Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1902-01-31
MACHINE ACCOUNTANTS.
THEY WORK MUCH QUICKER
THAN THE HUMAN BRAIN.

rNlon9 Twelve Hundred individual
Accounts.
The field Of bookkeeping has beer
one Of the last to be invaded by time
saving and laborsaving machinery
but the Introduction has finally beer
made, and SO radical is the improve
ment Afforded that the displacement
Of human labor by mechanical devices
is likely to be accomplished more
rapidly than in almost any other line
OF cndeavor. There are a number oil
different styles of registering &C
countants and adding machines, but
in a majority of instances they vary
only in detail AS a rule the manu-
Ifacturers OF these mechanical book
Keepers do not construct all machines
upon a set plan. Instead, a represen
tatiye is sent to ascertain the needs OF
each prospective customer and then q
machine is constructed which will
fill the particular bookkeeping re-
quirements presented.
How revolutionary is the influence
OF these machines is perhaps best il.
lustratcd in the Office of a prominent
Chicago corporation where there is
an immense equipment Of the mechan.
zeal devices. There are three diff.
ferent styles of machines, and they
! are operated in sets of three, each
member Of the trio performing a diff.
! ferent portion Of the work. The first
machine. operated by an ordinary
| typewritist. makes out a bill, copies
the invoice permanently in book and
makes q permanent sales sheet copy,
the work all being done in typewrit-
ing and in permanent books.
The second machine produces a
sales copy, an original invoice and a
duplicate of same, an acknowledge
ment Of the order, file copy. an orig
maj a duplicate and a tripulicate bill
OF lading, a platform order, factory
shipping order. a bag room order, a
loading order and a car card. Finally.
me third machine makes one bill a
month, adding the items day by day,
recording the date and salesman's
number by means of a lock arrange
ment, which makes it impossible for
the operator to enter a series of items
without dating the same and enter
Ing the salesman's number; enters all
credits in red ink and will actually
carry 1900 accounts at one time. All
OF these machines are simple in APP
pearance and in the matter of key
board bear a striking resemblance to
a typewriter In fact, each machine
is a typewriter with a basket upside
down over a fiat platen of sheet steel.
which is fitted with a covering Of vul-
caniZed rubber. A sheet of paper,
book, or in fact anything to be writ
tea upon is placed upon this platen
and firmly clamped. The work of
the typewriter is in nowise interfered
with, no matter what the thickness OF
the writing surface. Although such a
machine will make thirty-two mani
fold copies or print five library cards
simultaneously the touch required to
strike the keys is very light. This
manifolding arrangement constitutes,
of course, the principal qualification
VI l-AN 4A-e~N III pei III ming SbCCIJ
work. In the case of the second ma
chine in the trio above described the
thirteen entries mentioned are made
simultaneously and with but one ad-
justment of the various papers upon
which records are to be made.
The essential principle of the add
ing machine is to bear the same rela-
ton to figures that the ordinary type
writer does to letters. The register
ing accountant which is now most ex-
clusiYely in use in this country is fit
-ed for addition of dollars and cents,
plain figures for use in totaling num-
Der of boxes, barrels or bales, the ad-
dition Of pounds avoirdupois or frac-
lions, but special machines may be
made for almost any class of work.
Indeed, machines have recently been
completed for addition Of pounds, shil-
lings, etc.
The machine Is nine by eleven by
fifteen inches in size. with capacity
Of printing s9,999 .999.99, or a similar
number Of plain figures. The paper
holder Is a ball-bearing shifting car
riage which admits of any width of
stationery from one to eleven inches,
so that it is possible to use a sheet
large enough to print six columns of
figures side by side before being taken
from. the machine. The keys are ar
ranged in regular order from one to
nine in each column and, there being
but nine different characters or
figures, no such difficulty is experience
ed as in learning to operate a type
writer.
Speed in the operation of this ma
chine is due more to the qEicliness of
the eye in catching amounts to be
listed than to the actual handling of
the machine Errors on the part of
the operator. in striking the wrong
key win be noticed instantly. mas
much as the keys after they have
been struck remain down until the
lever is pulled.
The machines are being very large
ly used in banks, railroad Offices and
mercantile establishments. Extensive
tests have proven that an ordinary
operator will add figures with fully
ten times the rapidity that is possible
by long hand. 1t is mechanically
impossible for the machine to arrive
at any result save the correct one. OF
course, it is possible for an error to
be made in transfer, the same as by
long hand; but the correction of
any inaccuracy may be readily made
by touching a correction button be-
fore the figures are printed, The col
umn can be added at any point to
make sub-totals by merely pressing
button, and the grand total of an en-
fire hnv'a narration can he arrived