SHORTHAND AND TYPEWRITING CHAMPIONS

Gisborne Times, Volume XXX, Issue 3592, 3 August 1912, Page 4

SHORTHAND AND TYPEWRITING CHAMPIONS

WRITING 250 WORDS A JIIXUTE

For the third year in succession, Mr. Reuben J. Garwood has won the world’s shortlrand championship, the contest for which took place at the Business Exhibition at the Agricultural Hall, London, recently. Mr. Garwood thus wins outright the cup awarded for this feat. There were eighteen competitors, twelve of whom were women, and the test consisted of reporting 1000 words of dedicated newspaper matter in five minutes. Mr. Garwood, who is a professional shorthandwriter, is engaged chiefly on important ver!*atim reports, such as those of company meetings, law cases, speeches, etc. Besides winning the world’s championship for the last three years, he has won ten medals in various shorthand contests, the tesxin most cases being 200 words per minute.

Tlie champion has however on many occasions exceeded this remarkable speed. “On one occasion,” he informed the “T. 8.” man. during tne course of an interview, “in a oneminute test I succeeded in taking down 250 words,, afterwards reading them back without hesitation. On two occasions I have accomplished the feat of writing 50,000 words in one day—that is, from 10.30 a.m. to 7.15 p.m., while in 1903 I assisted the official reporter on the Alaska Boundary Tribunal, which sat for over twenty days.” _ u r. Garwood, during the course of his career, has reported such celebrities as Lord Strathcona, Dr. Jameson.Hon. Alfred Deakin, General Sir R. S. S. Baden-Powell. and also the late Duke of Fife and the Duchess of Albany. The contest- for the typewriting championship of the world was also held at the same exhibition, and was won by Air- Emil Treszger. It is a curious fact, in view of Air. Garwood’s triumph, that this makes Air. Treszger's third consecutive success in this competition. The test consisted in copying from printed matter for twen-ty-five minutes and typing from personal dictation for fifteen minutes. The winner was a conspicuous figure during the contest. AYith collar removed and' a green shade over his eyes, he seemed to work with the precision and swiftness of an automatic machine, and all, seemingly, wnthout the least effort-, his worn being the acme of perfection.