Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-07-27
STAMP cANcELlAo MACHINES.
Ingenious Appliances Used in the Boston postoftlce-Iahnr SaYed.

Ah8cHioub AppA1auces Useu HI tue ksUnscu
 Postoffice-Labor Saved.
 These canceling machines are very in- genious devices indeed, and remarkable labor savers. Each one of them does work equal to that of four of the quickest men in the de- partment It is their business to cancel the stamps of the letters as they are received. And thereby hangs tale. The Boston office is the only postotfice in the United States that has the canceling machine. These in genious appliances were invented and per fected some three or four years ago, and they were placed in the postottice for the purpose of demonstrating their practicability and their powers as labor savers. As has been said before, each of these machines does the work of four men, and, consequently, great saving is effected for the public service. Letters and postal cards, as they fall upon the table aforesaid-Niagaras of them are continually streaming through the aper- tures-are taken by the men and ''faced" di- rectly into the hopper of the machine, where they are automatically adjusted, stamped, packed and propelled toward the sorting cases, ready for distribution to outgoing mails, all by one continuous mechanical operation.
 These machines are speeded to run little faster than the fastest operator can 'face" letters into them, the average speed being from 100 to 150 letters per minute The ma chimes, of course, save all the time and space necessary by the old hand processes. The Boston postoffice pays a yearly profit of nearly S1 ,500,00 to the government. The people who contribute to this profit, and are thereby entitled to quick service, will sec that here is the vital point in the transmits ion of mails, of greater importance even than the increased speed of fast mail trains, because fast mails trains are not especially valuable if tue mails are left behind through the inability of the clerks to prepare such vast masses of matter for transportation. The demands upon the poStoffice department for more rapid transmission of mails are ire quent and pressing. The working forces have been doubled and the speed of fast trains Quickened, but the demand for still greater haste increases. Vast quantities of mail matter are deposited in postoffices only a few moments before the closing of mails, and upon each separate letter the stamps must be cancelled and the postmark inn pressed before it can leave for its destination The work when done by hand is a source of great delay, and often is so imperfect that it is difficult to read the poStmark
 The postoffice department has accepted the ten machines ill the Boston office at yearly rental of $500 each, including care, repairs and renewal Ten more machines are about to be placed in position, and 2,5OO more will probably be required to supply all the large postotiices in the country Strange as it may seem, the postof1ice, although of the greatest importance to the public, is, perhaps, the last field in which labor saving machinery has been adopted It may be we'll to say that these canceling machines were invented by a Bostonian, MT. Etheridge, and that they arc owned by Boston parties. The machines have now become absolutely indispensable, and the ten now in operation save the labor and salaries of forty men. Their operation is amazingly quick, and they will cancel 1000 letters in the time it takes to write this para graph.-Boston Herald