Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-11-03
MODERN PROGRESS.
DRUDCERY OF BUSINESS is NOW
DONE BY MACHINERY,

DUNE 6Y MACHINEHY,
Some of the Equipments of an Up.to Date
Office - How Manual Labor Is Mnimzed
and Mental Effort Reduced to the Lowest
Possible Requirement - The Progress Made
in This Glass Of Labor Saving Machinery the
Past Third Of Century Has Been Amazing.
Montreal Star.
This is a parable. He who runs
may read; or, to use the modern ver-
sion, he who travels per Mercedes will
see the world.
There was once a too old at. forty
merchant. He had toiled-toiled unto
grayness.
But fortune had not come.
He pared the point of a quill pen
Che remembered his father using one
in that very room), and gazed gloom.
lily at an ancient inkstand filled with
a viscous, tarlike mass. And the
spirit that was in him evaporated and
dried up like his ink, with only the
dregs OF gall and iron left behind.
He thought OF the days of fret and
worry, tho nights OF cramping pen
work, when he had set till the small
hours checking Eiifel Towers of fig.
ures and writing letters which an
Office boy had smudged into gray inde-
cipherability with the aid of copying
book and brush charged with solid
sloppiness.
He thought of the headaches and
the restless nights in which he lived
again through the petty annoyances OF
the day, and as he dispatched a boy
with message Che had always hated
telephones) he decided to end it all.
So he retired and lived economically
in the suburbs, and another man
reigned in his stead. This is the pro-
logue.
Six months passed. The too old-at
forty merchant again visited his old
office. 1t was in the same SOON, but
The new manager was seated at a
roll-top desk. Before him was a pho
nograph with neat recording mouth
piece. Into this he was speaking
quickly: II want two thousand COP.
les OF the following letter posted to
our regular customers in time for the
o'clock mail this afternoon. Take
down: Dear Sirs-Owing to our hav-
ing new labor saving machinery in all
our factories, We are able to quote
lower for all our goods, which you will
note are now ten per cent. cheaper
than those offered by foreign competi.
tors. A glance at the following figures
will"
For thirty seconds he continued to
talk into the phonograph. Then he
removed the wax cylinder and handed
it to boy who carried it into the next
room where the patter of many type.
writer's sounded like hail on the roof.
The too.old.at-forty merchant looked
on with smiling federation.
"I think you made q mistake in
that letter." he said. "I heard you
dictate that you wanted two thousand
copies. I suppose you meant two doz-
en-"
| The return smile was of tender com.
passion. He was informed that two
thousand was correct.
"But you said they we're to be sent
off by the o'clock mail, and it is l 80
now. However big your staff may be
you can hardly have two thousand
letters typed and the envelopes ad-
dressed and stamped in two and half
hours"
Il shall employ exactly one girl
clerk and boy on that job," remarked
the new manager, leaning back luru.
riously in his chair, "and if they tried
they could do double the quantity in
the time."
He rose. Perhaps you would like
to see the miracle?" he said as he
opened the door next to his room.
A girl typist was taking down in
shorthand the words of tho letter as
they were dictated from the phono.
graph on which she had placed the
wax cylinder. This was completed in
one minute forty.6ve seconds by the
the watch. She then adjusted sheet
OF wax paper on her typewritiug ma
chine and typed the letter.
A few minutes later the waxed pa.
per was fitted to rotary duplicator,
and an Office boy was reeling off eighty
copies per minute.
"Rate of 1890 an hour" comment.
ed the new manager.
The too.old .at-forty merchant looked
thoughtful.
Meanwhile the girl clerk was feed.
ing envelopes into the addressing ma.
chine, which was printing them (each
with different name and address at
the rate OF 1000 an hour.
The t-o-a-f merchant seemed to want
to ask questions.
"Quite simple" said the new man.
ager. Every customer on our books
has his name and address set up in
rubber type. The boy does this in bis
spare time. The address, set up in a
little metal galley, is then attached to
one OF these endless chains which pass
through the machine. Zach time an
envelope is printed by the machine