Work for Women

by George J. Manson

The custom of employing women as amanuenses has grown very largely of late years. It is said on good authority that, fifteen years ago, there were but five females in the city of New York who made their living by writing short-hand; at the present time there are, as nearly as can be estimated, between one hundred and fifty and two hundred.

"Which is the best system of short-hand?" is generally the first question asked by the person desirous of entering this profession. And that is a very difficult question to answer, and many of the answers that have been given to it have been very far from honest.

In the first place, it must be stated that there are about a score of "systems" of short-hand before the public, each of which has its defenders and advocates. Each is highly recommended in commendatory letters from this or that distinguished court or newspaper reporter. Each can show, and does show, first-class notices from prominent daily and weekly papers, and each has a circle of followers who loudly proclaim that the particular system they follow is not only the best in existence, but really the only one worth learning. In the search after short-hand truth, it is but natural that the would-be learner gets bewildered, and asks, "What shall I do?"

The system of short-hand practised by the vast majority of writers, both in this country and in England, is phonography, invented by Isaac Pitman, of Bath, England, in 1837. That system is based on an alphabet representing the sounds of the language, instead of the ordinary alphabet we use in spelling words. Since 1837 there have been many phonographic text-books written by as many different authors, and each author has added a hook here or a circle there, lengthened this stroke, or made that one heavier; and that accounts for the variety of "systems." The fact is, they are all based on the original phonography of Isaac Pitman, who himself, by the way, was the first to set the example of making changes and "improvements." For all practical purposes phonography is no better now than it was thirty years ago. I dwell upon this point, for I know "the best system" has been a sad stumbling-block to many young people who were naturally anxious to start on the right road.

Which system, then, is the best? Answer: any system will answer the purpose of the woman who desires to become simply a phonographic amanuensis. And it is only of that branch of work of which I write, for though there are a few female court reporters in the country, the number is so small and the positions so exceptional in many respects that it is not worth while to speak of woman's employment in that direction.

Let not the student, then, waste any time in listening to or reading arguments in favor of the various systems, but go to a bookstore and get some one of the various manuals on the subject, and begin to study. These books cost from fifty cents to a dollar and a quarter each.

A teacher is not really necessary, but will prove a help, provided he has a practical knowledge of the art. The trouble is, however, that many of the so-called teachers of phonography have never done any actual reporting in their lives, and their advice and suggestions are not of much value. The best way for the pupil would be to get the assistance of some man engaged in actual reporting. One lesson from such a person would be worth a dozen from some of the teachers who advertise to teach short-hand, or who are connected with the various colleges. The price for such service cannot be accurately stated. Short-hand schools and colleges have "courses" of one hundred and twenty lessons, charging $75 for the same. Students can and do learn at these schools, but the cheaper and more sensible way for the student learner to do would be to get the help of a teacher, as I have suggested, and then only as it was needed. The text-books I have mentioned are very plain, and a teacher really cannot do much to make them plainer. In six months' time, if the pupil is diligent, she should be able to write eighty words a minute, and enter upon actual work, when, with practice, her speed will gradually increase. If she can reach a speed of one hundred and twenty words a minute, she will be as good as the average; if she can reach one hundred and fifty words a minute, she will do what few women ever accomplish.

She need have no fear about getting a position, if she has made herself competent. The demand for good workers in this profession is constant and increasing. Out of several large classes taught by a lady teacher in New York not one pupil failed, when qualified, to secure a position. A gentleman connected with a large corporation, who employs two lady amanuenses, and obtains positions for others, says that he could secure situations for two or three a week.

It should be added, however, that a knowledge of working on the type-writer should accompany the ability to write phonography. This instrument has come into such general use that no detailed description of it is here required. Briefly, it may be said that it is an instrument to print letters and documents with despatch, and it is worked with keys like a piano. To learn this art of type-writing requires but a very short time, and there are schools or offices in most of the large cities where it is taught.

A lady can learn phonography as young as sixteen, or at the mature age of thirty-five; but it is almost needless to say that the art can be mastered much easier at the former than the latter age. At one of the schools in New York where it is taught free to women no pupils are received under the age of eighteen. It is a study that requires considerable application, a good memory, nimble fingers, and quick apprehension. There are some people (and this remark applies to both sexes) who would never be able to learn enough short-hand to be of any practical service. But the study is nothing like as difficult as it has often been represented to be. Every thing depends on the student. If she makes haste slowly, and learns even a little thoroughly every day, she will soon find herself mastering the theoretical part of the art, and if she practises constantly, in season and out of season, what she has properly learned, the secret of short-hand success is hers. The necessity of practice cannot be overrated. Hence it is that a teacher is ordinarily of little use. The exercises in the latest manuals on this subject are very well arranged, and it would seem that the art could not be presented in a plainer way than it is at present.