Stenographers feed Congress as word recorders and earn big pay
In Wasurxorox May 17 the article details House stenographers facing grueling hours during lengthy debates. Reporters relay notes to transcribers in the Capitol basement, now using graphophones to capture 60 word minutes. Five official reporters earn 5000 a year, chief McElhone 6000, noted for verbatim work and rapid analysis.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Wasurxorox
House of Representatives
House
D.F. Murphy
Blount
Georgia
Cannon
Illinois
Mills
Texas
McKinley
Ohio
Motes
Capitol
Congressional Record
McElbone
Chaplain Milburn
Congressman Holman
Stenographers and the pace of Congress reporters
Frank G. Calpenter profiles Washington stenographers and the fast talking lawmakers. He notes five House reporters, Senate chief Dennis F. Murphy, and the growing demand for shorthand clerks, private secretaries, and typists across government and law offices. The piece highlights speeds from 100 to 225 words per minute and salaries up to 25 000 a year for top reporters, with exposure of their roles in drafting, editing, and dictation.
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Allen
Mississippi
Judge Holman
McKinley
Joe Cannon
General Anderson
Iowa
Dalzell
Pennsylvania
Indi Roug
Jim Belford
Sam Cox
House
David Wolf Brown
Congress
Mr. White
Andrew Devine
Albany
New York
Beecher
the Congressional Record
Senate
Dennis F. Murphy
Murphy
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Webster
Tom Benton
Surratt
Lincoln
Washington
Spesking
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Henry Clay
Clay
Jefferson Davis
Sargent
California
District of Columbia
John Bell
Tennessee
Bell
Blackburn
Kentucky
Ingalls
Sherman
Senator Hawley
Plumb
Morgan
Kenna
Anthony Higgins
Delaware
Frank Hiscock
George F. Hoar
Edmunds
Joe Brown
Georgia
John C. Spooner
Leland Standford
Stewart
Nevada
George West
Evarts
Blair
Allison
Zeb Vance
North Carolina
Secon
Qusy
Alx
Capitol
United States
Seward
Sumner
Jonah
Wilson
Washington State
Manderson
Committees of
Stanford
Harrison
Halford
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Robert Packe
Pennsylvania Railroad Company
Civil Service Commission
David Davis
Lamont
Cleveland
Harvard
Frank G. Calpenter
Bent of Business Rooms Rates in Philadelphia Top Pittsburg Rates
The Philadelphia Times notes business room rents are high across major buildings. Even single rooms fetch at least 250 to 400 dollars yearly with some properties asking 700 dollars, driven by demands for stationary washstands electric lights and messenger calls.
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Philadelphia
Pittsburg
Philadelphia Times
Treating Dog Bites A Savage Folly From a St Louis Paper
An item mocks a folk remedy for mad dog bites claiming to use powder and whisky then a cruel method with live fowls applied to wounds. The piece contrasts this with a casual street dialogue about a neighbor named Snodgrass and a joke about garden affairs.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Louis
Flowing With Fun and Lively Lines of Verse and Wit
A collage of whimsical verses and sketches from a 19th or early 20th century newspaper page. Readers encounter dramatic monologue fragments, humorous aphorisms, a romantic poem about love and nature, and literary quips. The piece blends playful prose and verse with satirical exchanges.
A Needle-Less Explanation and Ocean Race Jests
A playful dialogue features Willie A Sad 5Sea-Dog noting a U S congressional bill on ocean racing while another character reports a rising race record. A dreamy young man and a seamstress exchange flirty lines about eyes and mystic depth as a Mother Gooselet section begins with a call for children to play.
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Siren
Piping Hot Days In Africay Romance
A racy verse fragment depicts a Hottentot wooing a merry maiden. The setting notes extreme heat ninety in the shade two hundred in the sun. The girl boasts frizzy locks and a toilet-box cane with potions she rubs on her hair as part of the scene.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Africay
Jade
Note on a tragic scene in a distant land
The poem describes a fatal sundering moment under a harsh sun where a Hottentot and a young maid suffer. The text notes the maiden’s slow firing and her death on the sands of Africa, leaving only stains near the shade as evidence of the event.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Thor
Moonlit Musings and Kantian Quiet Evening
Fragmentary text hints at a moonlit scene and a preference for reading Kant Hoffmann and Schopenhauer over other activity. Names appear garbled, providing little clear context or events to anchor a fuller summary.
Why The Tramp Night Train Becomes A Ride Throughabsurdity
A humorous exchange on a night train unfolds with a cross passenger losing a ticket and a series of odd incidents. Ganymede explains the nickname The Tramp as the train "peels" away, while a convict in upper four creates a breezy scene. A tall thin passenger buys kiln dried Smyrna figs, hints at homebound duties, and engages in a whispered dispute with the conductor. The tale hints that the tall passenger once edited a weekly paper.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ganymede
Bosert J. Burdette
Let Out a Reef. A Humorous Exchange from John Henderson
In a brief, witty dialogue Carlyle Smith comments on gaining stoutness and jokes about forming a corporation of himself. Henderson chimes in with encouragement and a tip about a stitch in the side.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John Henderson
Carlyle Smith
Their Wooden Wedding
A humorous anecdote recounts Robinsons wooden wedding anniversary celebration with a broken mop-stick attack on Robinson, wood litter, tipped wood-box, cat with a clothes-pin, kids on a bread-board see-saw, and a baby eating matches.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Robinson
Aul Pastnor
Pellets From Various Pesties and Odd Sayings
A collection of aphorisms and quirky observations on food, behavior, and social life. The piece muses on oysters seasoning and jokes about public speakers losing heads but keeping feet, a woman’s swift decisions versus long makeup, and a social club remark by a recently expelled youth.
Bee Orchid Sightings in English Mountains Reported
A historical note on the Pletoreiian orchid found in England's mountain regions of Lincolnshire and Kent. It discusses the bee orchid's remarkable resemblance to its pollinator, the Living Bee, and mentions a fly orchid as another curious, fascinating bloom for flower lovers to study.
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England
Harper's Bazar
Lincolnshire
Kent
Dahomey King Executes Generals After Outmatched Warriors
The King of Dahomey, long boasting a warrior who could defeat seven whites, faced a French challenger who defeated nine of his fighters. In response, he ordered the execution of several generals for consolation as the royal court reeled from the humiliation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dahomey
Detroit
Sir Geoffrey and Beatrice in Bryngelly Love Tragedy
Geoffrey Bingham, a London barrister, and Beatrice Granger, a Welsh schoolteacher, share a doomed attraction amid poverty and social pressure. Beatrice and Geoffrey navigate scandal, ransom, and risk as Elizabeth schemes to ruin them. Beatrice drowns at the end after a final farewell in the Welsh coast locale.
Beatrice’s Letter Foreshadows Tragedy in London
Geoffrey learns Beatrice is dead as he reads two letters she left. One reveals a final, passionate plea and farewell from Beatrice, urging him to pursue reform and greatness. The other is a fake note to mislead others, while Geoffrey contemplates vengeance against Owen Davies and Mrs. Honoria.
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Geoffrey
Euston Station
Effie
Lady Honorig
Anne
Honne
Daddie
Honoria
Geo
Amelia
Lad Garsington
Law Courts
Wales
Beatrice
Bors
Chester ‘S
Bryngelly
Paddington Station
London
Geofrey
Mr. Bingham
Beatrica Granger
Eryngelly
Owen Davies
Tere
Elizabeth
Ryogelly
Ptaes
Also Mentioned on This Page
Son
John J. McElhone
John C. Rives
Cantonal Globes
Philadelphia Press
Lewis Cass
Buchanan
McElhove
Tom Stwed
Crisp
Abraham Lincoln
Cork
Man
Bostonian
Gilroy
Larkin
San An
Gallagher
Oshun
Johnsing
Eis
Mr. Rapid
Alex
E. Sweet
Jongfrac
Jungfrau
Tay
Willie
Willie Fourhundred
Sam T
Kant
Hoffmann
Schopeshacer
Geoffrey Bingham
Beatrice Granger
Jay
Honoris
Sinon
Brynmeily
Ifrey
Mr. Granger
America
Owen
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