The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-10-07
THE TYPEWRITER
IS NOT So MODERN
RAPID RUN INTO FAVOR OF THE
ING MACHINE.

To show how comparatively new
convenience is the typewriter, in spite
of its now almost universal use, the
first person to do practical work with
such a machine has been taking the
current census as chief statistics for
manufacturers. S. N. ID. North who
was an editor in Utica, n. Y, in 1872
says: Il have often wished that l had
kept that original machine, for it would
have illustrated better than any other
mechanism with which l am familiar
the marvellous rapidity with which Am
erican ingenuity advances to the point
of perfection any labor-saving instru-
ment the underlying principle of which
has been worked out. This machine
was heavy and cumbersome in COM
parisOn with the delicate mechanism
of today, but the principle of construc-
ton was essentially the same, except
that the carriage. instead of being re-
stored to position by the hand at the
end of each line as now, was brought
back by means of a foot pedal, and it
came with a jar that made the machine
tremble in every part. My machine
did neither uniform nor elegant work,
but after a week or two l was enabled
to accomplish all my editorial work on
it, and began to realize what an UNI
speakable boon to all weak-eyed per-
sons lay here in embryo"
The first American typewriter pa
tent was issued in 1929 to William Aus
tin Burt of Detroit, Mich, who was al
so the inventor of the solar compass.
He called his writing machine a "ty-
pographer" Like several which fol-
lowed it, this form was too slow for
practical results About 1S47 A. Ely
Beach of New York patented all the
nf my
writer. Three Milwaukee memo. La
than Sholes, Samuel W. Soule and
Carlos Glidden-Gid much to make
typewriting practicable. They worked
out the machine which furnishes the
basis for the most generally used COM
mercial product OF today.
At first the typewriter was received
by the public with suspicion. 1t SEEM
ed subversive OF existing conditions.
a court gave the first public recogni
ton to the merits of the machine, be-
cause court reporter found it conve-
nient for making duplicate minutes of
the proceedings. These came under
the attention of the judges, and it was
not long before they expressed a pref
erence for typewriter papers. The
lawyers next found the use of type
writer's a great help in the business Of
fees, and the large commercial con-
Germs, always ready to adopt time
saving devices when assured that they
are such, began to use machines in
their correspondence. The letters seng
out of them resulted in a wide adver
tisement of the typewriter, which soon
then came into general use. 1t was
not until 1897 that diplomatic commu-
nications generally could be written
with a machine, though the American
Department of State set the example
of using the typewriter in its domestic
correspondence as earlv as 1885, Even
now all highly ceremonious letters and
addresses have to be done by hand
with pen and ink.
New York ranks first and Chicago
second in the number of typewriter
manufacturing establishments. In the
whole country this industry now turns
out a product valued at more than &c.
OO0,0 900 a year, and gives employment
to 5000 people.