Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1876-12-02
The Electrical Pen-A Wonder.

NAL, was asked, "What one thing
had struck him, amongst the Millions
of wonders, inventions, and curiosi-
ties exhibited at the Worlds fair, as
being The most noteworthy ?" Gun
doubteily The Electrical Pen" he an
swered.
Whether the Ohio Professor held
classes in electricity, and so had
leaning toward all concerning his
studied science, we are not told, nor
does it indeed much matter, since the
pen is now being generally introduced
with The opportunity afforded 10
eve:y one of iodorsing OF ridiculing
the vastly decided opinion that closes
the fir;t paragraph of This article. 1t
is no. as a clever toy, moreover, that
attention is claimed for the Electrical
Pen, bot as a most ingenious labor
saving, ;ime-saving, and money-saving
machine. ii being confidently recon-
mended (bv The asent) to that shlewd,
hard-headed class, business men of
Saa Francisco.
The various parts of The machine ale
three-battery, press, and zen. The
manner of operation is most interest
ing, aud can be described in a dozen
lines. The battery jars being once
filed, will need no replenishing for
any period from two to six months,
according to the amount of use to
which The pen is put. Charging the
battery is simple work-though the
'gallant Six Hundred" did not find
it so-and the attachment of the pen
thereto is simpler still. Directly the
wires are in place the pen is ready
for use. It remains ready quiescent
in the stand, however, until taken in
10 tho hand, when such action takes
place within it's little length as will
thoroughly convince the writer that
it means business. At the top of the
pen is small magnetic engine, and
10 the revolving shaft of this needle
is 6xeL by means of a cam. The
needle passes through the nickled
tube which takes the place of holder,
and when at work passes up and
down with a rapidity that is aston
ishing. At each revolution of the
shaft the point Of the needle is pro-
jecied from the bottom Of the tube
just far enough 10 puncture the pa
per TO be written on, or through "a
Iher, and with such incredible quick
ness that The user, holding the pen
upright, may write as quickly as with
an ordinary pen. Experiments show
that Il, 900 punctures q minute are
made. On taking the sheet Of paper
which has been written on and hold
ing it to the light, it will be seen to
be covered with innumerable perfora-
lions. This is the principals stencil
sheet, and this ends the princi-
pals work, for here the office-boy
comes into use. He, with his ink
roller and trough prepared, sets the
s;encil-sheet in hinged frame by
clamp springs, places sheet of blot
ting paper under. then inks the stem
Gil plate until every puncture is full,
and then, placing fair sheet after
sheet in position, rolls off fair copy
with each passage of the roller over
the porous original. As many as
thousand impressions an hour may be
taken, but four hundred in that time
will satisfy the most exigent mer-
chant or wildly industrious ofice-boy.
The uses to which such an instru-
ment could be put are a thousand
and one. Merchants can print their
circulars in their own offices and offer
their new goods to thousands of GUS
toners in their own handwriting; in
surance men, with eight or nine COM
panies' agencies, can duplicate half
dozen policies in as many minutes;
railway officers can supply all the
station men along the line with time
tables, the result of ten minutes copy
ing; the Stock Board might use it
for their bulletins; lawyers with nine
or ten defendants to case would pre-
fer it 10 q copyist; in brief (if it is all
that is claimed) thousands will rise
up TO bless Mr.. Edison, the inven-
tor, unless job printers rise up and
slay him previously.
Many years ago, it was said that
the pen was mightier than the sword;
what would the same thinker soy
now, when, instead Of driving a
goose-quill, he might copy . poem or
. pfics-list with " tanned lightning 7"
WHAT Is AN INGRAM CARpEr.-The
two-ply ingram known to the trade is q