FLYING PENCIL

Hokitika Guardian, 3 November 1932, Page 3

FLYING PENCIL

'SHORTHAND WRITER’S ABILITY. REMARKABLE NAPIER TESTS. NAPIER, November 1. ‘'Ability of' freak character in the writing of shoi'*and is possessed by a Napier girl, Mips Coralie Phillip?, who, without long experience, Has developed a •pped exceeding 300 words per minute. -Inquiries are being made to secure authentic information as" to the world's record shorthand wn'tjng under the Pitman system, 'and' it is thought that Miss ' Phillips, i f . her' present speed does not equal theVfecord,V : will have little difficulty' in cfoiror so. ' 'She appears to be able to write shorthand faster than the average person ' can rend. A pressman who .was offered the opportunity of seeing her at work was quickly convinced. Miss Phillips Went through a three-minute test, at the end of which the reader was on the verge of being out of breath and tongue-tied, 1 Miss Phillips herself was j naturally tiring a’-little under the strain of maintaining such a sp-ed. .The possibility of’ the writer knowing the.' piece which- was read 1 to- her waj eliminated, by the fact that the reader .took with him an' old copy '.of“Hari,s?.i*di’ and head a passage chosen 'at random! 1 Miss -Phillip’ -.'took the' passid b*. containing ■-words of varying j 1 ngth, and afterwards oread .it Uack with a margin of -error of less than 1. "i- cenf.—the margin allowed for an honours .par, 3- in Public Service examine- | tkflis.

Miss Phillips hips had less than threle term? of tuition at a Napier sho-rthahd-typewriting school, following an elementary, course- at a high school. Her r-n----maykabje speed has been rlevel-'nWV finite ’ recently. ' "It i.s understood that the Piiblic '"Service Commissioner, Mr P.' D, Ni Veracihaffelt; whs surprised to learn that any girl had' accomplished a peed and he hks aiTanged for Miss Phil’lps to be .rgi veil special ton early date, -"--.p ' ti , v,