The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-07-08
A WRITING MACHINE.
A Very Curious, but We Suspect Enc
tIreIy Impracticable InventIOn.

:, tirely ImpTacticable 1nVentIon.
The new writing machine now being
exhibited by Mr.. Emmet Dewsmore seems
10 be an invention which, il the difficulty
Of It's somewhat high price can only be
surmounted, will be almost as great boon
10 printers as printing itself was to tho
world at large. At all events It's adoption
will deprive that h0StS RUnldni 9eneris,
"the printers reader" of all chance Of
throwing back upon the grabbed penman-
ship Of the maddened author the respon.
Nbilily OF the travestie in which he has
presented his pet incubAuons TO q Devil.
dered public. The writing machine Is,
with lis stand, about tho size Of small
sewing machine, and consists Of key.
board with three roWs.of keys, each Of
which Is marked with alettcr or number
and connected with q long wire hammer,
similar In action to those OF the piano forte,
but bearing at the striking end, instead Of
the usual hard-covered leather hammer,
the metal dye bearing the same letter or
figure as that on the key. These ham.
mers arc ranged in circle, 80 disposed
that each hammer when thrown up by
the action Of its key strikes upon the same
spot on a wooden cylinder, round which
Is rolled the paper e, written upon.
Underneath lhbpRper Is piece Of or.
binary carboni7ed Paper, 80 that when the
die on the hammer strikes uponit the
white paper Is at once marked with what.
ever letter or figure may be,upon the die.
AS the key which has been stuck. rises
on being relieved from the pressure upon
It, It's action loOsens Q catch by which the
wooden cylinder has been detained In It's
place, and the cylinder, acted upon BY a
COied spring at one end, moves on q
small space so as 70 expose 8 fresh sur.
face for the impact ofthe next die, which,
on its key being struck, rises as before, and
markes the paper with q fresh letter or
figure Immediately following the first In
this way each word is spelled, the sLrlk-
Ing OF light wooden bar which runs
along the front Of the keyboard suflcing
at the end Of each word TO move the
cylinder forward without making any
mark upon the paper, thus forming the
spaces between tho words
There are, Of course, keys carrying the
various notes Of interrogation, etc, and 1t
will readily be seen that by this simple
arrangement a sentence may be printed
of even much more rapidly than 1t can
be written, each letter, requiring, instead
Of the complicated, though unconscious,
process OF formation by . pen or pencil,
only the single rap with the finger upon
the key. .-......
The only difficulty in the way-besides
the slight initial difficulty Of learning the
keyboard by heart and practising the
fingers to drop rapidly upon the desired
letler-is that of finishing entirely with
each letter before touching the key which
IS 10 print the next OF course, as ell the
hammers strike upon precisely the same
spot, 1t will be readily understood that
the striking Of two keyS'at q time would
necessarily produce Q collision, and very
probably q "loul." This, however, Q very
iitts prsctICe enables the RTiter 70 avoid,
and, when once q tolerable facility Of
handling Is acquired, 'therH is Int little
difficulty In writing with the machine at
from so TO 100 per cent quicker than 10
possible with the pen, with the immense
advantage that what you have come IA
printed In plain, unmi6takable type. At
the end Of each line q little bell rings ont
a warning, and . Ample action Of the
readIe, on which the foot rests while
working, shifts the cylinder back to Its
starting. point, giving Il ct Tho same time
the ANAL turn required 10 expose fresh
surface for the reception Of the new line,
and re.windlng the spring by which il Is
moved. The Arrangement Of letters on
the keyboard Is somewhat curious, fol-
lowing q principle the exact reverse Of
the ordinary "caSe," and someRhAt Rimi-
lar to that adopted In the distribution Of
the numbers round the cylinder OF the
roulette table. -.
Tho great object Of the competitors
case Is 10 get the letter. which arc most
used as much as possible together. The
great object OF the Writing machine key
board Is 10 get them as far % possible
apart, inteHpOsing between them the let
ters Of lees frequent requirement, and tor
this obvious reason, that . hammer that
has struck IL blow gets more quickly out
Of the way oil another hammer at some
little distance of than of Its next door
hGighbor, and il all the often used letters
were next 10 one another it would be
scarcely possible with rapid work TO
avoid constant iouling, As Il Is, the ms
chine can be worked easily up to from 90
10 so words per minute, with less fatigue
10 the operator than In writing in the Or
binary way % or 80 words q minute, By
the use Of tissue paper and additional car.
BOMBED leaves eight or ten isc.simIles can
be printed simultaneously without any
extra trouble. It Is most ingenious ma.
chine, and very simple In construction