Omaha daily bee., 1905-07-30


run by electricity also The former win be
ready for grain in a few days and the other
In about a month.
Machine that Cancels stamps.
One OF the novel things, novel because so
few people know anything about II, IL the
electric cancelling machine at the post
Office There are three of them for various
sorts OF mail. Last year two Of them can
celled 100000 letters. The other cancelled
stamps on circulars almost innumerable.
Either machine has a capacity of $1,000
postal cards an hour, or 1000 letters. This
is ten times what could be done by man
by hand, for the very best be could do
would be to get rid OF ninety or 100 letters
or post cards a minute.
The mail has to be gone over by hand
first and all the extra thick envelopes and
those stamped on the wrong end taken out.
Then a large bunch of the envelopes is
placed on edge on a metal slide and an
automatic feed takes them one at a time,
through the machine. They come out neatly
piled at the other side with the stamp can
celled and the Omaha postmark across the
face. Those stamped on the wrong end
have to be cancelled by hand.
The mechanism of these machines goes
with such speed that It is necessary to have
almost all Of It submerged in oil. For that
reason little Of the mechanism is visible,
but is concealed by a metal pan which con-
tains the oil. The machine which handles
circulars has more than 400 parts. 1t is
made specially for cancelling heavy mail
and letters are never put through It, as
the might be torn. The International
Postal Supply company has a patent on the
machines and will not sell them. It rents
them to the government
Used in Churches.
The big pipe organ at the First Baptist
church is operated by an electric motor,
with power secured from the electric light
company. A motor attachment has been
ordered for St Johns Catholic church and
it will be in use perhaps in six weeks.
Protection from Thieves.
An electric burglar alarm is the protec-
ton of the city library and the valuable
Byron Reed collection. The library people
are very chary about telling the public
how the alarm works, as they do not want
the secret to become familiar to the man
who has disposition to take things not
his own. Its effectiveness is nevertheless
undoubted. for several times attempts have
been made to rob the showcases and the
trusty alarm has always caused the detec-
lion OA lnS
Once at IL o'clock in the morning, with
an assistant librarian sitting not thirty
feet away from him, man attempted to
saw into a showcase containing several
thousand dollars worth of gold coins. He
had not made many strokes with his small,
noiseless saw, until bells began to ring
in all parts of the building and he was
arrested by the library Waterman before he
could get to the door. At night bells ring
at the police station when an attempt is
made either to enter the library doors or
windows or to tamper with the showcases.
Every day the alarm is tested to SEQ II
It is in order If the burglar only knew
the time, he might be able to get some
thing while the alarm was ringing. But
in order to provide against this contin-
gency, the time of testing the alarm is
changed frequently
Most of the banks now have vaults which
are supposed to be burglar proof and few
of them are provided with burglar alarms.
A burglar alarm was used at the old
United States National bank quarters, but
the place is now vacant. The bank vault
is so lined with network Of wires that
the penetration of 1t by a burglars tool
would start a big gong to ringing.