The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-08-17

This card is easily read by experts. Turn
IL over to young lady who understands
the system, and she will read it as follows:
John Jones Of Camden is black man, aged
30 years, widower. He was born in the Unit d
States, and so were his parents. He never served
in the army He is blacksmith, aud literate,
but able to speak English. He is free from dis
ease. He was convicted of burglary by the
district court, and sentenced to the penitentiary
for three years. He was never apprentced He
is now making brick while serving his term in
the penitentiary.
WONDERFUL MACHINE.
If the expert is at a loss to tell the mean
ing of one of the holes upon the card she
places it upon key card and the aracter
indicating its meaning appears in the hole
AS fast as these cards are punched they are
sent to another room. Here they are placed
in tabulating machines. These are of won
derful mechanism. Each machine is worked
by young man. Upon the table to his
left there is a pile of punched cards. In his
front you see a commutator or circuit
closer. bristling with pins. Ithas a pin for
every hole that might be punched in the
card. A plate perforated with holes TO cor
respond with the pins is beneath the COM
mutator There is a hole for every
pin. A glass case containing a large
number of indicators stands back of the
plate. Each indicator has dial and hands
WYNN
card, resembling the diagram above, over
the perforated plate, and pulls the COM
mutator down upon it by pressing a pedal.
All the pins are brought in contact with
the card. Where there are no holes thew
will stop at the card and go no further
Where there are holes the pins pass through
to an electrical contact below. Each pin
passing through hole closes an electrical
circuit This circuit controls the hands of
indication ha Tnif ha,,
moves point to the music of an electric
bell, and all the Information conveyed by
the holes is distributed and aggregated at a
touch of the finger.
1T CANNOT LIE.
Take the card described above. 1t would
allow the circuits to be closed through the
black indicator, the male indicator, the 49,
year-old indicator, the widower, and the
born-in-the- United-State indicator, the
blacksmith, the able-to-speak- English, the
burglary, aud the three-years-in- the-peni-
Tertiary indicators. A circuit is closed for
every hole i'll the card. At the end of the
day a check indicator tells how many per-
sons have been counted. The white indi-
Gator tells how many were white, and the
black indicator how many were black The
male indicator shows how many were
males, and the female how many were
females. The burglary indicator tells how
many were guilty or that crime, and the
murder indicator shows how many have
taken the lives of their fellows. Other in
Gators tell how many were of one age and
how many of another, the nationality of
each, how many were married, single,
widowed or divorced, and how many " ere
illiterate, and vice versa. Others tell how
many are of one occupation, and how
many of another.
Each indicator picks out its own fact
from the proper hole and records it. 1t
cannot lie. 1t never calls a blacksmith n
shoemaker nor clergyman horse trader.
1t never grows tired and never gets con-
fused. 1t is estimated that the use of these
machines will save the government more
than $500, 900 before the work of this census
Is completed.
AS the cards are run through the ma
chimes they are thrown into an electric
sorter, which distributes them according to
their peculiarities. Just now these ma
chimes are employed in tabulating the spe-
cial classes. When the rough or gross
count in the Inter- Ocean building is COM
pleted $50 tabnlators will he used. The
names upon the general schedules will then
be tabulated according 70 race, sex, birth
place, and score Of other facts. No won
der that astonlshment is expressed at the
swlftness with which the returns are COM
piled.
IMPORTATION ABOUT MORTGAGES.
From the main census Office you go TO the
mortgage division. IL Is in the National
Bank building on Seventh street, opposite
Joha Wanamaker's office. George n.
Holmes is the special agent ia charge. Upon
entering the ground floor there Is hardly