The Tupelo journal., 1910-01-21

chanical contrivances for moistening and az
fixing postage stamps, but this is unnecessary
because governmental mail is transmitted I'm.
der frank or in penalty envelopes, which are
impressed at the time of manufacture with
that dead head" inscription in the upper
right-hand corner which answers in lieu of
postage stamps.
1t is significant that the demands Of the
government service for mechanical aids for
economical business administration has be-
stirred many inventive minds among the fed
eral employees. In some instances government
officials have found it most satisfactory to
have the manufacturers Of book typewriters,
adding machines and other standard office
helpers simply vary or modify their stock
models in order to meet the specific require
ments Of the government service, but in other
cases men on Uncle Sans payroll have in
vented apparatus that was adopted in pref
erence to anything evolved by outside experts.
A notable case in point is the new style card
punching machine invented by James Powers,
mechanical expert in the service of the depart
ment of commerce and labor-a type Of semi
automatic apparatus that will be employed for
compiling the greatest card index in the his
tory of the world, namely the federal census
of 1910, which will require more than 90,000,-
900 individual cards. Other examples of the
products of inventive genius when bestirred
IN DoHdI OF lno government are IOuuQ III lH0
unique numbering machines at the United
States bureau Of engraving and printing!
sort Of gigantic outgrowth of the familiar
hand dating machine found on almost every
office desk. The machines designed and con-
structed for the treasury department not only
print in red ink but set their own type and
number consecutively from l to 1000, 900, 900.
The fat-top desk, with it's numerous con-
veniences, not to mention sanitary advan-
tages, is rapidly gaining vogue in officialdom
as in the business world. AS specimens of
costly furniture the desks of most of our pub
lie men will not bear comparison with the
massive mahogany pieces to be found in some
banks and in the offices of some wealthy cor
porations, but your progressive public man
has his desk equipped with all those attach
ments which grease the grooves for high ten
sion work. There is a swinging stand to shift
the typewriter out Of the way when the ma
chine is not in use; a balanced arm, adjust
able in all directions, that lifts the telephone
aside when it is not needed; special desk
lamps that focus their rays on the work while
sheltering the eyes of the worker from the
glare, and rubber stamps with clockwork
attachment, which print not only the date but
the hour at which each letter or report has
been received or been given attention. The
improved pencil sharpeners and the cutting
devices which open a whole package of let
tiers at one sweep by clipping the ends OF the
envelopes deserve mention in the same cate
CORY of time savers. So. likewise, do the vari.
Gus forms of printing telegraphs which record
orders or bulletins simultaneously at various
points.
The newest wrinkle in the conduct of
Uncle Sans business establishment-namely,
the scheme for purchasing the supplies for all
the government departments at Washington
through one general purchasing agency-is
expected to bring to the attention of our pub
lie officials many new Office appliances and
numerous improvements on old devices de-
signed to adapt them to governmental require
ments. With Uncle Sans purchases thus
Jumped, the contracts to be awarded will be
enough to stir inventors and manufacturers
to the greatest energy in producing novelties
that federal officials will include in their office
installations. The central purchasing agency
will also insure quality in all supplies by
means of thorough tests. It is safe to say that
under this new regime there will be no repeti-
tions Of the experience of the official who re-
Gently ruined more than $50 worth Of rubber
stamps through the use of a new "quick-dry-
ing" which he had not had an opportunity to
try out ere it was introduced in his Offices.