Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-28
TABULATING MACHINES
Test Of Them Made by 4 Special Com
mission. ta
Description of the Work - HoIlerifh
il IT.
Electric System Pre-
fenred. ii - fhf


pointed May Is, to make q practical test Of
all electric counting or facilitating machines
or other devices which might be presented
for consideration, today submitted the fol-
lowing report:
1.-THE present test has been confined to
machines or systems devised to secure the
tabulation of individual data; that is, data
derived from the population and mortality
schedules or from the supplemental sched-
ules relating to the defective, dependent
and delinquent classes of the population.
This course was adopted by the commits
sion for the reason that the machines
which might be utilized for the compila-
ton of the statistics Of agriculture and
manufactures would differ necessarily from
the machines arranged to secure personal
data, and would, in reality, require sep
arate and independent test, to be provided
for, if deemed advisable, at a later period.
The Test Described.
For the purpose Of the present test,
comprehending, as stated, individual data
only, schedules representing, approximate
ly, 10000 persons were selected from the
population returns Of the eleventh census,
and the answers returned thereon concern
ing this number of persons were copied, in
duplicate, upon the form of schedule pro-
posed for use in the twelfth census. These
schedules were assumed to represent the
population of a given area, consisting OF
eleven enumeration districts, and the prac-
teal test was made to consist of the pro-
duction of a series of tables, twelve in
number, comprehending a distribution of
the population by sex, general nativity ana
color, age, conjuga1 condition, place OF
birth, parentage, iliteracy, school attend
ance, citizenship, occupations and months
unemployed, following in whole or in part
the details presented in the eleventh CEN
sus report on population for single state,
or, in certain cases, for the entire United
States.
1.-THE order creating the commission on
tabulating test provided that the compeu-
ton should commence at the census OF
fee. In the Columbian building, in the city
of Washington, at 10 O clock on the morn
ing of Wednesday, June Z, 1889, but upon
representations made by Mr.. Charles +.
Pidgin, one of the contestants, that on &C
count of certain unexpected accidents ne
would not be ready at that time, 1t was
agreed that the schedules prepared by the
commission and the forms of the tables to
be derived therefrom should be delivered
to such contestants as might appear at the
day and hour stated, but that the actual
work of tabulation need not be COM
menced before the morning of Monday,
June r. 1899.
Four Systems in Competition.
-Four systems of tabulation We're entered
in competition on the morning of June Z,
1899, as follows: -.,-
81. The Hollerith electric tabulating sys-
tenn, by Mr.. Herman Hollerith, representing
the Tabulating Machine Company of Wash
ington, d. C. ~
.. The automatic, mechanical tabulating
system, by Mr.. Charles F. Pidgin Of Bos-
ton, Mass. - TO
SO. The pin board electrical tabulation
system, by Mr. Charles F. Pidgin of Boston,
Mass. 10
q JcirI of Rms aGS
ION June 3, $780, each contestant was
furnished by mail with copy of the form
of schedule to be used for the purpose of
the test, and with ap explanation, in writ
ing, of the manner In which the informa-
ton contained thereon had been tran
scribed from the schedules of the eleventh
census, and, on the morning of June 4.
1899 (Mr Hollerith in person and Mr.. Pid-
gin by maiD, with an outline of the tables
required to be produced from the data thus
transcribed and a hist of the states and
countries as abbreviated. and, Of the occu-
pations as classified and numbered, on the
schedules provided for, the test.
The Test.
"The actual work Of testing the Hollerith
electric tabulating system was commenced
on Monday, June IL, 1899, at $50 o'clock
am, and was completed in 1S5 hours and
80 minutes, considered as the labor Of one
clerk. OF this total time 1O5 hours and 80
minutes were consumed In transcribing the
cards by punching including gong punch
ing" 6S hours and 80 minutes in running
the punched cards through the electric
counting machines, and IL hours and 40
minutes in transferring the results to the
forms Of tables as submitted by the COM
mission.
1.-The actual time consumed by the ma
chine count of the cards was siXty-two
hours and eight minutes, leaving six hours
and thirty minutes for the handspring Of
nf
THE test of the automatic tabulating sys-
tenn was commenced by Mr.. Pidgin on
Wednesday, June IA, at clock pm, and
was completed in 49, hours considered as
the labor of one clerk. The time occupied
in transcribing (by marking) of the cards
used for this test was 22S hours, and the
time occupied in counting and tabulating
was 224 hours.
1.-The test of the third and fourth sys-
tems-namely the pin board electrical tabu-
lating system and the electrical typewritng
tabulator-was commenced simultaneously
on Saturday, July 1, 1899, at $50 o'clock
a M, and was continued until July 7 at
1910 o'clock 9m., when work on the pin
board system was stopped by agreement,
1t having been demonstrated that the rapid
ity of operation of each of these two sys-
the relative efficiency of the two systems
could be determined by combining the test
to the typewriter tabulator.
Work was continued on this system,
at II o'clock m, when it was discontinued
by direction Of the commission. BY the
typewriter tabulator system the informa-
ton was tabulated direct from the schedule,
without the use of an intermediate card,
and during the 163 hours consumed by this
test, nine tables were wholly compiled
namely, tables l. 2, 3. 4, 6, g. 10 and II, and,
in addition, part of table Z, leaving all Of
tables and IL relating to foreign percent
age and occupation, respectively, and the
remainder of table Z, relating to age detail,
to be compiled and the results transferred
to the forms of tables supplied by the COM
mission.
las a result of the test of the several
systems submitted the commission are
jointly and severalIy of the opinion that
the superiority of the Hollerith electric
tabulating system for the compilation of
the individual data which is necessary to
be made from the returns of the twelfth
census has been clearly and fully demon
strated, and they SO! report"
DISTRICT ATToRNEY's OFFICE.