Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1902-04-02

The history OF u l c Up u III " Ii
has been one of gradual growth and
advancement. Since it's inception 1T
has endeavored to keep step with the
rapid march of progress along all
lines, and the result has been that
each succeeding year has brought
added success and Improvement.
We are happy to announce to our
clientage the installation in our
Office of the latest modern invention
and improvement in printing office
machinery-a Simplex Typesetting
Machine. The steady advance OF our
business has demanded facilities that
would place us ON an equal in capa-
city to the daily papers. and believing
that we would be justified in the IN
vestment by the continued confidence
and patronage of the people, we have
at large expense added this new ma
chine to our equipment. When we
have had it i'll operation long enough
to become experienced i'll its use,
which will take few weeks, we
will be in position to set about twice
the amount of reading matter that we
now do, and the improvement in the
paper will be easily discerned and APP
preciated. Besides accomplishing the
work of half dozen men in compost
ton, the new machine gives us an en-
tire new dress of type for the paper,
which has been added together with
the machine 1t is an Improvement
such as few years ago we did not
deign to hope for and such as only a
few weekly papers throughout the
country have incurred. 1t is more
expensive in itself alone than many
entire newspaper plants with large
pretentions. Our friends are invited
to call and see it in operation, the
motive power being furnished by the
electric motor which we installed
about two years ago.
Inasmuch as the machine is com,
paratively new one on the market,
and there are none in this section, ouI
readers may be interested in the fol.
lowing description of its mechanism
and operation:
The body of the Simplex consists OF
two cylinders, one above and rotating
on the other, having common axis.
In both cyliners, extending vertically
their full length, are ninety parallel
channels, those in the lower cylinder
forming the magazine into which type
distributes from the channels of the
upper cylinder and is stored for reset
ting. The channels are slightly wider
than the body of the type which the
machine is made to set.
DISTRIBUTING MECHANISM.
On the forward side of each chan
mel in the lower cylinder series o.
steel strips are inserted and projec
part way across. They are called
wards as they perform the sam,
functions as the wards of lock. Thu
combination of wards in each channe
differs from that in every other chan
mel. Each type character in font il
given combination of hicks cor
responding with the combination o
wards in one particular channel, ant
can enter this channel only. The cen
trail ward extends the full length o
the channel, and is cut off just shor
enough to permit one type to be push
ed out at the bottom when the key
touched.
The channels in the upper cylinde
have no wards, so that lines contain
ing all characters i'll the font viii
enter any channel in this cylinde
freely. In each channel is "a slidin
weight. the function of which is I
press lightly down on the line @
dead type contained in the channel
so that when the bottom type come
70 its proper channel in the lowe
cylinder it will drop quickly. Thes
weights are lifted up when the chan
mel is to be loaded, the line of dea
type inserted in the channel, and th
weights lowered again on top OF tn
line.
METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION,
The channels of the upper cylindt
are filed with lines of dead type an
the channel is revolved step by stel
bringing each of its channels III tur
directly over each channel III Il
lower cylinder At each step or NOV
IUtIt vi tllt wv po''o
type of each line of dead type is testt
by the wards in the channels OF Il
lower cylinder. Every type with
combination of hicks matching Il
combination of wards in the chann
over which it is brought drops dow
while those differing in combinatit
rest ON the tops of the wards, they
turn dropping when the cylinder
its revolution brings them to the
own channels, AS the distributor CT
supply type much faster than opera
ors can set il up, ii is not necessa
to keep it working all the time.
The mechanism by which all this
accomplished is most accurately mad
and is wonderfully simple in its co
struction. The channels in the t,
.cyclinders are cut with the great,
precision. When it is understood til
each of the ninety channels in t
upper cylinder match perfectly all
the channels in the lower cylind
this accuracy will be appreciate
This in itself would not secu
proper distribution unless the upI
cylinder were moved positively
each step to the point where the cha