wb'Z^ 
 
 
 ^'i)S 
 
 
 
 Strayer 
 St payer's Shorter Shorthand
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 •M
 
 STRAYER'S ( \ ^^<j 
 
 SHORTER SHORTHAND'. ^ 
 
 \ \ 
 
 A system of Shorthand that can be 
 
 [Nf:D QUICKLY, ^ 
 
 WRITTEN RAPIDLY, 
 
 and READ EASILY. 
 
 Intended for use by 
 the rest of the English Speaking "World 
 
 By 
 
 S. Irving Strayer,- ' 
 
 ^resident of Strayer's Business College, 
 Author of Strayer^s Universal Shorthand. 
 
 Published by 
 
 S. IRVING STRAYER, 
 
 No. 225 E. Raltimork St., Baltimork, Md.
 
 Copyrighted J 900, 
 
 BY 
 
 S. IRVING STRAYER
 
 PREFA'C'E. 
 
 Straj'er's Shorter Shorthand, as taught in this book, 
 can be learned in a small fraction of the time required 
 to learn the systems of shorthand now in general use, 
 and, when learned, is speedy enough for all kinds of or- 
 dinary amanuensis stenographic work, and can be read 
 with absolute certainty. 
 
 It is just the thing for the person who needs short- 
 hand for his own use in taking notes, making memoran- 
 dums, or in writing and re-writing sermons, editorials, 
 j^ magazine articles and the like. It is just the thing 
 jF" for the preacher, lawyer, editor, author, teacher, stu- 
 tk dent, etc., and it is just the thing for the person who 
 v« wishes to tit himself quickly for an office position as 
 ^ stenographer or private secretary. It is just the thing 
 ^2 for all of them, because it can be learned so quickly and 
 ^ read Avitb such absolute certainty. Those are the two 
 '-' points in which it differs so radically from all that has 
 ever before been offered to the public in the line of 
 
 shorthand that it stands in a class by itself. 
 ro 
 
 ?•* The author confidently believes, and expects soon to 
 fc9 have thousands of testimonials to prove, that the entire 
 z system can be learned in six weeks, or less time, by any 
 T intelligent person who will study and practice faithfully 
 one hour each day, and if it can be learned in so short a 
 time, it should be learned by every man, woman and 
 111 child who can read and write, with a few exceptions. 
 
 Learn it, and send in your testimonial concerning the 
 time required for you to learn it, and then when you 
 have proved for yourself what a good thing it is, recom- 
 mend it to all of your friends who would be benefited by 
 
 it, and oblige 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 Note.— The last page of this book has been ruled so 
 that you can easily keep a record on it of the number 
 of hours you spend in learning this system of short- 
 hand. Use the record page and report the result. 
 
 t 
 
 3
 
 STRAYER^S BUSINESS COLLEGE. 
 
 Strayer's Business College, No. 335 East Baltimore St., 
 Baltimore, Md., the home of this system of shorthand, 
 began its career in Baltimore In the fall of 1893. It 
 opened with nine students, and four rented typewriters. 
 Something about its growth can be judged from the 
 fact that its report made January 1st, 1900, showed that 
 546 different students, from ten diflfei'ent states, had 
 attended it during the year 1899; that its tuition re- 
 ceipts for the year had amounted to considerably more 
 than $10,000; that it then kept eight teachers busy day 
 and night; that it owned more than fifty Remington 
 and Smith Premier typewriters, besides some machines 
 of other makes; and that it had, during the year, leased 
 and equipped a College Boarding Hall in the nicest resi- 
 dence section of Baltimore, at a cost of over $1,400, at 
 which to furnish board and room to Its out-oftown 
 students at the rate of $3 a week. 
 
 Strayer's Business College is now the leading Busi 
 ness College of Baltimore, and it is still growing. It 
 has very fine school rooms, the best of teachers, and 
 exceptionally thorough, practical, and complete courses 
 in Shorthand, Typewriting, Bookkeeping, etc., etc. 
 Its charges for tuition are much lower than those of 
 similar schools. It furnishes all text-books and sta- 
 tionery free, and it guarantees a situation for every 
 one of its graduates. Do not allow any pei'son of your 
 acquaintance to go to Business College without first 
 getting its catalogue.
 
 STRAYER'S SHORTER SHORTHAND, 
 
 Lesson I . 
 
 In learning the alphabet, study and practice the first 
 five lines of the first and second perpendicular columns 
 until you know them thoroughly ; then study and prac- 
 tice the first five lines of the third and fourth perpendic- 
 ular columns until they are mastered ; after that, learn 
 the next five lines of the first and second perpendicular 
 columns ; then learn the four small letters in lines nine 
 and ten; and after that, learn the remainder of the 
 alphabet. When the alphabet is taken in sections in 
 this way, it is easy to learn. We think it can be learned 
 quickest by writing an entire line of p and b ; then an 
 entire line of t and d ; then an entire line of ch and j ; 
 and so on. The student should think of the name of 
 each letter as it is written, or better still, pronounce it 
 aloud. 
 
 Go over the alphabet, writing an entire line of each 
 pair of letters, until you know the shorthand alphabet 
 as well as you know the alphabet of ordinary writing ; a 
 hundred times or more, if necessary. 
 
 All of the letters should be Avritten dowuAvard except 
 those in the fifth and tenth lines : r, rm, u, ah, 1, sh, y, w, 
 which are always written upward. 
 
 Air of the letters are light lines except the first seven 
 letters in the second perpendicular column and the first 
 five letters in the fourth perpendicular column, which 
 are shaded. 
 
 The large letters should be made of uniform length, 
 and the little letters found in the third and fourth per - 
 pendicular columns should be made only one-fifth as 
 long as thellarge;,letters.
 
 8 
 
 ALPHABET. 
 
 1 \ p ^ b *» i A oi 
 
 2 I t Id < a I oo 
 
 8 / ch I \ / e / ow 
 
 4 — k — g(a) ^ o .aw 
 
 rm .. u ^ ah 
 
 6 x-\ m '^^ (mp) 
 
 (mb) 
 
 7 v_x n w^ ng 
 
 8 ( th ) s 
 
 9 L f ~^ V u wh ^ h 
 10 /^ 1 ^ sh *- V -» w 
 
 11 D X O (tw) 
 
 (dw) 
 
 12 C c O (q) o z 
 
 (kw)
 
 9 
 
 Do not take the next lesson until thealphabethas been 
 thoroughly mastered, since the remaining lessons can be 
 learned much quicker if the alphabet is well kuoAvn. 
 
 In writing shorthand, it will be found better to hold 
 the pencil between the first and second fingers instead of 
 in the usual manner, between the thumb and first finger. 
 The student is advised to use a soft medium pencil. We 
 recommend as the best cheap pencil the No. 140 Eagle 
 pencil ; as the best expensive pencil, the Dixon steno- 
 graphic pencil No. 490, soft medium. 
 
 Directions for Studying and Practicing the 
 second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth 
 lessons. 
 
 Learn the rules thoroughly. 
 
 Spell out all the words in the shorthand. 
 
 After you have finished spelling out the words in the 
 shorthand, write an entire line of the shorthand charac- 
 ter for each word, thinking each time how the shorthand 
 character and the position spell the word. AT hen you 
 have titiished the lesson once in that way, go over it 
 again and again in the same way, ten times, or more, if 
 necessary, until you can write all of the words readily 
 from the key, without looking at the shorthand, and 
 without making any mistakes. 
 
 When you have mastered the shorthand so that you 
 can write it from the key as above directed, practice 
 each word of the writing exercise in the same way, until 
 you can write all of those words without hesitancj''. 
 
 Review all that you have learned thus far before be- 
 ginning Avork on the next lesson. In reviewing, read all 
 of the rules carefully, and practice writing all of the 
 shorthand and all of the writing exercises that you have 
 been over.
 
 10 
 
 STRAYER'S SHORTER SHORTHAND. 
 
 Lesson 2. 
 
 In shorthand, we omit most of the vowels and indicate 
 what vowel is to be read after the first consonant of each 
 word, by the position, with reference to the line, in which 
 we write the first consonant. 
 
 Whenever the first consonant of a word is written up 
 above the line, either e, i or oi, is to be read after it. 
 See lines 1 and 3. 
 
 Whenever the first consonant of a word is written 
 resting on the line, like ordinary writing, either a, o, ah 
 or aw, is to be read after it. See lines 3 and 4. 
 
 Whenever the first consonant of a word is written 
 crossing the line or under it, either u, oo or ow, is to be 
 read after it. See lines 5 and 6. 
 
 When the first consonant of a word is a little letter and 
 is followed by a large letter written downward, the large 
 letter is placed to show the position instead of the little 
 letter. See line 7. 
 
 If a word begins with a vowel, that voAvel is written 
 and the vowel following the first consonant is indicated 
 by the position of the consonant. See line 8. 
 
 Commit to memory that the first place vowels are e, i, 
 oi ; the second place vowels a, o, ah, aw; and the third 
 place vowels u, oo, ow ; and that the first position is 
 above the line, the second position resting on the line, 
 and the third position crossing the line except for the 
 little letters and the horizontal letters like k, g,m andn^ 
 in which case it is under the line. Commit the vowels 
 and positions to memory so thoroughly that you can take
 
 11 
 
 a book or newspaper and tell without hesitancy In which 
 position every word in it should be written. 
 
 When a small letter is a word without any vowel being 
 indicated by the position, ^ve write it in its natui-ai posi- 
 tion according to the vowel scale, as a, you and I, are 
 written in line 11. When a word containing one or more 
 large letters is spelled in full, so that no position is 
 needed to show a voAvel omitted, we still write it in the 
 position in which it would appear if its vowel Avere 
 omitted, like the words up, am, it, at and each, are writ- 
 ten inline 11. 
 
 When for any reason the letters or parts of aAvord will 
 not join easily, they may be written disjoined, but in all 
 Euch cases the parts of the word must be written real 
 close together, as in the words had and yet, in line 7, and 
 the word idea, in line 8. 
 
 If a word has more than one vowel in it, onlj' the vowel 
 folJowicg the first consonant, is indicated by the posi- 
 tion, and the other vowels are usually omitted, but in 
 any c^se where this does not make the word plain enough , 
 other vowels may be inserted as needed, to make the 
 word as plain as print. 
 
 Notice by referring from the shorthand to the key, 
 that in shorthand, Avords are spelled as they sound and 
 not according to the ordinary spelling. Some shorthand 
 characters would si^ell more than one word but that is 
 only the case with simple outlines, and in such cases, 
 the sense of the sentence containing them would indi- 
 cate clearly which word should be read. 
 
 Notice that the letter ng, is used for ing, as in the word 
 lacking, in line 4, and waiting. In line 7. 
 
 In leai'ning tnis lesson follow the directions given on 
 page 9.
 
 12 
 
 ( U 
 
 \ 
 
 
 L L ^ 
 
 \ 
 
 J-L 
 
 ZL 
 
 ^ 
 
 -tf::i:i_ 
 
 k 
 
 ) r 
 
 L /^i ^ ' .>^ ^ ^ A 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 9 
 
 10 
 11 
 12 
 13 
 
 V 1 '1 
 
 t ^ 
 
 ; 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ? 
 
 t/ 
 
 ui 
 
 4-^^ 
 
 L^ ri^/^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 L "^ 
 
 
 ■w 
 
 ■7^ 
 
 :i_L 
 
 ^ 
 
 ±=^ 
 
 1 f / 
 
 .-i. 
 
 C->^ ^_^ U>/" ^ 
 
 > 
 
 J=v 
 
 :::i
 
 18 
 KEY» 
 
 1. The, time, my, see, life, ship, help. 
 
 2. Be, him, wish, we, keep, live, she, check. 
 
 3. They, take, shape, know, pay, go, packing, 
 showing. 
 
 4. Laugh, make, back, lacking, may, job, 
 say, low. 
 
 5. To, took, love, shoe, young, few, much, 
 chum. 
 
 6. Do, move, book, shook, room, who, whom, 
 touch. 
 
 7. With, have, had, what, which, would, yet, 
 waiting. 
 
 8. Ago, issue, echo, item, idea, error, away, 
 example. 
 
 9. Quite, mouth, catch, health, push, week, 
 law, rub. 
 
 10. Why, he, fact, long, one, hope, day, few. 
 
 11. A, you, I, up, am, it, at, each. 
 
 12. Cheap, cash, name, new, page, come, damp, 
 cook. 
 
 13. Way, them, any, temple, reach, wave, 
 game, maximum.
 
 14 
 
 WRITING EXERCISE. 
 
 1 rock, 2 pack 3 top, 4 chime, 5 boom, 
 6 thy, 7 me, 8 no, 9 high, 10 leave, 11 by, 
 12 quit, 18 shop, 14 baking- 15 looking, 16 rich, 
 17 how, 18 odd, 19 now, 20 wait, 21 out, 
 22 head, 23 doing, 24 watch, 25 came, 26 thing^ 
 27 along, 28 to-day, 29 half, 30 teach, 31 noth- 
 ing, 32 sigh, 33 pick, 34 fish, 35 tame, 36 lath, 
 37 home, 38 view, 39 going, 40 look, 41 
 quote, 42 joy, 43 hauling, 44catch, 45 quick, 
 46 back, 47 knew, 48 wedge, 49 rob, 50 fee, 
 51 cup, 52 walking, 53 white, 54 lock, 55 wing, 
 56 heating, 57 dock, 58 hack, 59 heap, 60 shave, 
 61 faith, 62 Ida, 63 autumn, 64 atom, 65 egg^ 
 66 ache, 67 ash, 68 ripe, 69 twitch, 70 hang, 
 71 damp, 72 weave, 73 wheat, 74 hiding, 75 tack, 
 76 lime, 77 thick, 78 ream, 79 youth, 80 air, 
 81 owing, 82 ear, 83 leap, 84 dish, 85 rage, 
 86 maxim, 87 varying, 88 tumble, 89 both, 
 90 like, 91 queen, 92 wash, 93 wrong, 94 twit, 
 95 tooth, 96 tax, 97 box, 92 neck, 99 camp, 
 100 baggage.
 
 15 
 STRAYER'S SHORTER SHORTHAND. 
 
 Lesson 3. 
 
 A small circle is used for s and a large circle for ses, 
 sez, zez and similar sounds. See lines 1 and,^3 
 
 A small loop is used for st and a larger loop for str. 
 See line a 3 and A . t>"— ^ 
 
 The s and ses circles and the st and str loops may be 
 formed at either the beginning or end of letters, accord- 
 ing to where they are to be read, but should ahvays be 
 
 formed on the right hand side of p, b, t, d, ch and j, and 
 on the upper side of k, g, r and rm, and on the inner side 
 of curved letters, exceptthat when s comes between two 
 other letters, the circle may be formed on the most con- 
 venient side. 
 
 The s circle may be formed on the same side of little 
 letters as on the large letters of the same shape, but the 
 st and str loops are never formed on the little letters. 
 
 The stroke s learned in the alphabet, should be used 
 whenever s is the only part of a syllable that is written, 
 as in the words seeing and saying, in line 9. 
 
 If a word ends with sy orty, or with s or t followed by 
 any vowel to form a syllable, the s or t stroke, as learned 
 in the alphabet, is written, and the y, or vowel, may 
 usually be omitted, but persons preferring to do so, may 
 write the y or vowel, to secure greater legibility. See 
 line 10. 
 
 It is a general rule in shorthand that there should be a 
 stroke for each syllable of every Avord, as in line 10 in 
 this lesson, and students will do well to remember this 
 rule and follow it in their writing, since shorthand in 
 which each stroke with its attached circles, loops, or 
 hooks, forms one of the syllables of a word, is very easy 
 to read. 
 
 In learning this lesson, follow the directions given on 
 page 9.
 
 16 
 
 7^ 
 
 f 
 
 rr\ 
 
 <i^ 
 
 n. 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 zz. 
 
 ::^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^-b^ >„^ 
 
 Z2 
 
 ka. 
 
 1_^ 
 
 ^ ^ ■^ 0^ 
 
 r 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 A. 
 
 t 
 
 ^ ^ ^ 
 
 
 --^ 
 
 -e^ - 
 
 t 
 
 ) f 
 
 ^4 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 6^ <i^ .^^^ i^ I I^^J ^ 
 
 11 
 
 13 
 
 12 

 
 17 
 KEY. 
 
 1. Such, said, seek, sir, same, seen, save, south. 
 
 2. Choose, pass, does, case, loss, shoes, this, 
 things. 
 
 3. Passes, cliooses, rises, losses, voices, noises, 
 faces, releases. 
 
 4 Stop, stage, stuck, store, stamp, stove, stutf, 
 still. 
 
 5. Past, test, cost, rest, least, fast, must, 
 castings. 
 
 6. Straight, stretch, poster, strong, strive, 
 master, faster, casters. 
 
 7. Resides, sample, risk, notice, size, west, pas- 
 sage, deceive. 
 
 8. Twist, since, reasons, succeed, system, de- 
 cide, testing, disposed. 
 
 9. Seeing, saying, missing, exist, packages, 
 ask, assume, aspire. 
 
 10. Busy, lazy, dusty, pity, dizzy, rusty, empty, 
 noisy. 
 
 11. Office, strength, success, excess, desires, 
 discussed, noticed, reduced. 
 
 12. Sells, us, using, used, whose, was, yes, 
 sweet. 
 
 13. Is, as, his, has, ease, easy, ways, squeak.
 
 18 
 
 WRITING EXERCISE. 
 
 1 rise, 2 soon, 3 wise, 4 last, 5 receipt, 6 choice, 
 7 some, 8 business, 9 lease, 10 days, 11 costing, 
 12 passing-, 13 season, 14 school, 15 city, 16 once, 
 17 receive, 18 raise, 19 sign, 20 cask, 21 neces- 
 sary, 22 step, 23 most, 24 cases, 25 lasting-, 26 
 beside, 27 just, 28 stock, 29 reason, 30 less, 31 
 justice, 32 stamps, 33 possessed, 34 selling, 35 
 safe, 36 these, 37 necessity, 38 eggs, 39 keys, 40 
 soap, 41 basin, 42 boys, 43 knows, 44 assist, 45 
 caused, 46 amazed, 47 raised, 48 source, 49 east, 
 50 post, 51 star, 52 spoke, 53 besides, 54 gas, 55 
 noise, 56 mixed, 57 steam, 58 suggest, 59 cause, 
 60 cease, 61 resist, 62 those, 63 horizon, 64 dies, 
 65 moist, 66 string, ■ 67 reams, 68 strolling, 69 
 straps, 70 self, 71 sale, 72 sash, 73 guess, 74 be- 
 cause, 75 hasten, 76 music, 77 amused, 78 sau- 
 sage, 79 refused, 80 abused, 81 missed, 82 pasty, 
 83 disguise, 84 dismissed, 85 desk, 86 escape, 87 
 waste, 88 goes, 89 losing, 90 house, 91 twice, 92 
 speak, 93 task, 94 distance, 95 best, 96 arise, 97 
 slack, 98 postage, 99 storm, 100 fences.
 
 19 
 STRAYER'S SHORTER SHORTHAND. 
 
 Lesson 4. 
 
 We indicate that 1 is to be read after p, b, t, d, eh or j, 
 by forming a small hook at the beginning of the letter on 
 the right hand side ; after k, g, r or rm, by forming a 
 small hook at the beginning on the upper side; after any 
 •urved letter, by forming a small hook at the beginning 
 on the inner side. See lines 1, 3 and 3. 
 
 We indicate that r is to be read after p, b, t, d, ch or j, 
 by forming a small hook at the beginning of the letter 
 on the left hand side ; after k, g, r or rm, by forming a 
 small hook at the beginning on the under side ; after m 
 or n, by forming a small hook at the beginning on the 
 Inner side and shading the letter ; after any other curved 
 letter, by simply shading the letter. See lines 4, 5 and 6. 
 
 No hooks are ever formed at the beginning of mp or ng 
 and r or 1 following them is written, as learned in the 
 alphabet. 
 
 L or r following the little letters may be represented 
 in just the same way as following the large letters of the 
 same shape. 
 
 If a word begins with 1 or r, the 1 or r is written as 
 jearned in the alphabet, since the shorter way of repre- 
 senting 1 or r, taught in this lesson, can only be used 
 where 1 or r follows some other letter. 
 
 If a word ends with ly or ry. or with 1 or r followed by 
 any vowel to form a syllable, the 1 or r stroke, as learned 
 in the alphabet, is Avritten, and the y, or vowel, may usu- 
 ally be omitted, but persons preferring to do so, may 
 write the y. or vowel, to secure greater legibility. See 
 line 11.
 
 20 
 
 Words are sometimes divided into syllables differing 
 from their usual syllabic division in order to get more 
 abbreviated and consequently quicker formed outlines 
 for them. As examples of this principle, see the word, 
 likely, in line 3 ; manner, in line 5 ; personal, in line 9,and 
 usual, in line 13. 
 
 Words are sometimes slurred, or have a letter that is 
 not very prominent omitted from them in order to get 
 an outline that can be formed quicker. As an illustra- 
 tion of this, praps is sometimes written for perhaps ; 
 and spos is sometimes written for suppose; although the 
 rule given in the preceding lesson would require two 
 strokes to be used in the word suppose to indicate that it 
 has two syllables. 
 
 In words in which a vowel forms a syllable, the vowel 
 is often omitted on the principle just above stated, as in 
 the word quality, in line 2 ; regular, in line 8 ; original, 
 in line 9; policy, in line 11, and payable and probable, in 
 line 10 ; but in all such words, the vowel may be inserted 
 if the student prefers to do so, in order to secure greater 
 legibility. 
 
 While the above abbreviating methods are in general 
 use by nearly all professional stenographers, our stu- 
 dents need not use them unless they wish, and if they 
 do use them, must be cai'eful to not abuse them ; that is, 
 to not use them to such an extent as to make their 
 .writing hard to read. 
 
 Tn learning this lesson, follow the directions given on 
 page 9.
 
 21 
 WRITING EXERCISE. 
 
 Note.— Do not practice this writing exercise until yon 
 have mastered the shorthand and Icey on the next two 
 pages. 
 
 1 knowledge, 2 letter, 3 order, 4 offer, 5 thor- 
 ough, 6 surely, 7 measure, 8 from, 9 favor, 
 10 whether, 11 first, 12 during-, 13 before, 14 al- 
 ready, 15 sure, 16 allow, 17 apply, 18 carefully, 
 19 express, 20 yours, 21 truly, 22 sincerely, 
 23 g-eneral, 24 arrange, 25 impossible, 26 possi- 
 ble, 27 nature, 28 under, 29 establish, 30 longer, 
 31 well, 32 true, 33 typewriter, 34 deliver, 
 35 feature, 36 future, ,37 carry, 38 full, 39 her, 
 40 grasp, 41 bear, 42 nor, 43 quart, 44 pleased, 
 45 far, 46 dry, 47 claim, 4S spring, 49 rule, 
 50 glass, 51 gather, 52 together, 53 fall, 51 final, 
 55 their, 56 terms, 57 hour, 58 legal, 59 fair, 
 SO scarce, 61 mail, 62 fail, 63 services, 64 pre- 
 pare, 65 scarcity, 66 produce, 67 course, 
 68 dealer, 69 price, 70 fear, 71 detail, 72 shares, 
 73 central, 74 nearly, 75 flourish, 76 surprise. 
 77 pure, 78 bring, 79 growing, 80 following, 
 81 perhaps, 82 break, 83 care, 84 papers, 
 85 parallel, 86 trifle, 87 secure, 88 exercise, 
 89 groceries, 90 nearer, 91 electric, 92 proceeds, 
 98 degree, 94 remember, 95 number, 96 water, 
 97 remarkable, 98 equal, 99 heretofore, 
 100 either.
 
 22 
 
 r \ 
 
 1. 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 3 
 4 
 5 
 6 
 7 
 8 
 9 
 
 10 
 11 
 12 
 13 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^. 
 
 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 A- 
 
 <r\ 
 
 (i^ 
 
 C ^ ^ ^ 
 
 
 '1 
 
 J^^ ^ X ^:Z 
 
 z^kl 
 
 /v^ 1-^ 
 
 v> 
 
 V 
 
 ■\ ¥^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 'sn^ 
 
 tT. 
 
 V V 
 
 ^ 
 
 \ c. ^ X 
 
 LA. 
 
 £9 
 
 ^
 
 23 
 KEY. 
 
 1. Tell, bill, play, call, real, glass, mile, nails. 
 
 2. Feel, shall, dwelling, quality, acknowledg-e, 
 barrel, funnel, level. 
 
 3. Places, couple, table, likely, oblige, pleas- 
 ing, small, skill. 
 
 4. Try, truck, dear, chairs, crossing, rare, 
 copper, neighbor. 
 
 5 More, near, mark, dinner, morals, merely, 
 
 manner, corner. 
 0. There, through, for, assure, dwarf, never, 
 
 dollar, treasure. 
 
 7. Promise, place, reply, worth, large, work, 
 purchase, laborer. 
 
 8. Refer, decrease, proper, public, regular, 
 trusting, single, o'clock. 
 
 9. Progress, personal, broker, expressage, 
 other, supply, prosperous, original. 
 
 10. Ever, however, payable, probable, purpose, 
 careful, wholesale, coloring. 
 
 11. Every, very, fully, narrow, policy, failure, 
 lawyer, serious. 
 
 12. All, are, our, or, where, here, year, your. 
 
 13. Were, aware, will, while, although, also, 
 alwavs, usual.
 
 24 
 
 STRAYER'S SHORTER SHORTHAND, 
 
 Lesson 5. 
 
 F or V folloAving straight letters maybe represeuted by 
 a small hook at the end of the letter, on the right hand 
 side of p, b, t, d, eh or j, and on the upper side of k g. r, 
 or rm, but f or v following curved letters is always 
 written as learned in the alphabet. See line 1. 
 
 The syllable five following straight letters may be rep- 
 resented by a large hook at the end of the letter, on the 
 right hand side of p, b, t, d, ch or .i, and on the upper side 
 of k. g, r or rm, but five following <!urved letters is al- 
 ways represented by the letter t with the v hook. See 
 line 3. 
 
 N following straight letters may be represented by a 
 small hook at the end of the letter, on the left hand side 
 ■^^t' i>, b, t, d, eh or j, and on the under side of k, g, r or 
 rm, and n following the curved letters may be repre- 
 sented by a small hook at the end, on the inner side. See 
 line 3. 
 
 The syllable shun following straight letters may be 
 represented by a large hook at the end of the letter, on 
 the left hand side of p, b, t, d, ch or j, and on the under 
 side of k, g, r or rm, and shun following cui-ved letters 
 may be represented by a large hook at the end, on the 
 inner side. See line 4. 
 
 S following f , V, tive, or shun, may be added by form- 
 ing the s circle within the f, v, tive, or shun, hook. See 
 line 5. 
 
 Ns following curved letters may be represented by the 
 n hook with the s circle formed within it, but ns follow-
 
 25 
 
 ing straight letters is represented by a small circle at the 
 end of the letter, od the left hand side of p,b, t, d, oh or 
 j and on the under side of k, g-, r or rm. See lines 5 and K. 
 
 Nses following curved letters is represented by the n 
 stroke followed by the ses circle, but nses following- 
 straight letters may be represented by a large circle at 
 the end, on the left hand side of p, b, t, d, ch or j and on 
 the under side of k, g, r or rm. See line 6. 
 
 Nst following curved letters is represented by the n 
 stroke followed by the st loop, but nst following straight 
 letters may be repi-esented by a small loop at the end, 
 on the left hand side of p, b, t, d, ch or j and on the under 
 side of k, g, r or rm. See line 6. 
 
 Note that the us and nses circles and nst loop, on 
 straip-ht letters, ditfer from the s and ses circles and st 
 looii, explained in the third lesson, in that they are 
 lormed on the opposite side (on theside that then hook 
 is formed on, thus really including the n) and in that 
 they are formed only at the end of letters. 
 
 F, V, n or ns, following little letters may be repre- 
 sented in just the same way as following the large let- 
 ters of the same shape, but tive would have to be writ- 
 ten t with the V hook; shun, sh with the n hook: and 
 nses, the n stroke with the ses circle. 
 
 If a word ends with ny, or fy, or vy. or "with n, f, or v, 
 followed by any vowel to form a syllable, the n, f, or v 
 stroke, as learned in the alphabet, is written and the y. 
 or vowel, may usually be omitted, but persons prefer- 
 ring to do so, may write the vowel to secure greater 
 legibility. See line 11. 
 
 The writing disjoined of parts of a word that will not 
 join easily is nicely illustrated in this lesson by the word 
 fashionable in line 4, stationery in line' 7, engraving in 
 line 9, and vainly in line 10. Remember that in all cases
 
 26 
 
 where the parts of a word are written disjoined, they 
 must be written real close together so that they Avill at 
 once be recognized as parts of the same woi'd and will 
 not be taken for two separate words. 
 
 IJoth the abbreviated and the complete forms for the 
 words situation and occupation are given in lines 9 an<l 
 
 10. A large number of words will be met in all kinds of 
 actvial work in which the student will be compelled to 
 choose between abbreviated forms and complete forms, 
 and each student may use whichever best serves his pur. 
 pose . 
 
 Sorce of the other words in this lesson for which 
 plainer outlines could be written by persons desiring to 
 do so. are nationality— line ■!; stationery— line 7; diction- 
 ary—line 10; opportvinity— line 11; navy and coffee— line 
 
 11. which could be made plainer bj^ adding the y of the 
 ordinary spelling. 
 
 In learning this lesson, follow the directions given on 
 page 9.
 
 27 
 
 WRITING EXERCISE. 
 
 Note.— Do not practice this writing- exercise until you 
 have mastered the shorthand and kej' on the next two 
 pages. 
 
 1 common, 2 again, 8 contain, 4 month. 5 
 tariff, 6 county, 7 company, 8 reprove, 9 brief. 
 10 approve, 11 provoke, 12 believe, 13 green, 14 
 man, 15 noon, 16 linlno-, 17 leave, 18 loan, 19 
 then, 20 improves, 2] rough, 22 belief, 23 giv- 
 ing, 24 relation, 25 own, 26 thank, 27 sudden, 
 28 plans, 29 main, 30 learn, 81 remain, 32 known, 
 33 bargain, 34 fine, 35 sustain, 36 vacation, 37 
 session, 38 began, 39 proves, 40 gain, 41 broken- 
 42 leaves, 43 expense, 44 thinnest, 45 portions, 
 46 join, 47 hence, 48 adoption, 49 money, 50 re- 
 fine, 51 satisfy, 52 difter, 53 influence, 54 com- 
 mence, 55 astonish, 56 alive, 57 strain, 58 en- 
 gine, 59 only, 60 upon, 61 open, 62 above, 63 
 finish, 64 over, 65 stain, 66 varnish, 67 princi- 
 ple, 68 appear, 69 motion, 70 behind, 71 loca- 
 tion, 72 pardon, 73 burn, 74 achieve, 75 grave, 
 76 cliff, 77 love, 78 difference, 79 collectively, 
 80 men, 81 education, 82 cave, 83 gave, 84 am- 
 munition, 85 commotion, 86 knife, 87 drive,. 88 
 mines, 89 relatives, 90 relations, 91 loans, 92 
 gloves, 93 entrances, 94 provinces, 95 minister, 
 96 administer, 97 menaced, 98 musician, 99 pre- 
 serve, 100 preservation.
 
 28 
 
 1 
 2 
 3 
 4 
 5 
 6 
 7 
 7 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 13 
 
 \ 
 
 / 
 
 ^ 
 
 A^ 
 
 V 
 
 
 J-L --5 
 
 v^ 
 
 \J 
 
 
 (Vs 
 
 "^ <k/l^ 
 
 .^ 
 
 
 J 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 Y 
 
 ^^^ --V 
 
 
 \
 
 KEY. 
 
 1. Prove, chief, give, arrive, observe, enough, 
 move, after. 
 
 2. Actively, negative, perceptive, defective, 
 relatively, motive, superlative, native. 
 
 3. Been, plan, drawn, grown, mean, none, 
 learning, than. 
 
 4. Station, action, attention, impression, infor- 
 mation, nationality, fashionable evasion. 
 
 5. Reproves, examines, connections, sensations, 
 deserves, reference, insurance, grooves. 
 
 6. Balance, suspense, gains, fences, expenses, 
 finest, chanced, against. 
 
 7. Giving, stationery, think, done, morning, 
 opinion, furnish, publication. 
 
 8. Bank, acceptation, indications, undesir- 
 able, knives, loans, transaction, cleanses. 
 
 9. Situation, decision, explanation, cancel, dis- 
 pensed, reserve, engraving, return. 
 
 10. Occupation, cleansed, dictionary, intense, 
 diminish, vainly, acquisition, distribution. 
 
 11. Funny, many, navy, coffee, fancy, oppor- 
 tunity, inspection, alone. 
 
 12. If, of, in, an, and, on, hand, between. 
 
 13. Can, when, unless, even, mention, happen, 
 moreover, enclosed.
 
 30 
 
 STRAYER'S SHORTER SHORTHAND. 
 
 Lesson 6. 
 
 T or d following any large letter may be represented 
 by making the letter half length. See line 1. 
 
 When hooks are formed at the end of half length let- 
 ters, they are always read before the t or d added by the 
 halving. See line 2. 
 
 When the s circle is formed at the end of half length 
 letters, it is always read after the t or d added bj' the 
 halving. See line 3. 
 
 When the s circle is formed inside of hooks at the end 
 of half length letters, the hook is read before and the s 
 circle after the t or d added by the hah'ing, and by the 
 same- rule, the ns circle, when formed on half length 
 straight letters forms the combination nts or nds. See 
 line 4. 
 
 Once in a great while, it becomes necessarj'- to make 
 some arbitrary difference between words which would 
 otherAvise have tbe same shorthand outlines— in order to 
 be absolutely certain which word is to be read. The two 
 words of this class of most frequent occurrence are 
 reading and writing which would both be correctly writ- 
 ten r half length— ing. In this case, we suggest that 
 write be always written w— r half length, and read, 
 simply r half length. The stenographer should adopt 
 different outlines for any two words which would other- 
 wise be Avritten exactly alike, unless the sense would 
 enable him to know for a certainty which word was to 
 be read, but cases where a resort to this expedient is 
 necessarj'- will be found to be exceedingly rare.
 
 The common abbreviations may be used for the names 
 of states, cities, months, companies, and for any other 
 words which have familiar abbreviations. See line 9. 
 
 Nearly all professional stenogi-aphers use the short- 
 hand that would spell the first, or the first and second, 
 or one or two of the most prominent syllables of it, as 
 an abbreviation for any long word that occurs frequently 
 in any particular piece of work they are doing. 
 
 "Writers of this system are advised to follow their ex- 
 ample, but are cautioned against using indiscriminately 
 abbreviations for words that have no familiar abbrevia- 
 tions and that are of infrequent occurrence, for fear the 
 injudicious use of improvised abbreviations might make 
 their shorthand illegible. 
 
 In learning this lesson, follow the directions given on 
 page 9.
 
 82 
 
 H- c J\ C 2. 
 
 v^ 
 
 ■V-^ J s 
 
 t 
 
 ^ 
 
 o» 
 
 (^ 
 
 _i^^ L 
 
 
 1.-^ 
 
 X 
 
 ^ 
 
 "^ 
 
 «-0 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 9 
 10 
 11 
 12 
 13 
 
 < 
 
 -^ 
 
 V 
 
 , 1 > 
 
 <r\ 
 
 > 
 
 ^N 
 
 ^ 
 
 C — 
 
 ^ ^^ ^ 
 
 .<^> 
 
 I 
 
 L 
 
 r 
 
 % 
 
 ■^ 
 
 L 
 
 ^>.^ 
 
 -^ " - 
 
 \r- 6- 
 
 A. 

 
 33 
 KEY. 
 
 1. Need, but, late, great, pan, state, short, 
 held. 
 
 2. Bound, land, don't, planned, mourned, deter- 
 mined, respond, draft. 
 
 3. Notes, dates, rates, states, goods, devotes, 
 results, avoids. 
 
 4. Friends, amounts, payments, grafts, tends, 
 kinds, imprints, grounds. 
 
 5. Not, that, applied, expect, except, accept, 
 toward, according. 
 
 6. About, should, cannot, account, frequent, 
 acquainted, attitude, dated. 
 
 7. Glad, method, present, credit, moderate, 
 select, desei'ved, mailed. 
 
 8. President, getting, standing, regret, brought, 
 tighten, pretends, fault. 
 
 9. New York, Pa., Balto., Phila., Jan., Oct., B. 
 & O. R. R., gentlemen. 
 
 10. Mr., movement, compelled, satisfied, diffi- 
 cult, numbered, kindness, invent. 
 
 11. Considered, old, little, remarked, advertise- 
 ment, midnight, notify, act. 
 
 12. Beyond, object, advantage, important, im- 
 proved, improvement, affect, effect. 
 
 13. Shipped, shipment, department, governed, 
 received, apt, settlement, forward.
 
 34 
 
 WRITING EXERCISE. 
 
 1 put, 2 event, o might, 4 g-rade, 5 rent, 6 writ- 
 ten, 7 canned, 8 find, good, 10 depends, 11 re- 
 sult, 12 pleasant, 18 dry goods, 14 demand, 15 
 ground, 16 report, 17 cents, 18 judgment, 19 
 made, 20 private, 21 could, 22 prevent, 23 ob- 
 served, 24 imports, 25 receipted, 26 rapid, 27 
 art, 28 instead, 29 kindlj^, 30 regarding, 31 
 fi'iend, 32 paid, 33 avoid, 34 towards, 35 exactly, 
 36 correspondence, 37 payment, 38 hold, 39 
 market, 40 prompt, 41 provide, 42 attempt, 43 
 promote, 44 recent, 45 bright. 46 delivered, 47 
 remittance, 48 around, 49 amount, 50 requested, 
 51 world, 52 patient, 53 indirectly, 54 statement, 
 55 capital, 56 direct, 57 afford, 58 effort, 59 per- 
 mits, 60 divides, 61 importance, 62- subject, 63 
 different, 64 moved, 65 advertise, 66 advertised, 
 67 duty, 68 immediately, 69 hundred, 70 thought, 
 71 without, 72 completed, 73 compelled, 74 par- 
 ticular, 75 agent, 76 requested, 77 noted, 78 con- 
 tents, 79 respectfully, 80 obedient, 81 night, 82 
 feared, 83 deeds, 84 band. 85 prints, 86 brands, 
 87 permit, 88 paints, 89 painting, 90 plants, 91 
 minds, 92 debit, 93 bundle, 94 sentiment, 95 
 grafts, 96 gratifies, 97 body, 98 garret, 99 bold, 
 100 bend.
 
 35 
 SUGGESTIONS, 
 
 When the student has thoroughly mastered the six les- 
 sons given on the preceding pages of this book, he can 
 write anything and everything in shorthand. It is true 
 his writing will be slow at first, perhaps no faster than in 
 ordinary penmanship, but if he continues to write, he 
 will grow more and more rapid, until he can write prob- 
 ably at least five or six times as fast as in the old way. 
 We suggest that the stuaent go over the text book fre- 
 quently, reviewing the rules, and practicing all of the 
 shorthand, until the desired speed has been attained. 
 
 On the following pages, will be found two shoi-t articles 
 written in shorthand, to illustrate how the shorihand 
 should look in ordinary work. Note that the words are 
 written quite close together, and that spaces about one 
 and one-half inches in length, are left after the end of 
 each sentence, and that each part of a sentence is set 
 off from the rest of it by smaller spaces, the length of 
 the spaces varying according to the closeness of the con- 
 nection in the sense, or in the construction of the sen- 
 tence. We wish to urge all writers of this system, to use 
 long spaces for separating sentences from each other 
 and short spaces for separating the parts of the same 
 sentence, since shorthand is two or three times as easy 
 to read, when you can see just what words must be taken 
 together to make sense. 
 
 Writing shorthand without spaces, is just like writing 
 ordinary writing without any punctuation, and with no 
 capital letters, and running everything together. If 
 print was handed to you in that shape, you would prob- 
 ably have to go over it two or three times to get the 
 sense, and it is just the same way with shorthand. The 
 spaces take the place of both punctuation and capitals. 
 Put them in intelligently, and plentifully, and we think 
 you will have no diflficulty in reading your shorthand. 
 
 If it should ever be necessary to use parentheses, or 
 the dash,— form them with waved lines, so that they will 
 not be mistaken for shorthand characters. The ordinary 
 marks may be used for quotations. In writing proper 
 names that are not familiar, it is best to write them in 
 ordinary writing. 
 
 If there should be anything else you wish to know, 
 write us about it. and let us hear from you occasionally 
 concerning your progress, the advantage that you find 
 this system of shorthand to you, or anything else that 
 would be mutually interesting.
 
 36 
 
 
 3 
 4 
 5 
 6 
 7 
 8 
 9 
 
 10 
 11 
 12 
 13 
 
 ..^/lA^i^^. 
 
 ' ,c, ^ni 
 
 h^£^i2l_^V.., 
 
 r>-' 
 
 
 ..^'^f ^i;. 
 
 (O ifv. 
 
 L 
 
 f^ 
 
 (V. 
 
 ^ ^-^^\. 
 
 S, 1/ b S__l 
 
 <:.-yV 
 
 ] \ /.^ 
 
 — -v 
 
 .2L. 
 
 V^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 "I" — ^'-^ 
 
 i 
 
 ■""^^ 
 
 
 i. 
 
 £ -s 
 
 -»^s 
 
 V 
 
 
 }-\ ^ ^y \ . v^ 
 
 
 ■^ 
 
 V 
 
 ■) 
 
 L, 
 
 •^ 
 
 -^hX
 
 87 
 
 STRAYER'S SHORTER SHORTHAND VER- 
 SUS UNIVERSAL SHORTHAND. 
 
 As was mentioned at the beginning- of this 
 book, the two things in which this system of 
 shorthand differs radically from the systems in 
 general use, are the shortness of time required 
 to learn it, and the plainness of the writing, or 
 the ease with which it can be read. 
 
 As has already been said, this system is just 
 the thing for the person who needs shorthand 
 for his own use, and for the person who wishes 
 to fit himself quickly for an office situation as 
 Stenographer or Private Secretary. It can be 
 learned in a few hours, is almost as plain as 
 print, and when thoroughly mastered is speedy 
 enough for all kinds of ordinary amanuensis 
 stenographic work. Those facts make it desir- 
 able that almost every one who can read and 
 write, should learn this system of ^orthand- 
 It will be such a help to everybody and will 
 save every one so much time, that no well edu- 
 cated person can afford to be unable to use it. 
 
 44943£
 
 as 
 
 
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 r) 
 
 J^ 
 
 -h_iL 
 
 VL^i 'Ir 
 
 > 
 
 3 
 
 \0". 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^--n^ 
 
 01^' 
 
 ( 
 
 V--, 
 
 7^ 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 9 
 10 
 11 
 12 
 18 
 
 ,^J_Li!lA 
 
 1 
 
 1 f 
 
 
 "r 
 
 «^ 
 
 X- 
 
 ■^ 
 
 \/.\ V 
 
 '^ — +- i ^. \ 
 
 
 (V 
 
 ,^- 
 
 
 -^(^(^U,^,^7 ) 
 
 + 
 
 v^ fe
 
 39 
 
 And DOW about Universal Shorthand. Who 
 should learn it ? 
 
 We use the term Universal Shorthand as an 
 equivalent for the system now in general use by 
 nearly all professional stenographers, and there 
 is but one such system; for while one steno- 
 grapher will tell you that he uses the Isaac Pit- 
 man system, and another that he writes the 
 Ben Pitman, a third that he is a champion of 
 the Munson system, and a fourth that nothing- 
 will compare with the Graham, and so on, — 
 those systems are in reality all one and the 
 same system with slight variations. 
 
 Universal Shorthand, should be learned by 
 everyone who wishes to become a verbatim re- 
 porter, and by everyone who wishes to make a 
 living as a professional Stenographer, provided 
 the person can attend a Business College and 
 remain long enough to thoroughly master it. 
 
 When learned, it can be. written about a third 
 faster than this system, but it usually requires 
 three or four times as long to learn it, and 
 it is not as easy to read.
 
 40 
 
 
 (nO^ W^^^-'-X^ \ V^^ 
 
 
 1. SV^w<._ ^ 1 
 
 r'A \^^\ -w- 
 
 '"-^rf'^v-t''' 
 
 V 
 
 \ ^ ^^ ^^ ( ^^ Vp 
 
 _,) — L £z_ ^r: :^ c— 7 2v- c-Vt. 
 
 V^' 
 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 -A 
 
 ^^J!.^^L^._X^
 
 41 
 [■ The'learning- of Universal Shorthand, should 
 
 not be undertaken by persons wishing- Short- 
 hand for their own use, or by persons wishing 
 to fit themselves for office situations as steno- 
 graphers in a very short time, nor by persons 
 who cannot arrange to attend a Business Col- 
 lege; because in all such cases, the student is 
 likely to become discouraged and give it up be- 
 fore becoming able to make practical use of it. 
 
 Persons wishing to attend Business College 
 to learn Shorthand, should by all means corre- 
 spond with Strayer's Business College, Balti- 
 more, Md., because it offers exceptional induce- 
 ments, both in the superiority of its courses, 
 and the smallness of its charges. 
 
 The best text-book for those wishing to study 
 at home, is Strayer's Universal Shorthand, 
 which can be purchased from the publisher of 
 this book at $1.50 per copy. 
 
 This system, Strayer's Shorter Shorthand, is 
 made up solely of the easier parts of j[Universal 
 Shorthand.
 
 42 
 
 
 
 k VU j^(\^\.^lJ 
 
 
 Tl' ^^ y' V^j— J .{^"^Cy 
 
 _^^_4^c|±i444_ 
 
 y-^ 
 
 ^^4JV^W --^ tj 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 13 
 
 
 ^-^^^l^ ') l'^^ 
 
 .^vl Cra^'-^ ^^.( -, _
 
 43 
 
 TYPEWRITING. 
 
 To persons who wish to fill office situations as 
 stenographers, the ability to do neat, rapid, and 
 accurate, typewriting-, is an absolute necessity; 
 to all other persons, a practical knowledge of 
 typewriting, is an accomplishment that is likely 
 to come in good sometime, very often much 
 sooner than the person expects when acquir- 
 ing it. 
 
 In view of these facts, we think that every one 
 who has learned shorthand, should learn type- 
 writing too, and Strayer's Business College, 
 Baltimore, Md., would be glad to send a type- 
 writer to your home, and give you a course of 
 instruction, by mail, in typewriting, on terms 
 that would probably surprise you on account of 
 their reasonableness. 
 
 If you would be interested in this matter, write 
 them for terms, etc. They are also often able to 
 be of assistance to persons wishing to purchase 
 typewriters. They will gladly serve you in any 
 way they can.
 
 44 
 
 RECORD PAGE. 
 
 Mon. 
 
 Tues. 
 
 Wed. 
 
 Thurs. 
 
 Fri. 
 
 Sat. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Weeks 
 1st. 
 
 3d. 
 
 3rd. 
 
 4th. 
 
 5th. 
 
 6th. 
 7th. 
 8th. 
 9th. 
 10th. 
 
 Mark in the proper space how many hours, or minutes, 
 you spend in study each day, during whatever number 
 of weeks it may take you to complete the course. When 
 you have finished, send a full report, mentioning the 
 number of hours and number of weeks you spent on it, 
 to Strayer's Business College, Baltimore, Md.
 
 This book is DUE on the last 
 date stamped below. 
 
 Tl 
 
 I i 
 
 MNJ
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 AA 000 496 780 8 
 
 ^6 
 S913S