Huntsville gazette., 1886-01-23
HERE'S ANOTHER.

A New York Stenographer Comes to the
Front With a Machine That Is to Revolu-
tionize the Work of Newspaper and Book
Making = It Sounds Easy, But VIII it
Work?
NEW YORK, January ia novel ma
chine, which is intended not only to set
type automatically, but to correct all er-
rors before the type is set, has been in
vented by stenographer of this city,
and patents have been issued to cover
all its vital principles. The machines
hitherto made to set type have all had
key board before which the operator sat,
and by touching the keys caused the type
to drop as wanted from reservoirs
through guiding tubes into the stick
or galley made to hold them, thus set
ting the matter in one continu-
Gus line, which an assistant broke up
into short lines to fit the newspaper col
umn or book page, as desired. In the
stenographer's machine the operator pre-
pares tape which is run through ma
chine which sets the type. In preparing
the tape the operator sets at key board,
which can be arranged like the key board
of either of the common type writers.
When a key representing letter is
touched the act punches three holes in a
line across the tape. The three holes
are always in line with each other, but
they are in different places
on the line, according to the
letter to be represented. Every
time letter is punched the tape is moved
along certain distance before another
Ia -, Sc 1,cfn Ao
upon the width of the letter. AS the tape
runs out of the punching machine, an as
sistant measures it off with rule, which
Is divided up in sections which represent
every character. If a word is to be divid-
ed line of holes representing the hyphen
is punched in between the syllables, and
then holes representing the spaces are
changed until the rule shows that the
line is exactly spaced out. Each type
character has reservoir, and the reser-
voirs are placed side by side. A series :
of pointers are arranged to simultaneous
ly fly at the bottom tape in each reser-
voir, but series of ten narrow, thin
steel plates intervene between the
points and the type. These plates have
rows of little holes in them, and under
certain circumstances the holes get into
such position that one of the pointers
passes through the plates and knocks
type out of its reservoir. The type slides
down a chute and lands in the ''Stick"
that is ready to receive it. When the tape
passes on the plates and pointers return
until another row of holes in the tape is
reached, and then the action is repeated.
As the matter to be set is corrected and
spaced in the tape, the type as setneed only
to be lifted into the column or page. The
speed of the machine is limited only
by the rate at which the type can drop
into place. Correction can be made in
tape by a skilled operator more rapidly
than they could be made in type by
compositor, and the operation Of punch
ing the tape can, of conrse, be
done more rapidly than type can be
set. Mr.. j. f. Munson, the inventor OF
the machine, has also devised an at
tachment through which the tape can
be run, and by an electric current can
reproduce itself at the other end of
the wire. in this way newspaper could
be produced simultaneously in any num-
her of towns