The sun., 1900-08-05
made simply by slipping them into frames and

made simply by slipping them into frames and
| clips
! As fast as they are punched aud sorted ac,
cordng 10 ses, nativity or color ue puncnen n,en
| cards are taken 10 the ma"hine-room and run
| through the electric tabuating machines
| To take oil all the information contained on
the cards they are run through the machines
| four or possibly five times. Each Instrument
| X capable of dispoSlng OF about 1900 cardS
per day. and it viii therefore take from ten To
! fifteen Of them 10 finally keep pace with tho
| punchers
! Concerning the electric tabuator Director
| Merriam says.
These punched record cards are then
| counted or tabulated IN the electrical tabu-
! htng machines, These machines are pro-
| vided with a Circuit-"losing device, Into which
| the card, are rapidly fed one by one. The holes
In the card control tho electric circuits through
| u number of counters, which will, as desired,
| count the simple facts, u 10 the number of
| males, feinile-, etc, or the most complicated
! combination which the StdtlStlCian may ask for.
| After the cards for a given district are thus
| passed through the tabulatng machine We
| know the number OF natNe-bOrn white males
| Of voting age, the number OF white children
| under yesrs of age born In this country with
| both parents native born or the number of such
children with one or both parents foreign born.
| or any other Information contained In the
| enumerators' sheet which the satlsticiun
| desires tabIated In short II i only nrce~-aTy
| for the stat>tcian To decide upon the inforiua-
F, tion wanted and for the electrician 10 make
the proper connection from the counters and
relays to the clrcuit-contulling device into
which the card, are led
The methods employed for checking tho
proper workings Of the machines are ingen-
iouS and interesting II the card is not COM
pl-tely punched or not properly fed 10 the
machine or Is placed upside down, or II some
item has been overlooked, or. In fact, ii every
thing l. not all right. the machine refuses 70
work and the card is rejected. Neithe" will
the machine work II the cut-Controlllng
device l. operated without card IN place.
such machine also has the advantage that II
will not make mistake, because it j. tired or
does not feel well, or because the weather Il
warm, or by reason Ol the thousand and ono
causes which VIII upset the human machine.
Another description OF this Interesting device
and no two persons can say the same thing
OF its by the Assistant Director. DR.. Wines,
Roughly described the electric counting
apparatus consists OF box Of needles set on
spiral springs These ne needles descend on % each
there are holes In the card the needles pass
through and dip into cup OF mercury placed
underneath. This completes an electric cir
cult and sets In motion an Indicator upon
dial. which moves forward exactly like the
second hand OF IA clock. the various dials thus
enumersting all the facts and combinations of
facts wanted From the indicator dials the
figures are copied on on result slips and filed
for the tabulatng clerks.
~ Is estimated that each Of the tabuatign
machines complies and registers information
that would require the services Of twenty clerks
under the old system OF tally sheets. con-
sideration Of even more importance is It's greater
accuracy. The machine automatically throws
out any card that Is wrong.
For example. If one OF the required facts
say sex, has not been Indicated on the card,
the plunger will not register, and the bell at
the side OF the machine. which rings 10 IN
dlcate The correctness OF each card, remains
silent II Is then comparatively easy mat
ter 10 40 back 10 the schedules and supply
the missing information. whereas on the tally
sheets such mistake would hardly be dis
This is tho second instance where the CELL
slis of the country Is being disposed OF by ma
chine counters. The first trial was made in |
1890, when the appointment Of Robert p. Porter |
In April. 1889. as Superintendent Of the Census |
was soon followed by the naming Of Oommls- T,
sion 10 advise him as 10 the methods TO adopt |
OF tabulating CENSUS data, other than that Of |
daily ing with the primevl tally sheets This |
commission comprised pr. J. :. billings. Prof |
Henry Gannett and H. NJ, f.. Cooke.
To this commission three schemes OF tabu- |
W. c. Hunt proposed to transfer the details |
given on the census enumerators schedules |
10 cards, distinctions being made In part by |
the color Of the lux and in part by writing on |
them the results being reached alterward |
by hand sorting and counting The next |
plan, that OF I. T, pidgin, contemplated the
and counted. These chips were to be slips |
OF paper Of various colors embracing data |
printed In different colors 80 as to indicate |
the readings OF the schedules Thus the clerk |
seeking the most Information would need |
the most chips and, as IN an analogous diversion, |
would WIND up with having the most exper-
lenCo VI VhluaDie kncWltuRe lOT MS cnps,
Last came the system Of Herman Hollerth. |
In this plan the information given IN the sched- |
lles was TO be expressed upon cards by punch- |
Ing holes In them In certain positions. The |
tabuation from these cards was to be made !
by passing them through Il press which would |
register their indications electrically on dials
These three methods were pui TO the test four |
enumeration districts of the census Of 1850 In
the city Of St. Louis being taken. Ii was found |
that the time occupied in transcribing their
contents By the HoIerith method was y hours
q minutes; by tho Hunt method l4i hours
20 minutes By, the Pidgin method. llO hours
% minutes The time occupied In tabulat.ng
was found 10 be as follows: Hollerith', electri-
cal counters, hours 23 minutes by. the Hunt
slips. 55 hours % minutes, by the Pidgin chips
a. hours Al minutes. This settled IT, Tie
commission also estimated that on a basis Of
3j. 900 600 population the saving with the Ilol-
lerith apparatus would reach nearly 100000.
A n matter Of fact. IA the saving was based
on an estimate of 500 cards punched per day,
while 200 is the average, the saving under Mr..
Porter was 40 per cent. more than was expected.
II IL needless TO add that Mr. Holler,h's inven-
ton was adopted, and that an arrangement
Inventor.