The Washington times., 1914-07-12
Two Men in Pension Office Sign
100000 Checks a Year
With the Instrument, Wo-
man Feeder Assisting.

1t would be misfortune to have ones
stomach multiplied by ten, for that
would mean that ten ham sandwiches
would be needed where one sufficed
before. but to have their right arms in
creased tenfold in power and execu-
ten is the fortune Of three men in the
Government service
Two of these are in the Pension Blu
reau and the third is in the office Of the
Treasurer of the United States. Their
business is chiefly to sign their names
on hundreds of thousands Of checks a
year and they do it by multiplying their
right arms-wielding ten flowing foun-
tain pens at a stroke with as great &C
curacy and as little effort as the ordin-
AIRY man uses in drawing a check for
the rent
II is not magic or necromancy that
makes this possible nor is that wonder
worker. electricity, called into play. Eight
little steel rollers, a few simple steel
rods and levers and two small endless
chains go to make up this device which
naturally enough is called a signagraph.
Signagraph Too Easy.
The signagraph, it may be said at this
point, is one Of the deadliest enemies
Of bank account known to man. The
utter havoc that one $3.50 fountain pen
and a virgin check book are capable Of
wreaking on a few odd dollars in the
bank is all too well known TO many.
Checks totalling 1878 have been known
10 wiring a notice Of an overdr8ft from
. bank when the original account was
$ic7.6e. But as the rapid fire gun of
the modern army is to the muzzIe load
ing squirrel rife of Daniel Boone. so is
the signagraph to the common variety
OF pen when it comes to putting a bank
ba!anc con the eternal fritz There
lore it may be safely said that there is
no case on record where these machines
are used by men to sign away their own
money. In every instance the operator
IL dispOsing of somebody's else { we say
somebody elses" on week days) money.
IN Washington II is the Government S
money that goes out ten checks at a
stroke.
Sign 100000 a Year.
At the Pension Bureau there are two
machines in operation. where ]. S.
Jones and William Adreon sit for about
two weeks out of every month signing
pension checks. Between the two of
them they sign about 10000 checks a
month, or well over 100000 every year.
Formerly this work required eighteen
clerks, and took all of their time.
F. J. F. Thiel operates the machine
in the United States Treasurer's office,
and though he has to make only a
paltry 10000 signatures a year, he has
enough other duties to keep him busy.
Right now he is Deputy Assistant
Treasurer, Acting Assistant Treasurer.
and private secretary to the Treasurer.
II is a good thing that he does not
have TO put all of his titles after his
name, or he would need a new sign
agraph every month. AS IL is he has to
do more work per signature than
Messrs. Jones or Adreon, for he has
an extra initial, and those who think IL
mere bagatelle TO sign An extra initial
10000 times are recommended to try ii.
Most of the checks signed with the
machine in the Treasury are Postoffice
warrants, though there are also several
thousand interest checks signed there
also to meet the payments due of Gov
eminent obligations.
The first machine tried out in the
Pension Office was a scriptograph
which drives five fountain pens tan
dem. Then the Government purchased
TWO Junior signagraphs, which oper-