The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1897-12-16
REGISTER YOUR MAIL
TRIAL OF A SLOT MACHINE WHICH
MAKES THIS POSSIBLE.

KArse Of Them Now Ready for business
a Mechanism which Reject Light Coin,
!. letters Transferred to the Postman'
Nag without His Touching Them.
The latest development OF the slot
machine is an invention designed to
make every person his own registered.
letter clerk and to facilitate the for.
varding OF registered mail. The use
u three machines has been sanctioned
by the Postmaster General. and under
his orders they are to have a six.
weeks trial in New York. What may
happen after that Is conjecture merely,
but the assumption OF the inventor OF
uAa machine is that IL It's work is sat
iafactory, It will be adopted as a regu-
hr adjunct to the Post Office system.
While the machines are being put
- their special test an agent of the
Rust Office is to be In constant attend.
anee at each. He will explain the
working of the machine to the public
and see that no one tampers with the
mail.
The charge for registering a letter is
. cents in addition to the regular let
~ postage. The machine makes the
ssme charge, assuming that a single
2reent stamp is sufficient for the regu.
lar postage Under the law a letter
prepaid by one 2-cent stamp must be-
forwarded and any extra postage COL
lscted at the other end.
To work the machine you drop
silver United States dime into a spout
e the upper right hand side. A square
bon cover flies up automatically and
reveals roll OF white paper. Opposite
oWtain lines you write the name and
address Of the person to whom your
letter is to be sent and your own name
md address. At the right hand upper
and Of the machine is small lever.
You press this back and the letter slot
m front opens and into this you drop
your letter. Then you seize the handle
ef big crank at the right and force II
back until a bell rings. AS you do this
the iron cover closes and locks over
the writing tablet. Now you draw for
ward the big lever until bell rings.
A you do this a duplicate Of your writ
ing. on separate slip Of paper, is slip
ned out OF the machine at the left
hand side and upon this paper is i'm
printed also the Post Office date marks,
the serial number of the letter and the
signature Of the Postmaster. This is
your receipt. Your original writing re-
mains in the box until the letters are
removed, and then 1t goes with them.
At the same time that your receipt is
Printed the letter is dated.
The next thing is to get the letter to
the Post Office without giving the let
tar carrier a chance to tamper with
either the letters or the originals of the
receipts. The box has a hopper bot
tom so constructed that 1t can be
opened only when the mail bag is at
eehed to 1t. The mail bag can't be
opened, either, except in conjunction
With the hopper or at the Post Office.
The strip on which are written the
names and addresses drops into the
bag with the letters,
The dimes fall into brass cylinder
In the order in which they are dropped
INTO the machine, and the postman, If
he finds a bad one, can tell at once.
BY running the mover In order, which
letter it belongs to. Such letter will
be held and its sender notified to pay
the postage in good coin and get his
had coin back.
Aside from this, the machine Is con-
sfructed to throw out bad coins, If they
are under weight. When the coin first
drops into the slot it goes into a delic
ate balance where 1t is weighed. If it
70 too much worn to be current the
scale rejects it, and instead of passing
into the machine and starting the post
Ing operations, the coin drops out of a
hole in the front of the machine and
AIls on the floor.
The inventor says he has spent three
years in perfecting the machine.-New
York Sun.