Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-04-03
4 NEW ACCOUNTANT.
A Machine which Meridcn Inventor
Has Constructed.

The Washington Star gives the fol-
loving account of an ingenius ma
chine, which w l.. Horne, of this
city, has invented:
On the table in the office of a patent
attorney, in this city, is a little ma
chine, whose.compleXity, strength and
ingenuity make it one OF the most
wonderful products of the human
mind. Its inventor calls it "the
mechanical accountant" and its
desire is to serve not only as a check
to dishonest clerks and cashiers, but
also to keep an account of all the
daily receipts kand disbursements
which a business man may have
whether his business is small or large
1t IS the invention of a Meriden
Conn, man, and nothing but Yam
KEGS fertility of genius could have
devised ana executed a plan so intri-
cate and yet SO simple. 1t looks like
q little desk, about one foot by eight
cen inces in SIZE, with a rolling cover
TAe cover being lifted, you see As keys
in five divisions, each division having
mine keys numbered from one to nine.
They represent the units, tens and
hundreds of dollars. Each division
is connected with two recording
wheels, one for disbursements, the
other for receipts. The periphery of
these wheels is divided into one hun.
dred equal spaces, ana touching key
causes the wheel to revolve the mum
Der or spaces which the,key represents.
There are also four adding wheels,
/ two for disbursements and two for
receipts, which are actuated by the
other recording wheels. In addition
to these wheels, there are digit plates
at the reverse side of the desk, which
sprlnging up at each touch of the keys,
and face the customer or cash boy,
showing him that the sum of money
which he has paid or received is cor
rectly recorded.
The movement of a switch throws
the operations of the keys from the
disbursement wheels TO the receiving
wheels, at the same time replacing
the sign of disbursements" beneath
the digit platesswith the sign OF IRE
ceipts.
Nor can the clerk use the samt
figures in case the customer VIII,
enters desires to pay the some sum a
the preceding man. The machine
locks itself at each operation, and
new one can only be entered upon b,
touching a spring which throws bacl
the digit plates to zero, and rings Z
bell at the same time, announcing
that the board is clear. The entire
system is as simple as the bell punch
1.-THE machine keeps the record of The
total amounts received and paid on
in plain sight, so that the merchan
can tell at glance, at any time in th'
day, the value of the business done
that DAY. There is no chance foi
error in the machine, aud if the cast
in the till does not agree with th'
amount recorded, then the clerk has
made a mistake. That it is a saving
of labor one can easily see. A mer
chant spends an hour or two a DAY
adding up the figures on the count
less slips sent ito his cashier by TIT
clerks With his machine he car
count his cash, and at a glance tel
whether or not it agrees withsthe re
cord which the machine holds read'
for him. The principle on which the
machine is constructed is such thai
any amount can be taken The in
ventor states that with a ''mechanica
accountant" two feet square the worl
Of the treasury department can be re
corded.