suggestion. This, however, is not the case. It would 
 hardly be considered any more of an interruption to ask 
 the dictator to repeat a statement that had not been dis- 
 tinctly heard than it would be for one person to ask another 
 to repeat something which, in ordinary conversation, he 
 had not heard or the meaning of which he had not under- 
 stood. 
 
 If it is only a matter of minor importance that is not 
 exactly understood, it is better to let it pass until the end is 
 reached, and then ask for its repetition. Blank space 
 should be left, however, to insert anything that may have 
 been lost. It would also be well to make some sign on the 
 margin to indicate where the omission was made or other- 
 wise in looking for it; the blank may be taken simply for a 
 pause or change in the subject, and thus be overlooked. 
 
 LXVIII, The Amanuensis Should Leave a Wide Mar- 
 gin so as to Have Room to Make Any Inser- 
 tions Which the Dictator May 
 Afterwards Desire. 
 
 It very often occurs, especially in dictating legal and 
 .other technical matter, that the dictator wishes to go back 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 and insert some clause, modify some statement, or give a 
 more complete explanation of some difficult point. Unless 
 a margin is left beside the notes, it will be necessary to 
 make a note of the changes at the close of the dictation.. 
 When placed at the end it frequently occurs in transcribing 
 that they are forgotten until it is too late to write them in 
 their proper places. Some amanuenses always place any- 
 thing of this kind at the end, and then insert some sign in 
 the notes where the insertion is to be made. This is just 
 as good a plan only it requires more time and is apt to be 
 misunderstood by others "who may have occasion to refer 
 to the notes at some future time. 
 
 LXIX. Keep a List of the Full Names and Postoffice 
 Addresses of All Regular Correspondents. 
 
 By keeping a list of this kind, the full name and address 
 need not be written out at the beginning of each Short- 
 hand letter. This will avoid the necessity of keeping one's 
 employer waiting while the names are being written, and 
 also save him the trouble of repeating before each letter 
 the full name and address of the party to whom he is 
 writing. The date, with the full name and address, may be 
 filled in afterwards. This may seem to some like a small 
 matter, but when one has to write a hundred or a hundred 
 and fifty short, pointed business letters at a single take, he 
 will find that nearly as much time will be occupied in writ- 
 ing out the full heading for each letter as is necessary to 
 write the whole body of the letter in Shorthand. Even if 
 the Stenographer does not care to keep a list of the princi- 
 pal correspondents, he need not always write the name in 
 full when taking the letters, as he will be able, after a little 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 practice, to fill out most of them from memory. All those 
 who cannot safely trust their memory to do this should be 
 sure to keep a full list of the regular correspondents. 
 
 LXX. Keep Your Own Counsel. 
 
 The Stenographer, like everybody else, must, in a certain 
 sense, be a machine. This arises from the fact that in 
 many cases confidential matter of the gravest importance 
 is often dictated to him, and unless he exerts the utmost 
 care, he will be apt, inadvertently it may be, to betray a 
 knowledge of his employer's affairs to those who would 
 take advantage of it. Again, it frequently occurs in some 
 kinds of business that the Stenographer is approached for 
 the special purpose of persuading him to make known his 
 employer's intentions or plans. Attempts may even be 
 made to bribe him in order to secure the desired informa- 
 tion. Aside from the moral phase of the question, the 
 Stenographer can, by no means, afford to betray his em- 
 ployer's secrets to others. Once let it be proven that he 
 has done such a thing and his prospects as a reporter will 
 be ruined. 
 
 Morally it is wrong, and financially it is a losing invest- 
 ment. If you find that you have a tendency to speak of 
 things pertaining to your work to those not connected with 
 the business, it would be well to form the habit of rigidly 
 refusing to speak of your employer's affairs at all. By so 
 doing there is no risk of being surprised into statements 
 which may afterwards be regretted. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 LXXI. Perform Your Work to Suit Your Employer. 
 
 Tour employer pays you for your services, and they should 
 therefore be rendered in a way agreeable to his wishes. Too 
 often beginners are informed, soon after taking a position, 
 that their services are no longer required, simply because 
 they have persisted in doing things as they themselves 
 thought best, when they were well aware that their employer 
 had been in the habit of doing or having the same things 
 done in another way. Although you may be sure that 
 your methods are better, if he does not think so, that should 
 end the matter. 
 
 In most matters relating to the Shorthand part of the 
 business, employers leave all to the management of their 
 amanuenses. They do, however, generally have some reg- 
 ular forms which they have followed for years; as, for ex- 
 ample, they have a certain plan of filing away their letters, 
 and do not wish to disarrange their business by changing, 
 even though some new plan might be a little better. The 
 amanuensis should be perfectly willing to adapt himself to 
 such arrangement. In case no particular forms have been 
 made use of, and the employer is willing that the reporter 
 introduce plans of his own, there can be no objection to his 
 doing so. 
 
 LXXII. Take an Interest in Your Employer's Affairs. 
 
 This will apply in general to those engaged in any kind 
 of business, but certainly applies with special force to the 
 amanuensis reporter. As such, the reporter knows more 
 about his employer's business than any other person in his 
 service. He cannot help knowing all about many of his 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 employer's intentions and plans. Being thus situated he 
 ought to manifest an interest in the business. Knowing so 
 much about the business, it can scarcely be that he will not 
 have many confidences trusted to him. It will also very 
 frequently happen that the reporter will learn of things 
 greatly to the interest of his employer. When anything of 
 this kind occurs he should feel it his duty to give him the 
 benefit of such knowledge. The amanuensis may, in this 
 way, be able to give timely warning against some course 
 that might occasion serious loss, or, at another time, he 
 may gain some information by which his employer might 
 greatly profit. Anything of this kind will be duly appre- 
 ciated, and will be almost sure to result in the promotion 
 of employees who take the trouble to so interest them- 
 selves. 
 
 LXXIII. Secure a Seat in Front of and as Near the 
 Speaker as Possible. 
 
 In amanuensis work the reporter generally performs his 
 duties in the private office of his employer where there is 
 not likely to be anything to disturb or interrupt. Report- 
 ing in public, however, is quite different, and to avoid the 
 danger of missing any part of the proceedings, the reporter 
 should make it a point to secure a suitable location. As a 
 rule, it will be found that a position immediately in front 
 of the speaker will be most suitable. When it is expected 
 that reports are to be made, tables ara generally furnished, 
 and placed in the most convenient position for the use of 
 reporters. 
 
 Never try to write behind the speaker, if any other place 
 at all can be secured. The gallery should be avoided un- 
 
ONE HUNDEED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 less it is known to be suitable for the purpose. In making 
 reports of conventions, mass meetings, etc., a seat at the 
 same table with the secretary is the most suitable place, as 
 he generally knows the names of all who take part, and is 
 also able to give other information necessary to a full re- 
 port. 
 
 The court reporter will be more likely to hear every 
 word by being seated between the judge and jury. They 
 are generally seated near each other, and as everything of 
 importance is intended for either one or the other or both, 
 the reporter will not, by being between them, be apt to 
 miss anything that is said. 
 
 LXXIV. Make a Noteot Everything That Takes Place 
 as well as What Is Said. 
 
 To make a report intelligible to readers, it very often 
 becomes necessary to explain certain things which occurred 
 during the progress of the meeting of which a report is 
 being made. Something may happen to call forth from the 
 speaker an expression in no way related to the subject under 
 discussion, or, it may be, cause him to entirely change the 
 coarss of his remarks. Unless some explanation is made 
 to chow the reason for this, the reporter would do an injus- 
 tice t^tlie spoaker. A certain noted lecturer, referring to 
 the fine arts, made the following remark while addressing 
 an audience in ono of our large cities : "What shall I say 
 of the composition of Mozart? Such music is enough to 
 try the patience of the gods. The tender pathos, the soul 
 stirring strains, the sweet harmony, of the great composers 
 have done more to make mankind better, than all the cold 
 philosophy of the ages." The next morning the news was 
 
TO SHOETHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 spread abroad that Mr. had publicly ridiculed one 
 of the great masters, while, at the same time, pretending to 
 be a patron of classical music. A word of explanation by 
 the reporter would have shown that the disparaging remark 
 had nothing whatever to do with the discourse, but was 
 caused by a brass band, in the immediate neighborhood, 
 bursting out at that very moment, in a most indescribable 
 discord of harsh sounds. 
 
 In court reporting it is quite necessary, often times, to 
 insert explanatory notes in order to explain certain state- 
 ments made by the witnesses. Thus, if the question were 
 asked, "How far were you standing from Mr. Mandel when 
 he was struck?" and the answer should be, "About as far as 
 from here to the stove," it would be necessary for the re- 
 porter to insert in parenthesis a statement giving, as nearly 
 as possible, the distance indicated. 
 
 From what has been said any one will readily see the 
 bearing of this suggestion. This should enable one to 
 avoid the danger of difficulty arising from lack of any 
 needed explanation. 
 
 LXXV. The First Time a Proper Name Occurs Write 
 It in Longhand. 
 
 This suggestion should be followed whenever practica- 
 ble, since the stenographic outline does not indicate the 
 spelling, and hence, when it comes to transcribing, many 
 names, if written in Shorthand only, would be improperly 
 spelled. Once writing the name in longhand will, how- 
 ever, be sufficient for each report, since this gives the 
 spelling, after which it is perfectly safe to write it in Short- 
 hand. When it is impossible to write out the word, the 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 next best thing to do is to carefully vocalize it. This should 
 always be done, especially when two or more names have 
 the same outlines, as in the case of John, Jane and Jean. 
 The only way these names could be distinguished in most 
 systems of Shorthand is to vocalize them. It is customary, 
 among most Shorthand reporters, not to take the trouble to 
 underscore proper names which are thus vocalized. 
 
 LXXVI. The Field of Court Reporting or of the 
 Law Amanuensis Offers the Most Excellent 
 Opportunities to Those Who Contem- 
 plate Entering the Legal Profession. 
 
 There is no better school for the student of law than that 
 of court reporting. His duties, as such, bring him con- 
 stantly in contact with judges and skilled practitioners. 
 In every trial which he reports, he sees applied in prac- 
 tice the principles which he has learned from books, and has 
 them impressed upon his mind in a manner which no 
 amount of reading or study would do. His opportunities 
 to become well versed in the law of evidence, a most im- 
 portant branch of the legal profession, are unsurpassed. 
 The forms and methods of procedure are also important, 
 and no better place can be found than the reporter has 
 for becoming familiar with them. 
 
 As an amanuensis in a good law office, one may derive 
 almost as much profit as is gained by the court reporter. 
 The fact that one is able to write Shorthand will also prove 
 a very potent factor in securing a preference over another 
 who cannot report. Many a young man has, by the help of 
 Shorthand, been able to secure a good position in some 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 large law office, where otherwise he would have had no 
 show at all. 
 
 LXXVII. The Court Reporter Should Understand 
 Thoroughly the Nature of the More Ordinary Rul- 
 ings, Exceptions, and Objections Made Useof 
 in Court Procedure, so as to Be Able 
 to Make Proper Record of Them.* 
 
 Next in importance to the evidence itself is the record- 
 ing of objections, which are made from time to time to its 
 introduction, or to any proceeding which either party may 
 consider illegal. The grounds upon which such objections 
 are based should be noted by the reporter, and should they 
 not be stated specifically, the counsel's argument in pre- 
 senting the matter to the court should be taken down. 
 When an objection is decided, the exception, if any, taken 
 by the party overruled, should also be recorded. 
 
 Exceptions are also taken to the decisions of the court 
 in sustaining or overruling various motions submitted in 
 the course of the trial, and a minute should be made of 
 them by the reporter. 
 
 In reporting depositions, objections are recorded and 
 testimony taken subject thereto, no rulings being made, or 
 exceptions taken at the time. 
 
 A law report should be, as nearly as possible, a photo- 
 graph of all the proceedings had. Hence it becomes the 
 reporter's duty to make a minute of every transaction 
 which has a bearing on the case. 
 
 * NOTE. This, with Suggestion 78, were, with the consent of the author, taken 
 from the " Reporting Style of Shorthand." 
 
ONE HUNDEED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 LXXVIII. All Exhibits Introduced in Court as Part 
 
 of the Evidence Should Be Carefully Marked in 
 
 the Order in Which They Are Produced. 
 
 Written documents, as deeds, notes, contracts, mortgages, 
 letters, depositions, etc., are frequently produced in court, 
 and make a part of the evidence. For the purpose of 
 identification, and convenience in making references, the 
 same should, at the time, be marked by the reporter as ex- 
 hibit "A," "B," etc., according to the order in which they 
 r.re introduced. The paper should have upon it, besides 
 the index letter, the initials of the parties to the suit. 
 This prevents ambiguity in the cases where the same docu- 
 ment has already been marked with a different letter as an 
 exhibit in another case. 
 
 As part of evidence, also, knives, rings, keys, photographs, 
 or any articles whatever which it may be important for the 
 court or jury to examine are from time to time introduced. 
 These may be marked by firmly attaching a written card to 
 them. 
 
 The reporter should be careful to identify, as an exhibit, 
 every article or document offered by either party, whether 
 or not the same is actually admitted in evidence by the 
 court, since rejected exhibits are necessary to complete the 
 appellant's bill of exceptions. 
 
 Half the value of a law report is lost by not having it 
 properly indexed. The paper used should be accurately 
 paged, and each separate book or manuscript numbered in 
 the order used. 
 
 Reference is frequently made, and the reporter ordered 
 to read parts of testimony taken days, or even weeks, 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 previous. This can be done only by means of a running 
 index, which is kept making from hour to hour, just as the 
 proceedings take place. This should give the day and date 
 of each session of court, the name of each witness, and the 
 page where his testimony and cross-examination begins. 
 
 LXXIX. In Reporting for Newspapers, Full Notes 
 Should Always BeTaken, Though Only a Con- 
 densed Report May Be Required. 
 
 Nowadays only brief synopses of reports are printed. 
 These may be prepared much more satisfactorily when 
 done at leisure and from full Stenographic reports. For 
 this reason Shorthand reporters are given the preference 
 on all our metropolitan journals. They do not, as a rule, 
 furnish longer reports, but the fact that they have more 
 opportunity to deliberate upon the matter enables them to 
 use better judgment in deciding just what portions should 
 be made use of and what should be rejected. As a result 
 they are enabled to furnish much more acceptable reports. 
 They also have full notes in case any contingency arises in 
 which a full account is desired. 
 
 The newspaper reporter should also be especially well 
 skilled in reading Stenographic notes, since reports must 
 often be taken with a lead pencil on unruled paper, and not 
 ttafrequently when the writer is standing. It also very 
 often occurs that reports must be written out very rapidly 
 in order to have them ready for the next issue of the paper. 
 No time is allowed on such occasions for puzzling over 
 notes. The newspaper reporter, if he would make a success 
 of his calling, must be able to read, without meeting with 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 too many difficult points, notes taken rapidly and under all 
 circumstances. 
 
 LXXX. In Making Reports of Public Meetings, Con- 
 ventions. Etc., Where Speeches Are Made by a 
 Number of Persons, Be Careful to Make 
 Note of Each Speaker's Name. 
 
 The reporter can best do this by securing a seat near the 
 secretary, who, as a rule, is supposed to know the names of 
 all who take part. If, in reporting the proceedings of a 
 conventicn of some organized body, it is npt possible to 
 learn the names of all who participate, the remarks made 
 by each speaker whose name is unknown should be placed 
 under the head of "A Member." 
 
 The president and secretary are generally designated by 
 their official titles and their names not repeated after being 
 given at the beginning of the report. It is also a wise plan 
 to get a list of the names of all the members of organized 
 bodies so as to be able to properly spell each name in making 
 out the report for publication. Such a list may always be 
 obtained from the secretary. 
 
 LXXXI. In Convention Reporting, Note Carefully All 
 
 Motionsand Resolutions ExceptThose in Writing, 
 
 Also Amendments Thereto, and Remarks 
 
 and Decisions Thereupon. 
 
 In making out reports of all kinds of public meetings it 
 is often the case that much of their real value depends upon 
 matters of this kind. Since most of the regular speeches 
 are generally written before being delivered, the greater 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 part of the reporter's duties will be to record the remarks 
 made upon them and the unwritten motions and resolutions 
 and discussions which they call forth. 
 
 In order to succeed in this, several special qualifications 
 are necessary. A keen and cultivated sense of hearing is 
 indispensable, since a writer is often required to take down 
 rapidly the remarks of different members located in various 
 parts of a large assembly, and who sometimes follow one 
 another in quick succession. In convention reporting more 
 judgment, editorial ability, and a previous knowledge of 
 the matter in hand are needed. A thorough understanding 
 of parliamentary rules and the customs of deliberative 
 assemblies is also necessary to satisfactory work in this 
 line. 
 
 The best way to properly fit one's self for work of this 
 kind is to serve for awhile as an assistant to some experi- 
 enced reporter, from whom many things may be learned 
 which cannot be acquired in any other way. 
 
 LXXXII. In Speech Reporting, Good Sight and Hear- 
 ing, as well as Keen Observation and Good 
 Expression, Are Necessary. 
 
 Under the general head of speech reporting is included 
 the various kinds of public addresses, religious debates, 
 sermons, etc. In order to make a success in this field some- 
 thing more than that which may be gained by study is de- 
 manded. The natural gifts of good sight and hearing are 
 indispensable. Keen observation is another essential, and 
 with this must be coupled force in expression. 
 
 Good sight is necessary, since it very often occurs that 
 the eyes will have to endure a long and continuous strain. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 Also, in transcribing, the sight is often tried to its utmost 
 extent. This is especially true when pencil notes are to be 
 read, since the closest scrutiny must be made of almost 
 every word in copying notes of this kind, and unless the 
 eyes are strong they will soon fail. 
 
 One must also be able to hear well enough to catch dis- 
 tinctly everything uttered by the speaker. Any defect in 
 this respect will totally unfit the reporter for work of this 
 kind, and it is useless to try to substitute any other quali- 
 fication in its place. 
 
 The speech reporter must also be continually on the alert 
 in order to understand not only what is said but also the 
 relation of the different points made by the speaker. Un- 
 less he is able to do this, when he comes to make an ab- 
 stract of what he has written, as he will often be called 
 upon to do, he will be apt to leave out many important 
 matters, and include some things which ought to be omit- 
 ted. 
 
 LXXXIII. Besides Speed the Speech Reporter Must 
 Possess a Fair Knowledge of the English Lan- 
 guage, History, and the Current 
 Events of the Day. 
 
 Though all of these are important, the latter is especially 
 so. Persons of an enthusiastic temperament, who are fully 
 awake to the importance of current changes, and interested 
 in the living political, religious, and socialistic issues of 
 the day are far the best fitted for reporting public speeches, 
 for these relate almost constantly to such matters. The 
 reporter must also know something of history in order to 
 understand many things which he will be called upon to 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 report, and where he will be sure to fail without such 
 knowledge. He must understand the English language so 
 that he may be able to write out his reports correctly. 
 
 With a speed of from one hundred and fifty to one hun- 
 dred and seventy-five words per minute, taken in connec- 
 tion with enough general information to understand what 
 he is reporting and to transcribe it in a clear and concise 
 manner, and with sufficient judgment to condense when it 
 is required, without omitting any of the salient points, the 
 reporter will be prepared to enter a field, the educational 
 advantages of which are indeed vast, and in which he will 
 find every opportunity to prepare himself for a higher 
 professional life. 
 
 LXXXIV. Every Stenographer Should Prepare Him- 
 self to Teach Shorthand. 
 
 The demand which is fast becoming universal for in- 
 struction in this art, and the lack of those who are pre- 
 pared to teach, make it possible for almost every reporter 
 who has any ability at all in this direction to devote his 
 spare time in a very profitable way. 
 
 The qualifications necessary for success in teaching are 
 a good general education, a thorough and accurate knowl- 
 edge of the theory, power of expression, and an interest in 
 the work. The division of the work is two-fold, the first 
 being that of instruction in the theory; the second, that of 
 the practical application of the art. It is not indispensa- 
 ble .that the teacher understand anything more than the 
 theory in order to do satisfactory work in teaching the 
 mere principles of the art. To impart a practical knowl- 
 edge of the reporting business, however, it is necessary 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 that the teacher should not only understand the theory; 
 but that he should also be an adept in, at least, some one 
 branch of the reportorial calling. 
 
 The rapidly increasing demand for Shorthand Amanuen- 
 ses, the large number who wish to acquire a knowledge of 
 the art for their own private use, and the fact that it has 
 lately been introduced into the public schools in many of 
 our large cities, make it possible for a large number to find 
 profitable employment by devoting a part of their time to 
 teaching. 
 
 Apart from the text used, the teacher will be able to de- 
 rive much help in his work from the various, suggestions 
 in this little volume. A careful study of these will give all 
 the special preparation necessary to enable one to do very 
 satisfactory work as a teacher. 
 
 LXXXV. When You Are Prepared for a Situation Do 
 Not Sit Down and Wait for One to Come to You. 
 
 There are three ways, any one of which the young re- 
 porter may adopt, to secure a position. 
 
 In the first place, he may sit down and wait for one to 
 seek him out. This is liable to prove rather monotonous. 
 We have known reporters to be almost compelled to take 
 positions which were offered them. Such cases, however, 
 are far from being the rule. 
 
 Another plan is to depend upon some one else to assist 
 him. It may be some friend or some bureau on which he 
 places his dependence. These, at best, are liable to t fail 
 him. Friends are rare, indeed, who do not consult their 
 own interests first and will only remember others after 
 they have secured all they can for themselves. 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 A third plan is for the young reporter to be a man, and 
 to depend upon himself, to give people who are likely to 
 need the services of a Stenographer to understand that he 
 is prepared for this kind of work, that he is willing to do 
 the very best he can, and is determined to succeed. Such 
 a spirit will win confidence and respect and assure the pos- 
 sessor of an early opportunity to test his ability, There 
 are plenty of places waiting for some energetic man or 
 woman to push into them and to make a success in them. 
 
 LXXXVI. Always Be on Time. 
 
 There is no other one thing that will do more towards 
 commending a person to the favor of people than prompt- 
 ness in attending to one's duties. This is the case in every 
 kind of business, but it is especially true of the reporter. 
 In most occupations in which a person is serving another, 
 he may frequently neglect it by tardiness and no one sus- 
 tain any serious loss. "With the Stenographer, however, 
 there are more of other people's interests dependent upon 
 him than almost any other class of subordinates. If he is 
 an amanuensis, and by tardiness, delays his employer's 
 correspondence, even a single mail, it is possible he may, 
 by such neglect, cause the loss of more than he can earn 
 in months or even years. 
 
 If he is employed in the courts, or is to make a report of 
 some speech or convention, he may, by not being on time, 
 cause these to be adjourned for the day, involving the loss, 
 it may be, of hundreds of dollars, and, what is far worse, 
 lose his reputation as a prompt and reliable reporter, 
 which, when once lost, will be hard to win back again. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 The reporter should always be at his post promptly, and 
 he will find that it will pay him well. 
 
 , LXXXVII. Always Be Prepared for Work. 
 
 Only those who have gone into the court room, or to a 
 lecture, convention, or public meeting, and found, when 
 about to begin work, that they had brought a note-book 
 already filled, or made some similar mistake, will appreci- 
 ate the value of this suggestion. These little things are 
 very annoying, and are likely to bring a reporter into dis- 
 favor, if they occur too frequently. No reporter should 
 ever set out to do any kind of reporting whatever without 
 first examining his note-book and supply of pens and pen- 
 cils. If a steel pen ia used, a few extra pens should be 
 kept about one's person. It is also advisable to keep a few 
 pencils ready sharpened so that should anything occur to 
 necessitate their use the reporter will not be at a loss. It 
 is advisable also that some sort of a pocket inkstand be 
 carried by the reporter, as the ink usually found in a court 
 room, or where public meetings are held, is generally of 
 the vilest sort and by no means fit to use. 
 
 The careful reporter will form the habit of always look- 
 ing after these small yet essential things,. and will thus 
 not be obliged to lose the report of some important pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 LXXXVIII. Use a Note-Book Specially Prepared for 
 Shorthand Work. 
 
 The size most convenient for practical work is one about 
 five by eight inches, opening at the end with a marginal 
 ruling about an inch from the left side. In ordinary work 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS 
 
 this space should be left blank so as to give room for inser- 
 tions and alterations which may be made at any other time. 
 This will be found quite convenient for the amanuensis 
 reporter, who will often be called upon to insert some 
 clause in the body of a letter after it has been dictated, or 
 to change the wording upon some important point. Some 
 reporters make allowances for such changes by writing 
 only upon every other line. This, of course, will serve the 
 purpose, but it is an unnecessary waste of paper, which, in 
 a short time, will amount to considerable. 
 
 Note-books bound so that they will lie flat on the desk 
 when open will enable the writer to use both sides of a leaf 
 as he goes along, otherwise it would be necessary to use 
 only one side at first, and then turn and fill the other half. 
 This latter is not a convenient form for reference, and 
 should be avoided. 
 
 Some prefer note-books which open at the side. Those 
 opening at the end, however, are more convenient, since it 
 is not possible to have a book opening at the side that will 
 lie perfectly level when open, and, as a result, it is difficult 
 to write near the end of lines on the left page, or the be- 
 ginning of those on the right. 
 
 A note-book with a stiff cover will be found the most 
 convenient. It keeps the paper from being folded or 
 soiled, and when occasion requires you to make a report 
 with no better place than your knee upon which to place 
 your note-book, you will still have a level surface upon 
 which to write. 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 LXXXIX. Make It a Point to Secure, as Nearly as 
 Possible, the Exact Words of the Speaker. 
 
 Beginners are very apt, by trying to get every word be- 
 fore it is possible for them to do so, to fall into the habit 
 of getting a portion only of each sentence. A few entire 
 sentences missed from a speech will not prove nearly as 
 fatal to a good report as to have the latter part of a large 
 number of sentences wanting. 
 
 Even if only a brief report is desired, it is much better 
 to take full notes, as it will be easier to prepare it from 
 such than from meagre notes, as more time is given when 
 transcribing to decide upon the relative importance of the 
 different parts of the report. No effort should be made, 
 while taking notes, to correct mere verbal errors which any 
 speaker is liable to make. Though it is the reporter's 
 place to correct all evident mistakes thus made, it can be 
 done better while making the transcript. 
 
 As a rule, take down everything just as neany as possi- 
 ble as it is said, and then, whether a full or only a con- 
 densed report is wanted, plenty of material will be at hand 
 from which to draw. 
 
 XC. Accustom Yourself to Inconveniences in Re- 
 porting. 
 
 If you expect to engage in general reporting rather than 
 to confine yourself to any particular line of the work, you 
 will find it quite necessary to accustom yourself to put up 
 with all sorts of inconveniences. Especially in general 
 newspaper work, you will often times be called upon to , 
 write in unusual places where there is everything possible 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 to contend with. It may be that you will have to write 
 with your note-book upon your knee, or make use of some 
 other person's -back. You may find it necessary to use 
 poor ink on poor paper, or a hard lead pencil on finely cal- 
 endered paper. It may so happen that you will be obliged 
 to write in almost total darkness. In order to succeed you 
 must be prepared to meet all such emergencies. No mat- 
 ter how careful you may be or how hard you may endeavor 
 to avoid such things, they will occasionally occur, and the 
 only way is to keep your wits about you and make the best 
 of them. Those who are able to do so are the ones who 
 are sure to succeed. 
 
 XCI. Any part of a Report Which is Indistinctly 
 
 Heard Should Be Marked by Some Sign to 
 
 Indicate the Uncertainty. 
 
 A vertical line drawn beside that which is not distinctly 
 heard will be sufficient to call the attention to that part 
 afterwards. Where any portion is entirely lost, a space 
 should be left for it, and a similar sign used to indicate 
 that there is something to be supplied. 
 
 When anything of this kind occurs, the reporter should, 
 before making a transcript of the report, endeavor to obtain 
 what was omitted or to ascertain the exact reading of any 
 doubtful passages. If other reporters have made a report 
 of the same proceedings, help may be obtained from them. 
 If not, the speaker, a part of whose speech was lost, may 
 be consulted. If neither of these courses is open, it may 
 be posible to obtain the desired information from some one 
 who was in attendance and who is known to be an attentive 
 listener. It is always better, of course, to be able to make 
 such a report that help of this kind will not be needed. 
 
ONE HUNDEED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 XCII. In Transcribing Always Read a Full Sentence 
 Before Beginning to Write. 
 
 In translating, much help is derived from the context. 
 This being the case, it is quite necessary that a full sen- 
 tence be read, and often times even more than this, in order 
 to be sure of the meaning. 
 
 Beginners who have not acquired a capacity to retain 
 more than a few words in the mind at once are very apt to 
 fall into the habit of translating and then transcribing only 
 very short sentences or parts of long sentences at a time. 
 In this way they are liable to make many mistakes, and to 
 give translations entirely different from what was intended. 
 
 A few experiences of this kind will be sufficient to im- 
 press upon the young reporter's mind the necessity of 
 looking ahead. He may, however, avoid all difficulty in 
 this direction by heeding this suggestion and profiting by 
 the experience of those who have made similar mistakes. 
 
 XCIII. If, When Transcribing, Some Portions of Your 
 
 Notes Puzzle You, Leave Spaces and Go on, and 
 
 When You Get the full Sense it Will Be 
 
 Much Easier to Decipher Them. 
 
 The best reporters, like many longhand writers, will 
 sometimes get puzzled over some inaccurately formed 
 character or outline or some sign which may be translated 
 in different ways, each way making complete sense. When 
 a case of this kind occurs, it will be better to leave the 
 difficult part for the time being, since, after reading the 
 balance of the letter or paper and having its complete 
 sense, the chances are that the difficult passage can be 
 easily read. It will be found that the most difficulty is 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 caused by outlines that may be translated in more than one 
 way. Such ambiguities may be avoided by always vocal- 
 izing outlines likely to conflict with others. Although it is 
 hard for the beginner, whea struggling to keep up with a 
 speaker, to always think just what outlines, if not vocalized, 
 are liable to cause difficulty, yet a little attention tc this 
 point will soon enable him to see instantly just where there 
 is danger of ambiguity, so that some distinguishing vowel 
 may be inserted and all cause for doubt removed. 
 
 XCIV. In Making Transcripts, Write Only on One 
 Side of the Paper. 
 
 Especially in preparing legal documents, and in writing 
 up reports for publication, only one side of the paper 
 should be used. Business men also generally prefer that 
 only one side of the paper be written upon. 
 
 If a letter contains more than can be written on a single 
 sheet, it is best, in order to avoid confusion, to place at the 
 head of the second and following pages the name of the 
 person to whom the letter is written, and after this the 
 number of the page. Thus, in transcribing a letter to Mr. 
 Evans, the second page should be headed 
 
 Evans, 2, 
 and the letter continue immediately below it. 
 
 Sometimes it may occur that the person for whom the 
 work is done may wish certain letters to be written on both 
 sides of the paper. Such cases are generally specified. 
 Unless they are, one side only should be used. 
 
 XCV. Make All Your Memoranda in Shorthand. 
 
 As soon as you are able to apply all the principles cor- 
 rectly, you can not do better than to make all your mem- 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 oranda in Shorthand. This will help you in several ways. 
 It will develop confidence in your work, a thing which 
 most beginners are very apt to lack. By making note of 
 items upon which something of importance depends, and 
 trusting wholly to your notes for them, you will soon find 
 yourself feeling just as certain of their meaning as you 
 would, were they written in longhand, a feeling which you 
 must have, if you would make a successful reporter. You 
 will also have your private memoranda and accounts in 
 such a form that, should they be lost or mislaid and happen 
 to fall into the hands of others, no advantage ordinarily 
 could be taken of them. Another advantage to be derived 
 from such a habit is in the constant practice which it 
 gives. All are aware of the impression which most people 
 have that unless one is continually practicing the art it 
 will soon be forgotten. This is true only in part, and even 
 this slight objection may be removed by using Shorthand 
 for all private memoranda and note taking. By using it 
 in this way the young Stenographer will soon find that not 
 a day will pass during which he will not have some occa- 
 sion to make use of it, and by so doing will not allow him- 
 self to get rusty in the work. 
 
 The greatest advantage, however, of forming the habit 
 of using Shorthand in making memoranda is that, since it 
 can be done so easily and rapidly, one is far more apt to 
 note down many little things which, were it necessary to 
 write them out in longhand, would be neglected altogether. 
 Since it pays, and pays well, to look after the little things, 
 that which will make it possible to do so without too much 
 inconvenience is certainly worthy of some special attention. 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 XCVI. Numbers Are Generally Represented by the 
 Ordinary Figures or Numerals. 
 
 As a rule it will be found best to write all numbers with 
 the ordinary figures, though sometimes it will be shorter 
 to express a number with Shorthand characters. It will 
 generally be found easier to write round numbers, as hun- 
 dreds, thousands, or millions, in this way. Where a num- 
 ber contains different units, as for instance, tens, hundreds 
 and thousands, it will be easier, and the notes plainer, to 
 write the ordinary Roman numerals. Some reporters 
 never write a figure at all in their Shorthand notes, while 
 others use them exclusively. The majority of reporters, 
 however, use both forms. 
 
 XCVII. Preserve Carefully All Shorthand Notes. 
 
 If you are a Court reporter, your notes should be indexed, 
 and filed away by the clerk of the court in which the re- 
 ports are made. If a transcript is made, it is not so essen- 
 tial that the original report be preserved. If not tran- 
 scribed, they should, in all cases, be carefully filed away, 
 since it is never possible to tell what contingencies may 
 arise. A transcript may never be called for; again, some- 
 thing may take place, years after a report has been made, 
 which will cause it to ba of great value. To meet all such 
 contingencies it is quite essential that all reports of legal 
 proceedings should be preserved. 
 
 The Amanuensis reporter should adopt some convenient 
 form of note-book, and, for the sake of uniformity, adhere 
 to it These should be carefully indexed. This index 
 should show name, date, and page on which each letter is 
 written. "When a book is filled, the date of the first and 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 last letter contained within it should be marked on the 
 back. Some keep a general index book, showing, first, the 
 names in alphabetical order of all parties to whom letters 
 have been taken at dictation. Opposite the name is placed, 
 first, the number of the note-book, and under each of these 
 are given the different pages on which letters have been 
 written to that particular person. It is not difficult to so 
 index note-books, and much time may be saved thereby. 
 As the reporter is generally expected to look after such 
 things himself, he ought to adopt some definite and prac- 
 tical plan, and then not neglect it, as is too often done. 
 
 With all note-books carefully indexed and filed away, 
 one may in a moment's time, refer to all the letters written 
 to any party. As business men often have to refer to 
 letters written at some previous time, they will fully ap- 
 preciate an arrangement by which they may readily refer 
 to any particular one they may wish to see. 
 
 In Speech and Convention reporting, it is not so impor- 
 tant that the notes be preserved; yet even with these it often 
 occurs that an old report will be called for, and may prove 
 to be worth far more than the little time required to keep 
 on file all the reports you have ever made. 
 
 XCVIII. Take Some Shorthand Magazine. 
 
 In this way you will be able to see the work of the best 
 writers, and to get a fair idea of what actual reporting 
 looks like. You will also have an opportunity to practice 
 upon the work of others. This is a valuable exercise for 
 the student, since it not only enables him to read Short- 
 hand writing more readily, but, being matter that is cor- 
 rectly written, it enables him to correct many mistakes 
 
TO SHOKTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 which he is in the habit of making, and also recalls many 
 points which would otherwise be forgotten. Almost every 
 one of these magazines contains, besides the Shorthand 
 matter, much valuable information for the student in the 
 line of editorials, contributed articles, and general Short- 
 hand news. They are, as a rule, ably edited and well 
 worth the small price asked for them. In keeping alive 
 an interest in this really beautiful study, a good Shorthand 
 journal is almost, if not quite, equal to a teacher. It is 
 sure to create a deeper interest in the study, since it brings 
 all its readers into closer sympathy, and enables them to 
 reap the benefits of each other's experience. From close 
 observation I have found that those who have become 
 readers of a Shorthand journal are much less apt to become 
 discouraged and give up the study. It is a constant source 
 of encouragement and inspiration to better and more 
 thorough work, which, in the end, is sure to bring success. 
 No Shorthand student should hesitate for a moment about 
 availing himself of the advantages which will certainly be 
 derived from help of this kind. 
 
 XCIX. Become a Member of Some Circulating 
 Library or Book Exchange Club. 
 
 The average reporter never dreams of how much there 
 really is in the literature of Shorthand, and of the many 
 interesting things there are connected with its history. If 
 you would fully appreciate the progress that has been made, 
 and which is daily being carried further, you should give 
 some attention to the literature of the art. To have a 
 proper appreciation of the profession of which you are a 
 member, you must understand its history, and know some- 
 
ONE HUNDRED VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS 
 
 thing of its struggles and its triumphs. Until you do this, 
 your views will be narrow and your efforts restricted. 
 
 As it is a slow and expensive task to accumulate a large 
 and well selected library on any subject, very few are able 
 to do so. Shorthand writers need not, however, be deprived 
 of the privilege of enjoying all that has been written con- 
 cerning the art. By taking advantage of the opportunities 
 offered by some circulating library which has been estab- 
 lished for the benefit of Shorthand writers, one may for a 
 very small sum, have access to almost any work that has 
 ever been published on the subject of brief writing. 
 
 The American Exchange Club is, no doubt, the best of 
 the kind. The catalogue contains a very large list of rare 
 and valuable books and magazines, any of which may be 
 had by members of the club. 
 
 C. Avoid the Evil Effects of Such Stimulants as 
 Tobacco and Strong Drink. 
 
 Success in Shorthand writing, like success in any other 
 of the finer manual arts, depends primarily upon the 
 healthy action of the nervous system. It is important, 
 then, that the reporter, requiring, as he does, clearness of 
 thought with rapidity of execution, should carefully avoid 
 anything that tends to throw the nervous system out of its 
 natural condition. Since the chief effect of alcohol is 
 upon the nerves, caused by its being an irritant and retard- 
 ing digestion, by affecting the cardinal nerves and increas- 
 ing the rapidity of the circulation, and by being a cerebral 
 poison, thus affecting the reason, it should be scrupulously 
 avoided by the reporter. Though it may result sometimes 
 in arousing one to greater activity and greater efforts for 
 
TO SHORTHAND STUDENTS. 
 
 the time being, yet this temporary exaltation of the brain 
 under its influence is inevitably succeeded by a state of 
 relaxation which soon ends in nervous and physical de- 
 bility. 
 
 The effect of tobacco, though not so great, is in the same 
 direction. It is an unhealthy stimulant, the evil effects 
 greatly overbalancing the little apparent good that may be 
 derived from its use. The reporter who rigidly abstains 
 from the use of both tobacco and alcohol may be assured 
 that his chances of success are much greater than the one 
 addicted to them. 
 
 Note. The following table gives the number of words in each 
 suggestion in the book. This is given for the purpose of speed 
 work in practice. 
 
 I 
 
 227 
 
 XXVI 
 
 368 
 
 LI 
 
 203 
 
 LXXVI 
 
 192 
 
 II 
 
 296 
 
 XXVII 
 
 278 
 
 LII 
 
 275 
 
 LXXVII 
 
 179 
 
 III 
 
 221 
 
 XXVIII 
 
 185 
 
 LIII 
 
 207 
 
 LXXVIII 
 
 291 
 
 IV 
 
 386 
 
 XXIX 
 
 99 
 
 LIV 
 
 22^ 
 
 LXXIX 
 
 212 
 
 V 
 
 160 
 
 XXX 
 
 317 
 
 LV 
 
 273 
 
 LXXX 
 
 143 
 
 VI 
 
 196 
 
 XXXI 
 
 218 
 
 LVI 
 
 229 
 
 LXXXI 
 
 200 
 
 VII 
 
 169 
 
 XXXII 
 
 440 
 
 LVII 
 
 302 
 
 LXXXII 
 
 261 
 
 VIII 
 
 309 
 
 XXXIII 
 
 266 
 
 LVIII 
 
 103 
 
 LXXXIII 
 
 198 
 
 IX 
 
 443 
 
 XXXIV 
 
 257 
 
 LIX 
 
 97 
 
 LXX XIV 
 
 283 
 
 X 
 
 375 
 
 XXXV 
 
 136 
 
 LX 
 
 319 
 
 LXXXV 
 
 224 
 
 XI 
 
 118 
 
 XXXVI 
 
 258 
 
 LXI 
 
 403 
 
 LXXXVI 
 
 214 
 
 XII 
 
 229 
 
 XXXVII 
 
 408 
 
 LXII 
 
 215 
 
 LXXX VII 
 
 210 
 
 XIII 
 
 302 
 
 XXXVIII 
 
 145 
 
 LXIII 
 
 173 
 
 LXXXVIII 
 
 315 
 
 XIV 
 
 164 
 
 XXXIX 
 
 224 
 
 LXIV 
 
 211 
 
 LXXXIX 
 
 193 
 
 XV 
 
 408 
 
 XL 
 
 324 
 
 LXV 
 
 166 
 
 XC 
 
 188 
 
 XVI 
 
 372 
 
 XLI 
 
 207 
 
 LXVI 
 
 264 
 
 XCI 
 
 167 
 
 XVII 
 
 240 
 
 XLII 
 
 194 
 
 LXVII 
 
 161 
 
 XCII 
 
 148 
 
 XVIII 
 
 252 
 
 XLIII 
 
 333 
 
 LXVIII 
 
 146 
 
 XCIII 
 
 179 
 
 XIX 
 
 230 
 
 XLIV 
 
 262 
 
 LXIX 
 
 109 
 
 XCIV 
 
 149 
 
 XX 
 
 388 
 
 XLV 
 
 221 
 
 LXX 
 
 218 
 
 xcv 
 
 331 
 
 XXI 
 
 246 
 
 XLVI 
 
 410 
 
 LXXI 
 
 206 
 
 XCVI 
 
 99 
 
 XXII 
 
 296 
 
 XLVII 
 
 328 
 
 LXXII 
 
 189 
 
 XCVII 
 
 389 
 
 XXIII 
 
 177 
 
 XL VIII 
 
 171 
 
 LXXIII 
 
 239 
 
 XCVIII 
 
 266 
 
 XXIV 
 
 107 
 
 XLIX 
 
 239 
 
 LXXIV 
 
 343 
 
 XCIX 
 
 226 
 
 XXV 
 
 239 
 
 L 
 
 183 
 
 LXXV 
 
 146 
 
 c 
 
 215 
 
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 " Keep thy Crown : '' Phonographic report of temperance speech. 
 
 Vocabulary and contractions. 
 
 OPINIONS OF LEADING STENOGRAPHERS AND TEACHERS: 
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 Price, Postage Prepaid, $1.50. 
 ADDRESS, 
 
 STENOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE, 
 
 ANN ARBOR, afcT-' <c , cos MICHIGAN. 
 
The Shorthand Review 
 
 A JOURNAL, FOR THE PROFESSIONAL REPORTER, 
 
 OFFICE STENOGRAPHER AND TYPE- 
 
 WRITER OPERATOR. 
 
 THE SHORTHAND RLVIEW CO,, 
 
 NEW YORK, Monthly, $1.00 a Year. CHICAGO. 
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 - MW- - 
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JOURNAL 
 
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MELTON'S 
 
 SLOAN-DUPLOYAN 
 
 SCHOOL OF 
 
 SHORTHAND * * 
 
 :AND 
 
 * TYPEWRITING 
 
 621 ]f. Y. LIFE BUILDING, 
 
 Kansas City, Mo. 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS BY MAIL A SPECIALTY 
 
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 W. O. MELTON, - 621 N. Y. Life Build hit/, 
 Kansas City, Mo. 
 
THE REPORTING STYLE 
 
 -OF- 
 
 SHORTHAND 
 
 -BY- 
 
 ELDON MORAN, 
 
 Formerly Principal Iowa State University SCHOOL OF SHORTHAND. 
 
 The new edition, the eleventh, of this work is the very latest and 
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 Address 
 
 S. A. MORAN, 
 
 Aim Arbor, Mich. 
 
EVERY PHONOGRAPHER 
 
 SHOULD SUBSCKIBE FOE, 
 
 JEROME B. HOWARD, Editor. 
 
 Thirty-two large pages every month, eight of which ar occu- 
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 with Key and Notes. 
 
 Contributors of reputation and experience ar engaged, facsimile 
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 and no means ar spared to make the MAGAZINE useful alike to 
 the beginner and expert. 
 
 Subscription price, $1.50 a year. Clubs of six at the same 
 rate as five. Special rates to teachers. 
 
 THE MAGAZINE is now in its fourth volume ; [1890]. . 
 
 Volume II and III, finely bound in cloth, $2.50 each. 
 
 Specimen copy free to any address. 
 
 Address, 
 
 THE PHONOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE, 
 Cincinnati, O. 
 
BENN PITMAN AND JEROME B, HOWARD, 
 
 A revised and improved edition of Benn Pitman's Manual of 
 
 Phonography, which was first published in 1855, 
 
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 THE STANDARD TEXT-BOOK OF PHONOGRAPHY 
 
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 EXTRA CLOTH, 
 
 For sale by all Booksellers. Stenographic Supply Depots, 
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 Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
 Catalosr o r l"nnr>n<rr:mliif> Publications *ent free to any address. 
 
 9 
 
3OOO 
 
 COMMERCIAL PHRASES 
 
 ADAPTED TO THE 
 
 PITMAN AND GRAHAM SYSTEMS 
 
 OF SHORTHAND, 
 
 BY 
 
 O-IEO. W. HZ^LL, 
 
 STENOGRAPHER Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul R. R. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. COPYRIGHTED. 
 
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 Address STENOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE, 
 
 Ann Arbor, Mioli. 
 
 IN THE ACQUISITION OF 
 
 GRAHAM'S SHORTHAND 
 
 BY ALFRED DAY. 
 
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 Address THE STENOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE, 
 
 Ann Arbor, Mich. 
 
PRACTICAL TYPEWRITING 
 
 By BATES TORREY. 
 
 This work teaches The All Finger Method. This is the 
 
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 portance. 
 
 Typewriting by Mail. Common-sense Punctuation. Use of the Stops as Applied to 
 Writing Machine. Eccentricities of Typewriter Punctuation. A Scheme of Abbrevi- 
 ated Longhand (standard). 
 
 A Chapter of Ornamental Typewriting. Fancy Borders, Tail Pieces, and the Like. 
 Titles, Captions, Legal Forms, and Otherwise. A Variety of Writing Machine Possi- 
 bilities. 
 
 If you expect to make a success of typewriting, do not fail to secure 
 a copy of this book. It is highly recommended by every professional 
 typewriter operator in the country. 
 
 Price, Elegantly Bound in Cloth, Postpaid, $1.50. 
 Address S. A. MOB AN, Ami Arbor, Michigan. 
 
UNIVERSITY of CALIFOKJNiA 
 AT 
 
 T no A XTOT7T f C 
 
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 WAY 12 1951 
 WG2 
 
 Form L9-25m-9,'47(A5618)444 
 
A 000583834 7 
 
 1890 
 
 0. BAKER 
 ,AWYR 
 
 LAS, TEXAS