The times., 1898-10-22
THE MERGENTHALER COMPANY
Splendid Showing of business for
Il for the Last Fiscal Year.

Splendid Showing of business for
for the Last Fiscal Year.
The Wall Street Journal of yesterday
Contains a very full and interesting ac-
count OF the report made to the stock
holders Of the Mergenthaler Linotype
Company at its annual meeting just held,
which many Of our readers will be inter-
ested ini
1.-THE year has been one of continuous
success and good profits. No Indebtedness
has accumulated. All bills have been
promptly paid. The property holdings of
the company have increased, and g, 100000
have been paid in cash dividends, making
the total dividends since August, 1894, S.
3s5. 900.
''The Linotype has displaced other ma
chimes in more than forty offices. 1t is
already used in book offices to greater
extent than any other machine.
within the year a simple Improvement,
devised by one of the officers of the COM
pany, has been Incorporated in the ma
chine. enabling it to carry italics and
small capitals in addition to the body
faces. This Improvement attains an end
long sought by investors and gives the
first machine of any kind adapted to meet
the requirements of book publishers and
law printers.
Some of the more important patents
have many years to run, and Will prevent,
il is believed the production of compet-
ing linotype machines in any form:
During the year the company has come
into possession of numerous new patents
for improvements in the standard ma
chine and for adjuncts and attachments
ha Of Ions
''The noted Paige patents on machine
for setting, automatically justifying, and
automatically distributing type have be-
come the property of the company. Two
new patents will soon be issued to the
company for seventeen years, covering
broadly the so-called monoline and anala-
gous machines with circulating matrices
having characters in multiple.
owing to the existence of certain con-
tracts with the National Topographic
Company it was considered advisable to
gain control of that company. This was
done by the purchase OF the stock. the
Objectionable contracts were modified,
and the stock thereafter sold at a sub
stautial cash profit.
'All the manufacturing of the company
is now carried on in its own works in
Brooklyn
within the year 5S4 machines have
been shipped. a gain of 81 over the pre-
cedinE year. OF this number, 5l9 were
new and the remainder We're machines
which had been rebuilt after return, prin-
cipally by bankrupt offices, parties unable
TO meet payments, etc.
There were sold during the year 5S3
machines. of which 2i1 were new, % re-
built. and the remaining 81 machines
Were previously held on rental.
There were on rental at the end of the
year 1.2iS machines, at a total rental
value of .S25 per year, including du-
plex attachments.
There are in existence and in use i,251
machines of American manufacture.
"a gratifying evidence as to the in
creasing confidence of the public in the
machines is found in the fact that there
IS a steadily increasing tendency of print
ers to purchase rather than to rent them.
THE net gain for the year, machines
owned by the company being inventoried
at $1,000. was s1,SS3, ,253. a gain over the
preceding year of $40, ,So6."
balance sheet is appended. as fol-
lows: