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diff --git a/old/60794-8.txt b/old/60794-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 349547c..0000000 --- a/old/60794-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3194 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of the Typewriter, by -Herkimer County Historical Society - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Story of the Typewriter - 1873-1923 - -Author: Herkimer County Historical Society - -Release Date: November 26, 2019 [EBook #60794] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF THE TYPEWRITER *** - - - - -Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project -Gutenberg (This file was produced from images generously -made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - THE STORY - OF THE - TYPEWRITER - - 1873-1923 - - PUBLISHED IN COMMEMORATION OF THE FIFTIETH - ANNIVERSARY OF THE INVENTION OF - THE WRITING MACHINE - - - BY THE - Herkimer County Historical Society - - - HERKIMER, NEW YORK - 1923 - - - - - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE -Foreword, by the President of the Herkimer County Historical -Society 7 - -Chapter I. -Fifty Years Old 9 - -Chapter II. -Early Efforts 17 - -Chapter III. -The First Practical Typewriter 30 - -Chapter IV. -Seeking a Market 63 - -Chapter V. -Launched on the Commercial World 84 - -Chapter VI. -High Spots in Typewriter Progress 99 - -Chapter VII. -Widening the Field 115 - -Chapter VIII. -How Women Achieved Economic Emancipation Through the Writing -Machine 134 - - - - - - - - -FOREWORD - - -Local pride in achievement is not only pardonable, but, when that -achievement marks a real contribution to human progress, it may even -be laudable. It is with no apology, therefore, that the Herkimer County -Historical Society presents to the public the story of the typewriter, -which we of Herkimer County, New York, have seen unfold. - -Half a century ago, in the little Mohawk Valley village of Ilion, -was begun the manufacture of a machine which, in that comparatively -brief period, has revolutionized intercommunication, contributed -mightily to the expansion of modern business, and, what is of even -greater significance, has proved the chief factor in the economic -emancipation of women. - -Realizing the importance of this service, the writer had the honor -of suggesting to the Society and to the citizens of Herkimer County -that its fiftieth anniversary be adequately observed. One step -in this observance has taken the form of publishing this little -volume. The data from which it was prepared has been gathered by the -Society from a great variety of sources, including one man who has -been identified with the history of the typewriter from its earliest -days. It shows conclusively that Ilion will go down in history as the -center from which, in the main, has flowed this great contribution -to civilization's progress. - -The Society takes this occasion to extend an invitation to the general -public to send to it any additional historical data which may serve -to make our archives upon the subject more complete. We would be -glad to be informed, for instance, of the names of any individuals -now living, not mentioned in this volume, who have been identified -in any important way with the development of the typewriting machine -and its extension throughout the world during the last half century; -the location and ownership of any typewriting machine which is over -forty-five years old; the name and address of anyone who has been a -continuous user of a typewriter for at least forty years; the location -and ownership of any machine upon which any very important manuscript -or public document was written. In a word, we would like to make the -Herkimer County Historical Society's archives the repository where -future historians may find complete and reliable information upon -the invention which was Christopher Latham Sholes' gift to the world. - - -John W. Vrooman, -President, Herkimer County Historical Society. -Herkimer, N. Y., April 7, 1923. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -FIFTY YEARS OLD - - -The manufacture of the first practical writing machines began at Ilion, -Herkimer County, New York, in the autumn of 1873. This anniversary -year 1923 is a fitting time to review the remarkable history of this -great invention, and every phase of the incalculable service which -it has rendered to the modern world. - -Fifty years old! What will be the thoughts of the average reader when -he is reminded of the actual age of the writing machine? - -The typewriter has made itself such an essential factor in modern -life, it has become so necessary to all human activities, that the -present-day world could hardly be conceived without it. It is hard to -name any other article of commerce which has played a more commanding -role in the shaping of human destiny. It has freed the world from pen -slavery and, in doing so, it has saved a volume of time and labor which -is simply incalculable. Its time-saving service has facilitated and -rendered possible the enormous growth of modern business. The idea -which it embodied has directly inspired many subsequent inventions -in the same field, all of which have helped to lighten the burden of -the world's numberless tasks. In its broad influence on human society, -the typewriter has been equally revolutionary, for it was the writing -machine which first opened to women the doors of business life. It -has radically changed our modern system of education in many of its -most important phases. It has helped to knit the whole world closer -together. Its influence has been felt in the shaping of language and -even of human thought. - -The most amazing fact of all is that these stupendous changes are so -recent that they belong to our own times. One need not be very old to -recollect when the typewriter first began to be a factor in business -life. The man in his fifties distinctly remembers it all. There are -even some now living who were identified with the first typewriter -when its manufacture began fifty years ago in the little Mohawk Valley -town of Ilion, New York. - -Such results, all within so short a period, indicate the speed with -which our old world has traveled during the past generation--a striking -contrast to the leisurely pace of former ages. - -The story of the typewriter is really the latest phase of another and -greater story--that of writing itself. Anyone, however, who attempted -to write this greater story would soon discover that he had undertaken -to write the whole history of civilization. The advance of man from -primitive savagery to his present stage of efficiency and enlightenment -has been a slow process, but each stage of this process through the -ages has been marked, as if by milestones, by some improvement in -his means and capacity for recording his thoughts in visible and -understandable form. - -The earliest attempts at word picturing by savages, the Cuneiform -inscriptions of Babylonia, the hieroglyphics of Ancient Egypt, the -clay tablets and stone monuments of antiquity, the papyrus of Egypt, -the wax tablets and stylus of the Romans, the parchment manuscripts -of the Middle Ages, the development of the art of paper manufacture, -the invention of the art of printing, and even the comparatively -modern invention of steel pens, are all successive steps in this -evolution. Looking back from our vantage ground of today over this -record it is easy for us to see the writing machine as the outcome. The -art of recording thought was always destined to remain imperfect -until some means had been found to do it, which, in the very speed -of the process, would be adequate for all human requirements. Even -the ancients felt this need; of this fact the history of shorthand -is sufficient proof. But never, until the nineteenth century, did -men's thoughts turn seriously to machinery as a possible solution. - -The invention of printing has been described as the most important -single advance in the history of civilization, and it seems to us of -today exactly the kind of invention which should have suggested the -idea of a writing machine. But fate decreed otherwise, and more than -four centuries were destined to elapse after Gutenberg had begun -to use movable types before the advent of the typewriter. It is -interesting to note, however, that when the typewriter finally did -appear, its influence on the printing art was almost immediate, many -improvements in typesetting devices having been directly suggested -and inspired by the writing machine. - -We have spoken of shorthand, an art so intimately allied with -typewriting that they are known today as the "twin arts." The story -of the typewriter cannot be adequately told if this other art is left -out of the picture. - -Unlike the writing machine, the beginnings of shorthand date back -to antiquity. Some have believed that Xenophon wrote stenographic -notes of the lectures of Socrates, but it is at least established -that the learned slave Marcus Tullius Tiro, freed by Cicero and made -his secretary, developed a system which soon came into widespread -use. Few high school boys and girls today, who struggle with the -orations of Cicero, know that it was the art of Tiro which preserved -these classics for us. - -The "Notae Tironianae" (notes of Tiro) consisted of some 5,000 signs -for words, and it is doubtful if stenography would today be so popular -a profession had one to burden his memory with an equal list. But -the ancients were more patient than we, and, once mastered, these -notes proved swift and practical. Busy Rome found much use for its -stenographers. Atticus, a famous Roman book lover, trained a great -force of slaves in the art for the sole purpose of transcribing, and -thus become a real publisher ages before the days of printing. Five -manuscript readers were allotted to each one hundred stenographers, -and these took down the spoken words. And the cost to the thrifty -Atticus was one pound of grain and a small allowance of wine per slave. - -Even Rome's greatest men, the Emperor Titus among them, did not scorn -to master Tiro's notes. In a later age the sermons of the church -fathers, the great Origen, Chrysostom, St. Augustine and others, -were noted down in shorthand; so also in the fifteenth century were -the sermons of Savonarola. Roger Williams wrote shorthand; so did -Samuel Pepys, the author of the famous diary. Among later celebrities -who mastered the art was Charles Dickens, who, in his early days, -used the Gurney system in reporting speeches in the House of Commons. - -Ultimately, however, the modern principle of "phonography" came into -possession of the field. This system, evolved through the labors -of Isaac Pitman and others, used characters to represent the spoken -sound of words instead of their spellings, and was such an obvious -improvement that, in its various forms, it has become practically -universal. - -Here we encounter a singular fact. After a history covering ages, -the great improvement in shorthand, which finally perfected the art, -was delayed by destiny until the very eve of the invention of the -typewriter. Its coming, just at this time, seems, in the light of -later events, almost prophetic. For it is obvious that shorthand, -even as perfected by phonography, would have been restricted, -without the typewriter, to a limited field of usefulness. As a -time saver, shorthand is clearly a half measure, and, so long as -the art of transcribing notes in long hand could be done only at -pen-writing speed, the swiftest shorthand writer could render only -a partial time-saving service. In the days before typewriting, it -would have required more than one stenographic secretary to free the -busy executive from the bondage of the pen. He would have needed a -complete retinue of them, to whom he would dictate in rotation, which -is exactly what the great Julius Caesar is said to have done. But the -Caesars of history are few, and equally few are the notables of the -past, in any field of effort, who had the means or the inspiration -to provide themselves with a whole battery of stenographers. - -In this fact we find one outstanding distinction of the typewriter as -a labor saver--it perfected the process which shorthand had begun--it -completely emancipated the executive. When we talk of "labor saving" -we usually think in terms of manual labor. But when the typewriter -freed the executive from pen slavery it did more than save mere -hand labor. It saved and conserved the very highest quality of brain -labor. True, the busy man of affairs works as hard today as he ever -did, but the typewriter has made his labor more productive. It has -relieved him of the old pen drudgery, so that the greater part of his -time may now be devoted to creative tasks. It is common to speak of -the higher efficiency of the present-day business man, as though men -themselves had grown bigger in our own times. Perhaps they have. But -let us not fail to credit a part of this growth to the emancipation -achieved through the stenographer and the writing machine. - -The typewriter, like every great advance in human progress, came in -the fullness of its own time. Looking back over the past, we can now -see why it came when it did, and why it could not have come before. In -the days when commerce was smaller, when writing tasks were fewer, when -the ability to write or even to read was limited, when life itself was -simpler, the world could get along after its own fashion without the -writing machine. As education grew, as business grew, as the means for -transportation grew, as all human activities grew, so the need grew, -and it grew much faster than any real consciousness of the need, which -seems always to be the way with our poor humanity. It is this fact -which explains the struggle and frequently the tragedy in the early -history of so many great inventions. They do not come in response to -a demand, but in recognition of a need, and this recognition, in its -early phases, is usually confined to the few. These few are the real -pioneers of progress, and it is through their labors and struggles, -often unappreciated and unrewarded, that humanity advances in all -the civilized and useful arts. - -It was even so with the writing machine! - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -EARLY EFFORTS - - -The first recorded attempt to invent a typewriter is found in the -records of the British Patent Office. These show that on the 7th of -January, 1714, or more than two centuries ago, a patent was granted -by Her Majesty, Queen Anne, to Henry Mill, an English engineer. The -historical importance of the first typewriter patent makes this -document of such interest that we quote the opening sentences, -as follows: - - - Anne, by the grace of God, &c., to all to whom these presents - shall come, greeting. - - Whereas our trusty and wellbeloved subiect, Henry Mill, hath, - by his humble peticon, represented vnto vs, that he has, by his - great study, paines, and expence, lately invented and brought to - perfection "An artificial machine or method for the impressing or - transcribing of letters singly or progressively one after another, - as in writing, whereby all writings whatsoever may be engrossed in - paper or parchment so neat and exact as not to be distinguished - from print; that the said machine or method may be of great vse - in settlements and publick recors, the impression being deeper - and more lasting than any other writing, and not to be erased or - counterfeited without manifest discovery;" and having, therefore, - humbly prayed vs to grant him our Royall Letters Patents for the - sole vse of his said Invention for the term of fourteen yeares, - etc. - - -The quaint wording of this description has a pleasant flavor of the -old days. Moreover, as a description of the typewriter, it sounds -promising, but unfortunately this is all we know of the invention of -Henry Mill. He was an engineer of prominence in his day, but even -engineers sometimes dream, and this perhaps was not much more. No -model, drawing or description of the machine is known to exist, there -is no record to show that they ever did exist, and the secret, if there -was one, died with the inventor. But Henry Mill, unknown to himself, -accomplished one thing. In a single sentence he wrote himself down in -history as the first man who is known to have conceived the great idea. - -Throughout the remainder of the eighteenth century only one other -attempt is recorded. This was a machine, said to have been invented -in the year 1784, for embossing printed characters for the blind. Of -this machine nothing is now known; nevertheless this early association -of the typewriter with the blind is a point worth noting. We shall -presently see how prominently the blind have figured in typewriter -history; how much they have received from the writing machine and -how much they have given in return. - -The first American patent on a typewriter was granted in 1829 to -William Austin Burt of Detroit, afterwards better known as the inventor -of the solar compass. The only model of this machine was destroyed -by a fire at the Washington Patent Office in 1836. Many years later, -however, the Patent Office, working from a parchment copy of the -original patent and other papers in the possession of Burt's family, -was able to produce a replica of this machine, which was exhibited -at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. Burt's typewriter, as -revealed in this patent, carried the type, not on individual bars, -but on the segment of a circle, which makes it the ancestor of the -present-day, type-wheel machines. - -Although Burt's machine was never manufactured he at least succeeded -in getting it talked about. A letter from a correspondent, published -in the New York Commercial Advertiser of May, 1829, calls it "a -simple, cheap and pretty machine for printing letters," and the -editorial comment speaks highly of its possibilities, "should it be -found to fully answer the description given of it." Both editor and -correspondent confess themselves "stumped" in finding an appropriate -name for the new invention, a point on which Burt had solicited -advice. "Burt's Family Letter Press" was one of the bright ideas -suggested. It seems that the honor of naming the "typewriter" was being -reserved by destiny for the inventor of the first practical machine. - -The next recorded effort was in 1833, when a French patent was granted -to Xavier Projean of Marseilles for a device which he describes as a -"Ktypographic" machine or pen. This machine consisted of an assembly -of type bars arranged in a circle, each type striking downward upon a -common center. All present day typewriters are divided, according to -their operating principle, into two classes, the rotating segment or -type-wheel machines, and the type-bar machines, and it is curious that -each of these principles should have been embodied in the two earliest -known devices, Burt's machine of 1829 and Projean's of 1833. But -Projean's machine, like Burt's, contained nothing more than the germ -of an idea. Projean's claim for his own invention, that it would print -"almost as fast as one could write with an ordinary pen," is sufficient -evidence that it was too slow to possess any practical utility. - -A few years after Projean's effort we find a new influence at -work. The electric telegraph had been invented, and the effort of -inventors to produce a telegraphic printing mechanism gave an impetus -to the idea of a writing machine. In 1840 the British Patent Office -records the application of Alexander Bain and Thomas Wright on a -writing machine for use in connection with the telegraph. These -men were afterwards better known as the inventors of a telegraphic -printer. As a typewriter, Bain's device was of no value and scarcely -deserves serious mention. A more important step in the progress of -the art was taken by Charles Thurber of Worcester, Mass., to whom a -patent was granted in 1843, followed by another in 1845. The Thurber -machine of 1843 contains one notable advance; the letter spacing was -effected by the longitudinal motion of a platen, a principle which -is a feature of all modern machines. This machine did excellent work, -but the printing mechanism was too slow for practical use and none were -manufactured. A model of Thurber's machine is now in the Smithsonian -Institution at Washington, and a later model, showing important -improvements, is preserved by the Worcester Society of Antiquarians. - -Thurber's other model of 1845 was not a typewriter at all, but a -"writing machine" in the strictest sense. It was designed to perform -the motions of the hand in writing, and was intended for the use of -the blind. This attempt was a failure, but it illustrates again how -prominently the needs of the blind figured in the efforts of the -early inventors. - -The same is true of the next recorded effort, which was the invention -of a blind man, Pierre Foucault, a teacher in the Paris Institution for -the Blind. Foucault's machine, which was patented in France in 1849, -printed embossed letters for the blind very successfully. This machine -attracted great attention and was awarded a gold medal at the World's -Fair at London, in 1851. Several of them were constructed and remained -in service for a long time in institutions for the blind in different -parts of Europe. But the machine never came into very general use. - -The scene now re-crosses the Atlantic, where it is destined to remain -until the appearance of the first practical typewriter. Oliver T. Eddy -of Baltimore took out a patent in the year 1850. This machine, in the -inventor's own words, was "designed to furnish the means of -substituting printed letters and signs for written ones in the -transaction of every day business." Eddy's life record is one of the -tragedies of early typewriter invention. He devoted many years of labor -to his machine, and is said to have died in poverty after a futile -appeal to the Government for assistance. The Eddy machine was highly -ingenious and did good work, but was too cumbersome and intricate for -practical use. - -As we enter the "fifties" the attempts at typewriter invention -become more numerous. J. B. Fairbanks received a patent in 1850, and -J. M. Jones, of Clyde, N. Y., in 1852, the latter machine marking -some progress in the direction of a practical typewriter. Next in -order comes A. Ely Beach of New York, for many years an editor of the -Scientific American. His machine, for which a patent was issued in -1856, marked a decided advance over anything that had yet appeared. It -consisted of a series of type levers, arranged in the form, afterwards -familiar, of a circular basket, all of which printed at a common -center, much in the same manner as a modern typewriter. This machine, -like so many others of this early period, was designed for the benefit -of the blind, and printed raised letters which they could read by -touch. The Beach machine did good work, but was slow in operation, -and it had another very serious limitation--it wrote only on a narrow -ribbon of paper. The machine attracted great attention when exhibited -in New York, but it never emerged from the experimental stage. - -In 1857 Dr. Samuel W. Francis, a wealthy physician of New York, -took out a patent on a typewriter, the keys of which resembled -those of a piano, and the types, which were arranged in a circle, -printed at a common center. It was said of the Francis machine that it -printed with a speed exceeding that of the pen, a degree of praise not -accorded to any of its predecessors. But it was too bulky and costly -for a commercial venture and no attempt was ever made to place it on -the market. - -Among other men of this period who worked on the great problem were -R. S. Thomas of Wilmington, N. C., who, in 1854, took out a patent -on a machine called the "Typograph"; J. H. Cooper of Philadelphia, in -1856, who resorted to the type-wheel principle of construction; Henry -Harger in 1858; F. A. deMay of New York in 1863; Benjamin Livermore -of Hartland, Vermont, in 1863; Abner Peeler of Webster City, Iowa, -in 1866; Thomas Hall in 1867; and John Pratt of Centre, Alabama, -who in 1866 produced a device called the "Pterotype" (winged type), -of which we shall have more to say in the course of this story. And -this about completes the list of attempts which preceded the invention -of the first practical writing machine. - -The reader has doubtless sensed a certain monotony in this review of -the early typewriter inventions. "It did good work, but it was too -slow," is the formula which fits nearly all of them; certainly all -of them that were able to write at all. The superior legibility of -type over script is an undoubted advantage of the writing machine, -but it is not the leading one, and the transition in the cost of -a writing implement from a penny pen to a machine costing upwards -of one hundred dollars could never have come to pass on the basis -of superior legibility alone. The great, outstanding merit of the -writing machine is its time-saving service. This is the capacity that -was needed in order to justify its existence, and the typewriter did -not enter the practical stage until a machine had been invented which -far surpassed in speed the utmost possibilities of the pen. - -The real point of interest about these early efforts is the significant -way in which their number increased as the time drew near for the -solution of the problem. These attempts, during the twenty years before -1867, the year when the inventors of the first successful machine -began their labors, far exceeded in number the sum of all previous -efforts. Every year the need was growing, every year more men were -becoming conscious of this need, and more men with an inventive turn -were giving thought to the matter. The hour for the typewriter had -struck. And when, in the course of time, the appointed hour strikes, -it seems written in the book of human destiny that it shall produce -THE MAN. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE FIRST PRACTICAL TYPEWRITER - - -The time--the winter of the year 1866-67. - -The place--a little machine shop in the outskirts of the city of -Milwaukee. - -The scene--three men, all middle aged, thoughtful and studious, each -one hard at work on a pet invention of his own, without a thought -in the mind of any one of them of the great achievement which was -destined to come out of this chance association. - -Thus was the stage set for the invention of the first practical -typewriter, though nearly seven years were yet to elapse before its -actual production began in the little town of Ilion, New York. - -One of these three men, Carlos Glidden, the son of a successful -ironmonger of Ohio, was engaged in developing a mechanical "spader" -to take the place of a plow. - -The other two, Samuel W. Soulé and Christopher Latham Sholes, both -printers by trade, were engaged in developing a machine for numbering -serially the pages of blank books and the like. - -Of these men, the central figure in the association subsequently -formed was Christopher Latham Sholes, a name which must always occupy -the place of highest honor in any history of the writing machine. - -Sholes was born in Columbia County, Penn., on February 14, 1819. He -came of the oldest New England stock and his ancestors had served -with distinction in the War of the Revolution. His grandfather on the -maternal side was a lineal descendant of John and Priscilla Alden, -so the spirit of the pioneer was a part of his inheritance. It is -also of deep significance that Sholes was a printer and publisher by -trade, the most closely allied mechanical arts to typewriting that the -world then knew. As a publisher, Sholes knew, from the necessities -of his own occupation, the vital help that a writing machine would -offer. And it certainly accords with the fitness of things that, -after the lapse of four centuries, the art of Gutenberg should have -furnished, in one of its disciples, the inventor of the typewriter. - -At the age of fourteen young Sholes was apprenticed to the editor -of the Intelligencer of Danville, Pa., to learn the printing trade, -but four years later he joined his brother, Charles C. Sholes, -well known in the early politics of Wisconsin, then living in Green -Bay. A frail constitution, with a tendency to consumption, of which -disease he finally died, seems to have influenced his early removal to -what was then a wild region at the edge of the great pine forest. In -the following year, when only nineteen years old, he took charge of -the House Journal of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature, which he -carried to Philadelphia to be printed; a long and difficult journey at -that time. In 1839 we find him at Madison, where he became editor of -the Wisconsin Inquirer, owned by his brother Charles. In the following -year he went to Kenosha, where he edited the Southport Telegraph, -afterwards the Kenosha Telegraph, and four years later was appointed -postmaster of the town. - -Sholes's activities as a journalist finally took him into Wisconsin -politics, a career for which, in character and temperament, he was -very poorly fitted. Nevertheless, he served two terms as state senator, -in 1848 and 1849 from Racine County, and in 1856 and 1857 from Kenosha -County. In 1852 and 1853 he represented Kenosha in the assembly. While -a member of the council he was a witness of the homicide of one of the -members by another, a tragedy made familiar to the world by Charles -Dickens in "American Notes." The account given by Dickens was taken -from Sholes's own paper, the Southport Telegraph. In 1860 Sholes -removed to Milwaukee, where he had an active and varied career, -first as postmaster, and later as commissioner of public works and -collector of customs. He was also for a long time editor of the -Milwaukee Daily Sentinel and the Milwaukee News. It was in 1866, -while serving as collector of customs for the Port of Milwaukee, -that the invention of the typewriter enters the story. - -On the personal side much more could be written concerning Sholes, for -he was a man of very unusual and attractive character. Some might have -called him an eccentric, but his eccentricities were of a kind which -endeared him to everyone. He is described as one of the most unselfish, -kind-hearted and companionable men that ever lived. He was also a man -of extreme personal modesty, and of almost excessive tenderness of -conscience, viewed from the usual business standpoint. He was always -more than just to others and less than just to himself. Some phases -of his character were a puzzle. As an editor he made it a rule to -copy into his own paper all the adverse criticisms that were passed -upon him by his political adversaries, and some of them were very -bitter and unjust, and he would always omit all complimentary notice -of himself and his work. Gentle and lovable, cultured and brilliant, -modest and unselfish, these were the outstanding characteristics of -Christopher Latham Sholes. - -He was not the kind of man ever to make much money. In the days before -the typewriter he had, by a fortunate chance, acquired wealth, but -he did not keep it. The typewriter gave him another opportunity, but -he let it pass. From first to last he was singularly indifferent to -worldly fortune. One day, in his later years, he remarked to a friend -that he had been trying all his life to escape becoming a millionaire -and he thought he had succeeded admirably. He was always a visionary, -and one of his visions was of a human Utopia which should witness the -abolition of greed and poverty and the dawn of universal love. Call -him a dreamer if you will, but one day he dreamed a dream which he -proceeded to translate into a wonderful reality, which has placed -the whole world in his everlasting debt. - -The typewriter was not the first evidence of Sholes's inventive -genius. Years before he had been the first to conceive of the method -of addressing newspapers by printing the names of subscribers on the -margin. His more recent work on the machine for paging blank books -brings us to the beginning of the typewriter story. But all else is -now obscured by the memory of his crowning achievement, the invention -of the writing machine. - -What was the influence which caused these three men, Sholes, Soulé -and Glidden, to drop the inventions on which they had been working -and to pool their interests in a new and far greater undertaking? - -According to one story, the idea arose out of a chance remark of -Glidden's, who had become interested in Sholes's paging machine and -one day said, "Why cannot such a machine be made that will write -letters and words and not figures only?" Nothing further was said -or done at the time, but in the summer of the following year (1867) -a copy of the Scientific American, which quoted an article from a -London technical journal, fell into the hands of Glidden. It described -a machine called the "Pterotype," invented by John Pratt, which was -designed to do just what Glidden had suggested. This invention had -inspired an editorial in the same issue of the paper which pointed -out the great benefit to mankind which such a machine would confer, -as well as the fortune that awaited the successful inventor. Glidden -immediately brought this article to the attention of Sholes, and it -appealed so strongly to his imagination that he decided to see what -could be done. - -General William G. LeDue, whose own interest in the invention of a -typewriter dated back to 1850, and who subsequently was the first man -to introduce the machine into the Government service at Washington, -tells how, in 1867, he visited Milwaukee and found Sholes, together -with Glidden, at work on the book-paging machine, and suggested to -them the idea of a typewriter. - -These two accounts are in no sense contradictory. When an idea is "in -the air," it is natural to find more than one influence at work. At -any rate, we soon find Sholes working whole-heartedly on the new -idea, assisted by Glidden and Soulé, both of whom had been invited -to join in the enterprise. None of these men, so far as we know, -had any knowledge at the time of any previous attempts to invent a -typewriter, with the single exception of John Pratt's "Pterotype" -already mentioned. In the building of the new machine they were, -at the outset, wholly dependent on their own creative efforts. All of -them were amply endowed with inventive talent, but not one of the three -was a mechanical engineer by profession, or even a mechanic by trade, -and they needed the help of the skilled mechanics at Kleinsteuber's -machine shop in the carrying out of their ideas. Of these mechanics, -Matthias Schwalbach is the man who figures most prominently in this -story. Schwalbach had already helped Sholes in developing his paging -machine, and, when the efforts of the three inventors were transferred -to the typewriter, he entered into the new work with interest and -enthusiasm. As the work went on Schwalbach began to do more than -merely carry out the ideas of Sholes; he developed some ideas of his -own which were of the greatest help to the inventors. - -The work went steadily onward and by autumn of the year 1867 the first -machine had been made, although no patent was taken out until June -of the year following. This first machine had innumerable defects and -was a crude affair in every way. But it wrote accurately and rapidly, -and that was the main point. Moreover, as a self-advertiser, it soon -scored a notable triumph. A number of letters were written with it and -sent to friends, among these one to James Densmore, then of Meadville, -Pa. Densmore was immediately interested. Like Sholes and Soulé, he had -been both editor and printer, and could well realize the importance -of such a machine. Densmore was a practical man of affairs, with -imagination, foresight, energy and courage unbounded. Instantly he -saw the possibilities of the new invention and shortly afterwards -he purchased, by the payment of all expenses already incurred, an -interest in the new machine before he had so much as seen it. Densmore -did not actually see the typewriter until March of the following year -(1868). He then pronounced it good for nothing save to show that the -idea was feasible, and pointed out many defects that would need to -be remedied before it would be available for practical uses. Shortly -afterwards Soulé dropped out of the enterprise, leaving it to Sholes, -Glidden and Densmore. - -The relationship which then began between Sholes and Densmore was a -strange meeting of opposites, for two men more unlike could hardly be -imagined. Densmore is described as bold, aggressive and arrogant. If -Sholes was a dreamer and an idealist, Densmore in some respects -was a plain "crank." He was a vegetarian of the militant type, -and did not hesitate to remonstrate with meat eaters, even total -strangers in public restaurants. His own diet consisted mainly of -raw apples, a reminder of the raw turnips of Colonel Sellers. He -was always impervious to the shafts of ridicule and insensible to -slights. Indomitable and resolute, in the pursuit of any object he -could not be discouraged or repulsed. But Densmore, in his own rough -way, was usually kind to the gentle Sholes, and it may be set down -to his credit that more than once, during the years of inventive -struggle from 1867 to 1873, when difficulties thickened and Sholes, -if left to his own devices, would have become discouraged, Densmore's -unquenchable faith was the salvation of the infant enterprise. - -The relationship between Densmore and Sholes reminds us in some -respects of the similar relationship in the eighteenth century between -Boulton and James Watt. During these years Densmore consistently -played the part of Boulton to Sholes, who, under his urging, -continued to build model after model, until twenty-five or thirty had -been made. Each one of these marked some improvement over the last, -but in the hands of practical users each one showed some defect and -broke down under the strain of actual use. It was not until early in -the year 1873 that the machine was deemed sufficiently perfected for -actual manufacture. - -In the meantime other men had entered the typewriter story. One -of these was James Ogilvie Clephane of Washington, D. C., who, -years after, became closely identified with Ottmer Mergenthaler, -the inventor of the Linotype. It was thus the unusual distinction of -Clephane to place his name in intimate association with two of the -greatest inventions of our times. - -Clephane's role in the case of the typewriter was that of practical -tester. As an official shorthand reporter, he had a complete and -instant appreciation of the boon that the new machine would confer -on his own profession, and he faithfully and gladly tried out one -model after another sent to him by the inventors. He was severe in -his criticisms of the defects of these models, as they revealed -themselves in actual service, so much so that Sholes frequently -became disheartened. But it was all in a good cause, and Densmore kept -assuring Sholes that such tests were just what were needed to reveal -the weak points. Thus by slow degrees the original conceptions of -the inventors were modified by their growing knowledge of practical -requirements. - -Mr. Charles E. Weller, during this period of typewriter development, -played a role similar to that of Clephane. Mr. Weller, now a resident -of La Porte, Ind., is the only present-day survivor of the many -friends of Sholes, and his invaluable little book, "The Early History -of the Typewriter" is the most intimate picture of the character and -struggles of the inventor that we now possess. Weller was in personal -contact with Sholes almost from the beginning. In July, 1867, when -resident in Milwaukee working as a telegraph operator and student -of shorthand, he tells how Sholes came into the telegraph office -one day to secure a sheet of carbon paper, a rare article in those -days. Weller knew Sholes as an inventive genius, and his curiosity -was immediately aroused. Sholes told him that if he would call at his -office he would be glad to show him something interesting, and Sholes -kept his word. What Weller saw was a crude experimental affair rigged -up with a single key, like a telegraph transmitter, which printed -through the carbon paper a single letter wwwww. But it printed this -letter in sequence as fast as the key could be operated. "If you will -bear in mind," says Weller, "that at that time we had never known -of printing by any other method than the slow process of setting -the types and getting an impression therefrom by means of a press, -you may imagine our surprise at the facility with which this one -letter of the alphabet could be printed by the manipulation of the -key." Sholes then explained how he was developing this idea into a -machine which would print in similar manner any and all letters of -the alphabet--in other words a complete writing machine. Weller, -shortly after, removed to St. Louis, to take up the profession of -shorthand reporter. On leaving, Sholes promised to send him, for -practical testing, the first completed model and in January, 1868, -the machine arrived. Sholes, in the meantime, had chosen his own name -for this machine, which he called a "type-writer." And thus to the -inventor himself fell the honor of christening his own creation with -the name which has always been universal among English speaking users. - -The proper naming of the typewriter had been quite as long -and difficult a job as the evolution of the practical machine -itself. Those who came before Sholes failed in this, quite as much -as in their inventive efforts. Henry Mill did not even attempt to -name his invention. Burt called his a "Typographer." Thurber called -his first machine a "Patent Printer"; his second a "Mechanical -Chirographer." Eddy, like Mill, made no effort to find a name. Jones -called his invention a "Mechanical Typographer"; Beach called his an -improvement in "Printing Instruments for the Blind"; Francis called his -an improvement in "Printing Machines"; Harger called his an "Improved -Mechanical Typographer"; DeMay also described his machine as an -"Improved Mechanical Typographer or Printing Apparatus." Livermore, -following the same lead, called his an "Improved Hand Printing Device -or Mechanical Typographer." Peeler stated that he had invented a new -and valuable "Machine for Writing and Printing." Hall did a little -better when he described his invention as a "Machine for Writing -with Type or Printing on Paper or Other Substance." Of all those -who began before Sholes, the only one who showed any originality -in picking a name was John Pratt with his "Pterotype," a word the -meaning of which few people knew. It remained for Sholes himself, -in his simple, direct way, to hit upon a name which no one has ever -been able to improve upon. - -During the next few years, Weller tested out the machine that Sholes -had sent him, and also later models, in connection with his work as -shorthand reporter. The letters he received from Sholes during these -years, addressed to "Charlie" and "Friend Charlie," every one of -them typed by Sholes himself on his own machine, are striking word -pictures of the writer in all his changing moods. In one we read, -"The machine is done, and I want some more worlds to conquer. Life -would be most flat, stale and unprofitable without something to -invent." Again only two months later, "I have made another most -important change in the machine," etc. Six months later, "I have now -a machine which is an entirely new thing. I have been running this -about two months, and in all that time it has not developed a single -difficulty. In fact any such thing as trouble or bother has ceased -to enter into the calculation." This sounds good and it sounds final, -but listen to the last letter of the series, written two years later, -on April 30, 1873. "The machine is no such thing as it was when you -last saw it. In fact you would not recognize it." Sholes is always -through and yet never through. But this time, as far as Sholes is -concerned, the word was indeed final, for when this last letter -was written the historic contract which placed the manufacture and -further development of his machine in the hands of E. Remington & -Sons, the famous gunmakers, had already been made. - -All of this happened more than half a century ago, and now, after -all these years, "Friend Charlie" begins to figure again in this -story. Throughout his long life, Mr. Weller's devotion to the memory -of Sholes has been unbounded, and recently, despite advanced years, -he has become the leading spirit in a movement instituted by the -National Shorthand Reporters' Association to erect a monument to mark -the last resting place of Sholes in Forest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee, -which will be worthy of his name and fame as one of the world's -great inventors. It is earnestly to be hoped that the efforts of -"The C. Latham Sholes Monument Commission" to raise the necessary -funds will soon be successful, in order that the erection of this -monument may commemorate this anniversary year of the writing machine. - -While Weller and Clephane, late in the sixties, were demonstrating the -utility of the new machine in connection with shorthand reporting, -another man was doing similar pioneer work in an entirely different -field. This man was E. Payson Porter, an honored name in the history of -telegraphy, and long known as the dean of American telegraphers. Porter -first saw one of the Sholes models in 1868, at which time he was -employed as an operator in the Chicago office of the Western Union -Telegraph Company, and he astonished the inventor by the rapidity with -which he manipulated the keys at first sight. His skill was due to the -fact that he had formerly worked a House telegraph printer. Sholes, -of course, was delighted. He promised Porter the finest machine he -could make, upon condition that he could receive on the typewriter as -fast as any telegrapher could send a message. In due time the machine -arrived in Chicago, and Porter thus describes the demonstration which -followed. "A sounder and key were placed upon the table and General -Stager was the first to manipulate the same for me to copy, which I -did readily. Colonel Lynch then attempted to 'rush' me, and failing -to do so, an 'expert' sender was sent for from the operating room. A -thorough trial of my ability to 'keep up' resulted so satisfactorily -that the typewriter was taken into the operating room." - -This demonstration was made in the year 1869, and Porter's description -of it gives the whole gist of typewriting in its relation to -telegraphy. It lies simply in the superior speed of the "mill," -as telegraphers call the typewriter, over handwriting, in receiving -over the wire, and it is just this difference in speed which in the -past forty years has revolutionized the telegrapher's profession. The -partnership between telegraphy and the "mill" is as firmly established -today as that other partnership between the typewriter and shorthand, -and it is worth noting that, in each case, the reality of this -partnership was demonstrated at least five years before the first -typewriter was actually placed on the market. - -The mention of telegraphy brings another name into this story, that -of no less a personage than Thomas A. Edison. It has been said of -this universal inventive genius that he has figured in some way in -connection with nearly every development in the field of mechanical -progress during the last half century; so it is not surprising to -find his name written into the story of the typewriter. Early in -the seventies Edison had a shop in Newark, N. J., and he tells how -Sholes came there to consult with him concerning his invention; -a natural thing for Sholes to do, for even in those early days the -fame of "The Wizard" was nation-wide. Edison was able to give Sholes -some very valuable assistance. Later on, Edison helped D. W. Craig, -a former general manager of the Associated Press, in the development -of a machine, built on typewriter principles, designed to facilitate -the transmission of telegrams. Edison also did some typewriter -inventing on his own account. His patent of December 10, 1872, is -for an electrically operated traveling wheel device, which was the -forerunner of the stock-ticker printing machine in use today. - -Of the twenty-five to thirty experimental models, built by Sholes -and Glidden during the years from 1867 to 1873, only a few are now -in existence. But though many links in this chain are missing, it -is fortunate that the two most important ones are still preserved, -the first and the last. The first model constructed by Sholes, -Soulé and Glidden, now in the Smithsonian Institution at Washington -(Patent of June 23, 1868), shows a machine so crude that it would -hardly be recognized as a typewriter. A second model, also in the -Smithsonian Institution (Patent of July 14, 1868), is of equal -interest because it has been identified by Weller as identical with -the first machine sent to him by Sholes for practical testing. This -machine shows a great advance over the other. Both machines, however, -have the up-strike pivoted type bar, a feature which afterwards became -standard for many years in typewriter construction. The last model of -the long series was the one shown to the Remingtons in 1873, when the -contract was made for the manufacture of the typewriter. This model, -now in the historical collection at the home office of the Remington -Typewriter Company in New York, although a crude affair, judged by -present-day standards, contains many of the fundamental features of -the modern type-bar machines. - -The quality of the writing done by these early models is better known -today than the machines themselves, for this writing has been preserved -to us in Sholes's own letters. From the day when Sholes completed his -first model, he seems to have discarded the pen entirely. From that -time all his personal letters are typewritten, the signature included, -which would be considered extreme, even by the present-day business -man. As for the quality of the typing in these letters, let it speak -for itself. The letter shown on page 51, the original of which is -in the Remington Historical Collection, was written by Sholes from -Milwaukee on June 9, 1872. - -The typing in this letter is interesting because it shows capital -letters only, to which all the Sholes models were restricted. But even -more interesting is the contents of the letter itself, for in it we -find Sholes in one of his not infrequent fits of deep despondency. - - - "We shall be in a position," he says, "to furnish good machines - provided any person is in a position to want them after they are - furnished. You know that my apprehension is that the thing may - take for a while, and for a while there may be an active demand - for them, but that, like any other novelty, it will have its - brief day and be thrown aside. Of course I earnestly hope that - such will not prove to be the case, and Densmore laughs at the - idea when I suggest it, but I should like to be sure that it - would be otherwise." - - -Think of it! The typewriter a mere passing novelty! And think of -such an idea entering the head of the inventor of the machine! How -much better he was building than he knew! As we look back on this -period of typewriter history we hardly know which to admire more, -Sholes's inventive genius or Densmore's sustaining faith. - -Of equal interest is a photograph from the same historical collection, -dating from the same year, 1872. It shows the daughter of Sholes -operating another one of his experimental models. What motive, -we wonder, ever induced Miss Sholes to take such an interest in -the machine, to learn to operate it, and to have her photograph -taken seated before it? Probably it was only a daughter's natural -interest in her father's invention. It is difficult to believe that -Miss Sholes foresaw the wonderful future of the machine in connection -with woman's work. Yet, as an accidental prophecy, this photograph of -the first woman who ever operated a typewriter should be of interest -to every one of the vast army of women who today owe their living to -the writing machine. - -The time now draws near for the opening of the second chapter of -typewriter history, the entrance into the story of the great house of -E. Remington & Sons. In casting about for a suitable manufacturer for -the new invention, the minds of the inventors turned naturally to the -noted gunmakers who had already made the name Remington famous. The -origin and the rise of the house of Remington carries us back many -years into the past. The story goes that in 1816 a young boy named -Eliphalet Remington, who was working with his father at their forge -in the beautiful Ilion Gorge in the Mohawk Valley, asked his father -for money to buy a rifle and was refused. Nothing daunted, the boy -Eliphalet welded a gun barrel from scraps of iron collected around the -forge, walked fourteen miles to Utica to have it rifled, and finally -had a weapon that was the envy of his neighbors. Soon he was making and -selling other guns, and step by step the old forge grew into the great -gun factory which in Civil War times did so much to equip the northern -armies in the great struggle. In time the firm made big contracts to -supply arms to foreign governments; they also added other lines of -manufacture, including sewing machines and agricultural implements. In -1873, when the typewriter begins to figure in the Remington story, -the first Eliphalet, the boy gunmaker of 1816, had already been twelve -years in his grave, and the business was in charge of his three sons, -Philo, Samuel and Eliphalet, Jr. At the time of the signing of the -typewriter contract, Samuel was absent in Europe. The president and -active head of the business was the elder brother, Philo, and it was -Philo Remington who was destined to father the new machine with his -name and devote his utmost efforts and resources to its manufacture -and sale. - -It was late in the month of February, 1873, that Densmore came to the -Remington Works at Ilion, bringing with him the precious model that -was the culmination of six years of effort and struggle. Sholes, it -appears, did not accompany Densmore on this journey, which perhaps was -just as well, for he was far too modest a man to make a good pleader -of his own cause. But Densmore did not go alone. He was accompanied -by G. W. N. Yost, with whom Densmore had formerly been associated -in the oil transportation business in Pennsylvania. The story of how -Densmore came to invite Yost to join him is curious. It seems that he -wanted the assistance of Yost's well known fluency, in persuading the -Remingtons. Evidently Densmore must have felt keenly the fatefulness -of his errand, for this is the only case on record where he failed -to show the most complete confidence in himself. - -George Washington Newton Yost--to give him the full benefit of his -sonorous name--was a salesman par excellence. He had proved it in -the oil business. He was destined to prove it again in after years, -when he sold more typewriters through his own personal powers of -persuasion than any other man in the early days of the business. Had -Yost possessed equal ability as an organizer and sales director he -might have written his name into this story as the man who made -the typewriter a commercial success, for fortune gave him every -opportunity. Fate, however, had reserved this achievement for -other men. - -It is now fifty years since the signing of the history-making -contract between the owners of the typewriter and the Remingtons, -and all but one of the actors in these scenes have long since gone -to their rest. It is fortunate, however, that there is one man now -living who was present and an active participator in the conferences -which resulted in the signing of the contract, and his memory of them -is as vivid as though they were the events of yesterday. This man is -Henry Harper Benedict, who afterwards became one of the founders of -the commercial success of the writing machine. - -Mr. Benedict, like others whose names figure prominently in this story, -was a native Herkimer County boy. In 1869, after taking a degree at -Hamilton College, he accepted a position with E. Remington & Sons, -with whom he remained for thirteen years in a confidential capacity, -becoming in time a director on the board of the corporation and -treasurer of the Remington Sewing Machine Company. The story of the -typewriter contract, and the events leading up to it, is thus told -in Mr. Benedict's own words. - -"Mr. Philo Remington's office and mine communicated. One day I saw -on the mantelpiece in his office an envelope addressed to him in -something that looked like print. I asked him what it was. He said, -'Read it.' It proved to be a letter from one James Densmore (unknown -to us all) setting forth at considerable length the facts in connection -with the invention of a machine to take the place of the pen, that is, -to write by manipulation of keys. He told who were the inventors, -and said that after many years of effort they had finally produced -a working model, and they wanted to find someone to undertake the -manufacture of the machine. He wished to bring the model to Ilion to -see whether the Remingtons would care to take it up. - -"I said to Mr. Remington, 'Have you done anything about this?' He -said, 'No, what do you think we had better do?' 'Why,' I said, -'of course we want to see the machine; it is a wonderful invention -if it's anything, and we should not neglect the opportunity offered -us to examine it.' The result was that the model was brought to Ilion -early in 1873 by Mr. James Densmore and another man, whom Mr. Densmore -introduced as Mr. Yost. Densmore, as we soon saw, was not much of a -talker, and he had brought Yost to serve, as he himself expressed it, -as 'Aaron to his Moses.' He did well, for Yost was one of the most -persuasive talkers I ever listened to, and his tongue never tired. - -"Densmore and Yost opened up the model, and exhibited it to us in -a room at the Osgood House, then known as Small's Hotel. There were -present at the meeting, Mr. Philo Remington, Mr. Jefferson M. Clough, -Superintendent of the Remington Works, Mr. William K. Jenne, -Assistant Superintendent, Mr. Densmore, Mr. Yost and myself. We -examined and discussed the machine for perhaps an hour and a half -or two hours and then adjourned for lunch or dinner. As we left the -room, Mr. Remington said to me, 'What do you think of it?' I replied, -'That machine is very crude, but there is an idea there that will -revolutionize business.' Mr. Remington asked, 'Do you think we ought to -take it up?' I said, 'We must on no account let it get away. It isn't -necessary to tell these people that we are crazy over the invention, -but I'm afraid I am pretty nearly so.'" - -The party met again later in the day and a tentative agreement was -entered into which developed into the contract which opened a new -chapter in the story of human progress. - -The actual date of this contract was March 1, 1873. The original -contract was for manufacture only, but in due course of time the -Remingtons acquired complete ownership. Densmore was unsuccessful -as selling agent and made little money in this role, but when the -ownership passed to the Remingtons, he accepted a royalty, by which -he was subsequently enriched. Sholes, either at this time or shortly -after, is said to have sold out his royalty rights to Densmore for -$12,000, a goodly sum in those days, but the only reward, so far as -we know, that he ever received for his priceless invention and the -years of labor he had bestowed upon it. - -As soon as the Remington firm had agreed to undertake the manufacture -of the new machine, the ample resources and the skillful workmen -available at their great factory were brought into service in the -further improvement of the typewriter. There was still much work -to do, for the Sholes and Glidden machine, even after the years of -labor expended upon it, was, after all, only the inventor's crude -model. Sholes and Glidden had worked out the basic ideas, and that was -about all. To make these ideas practical, in a machine that could be -produced and sold in quantities, now became the manufacturer's task. It -was a fortunate thing for the infant typewriter that the Remingtons -had in their service at this time a notable group of mechanical -master minds, and the efforts of these men were now centered on the -new machine. Prominent in this group were William K. Jenne, Jefferson -M. Clough, afterwards superintendent of the factory of the Winchester -Arms Company, Byron A. Brooks, a professor of higher mathematics, -and others. Brooks subsequently attained prominence in the field of -typewriter invention. But the most notable personage among these men -was William K. Jenne, and at this time the mantle passes from Sholes -to Jenne, who became for many years the central figure in the history -of the development of the typewriter on its mechanical side. It is -true that Sholes, despite failing health, continued active in the -invention of typewriter improvements during the greater part of his -remaining days, but it was under the fostering care and supervision -of Jenne that the Sholes and Glidden model of 1873 was transformed -into the first commercial typewriter, and it was under his continued -superintendence that this famous machine subsequently underwent -one improvement after another until it finally won for itself an -indispensable place in the world's work. - -Jenne, like Sholes, came of good New England stock. He inherited his -mechanical genius from his father, Siloam Jenne, who was a skilled -mechanic and an inventor of some repute in his day. It was in 1861, -at the age of 23, that Jenne migrated from his Massachusetts home to -the town of Ilion, in the Mohawk Valley, where he was destined to spend -all of the remaining years of his long, active and useful life. These -were the Civil War times, when E. Remington & Sons were busy on the -big war contracts, and the fame of their guns had already spread -to the four corners of the earth. Jenne almost immediately entered -the Remington employ and, in the historic year 1873, he occupied an -important position in their sewing machine department. From the time, -however, of the arrival at Ilion of the Sholes and Glidden model he -became identified with the typewriter exclusively. He soon became -Superintendent of the Typewriter Works, which position he continued -to hold for thirty years, until his retirement, full of honors, -in the year 1904. - -We now come to the fateful hour, the appearance on the market of the -first commercial typewriter. The actual manufacture of the machine -began in September, 1873, and it may be said that in this year and -month occurred the birth of the practical writing machine. In the early -part of the following year the first machines were completed and ready -for sale. The machine was then known simply as "The Type-Writer." Today -it is known as the "Model 1 Remington" and it will always be known -as the "Ancestor of All Writing Machines." - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -SEEKING A MARKET - - -The general appearance of the first typewriter is well known. A -considerable number of these machines are in existence, preserved in -museums and other historical collections, and, until recent years, -a few of them still remained in active service. - -The accompanying illustration, however, shows one of these machines -which has a special interest all its own. This was the first individual -typewriter ever manufactured and offered for sale. This machine -was one of the first consignment of typewriters sent to the Western -Electric Company, who were the original western selling agents. Later -it came into the possession of the late Walter J. Barron, who had been -a friend of Sholes, and afterwards became the inventor of a number -of important typewriter improvements. Many years later Mr. Barron -presented it to the Remington Historical Collection. - -A single glance at this machine will show what a transformation had -been wrought by the skilled Remington mechanics in the crude Sholes -and Glidden model of the previous year. A more careful examination will -reveal how primitive it still was compared with the efficient writing -machines of the present day. The first thing that will strike the most -casual observer is the obvious sewing machine influence, in fact it has -sewing machine "written all over it." In this we undoubtedly see the -hand of Jenne, who, for years before he took up work on the typewriter, -had been connected with the sewing-machine branch of the Remington -business. This influence appears in the fitting of the machine to -a stand, in the familiar grape-vine design of the pedestals, and -especially in the curious foot treadle which operated the carriage -return. The latter, however, quickly demonstrated its uselessness -as a time saver, and was soon displaced by the now familiar hand -carriage-return lever. After the disappearance of the foot treadle, -the stand itself soon followed into the discard. - -Another interesting feature is the metal case which completely -encloses the machine. This in time gave way to the now familiar open -construction, but it is worth noting that in recent years a tendency -has set in to return to the enclosed feature of the first typewriter. - -This original machine had many limitations, but the worst one of all -was the fact that it had no shift-key mechanism--it wrote capital -letters only. - -Nevertheless, the fundamental principles of construction embodied in -this first typewriter still survive, though their application has -since been modified or transformed in the march of improvement. In -this original machine we find the escapement or step-by-step "pulse -beat," which causes the letter spacing, we find the type bars hung in -such a manner that the type all strike the paper at a common printing -point, and we find a mechanism for the return of the carriage and -line spacing of the cylinder. Most interesting of all, we find the -"universal keyboard" in very nearly its present form. This was not -an innovation introduced by Jenne or any of his co-workers, for, -tracing back to the Sholes and Glidden model of the previous year, -we find a very close approach to the same thing. - -Who invented the universal keyboard?--meaning the present universal -arrangement of the letters on the typewriter keys. Of all the questions -concerning the origin of the typewriter or any of its features, this -is the one most frequently asked. The answer is that the universal -keyboard, with some minor variations, has been standard since the -invention of the writing machine. - -Some believe that the universal keyboard was invented by Alexander -Davidson, a mechanic and surveyor of West Virginia, who was also one -of the pioneers in the field of commercial education. It is known -that Davidson, in the later seventies, made a special study of the -subject of scientific keyboard arrangement. But there is no evidence -that Davidson ever saw a typewriter before the year 1875, at which -time the keyboard had already assumed the "universal" form. - -It is positively known that Densmore and Sholes, laboring together, -worked out the universal arrangement of the letter keys. Just how -they happened to arrive at this arrangement, however, is a point on -which there has always been much speculation. It must be remembered -that both of these men were printers by trade, a most important -point in this connection. The usual a b c arrangement of letters, -which would naturally suggest itself to the ordinary layman, means -nothing to a printer, who is more familiar with the arrangement of -the type in the printer's case. Here, however, we encounter the fact -that the arrangement of the letters on the universal keyboard is -nothing like the arrangement of the type in the printer's case. The -truth seems to be that the arrangement of the universal keyboard was -mainly influenced by the mechanical difficulties under which Sholes -labored. The tendency of the type bars on all the Sholes models was to -collide and "stick fast" at the printing point, and it would have been -natural for Sholes to resort to any arrangement of the letters which -would tend to diminish this trouble. These mechanical difficulties are -now of the past, but time has proved and tested the universal keyboard, -and has fully demonstrated its efficiency for all practical needs. - -Keyboard reform has been agitated more than once since the invention of -the typewriter, but such movements have always come to nothing--for -a very simple reason. It is an easy and simple matter for the -manufacturers to supply any keyboard the user may require; indeed the -special keyboards now in use number thousands. But to induce typists -generally to unlearn the universal keyboard and learn another would -be a well nigh impossible task. And it would not pay them to do so, -for no "reformed" keyboard could ever confer a benefit sufficient to -offset the time loss that such a change would involve. The universal -keyboard has a hold similar to that of language itself. - -In the historical collection which contains the original typewriter -is another item of almost equal interest. This is a copy of the -first typewriter catalogue. We know what the first typewriter was -like. This old catalogue, however, gives us a different slant. It -tells us what the builders themselves thought of it, and what they -wished the public to think. - -It certainly looks its age--does this old catalogue. The sheets are -yellow and time stained, the illustrations are old wood cuts which -carry us back to the days before the invention of process engraving, -and the typesetting is of the period--let us say no more, for possibly -our present-day ideas of typesetting will look as antiquated to -our own children. But the first of anything, whether an automobile, -a typewriter, or just a catalogue, ought to be primitive enough to -look the part, and this catalogue certainly does. - -"The Type-Writer," so says the catalogue, "in size and appearance -somewhat resembles the Family Sewing Machine." A very good description, -as all will agree. The next sentence, however, says, "It is graceful -and ornamental--a beautiful piece of furniture for office, study -or parlor." No one can question the utility of the typewriter, -but the beauty of the machine is not regarded in these modern days -as a "selling point." There is also another claim that makes us -pause. "Persons traveling by sea," the catalogue says, "can write -with it when pen writing is impossible." Maybe so, but people who have -been at sea under conditions when they found pen writing impossible, -will probably have their doubts. - -But there is food for thought in this old catalogue from beginning -to end. The clause in the title, "A Machine to Supersede the Pen," -reads today like one of the world's great prophecies. The advantages of -typewriting over pen-writing are enumerated as Legibility, Rapidity, -Ease, Convenience and Economy, and time, which proves all things, -has certainly proved these claims. It is only when we pass from the -description of the machine itself to "Some of its uses" that we seem -to discern a halting note. First in the list of prospective users come -the Reporters, and it is interesting to know that, to the inventors -of the typewriter, court reporting appealed as the principal field -of the new machine. Next in order come Lawyers, Editors, Authors and -Clergymen. These apparently are the only classes of users who are -considered worthy of a special appeal. But how about the business -man? We search in vain for any mention of his name until we come to -a single sentence, evidently intended as a "ketch-all" for the left -overs, which reads: "The merchant, the banker, ALL men of business can -perform the labor of letter writing with much saving of valuable time." - -Did the builders of the first typewriter fully appreciate the -tremendous truth contained in these words? If so, it is hard to believe -that they would have confined all reference to the business man to a -single sentence in an obscure portion of their first catalogue. This -one sentence, in this place, seems to lack the ring of conviction. It -makes one wish that the typewriter men of 1874 could live again to -witness the typewriter wonders of 1923, and see how many-fold greater -has been the fruit of their labors than anything of which they dreamed. - -So much for what the builders thought of their own product. But what -did the buyers and the users think? We turn eagerly for information -on this point to the testimonials, of which this old catalogue -contains several. But the first one that meets our eyes engrosses us -so completely that we straightway forget about all the rest. It is -from no less a person than "Mark Twain," and this is what he says: - - - Hartford, March 19, 1875. - - Gentlemen: - - Please do not use my name in any way. Please do not even divulge - the fact that I own a machine. I have entirely stopped using the - Type-Writer, for the reason that I never could write a letter with - it to anybody without receiving a request by return mail that I - would not only describe the machine but state what progress I had - made in the use of it, etc., etc. I don't like to write letters, - and so I don't want people to know that I own this curiosity - breeding little joker. - - Yours truly, - Saml. L. Clemens. - - -Certainly a queer "testimonial." And we are glad that the selling -agents, in spite of Mark Twain's prohibition, had the "nerve" to -publish it. In course of time Mark Twain overcame his reticence, -and many years after, in his "Autobiography," he tells in his own -inimitable manner all about his first typewriter. It seems that he -bought it in Boston late in the autumn of 1874, when in company -with that other famous humorist D. R. Locke, better known as -"Petroleum V. Nasby." He and Nasby saw the strange looking device -in the window of the Remington store, were drawn in by curiosity, -and Mark Twain purchased one on the spot. What Nasby's impressions -were of his purchase Mark Twain does not tell us, but we know that -they must have been deep and vivid, for only a short time later we -find Nasby a member of the firm which for a time controlled the sale -of the Remington Typewriter. Shortly afterward Mark Twain had one of -his manuscripts type-copied on this typewriter. The "Autobiography" -says that this book was "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," but in this -statement, based only on his memory of the long ago, Mark Twain must -have been mistaken. A letter of his, written many years earlier, -proves that the book was "Life on the Mississippi." However, the -exact identity of the book is a minor matter. In any case, Mark Twain -was unquestionably the first author who ever submitted a typewritten -manuscript to a publisher, a practice now universal. And it accords -with the importance of this great step in progress that this original -typewritten manuscript should have been a literary masterpiece. - -Another letter, typed by Mark Twain himself, appears in fac-simile in -his "Autobiography." This letter was written to his brother, Orien -Clemens, three months before the letter to E. Remington & Sons, -and before the "curiosity breeding little joker" had worn out his -patience. It has a special interest because it was the first letter -written by Mark Twain on his first typewriter. The row of characters -typed across the top of the sheet are undoubtedly the work of Mark -Twain's little daughter Susie, to whom reference is made in the letter. - -Mark Twain's description of the first typewriter as a "curiosity -breeding little joker" applies very well to those who had some -inkling of what the machine really was, but, on those who did not, the -impression was sometimes very different. The story is classic of the -Kentucky mountaineer who returned his first typewritten letter to the -man who wrote it, with the words indignantly scribbled on the margin, -"You don't need to print no letters for me. I kin read writin." This -particular yarn cannot be verified, but there were plenty of similar -cases. J. P. Johns, a Texas insurance man and banker in the seventies, -gives the following transcript from memory of a reply he once received -from one of his agents to one of his first typewritten letters: - - - Dear Sir: - - I received your communication and will act accordingly. - - There is a matter I would like to speak to you about. I realize, - Mr. Johns, that I do not possess the education which you - have. However, until your last letter I have always been able to - read the writing. - - I do not think it was necessary then, nor will be in the future, - to have your letters to me taken to the printers, and set up like - a hand bill. I will be able to read your writing and am deeply - chagrined to think you thought such a course necessary. - - -Another story, of somewhat similar flavor, was told by William K. Jenne -himself. On one occasion he planned to visit New York with his family -and sent a typewritten letter, making a reservation, to one of the -hotels. When he and his family reached the hotel, nothing was known of -his application. Finally he asked them particularly about his letter -and described the way it was written. The clerk then recalled such -a communication, but he supposed it was a printed circular and had -thrown it away. - -As a self-advertiser, the writing machine possessed some obvious -advantages. The only trouble with this "curiosity breeder" in its -early days was that it did not breed the kind of curiosity that -translated itself into real buyer interest. The most curious were -usually skeptical of the utility of the new machine. They objected to -the fact that it wrote capitals only, and they could not assimilate the -idea of paying $125 for a writing machine, when pens could be bought -for a penny. This price question recalls the case of one of the early -inventors, who might have won the honor of anticipating Sholes as the -creator of the first practical typewriter, had he not become obsessed -by one unfortunate idea. He believed that five dollars was about the -limit that anyone would or should pay for a writing implement, and in -the vain effort to produce such a machine he squandered a splendid -inventive talent. The point that he overlooked was the actual value -of the time and labor saved by the writing machine. The world today -understands this point perfectly, but when we find this simple truth -hidden even from an enthusiastic typewriter inventor, we must not -be surprised that it was very little understood in the seventies -of the last century. The marketers of the first typewriter soon -discovered that they had undertaken something more than the sale of -a new machine. Their real job was to sell a new idea, and to do this -was a slow and toilsome work of education. No wonder the typewriter -made such small and discouraging progress in its early years. - -This lack of public interest was painfully in evidence at the -great Centennial Exposition held at Philadelphia in 1876. Here the -typewriter made its initial bow to the public, and it was carefully -groomed for the occasion in a brand new court dress. The identical -machine exhibited at the Centennial is now another prized relic in -the Remington Historical Collection. It was a special machine, with -mother-of-pearl finish, on which had been lavished all the splendors -suggested by the decorative tastes of fifty years ago. But the public -was neither dazzled nor convinced. They came indeed to see it in fair -numbers. Curiosity there was in plenty, but it was curiosity mingled -with some ridicule and very little serious interest. Very few machines -were sold, and about the only revenue derived by the exhibitors was -from samples of typewriting sold as curios for a quarter apiece. - -The Centennial Exhibition will be forever memorable as the occasion -of the first public appearance of two of the greatest inventions of -modern times, the telephone and the typewriter. But how different -their receptions by the public! When Alexander Graham Bell made his -first public exhibition of his invention, an Emperor stood at his -side and the news of his achievement was heralded the world over in -cable dispatches and newspaper headlines. Few then realized that on -exhibit in the same building was another new invention, comparatively -unnoticed, which was destined to rival even the telephone in the -magnitude of its service to the world. - -We have mentioned some of the obstacles which made the early progress -of the typewriter so slow and difficult. Added to all these was -another, the task of furnishing the operator. It was not a case of -finding the operator, for in those days there were none to find. It -was another selling job, usually that of persuading someone to become -an operator and then, in most cases, of training that operator. Truly -the early typewriter salesman earned all that he made. - -This necessity of supplying the operator led to the growth of -another distinctive feature of the typewriter business, namely -the free employment departments for stenographers and typists, -maintained for the service of typewriter users. The yearly total -of stenographers placed in positions by these departments has grown -to enormous figures. More than one typewriter company today places -upwards of one hundred thousand typists per year in positions in the -United States alone. This development anticipates our story, but it -all had its beginning in the early days of the business. - -In these modern days, when commercial education has become a universal -institution, when the public, private and religious schools in the -United States alone, which teach shorthand and typewriting, number -thousands, when similar schools have made themselves indispensable -the world over, it is hard to realize that fifty years ago there -were none. The whole modern system of commercial education is a -creation of the writing machine. It is true that in America there -were some pioneers in this field, men like Eastman, Packard, Spencer, -Bryant and Stratton, whose schools antedated the typewriter. But the -so-called "business colleges" of fifty years ago were few in number -and, in the days before the typewriter, their scheme of instruction -was necessarily limited to bookkeeping and business practice, with -frequently an undue emphasis on fancy penmanship. Nevertheless these -schools did form the nucleus around which was ultimately built our -modern commercial school system, and it is this fact, as we shall -presently see, which has made the history of commercial education in -America so different from the same history in other countries. - -The relationship between the typewriter and the business school -was slow in its early development, and equally slow was the growth -of the general relationship between typewriting and shorthand. A -single sentence in the first typewriter catalogue is interesting on -this point. "Stenographers," it says, "can come to our office and -dictate to operators from their shorthand notes, and thus save the -labor of transcription." A very graceful invitation, but why not -suggest to shorthand writers or their employers that they buy their -own machines? We see in this sentence that the builders of the first -typewriter sensed the partnership that was coming between shorthand -and typewriting, but in those days the great union of the "twin arts" -was still in the future. - -When did it actually come? From the very beginning in many individual -cases, like Clephane's and Weller's and Wyckoff's. But as a feature -in commercial education, not until several years after the invention -of the writing machine. The first school which taught typewriting, -of which there is positive record, was opened by D. L. Scott-Browne -at 737 Broadway, New York, in 1878. From that time, however, the -development became rapid, and within a few years there were similar -schools in every large city in the country. From this time also begins -the real success of the typewriter in finding a market. As shorthand -writing, during the ages that preceded the writing machine, had only a -restricted field of usefulness, so the typewriter in its early years, -before it joined forces with shorthand, was confined to a very limited -sale. And then it made its partnership with stenography--the most -remarkable partnership in all business history. Of late years another -important invention, the office phonograph, has made its bid for a -share in this partnership, but the status of the writing machine, -as the senior partner, is impregnably established. - -Meanwhile the typewriter itself was about to undergo a great -development. It is hardly a coincidence that the first school to teach -typewriting and the first typewriter which won a wide popularity -both appeared in the same year, 1878. This machine was the Model 2 -Remington, the first typewriter which wrote both capitals and small -letters. This first shift-key model, like the Model 1 of 1874, was -the product of several master minds. Jenne, of course, had a big hand -in it; so also did other men who had labored with him on the first -model. The problem of printing both capitals and small letters, with -the standard keyboard arrangement, was solved by the combination of -the cylinder shifting device, invented by Lucien S. Crandall, with -type bars carrying two types, a capital and a small face of the same -letter, invented by Byron A. Brooks. The shift-key machine proved to -be a long step in advance, and the typewriter soon began to gain in -popular favor. - -Since the advent of the typewriter in 1874, one firm of selling -agents after another had been battling against heavy odds to find a -profitable market for the machine. Densmore and Yost were the first -selling agents, followed by Densmore, Yost & Company, General Agents -(the style assumed when Densmore personally withdrew from the selling -agency), and finally by Locke, Yost & Bates, a firm composed of -D. R. Locke (Petroleum V. Nasby), G. W. N. Yost, and J. H. Bates, -afterwards a successful advertising agent in New York. During all -of this time the load of debt on the enterprise grew greater and -greater, until the problem of getting back the amount that had been -sunk in manufacture and unsuccessful sales effort seemed well nigh -impossible of solution. Further changes were now made which eliminated -Yost entirely, and in July, 1878, the selling agency was entrusted -to the well-known house of Fairbanks & Company, the celebrated scale -makers. As the Fairbanks business was well organized, it was thought -that their facilities would largely increase sales. - -One of the first acts of Fairbanks & Company was to appoint -C. W. Seamans as manager of typewriter sales. With the appearance of -Seamans in the story begins the chain of events which finally led to -the commercial triumph of the writing machine. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -LAUNCHED ON THE COMMERCIAL WORLD - - -Clarence Walker Seamans was born in Ilion, and his first employment -was in assisting his father, who had charge of the gunsmithing -department of the Remington factory. This was in 1869, when he was -only fifteen years old, and he continued in this service through -the memorable years 1873 and 1874. In the following year, however, -a company of Ilion men of means bought a silver mine in Utah and -sent young Seamans to the mine to look after their interests. Here -he remained for the next three years. - -In 1878 we find Seamans again in Ilion, just at the time when -Fairbanks & Company had been intrusted with the selling agency for -the typewriter. They needed some one to look after this branch of the -business, and Yost recommended Seamans. Philo Remington thought him -too young, and was not favorably disposed to the selection. Henry -H. Benedict, however, strongly advised that Seamans be appointed, -and this was finally done. - -Seamans entered upon his new work with enthusiasm and enterprise. He -held his position with Fairbanks & Company for three years, and they -were years of tremendous struggle. Nevertheless some progress was -made, and in the year 1881, when E. Remington & Sons decided to take -over the selling agency, the efficient work already done by Seamans -resulted in his appointment as the sales head of their typewriter -business. Under this new arrangement progress became more pronounced, -but still the business was absurdly small, judged by present-day -standards. The actual sales in this year numbered 1200 machines. - -These results did not satisfy Seamans, who soon began to form broader -plans. He entered into negotiations with Mr. Henry H. Benedict and -Mr. W. O. Wyckoff of Ithaca, N. Y., a widely known and successful -court reporter, which resulted in the organization, on August 1, 1882, -of the historic firm of Wyckoff, Seamans & Benedict. The new firm -made a contract with the Remingtons, who conceded to them the selling -agency for the entire world. They agreed to take all the machines the -Remingtons could build, who on their part agreed to furnish all that -could be sold. This contract marked the turning point in the history -of the writing machine. - -The members of the firm of Wyckoff, Seamans & Benedict were the -real founders of the commercial success of the typewriter, and -the personalities of these three men are as interesting as their -achievements were notable. - -William Ozmun Wyckoff was a giant of a man, in mind, heart and body, -robust and whole-souled, whose dauntless courage and invincible faith -in the typewriter were reminiscent of Densmore. When the Remingtons -first began to manufacture the typewriter, he saw one of the new -machines, and his own profession of court reporter gave him an -instant vision of its future. He immediately secured the selling -agency for Central New York State and his first act was to place -the typewriter in service in his own offices in Ithaca. Here, at -the very outset, he encountered a situation which furnished a real -test of his faith. Every member of his staff rebelled against the -use of the new machines. But Wyckoff was equal to situations of that -sort. "Use it or quit," was his answer, and they used it. This was -all very well for a start, but it was quite different in the great -outside territory, where the possible buyers were not open to this -particular form of sales argument. One of the first to enter Wyckoff's -employ as typewriter salesman was J. Walter Earle, hardly more than -a boy then, who many years after became president of the Remington -Typewriter Company. The letters written by Wyckoff to Earle during -the late seventies, filled with sage advice and admonition, selling -suggestions and unfailing encouragement, supply a graphic picture of -all that the typewriter salesman of that day was "up against." They -also furnish an intimate and attractive picture of the man Wyckoff -himself, sketched unconsciously by his own hand. - -The characteristics of the two other members of the firm, Clarence -W. Seamans and Henry H. Benedict, have already revealed themselves in -this story. Seamans, like Yost, was a wonderful salesman. Better still, -he was a natural leader, with a gift for the successful handling of -marketing problems which proved of incalculable value in establishing -the business on a successful basis. Mr. Benedict likewise possessed -marketing abilities of a high order, which he later demonstrated by -his important work in organizing the typewriter business in Europe, -where the difficulties encountered were even greater than in the -American field. He possessed a habit of thoroughness, combined with -a foresight and soundness of business judgment which, time and again, -were of vital service to the firm. Taken all in all, these three men -represented a combination of qualities not often found in a business -partnership. - -The new firm possessed unbounded energy and enthusiasm but its material -resources were limited. Many discouragements were encountered, but -they overcame them all and the business increased steadily. The firm -started in a very limited fashion, occupying a corner of the Remington -concern's office at 281 Broadway, New York, the staff consisting of a -few clerks with two or three mechanics, perhaps numbering ten persons -in all. In 1884 the firm moved to its own offices at 339 Broadway. - -In the winter of 1885-1886, while the business was in the full tide -of success, a disquieting rumor reached the three partners that the -Remingtons were planning to sell their interest in the typewriter. It -had been known for years that the old house, owing mainly to wasteful -factory management, had been sinking deeper and deeper into debt, -and now it seemed that the crisis had come. Here was a situation -which imperiled the future of the whole enterprise, but a difficulty -is often a disguised opportunity, and so it proved to be in this case. - -Henry H. Benedict immediately took the train to Ilion and his -interview with Philo Remington in March, 1886, which resulted in -the transfer of the ownership of the typewriter, is another one of -the big moments in this story. Here is the account of what happened, -as told by Mr. Benedict himself. - -"I arrived in the morning and spent the fore-noon with Mr. Philo -Remington. I began by asking him if the rumor was true that they -were thinking of disposing of their typewriter interests. He said -it was true. I said, 'But why do you do this?' He replied, 'We need -money.' I said, 'May I ask for what purpose?' He replied, 'To pay our -debts.' 'But,' I said, 'you could not expect to get for the typewriter -enough to pay a tenth of your debts.' 'Well, perhaps not,' he said, -'but it would satisfy the more pressing of our creditors.' - -"'Mr. Remington,' I said, 'I was with you for thirteen years, and -served you to the best of my ability, and I was absolutely loyal -to you. I am going to be loyal now. My advice to you is not to sell -your typewriter. The amount of money you would get would not go far; -ninety per cent of your creditors would still be unpaid, and they -will be after you more savagely if you pay the claims of others and -leave theirs unsatisfied.' - -"He shook his head and said, 'Well, we think we had better sell.' 'Is -that your final decision?' I asked. He answered, 'Yes, I think -so.' I said, 'Have you a customer for your plant?' 'Well,' he said, -'there are some people talking about taking it.' 'Have you committed -yourself to them?' I asked. He replied, 'No, not absolutely.' 'You're -determined to sell, are you?' 'Yes!' - -"'Very well,' I said. 'I have given my advice. Now I want to buy -the plant.' - -"Then we began to talk business, and before night I telegraphed to -New York to send me a certified check for ten thousand dollars to -bind the bargain." - -Thus it was that the entire plant used in the manufacture of the -machine, together with all patent rights, franchises, etc., necessary -to a complete control of the business were purchased by Wyckoff, -Seamans & Benedict. The manufacturing plant was established in the -building formerly occupied by the Agricultural Works, and W. K. Jenne -was installed as mechanical superintendent. The typewriter enterprise -since that day has been entirely separate and distinct from the other -activities with which the name Remington is associated, and thus it -escaped the disasters which shortly after befell the old and honored -house of E. Remington & Sons. - -In 1888 the need for greater office facilities had become so urgent -that Wyckoff, Seamans & Benedict removed their New York office to 327 -Broadway, which remained their home office for nearly thirty years. At -first only one or two floors were occupied, then the entire building, -and finally the two additional buildings on either side. In 1892 the -original co-partnership was changed into a mercantile corporation which -included the manufacturing company, and in 1903 the corporate name was -changed to Remington Typewriter Company, of which Mr. Benedict became -the first president. Of the three members of the original firm, Wyckoff -died in 1895 and Seamans in 1915. Henry H. Benedict, the surviving -partner, has been from the beginning a director of the company, and -enjoys in this anniversary year a unique distinction as the only man -now living whose identification with the typewriter business has been -continuous throughout the entire fifty years of its history. - -The progress of the typewriter, once a real start had been made, -continued without serious interruption. The very conditions which -made early progress so slow and difficult now began to reverse -themselves. The machine, with widening opportunities, proved itself -more than ever a most efficient self-advertiser, and every typewriter -in actual service carried its own message of legibility and utility -to many thousands. - -In course of time typewriting became as familiar as pen writing in -business correspondence, and the superior speed of the machine soon -suggested new uses for which the pen had never been employed. The -typewritten circular letter came into being, the forerunner of -the various duplicating devices, and indeed of the whole system of -direct-by-mail advertising as we know it today. The United States -mail bags soon felt, in their bulkier contents, the impetus of the new -machine. General business also felt this impetus. Formerly lashed to a -pen point, it now became articulate, and as business creates business, -so the new forms of business activity, fostered by the typewriter, -opened new and wider opportunities for ever increasing sales. The -machine, which won its entry as a labor saver, soon intrenched itself -as a business builder, and general business, which was merely helped -by the machine at the outset, became completely transformed by it in -the end. - -This wonderful transition has come about so gradually that the business -world, though proudly aware of the fact itself, is only dimly conscious -of the part played by the great transforming factor. We call this -the age of big business, and so it is, but it is only necessary to -compare the average business office and business methods of today -with those of fifty years ago to realize the extent to which modern -business is an actual outcome of the writing machine. - -The story of the typewriter in Europe, and in foreign countries -generally, is very nearly a repetition of its history in the United -States. In every case we find the same early years of struggle and -in the end the same transforming influence on business and business -methods. The introductory struggle in America was hard enough, -but in the Old World there were some even greater obstacles to be -encountered. Here the writing machine was forced to make headway -against the more deliberate and leisurely habits of the people, and the -more deeply rooted conservatism of an older civilization. There were -also some graver practical difficulties, as we shall presently see. - -The systematic invasion of the European market began very soon after -the firm of Wyckoff, Seamans & Benedict took up their great selling -task, and it was mainly through the efforts of Mr. Benedict that the -foundations of the business were laid in the Old World countries. Prior -to this time E. Remington & Sons had made their own attack on the -British market, and their first British catalogue, published over the -imprint of their London address, 50-54 Queen Victoria Street, E. C., -contains an impressive list of press notices in British journals, -published at different times in 1876, also a list of patrons which -includes the King of the Netherlands, the Duke of Bedford, the Marquis -of Salisbury, Earl Granville and other notables of the period. There -is testimonial evidence in this old catalogue that machines were -sold in England as early as the year 1874, and similar early efforts -are traceable in other European countries. But this early selling -effort was not sustained, and it was more than ten years later -before any real impression was made on the European market. The -London office of Wyckoff, Seamans & Benedict was opened in 1886, -and by the year 1890 the machine had begun to occupy an important -place in the British commercial world. The successful introduction -of the machine in most of the Continental European countries belongs -to the same period. Offices were opened in Paris in 1884, and direct -representation was established in Belgium in 1888, Italy in 1889, -Holland in 1890, Denmark in 1893, and Greece in 1896. The German -market was entered in 1883, and the Russian, with a special machine -equipped to write the Russian characters, in 1885. From the very -outset of its career in Europe the typewriter has been used by -celebrities without number. Many of the crowned heads have been -included among its personal users. Lloyd George, many years ago, -while still an obscure and struggling attorney in Wales, owned and -operated a Model 2 Remington. Count Tolstoi, that earnest disciple -of the primitive life, to whom modern machinery in every form was -abhorrent, was glad to make an exception in its favor, and many of -his extant photographs show him in the act of giving direct dictation -to his daughter on the typewriter. Indeed it is not surprising to -find the writing machine thus intimately associated with the great, -for the very nature of its service, the conservation of brain effort, -places it in a far different class from any mere manual labor saver. - -One development of the typewriter business in nearly all foreign -countries is totally different from anything known in America. We -have already spoken of the modern system of commercial education as -the creation of the typewriter. In America, however, the typewriter -companies and commercial schools, though each is a necessity to the -other, have grown up as distinct and separate institutions. This may -be accounted for by the fact that the germ of our modern commercial -school system existed in a few of the so-called "business colleges" -before the days of the typewriter. In England also, before the advent -of the writing machine, we find a few schools teaching the recently -invented art of phonography, the latter-day development of the ancient -art of shorthand. In other foreign countries, however, there was not -even the germ of the commercial school as we know it today. - -If the task of getting operators during the early days of the -business was a difficult one in America, in other countries it -was formidable. It soon became evident that the problem could be -solved only in one way, by the founding of schools of shorthand and -typewriting, owned and operated by the typewriter company itself. This -was the origin of the Remington system of commercial schools, which -were established by the company or its selling representatives in -practically every country on earth, with the one conspicuous exception -of the United States. Even in Great Britain it was found necessary -to establish these schools at several points in order to insure a -sufficient supply of competent operators, and in the countries of -Continental Europe there was no other recourse. - -The Remington schools at Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, Petrograd and -many other cities throughout Europe were established soon after the -machine had invaded these markets. In other continents the business -met similar conditions and went through the same process. In Australia -the great Remington schools at Melbourne, Sydney and other cities -have graduated many thousands of operators; so also in South Africa, -and throughout the entire South American continent, where not only -the large centers but even many of the smaller cities now have their -Remington schools. In the Asiatic countries the problem of securing -competent stenographers and typists assumed another phase. Here the -stenographers and typists are all natives, Chinese, Japanese, Siamese, -Javanese, Hindu, etc., and they are all men, for this is one part -of the world where the modern girl typist has not yet arrived. In -the countries of the Far East, the Chinese predominate among the -practitioners of the "twin arts." It's a stiff job, that of acquiring -such mastery of a foreign language that the stenographer can take -and transcribe accurately the shorthand notes taken from dictation -in that language, but the Oriental peoples, with their remarkable -linguistic gifts, have proved equal to the task. - -The schools of shorthand and typewriting in the Eastern countries are -easily the most interesting in all the world, and it is noteworthy -that these schools maintain the highest standards of efficiency. The -Remington schools in various cities throughout India, which train the -Babu or educated native in the "twin arts," have been for many years -the main source of supply of the typists employed in all branches of -the Indian Government service. - -The founders of the typewriter business had little realization that -out of their efforts would come a new plan of practical education; -still less did they realize that over a great part of the earth's -surface the task of developing this plan would fall on the manufacturer -himself. In their broad effect on human society, the by-products of -the typewriter business, in more than one phase, have been quite as -important as the main idea. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -HIGH SPOTS IN TYPEWRITER PROGRESS - - -We have noted the fundamental features contained in the original -typewriter of 1873. It had the step-by-step escapement mechanism which -caused the letter-spacing travel of the paper carriage. It had type -bars on which type were mounted which printed at a common center. It -fed the paper around a cylinder on the paper carriage. It was equipped -with a line spacing and carriage return mechanism. It printed through -a ribbon, which traveled across the printing point with the movement -of the carnage. It had the standard number of printing keys, placed -in four rows, and the characters on these keys, and the corresponding -type bars, followed the arrangement now known as "universal." To -these fundamental features the Model 2 Remington of 1878 added the -shift-key mechanism, with two type mounted on a single bar. - -Every one of the features above described is standard in all -the leading writing machines of the present day. It must not be -supposed, however, that the reign of each and all of these basic -features has been undisputed throughout the entire fifty years of -typewriter history. In time other typewriters appeared on the market, -which represented radical departures from one or another of these -principles. Some of these machines proved practical in actual service -and won a considerable popularity, and some of them are manufactured -and sold today. A review of typewriter history would not be complete -which failed to take note of these departures from the type of -construction generally known as "standard." - -One of the earliest issues in the typewriter field concerned -the relative merits of the type-bar principle versus the type -wheel. Mention of the type wheel brings us back to John Pratt's -Pterotype and the article concerning it in the Scientific American of -July 6, 1867, which is said to have suggested the idea of a typewriter -to Sholes and his colleagues. Pratt is said to have actually built and -sold some of these machines in England, but they were not a success, -and he for a time despaired of being able to construct a machine on -which the printing wheel would move quickly and yet stop instantly. He -worked over the problem for years, and when, at last he approached the -United States Patent Office he found himself in interference with two -other inventors, James B. Hammond and Lucien S. Crandall, both of whom -appeared with writing machines built on the type-wheel principle. A -deadlock ensued which was finally settled by Pratt yielding precedence -to Hammond upon a type-wheel machine and receiving a royalty, while -Crandall proceeded with his application for a patent on a type-sleeve -instrument. The first Hammond patents were taken out in 1880, and the -machine was placed on the market shortly thereafter. The early Hammond -had what was called the "ideal" keyboard, semi-circular in shape, but -later Hammonds have conformed to the "universal" keyboard arrangement. - -The Hammond was the first practical type-wheel machine and is today the -leading machine of this class. The type-wheel construction has always -had strong advocates, but these machines have never been very serious -competitors of the type-bar machines in the general commercial field. - -Soon after the advent of the Hammond, another important typewriter -issue arose--that of single versus double keyboard. The first -double-keyboard machine was the Caligraph, placed on the market in -1883, an enterprise upon which Yost entered after it became evident -that he could no longer retain his interest in the Remington. The -Caligraph was devised under the direction of Yost, principally by -a skilled German mechanic named Franz X. Wagner, who afterwards won -prominence as the inventor of the Underwood Typewriter. Yost's aim was -to construct a typewriter which would evade the Remington patents, but, -failing in this, he was subsequently granted a license. In after years -the Smith Premier became the leading double-keyboard machine. This -machine, the invention of Alexander T. Brown, was placed on the market -in 1890 by Lyman C. Smith, the gun manufacturer of Syracuse, and during -the next few years attained a wide popularity. It was urged in behalf -of the double-keyboard machine that the key for every character made -its operation easier and simpler for the beginner. The construction, -however, was more complicated, because it doubled the number of type -bars and connecting parts, and there was a further disadvantage in -the enlarged keyboard, which time made evident. The double keyboard -would probably have yielded to the shift key sooner or later, but -it was the advent of the touch method of typewriting which really -settled the matter. For use in connection with the touch system, -the compact keyboard of the shift-key machine proved so obvious an -advantage that the double keyboard lost ground rapidly and machines -with this keyboard began in time to disappear from the market. The -present Smith Premier Typewriter, invented by Jacob Felbel, is a -shift-key machine of standard design. - -Another early issue in typewriter construction concerned the relative -merits of the ribbon and the inking pad. This brings us to the last -enterprise of G. W. N. Yost, which he undertook after severing his -connection with the Caligraph. In 1888 Yost brought out the machine, -developed by Alexander Davidson, Andrew W. Steiger and Jacob Felbel, -that ever since has borne his name. The most notable departure of -the Yost Typewriter from the standard design was the elimination of -the ribbon and the use instead of an inking pad, on which the face -of the type rested. The first Yost was a double-keyboard machine, -but later models embody the shift-key principle. Of late years this -type of machine has been hardly known on the American market, although -it has always enjoyed a considerable sale in Europe. - -The inking pad, as a substitute for the ribbon, found many advocates -at one time because of one serious deficiency in the early ribbon -machines. The automatic ribbon reverse is an old story now, and -present-day typewriter users take it as a matter of course. Many of -them may be surprised to hear that the typewriter was twenty-two -years old before the first automatic ribbon reverse appeared on a -writing machine. Some of the older generation of typists, however, -can still remember the time when it was always necessary to operate -the machine with one eye on the ribbon, in order to be sure to reverse -it at the right time, or else suffer the consequences in a "chewed-up" -ribbon and spoiled work. During the early nineties Jenne labored hard -on the problem of an automatic ribbon reverse, the solution of which -called for inventive skill of a high order. After several experimental -devices had been designed, all of which were far too complicated, a -simple solution was found by George B. Webb, and the first automatic -ribbon reverse made its appearance on the Remington in 1896. Within -a few years the old hand reverse became practically obsolete on all -standard machines. - -In the meantime a new demand had been steadily growing, which was -destined to influence quite radically the future course of typewriter -development. All of the earlier type-bar machines were built on what -is known as the understroke principle. The type bars were arranged in -a circular "basket," underneath the carriage, and the type printed at -a common point on the under side of the cylinder. These machines were -satisfactory in speed and quality of work, but they had one practical -defect--it was necessary for the operator to raise the carriage in -order to see the writing line. The advantages of visible writing -were so obvious that the problem began at an early date to engage the -attention of typewriter inventors. On the type-wheel machines, visible -writing was easily attained, but on the type-bar machines it called for -real inventive effort. The first type-bar visible writer, the Horton, -appeared as early as the year 1883. Most of the early type-bar visible -writers were of the down-stroke type, the type bars striking downward -to a common point on the top of the cylinder. Prominent among machines -of this construction were the Columbia Bar-Lock (1888), the Williams -(1890) and the Oliver (1894). The latter machine, in particular, -secured and has since held a considerable market. Later on the -front-stroke principle of construction took the lead in the general -business field. The first front-stroke machine to attain prominence -was the Underwood. This machine was the invention of Franz X. Wagner, -whose earlier connection with the Caligraph we have already noted, -and was placed on the market in 1897 by John T. Underwood, who had -long been identified with the writing-machine industry as one of the -pioneer manufacturers of typewriter ribbons and carbon papers. The -design of the front-stroke machines represented a new departure in -the arrangement of the type bars, which were placed in a segment -in front of the carriage, the type printing on the front of the -cylinder. This front-stroke principle proved to be a satisfactory -solution of the problem of visible writing, and all of the leading -standard machines are now of the front-stroke type. Prominent among -these machines today are the Underwood, the front-stroke Remington, -which was largely the work of Oscar Woodward, followed by later -improvements; the "L. C. Smith," brought out by Lyman C. Smith, the -original manufacturer of the Smith Premier, and the Royal, followed -some years after its first appearance by a new model. - -Visible writing is an old story today, the last non-visible machines -having disappeared from the market many years ago. Doubtless, when this -problem had been solved, it seemed to some as though the typewriter -had attained finality. But there is nothing final on this earth, and -a new demand has been growing of recent years until it has become as -strong and insistent as the demand for visible writing of twenty years -ago. The familiar "clicking" noise of the typewriter has been with us -as long as the machine itself, and in the early days people did not -seem to mind it. But when the use of the typewriter had grown until -whole batteries of them had invaded every department of business, -the accumulated noise became a disturbance, and users began to wish -that the machine would imitate, if it could, the one and only virtue -admittedly possessed by the pen--that of silence. The development of -quiet typewriting brings us to the present-day stage of typewriter -progress, which hardly belongs to this story. It is sufficient to say -that the writing machine, which has always been equal to any demand -made upon it, has run true to form in this case. During recent years -one typewriter has appeared, the Noiseless, built around this central -idea, also quiet models of at least three of the standard makes. - -It seems a far cry from the first typewriter of 1873 to the shift-key, -front-stroke, visible-writing, quiet machine of 1923. Equally -great has been the progress in the skill of the operator, from the -first would-be typists who awkwardly tried their hands on the early -machines, to the standards attained by the best typists of the present -day. The progress of the operator, however, has not been marked by -the same slow, successive stages. It has been the outcome of one -great development--the introduction of the scientific method of key -fingering known as touch typewriting. - -We have referred more than once to the article in the Scientific -American of July 6, 1867, which started so many brain cells working -to such good purpose. One more quotation from this article, which -has a special application to the operator, is now in order: - - - "The weary process of learning penmanship in the schools will be - reduced to the acquirement of writing one's own signature and - playing on the literary piano." - - -Note the words "playing on the literary piano." They were suggested -spontaneously in connection with the idea; they were an unconscious -prophecy which time has fulfilled. To operate the machine with the -eyes resting not on the keys but on the copy, as the eyes of the -pianist rest on the music, to use all the fingers, to regulate the -touch so that the best results are obtained, thus gaining time in the -execution and excellence in the work; these are the ends secured by -the touch system, a method now taught universally in business schools. - -"Who was the first touch typist?" is a question now frequently -asked. The answer is, the first blind typist, whoever that person -was. We have recorded how the needs of the blind figured in the efforts -of so many of the early typewriter inventors. Pen writing is almost -an impossibility for blind people. A frame of parallel wires fitted -over the writing paper, with one wire for each line of writing, is -of some help to the blind in pen writing, but if they lose the line -they cannot find it again, and it is the same with words and spaces -between words. The human hand has no automatic spacing mechanism, like -the typewriter, and that is what the blind person needs. But where -sight is lacking there is only one possible method of operation--by -touch. The touch method was a discovery of the blind, and a gift by -them to all the typists of the world. - -It took time, however, for this idea to become diffused among schools -and operators generally, and during the early years of the typewriter -the style of typing now known derisively as "peck and hunt" was -universal among sighted operators. Here was a paradox, where the gift -of sight caused blindness and only the blind could see what was hidden -from everybody else. In a few years, however, the art of touch typing -was acquired by a few sighted typists of exceptional skill. The first -of whom there is record was Frank E. McGurrin, who taught himself the -art on a Model 1 Remington in 1878, while a clerk in a law office in -Grand Rapids, Mich., and afterwards became the champion speed operator -of his time. The exhibitions given by McGurrin in different cities of -the country during the eighties were of the very highest educational -importance. The most notable of these was the contest between McGurrin -and Traub; decided at Cincinnati on July 25, 1888. - -The modern typewriting contests are interesting mainly as -demonstrations of the utmost capacity of the operator, but the -contest between McGurrin and Traub had a far deeper significance. It -was really a contest between two different systems of typing--the -new and the old. Louis Traub was an instructor in typewriting and -agent and expert operator of the leading double-keyboard machine of -that day. Both in the keyboard used and the method used, he stood -in opposition to McGurrin. The conditions called for forty-five -minutes writing from dictation, and forty-five from copy, unfamiliar -matter being used. McGurrin won decisively on both tests, but the -significant fact was that his speed increased three words per minute -when writing from copy, while Traub's speed fell off twelve words per -minute on the same test. The reason is obvious. McGurrin's eyes were -always on the copy, while Traub was compelled to write an "eyeful" -at a time. Traub was open to conviction and accepted the logic of -the result without reserve. He subsequently became an expert touch -operator of the shift-key machine. - -The exhibitions of McGurrin and other self-taught touch typists of -this early period served a useful purpose in demonstrating that the -idea was feasible, but to make it practical for all typists was the -task of the educator. The first business school to begin systematic -instruction to pupils by the touch method, or the all-finger method as -it was then called, was Longley's Shorthand and Typewriter Institute of -Cincinnati. The credit for the introduction of this system belongs to -Mrs. M. V. Longley, wife of Elias Longley, whose name is well known to -the shorthand fraternity of America through his prominent association -with the development of phonography. This was in 1881. In the following -year her "Remington Typewriter Lessons" were published, the first -printed system for teaching the all-finger method. The advertisement -describes the system as "a series of lessons and exercises--by a -system of fingering entirely different from that of other authors -and teachers"; a very conservative statement considering the radical -departure it represented from the prevailing usage of the day. - -The first typewriter man to interest himself in the system was -H. V. Rowell, for many years manager of the Remington office at -Boston, who is still living at an advanced age. It was a paper read by -Mrs. Longley before the First Annual Congress of Shorthand Writers, -held at Cincinnati in 1882, that gave Rowell his first inspiration -on the subject, and from that time he became an ardent and constant -advocate of the touch system. The first business educator who took up -this method at Rowell's suggestion was W. E. Hickox who introduced -it in his private shorthand school at Portland, Me. Hickox, who -began to teach touch typing in 1882, was the second educator in -America and the first in the East to adopt this method, but it was -some years before he had any imitators. Rowell, however, continued -ceaseless in his efforts, and in 1889 he interested B. J. Griffin of -the Springfield Business School, Springfield, Mass. Griffin became -a touch typewriting enthusiast. He introduced it in his school to -the exclusion of all other methods, and the remarkable typing skill -of some of his graduates soon produced a deep impression on other -business educators. In the same year, 1889, Bates Torrey of Portland, -Me., published "A Manual of Practical Typewriting." The word "touch" -seems such a natural one as applied to this method that it would seem -almost futile to search for its originator, but, as a matter of fact, -Bates Torrey was the first one to use it in a printed manual. We -also note in this book a great advance in the point of view over -Mrs. Longley's "Typewriter Lessons." Mrs. Longley's method was a -genuine touch system in its results, but not in its main purpose, -which was avowedly to secure an improved method of fingering. Seven -years later the all-finger method had become simply a means to an -end--the ability to write by touch. - -The developments of the year 1889 set the ball rolling, and during the -next few years many new "touch" manuals appeared and one school after -another took it up until the touch method was firmly established in -the East. The growth of the system in the West was due mainly to the -efforts of another typewriter man, O. P. Judd, for many years manager -of the Remington office in Omaha. Judd, writing in 1897, says that -"Omaha has become the storm center of the commotion over the touch -method of typewriting." Two educators of that city, Van Sant and -Mosher, urged on by Judd, entered into a friendly competition, and -the rival exhibitions given by their splendidly trained pupils soon -spread the method far and wide. - -Early in the year 1901 the Remingtons made a complete canvass of the -schools of America to ascertain definitely the extent to which the -touch system was then in use. It was found that half of the schools -of the country had already begun instruction by the touch method -and, of the remainder, the great majority announced their intention -of doing so with the beginning of the fall term. Very soon after, -the old "peck and hunt" plan of teaching had disappeared entirely -from the schools, and the old style operators have become fewer -and fewer with each passing year until one of them in a present-day -business office is almost a curiosity. The seeming impossibility of -thirty-five years ago, when people watched McGurrin and wondered, -has become the universal commonplace of today. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -WIDENING THE FIELD - - -The developments we have been considering cover only one phase of -typewriter progress. The advent of the shift-key typewriter, of the -automatic ribbon reverse, of visible writing, of the touch system, and -finally of the quiet typewriter, have all been important advances in -efficiency, or convenience, or general satisfaction in the performance -of the older and more familiar typing tasks. Those improvements, -however, the aim of which was to extend the actual scope and range -of the writing machine belong, in the main, to a different chain of -typewriter development. - -During the first twenty-five years of its history, the time-saving -service of the typewriter was confined almost entirely to straight, -line-by-line writing, with its practical applications, such as letter -writing, manuscript writing, and the like. So long as these fields -remained unconquered there was little incentive or opportunity to -think of anything else. Thus the great fields of form, tabular and -statistical writing remained for many years beyond the reach of the -writing machine. The reason, of course, from the mechanical standpoint, -lay in the lack of any mechanism for the instantaneous setting of -the carriage at any desired writing point. Whenever the nature of the -work required these carriage settings with great frequency, the slow -method of hand setting consumed all the time that could be saved in -the actual typing. However, as time went on, the opportunities for -time saving in these special forms of writing became more and more -evident. "If we have typewritten letters, why not typewritten bills -and statements and vouchers and statistical forms of every kind? Why, -in fact, use the pen at all except for signatures?" These questions -were asked with greater and greater frequency. And in due time the -typewriter builders gave the answer. The first decimal tabulator, -known originally as the Gorin Tabulator, from the name of its inventor, -appeared in 1898 as an attachment of the Remington Typewriter. - -There is a special interest in the date of this invention, for it -marks exactly the half-way point in the fifty years of typewriter -history. The second quarter century of this period, which begins with -the advent of the decimal tabulator, has seen the typewriter extend -its range to every form of writing or combined writing and adding -formerly done by the pen. - -The Gorin Tabulator was exactly what its name implies--a decimal -tabulator. It wrote columns of figures--anywhere on the page and -as many as the page would hold--with the same speed as ordinary, -line-by-line writing. The decimal tabulator brought the carriage -instantly to the exact point in every column where the next line -of writing began, whether units, tens, hundreds or millions, as -illustrated in the following example: - - - 340721 5 3 721 55 - 856 29 8 06 - 7382 767 952 77 - 94006 9 763 85 - 73 86 573 95 00 - 2099 142 345 48 050 66 - 9282384650 4 356 758 1 396 722 00 - 5857205 67 954 678 500 800 00 - - -With the appearance of the first tabulator, the typewriter began -to invade new fields which hitherto had been entirely beyond its -reach. In some of the Old World countries the decimal tabulator -actually took the lead in blazing a path for the writing machine. In -these countries there survived for many years a certain prejudice -against the typewritten letter, but this prejudice did not extend to -form and tabular work, and the first machines purchased by countless -business houses in England, France, Italy and elsewhere were tabulating -typewriters. This seems like a reversal of the natural order, but -the final result was the same. The typewriter, once introduced, -soon came into use for every kind of writing. - -The decimal tabulator is a notable example of how one idea leads -to another. During the years immediately preceding its appearance -there had been happenings in other branches of the office appliance -field. The idea of clerical labor saving, embodied in the first -typewriter, had given birth to a varied industry, and among other new -inventions, had produced the adding machine. The first adding machines, -however, carried no printing mechanism, and so long as typewriters -were also lacking in a tabulating mechanism, the fields of the two -machines lay entirely apart. In the early nineties, however, the -Burroughs machine, which listed figures in a column as added, began -to find a market. Soon after came the first tabulating typewriter, -and it was soon recognized that each of these machines represented a -partial approach to the field of the other. The question then arose: -"Since the typewriter now writes figures in columns, why not build one -that will add these columns as written? In other words, why not build -an adding typewriter?" In due time the adding typewriter came, to be -followed later by the typewriter-accounting or bookkeeping machine. - -Prominent among machines of this type are the Elliott-Fisher, which -has a flat writing bed or platen, the Remington, which introduced -the feature of automatic subtraction, and the Underwood, which is -electrically operated. The earlier adding typewriters added in vertical -columns only, but soon a cross-adding mechanism was added, and the two -acts of vertical and cross computation are performed in one operation. - -The accounting machine completed the application of the typewriter -to every form of business writing, including combined writing and -adding. In the latter field the advantages it offers are those of -the typewriter intensified. The combination of two tasks--writing -and adding--in one, eliminates the separate adding and the separate -adding cost. A further advantage is the error-proofing of every task, -the machine furnishing its own checks against possible mistakes by -the operator. To the business man these advantages are decisive. The -typewritten bill is now about as universal as the typewritten letter, -so also is the typewritten statement, and the old-fashioned bound and -pen-written ledgers are fast giving place to the modern card ledger, -kept on the bookkeeping machine. The same applies to every conceivable -kind of combined typing and adding in every line of business. The -pen has not entirely disappeared from these fields as yet, but it is -going, and its final departure is as clearly indicated as anything -in the book of fate. - -While the typewriter has been completing its conquest of the entire -field of business writing, there has been another development at -what we may call the opposite end of the scale. The machine is now -demonstrating its time-saving utility not alone for business writing -but for all writing. The use of the machine for every kind of personal -writing was clearly forecast by its original builders, as the first -typewriter catalogue plainly proves. Indeed this was clearer to them -than the general business uses. Many years were to elapse, however, -before the employment of the typewriter became general outside of the -business field, and then it came about through the development of a -new type of machine, especially designed for the owner's personal -use. The portable typewriter, small, light, compact, convenient, -and easy to carry anywhere in its traveling case, proved to be the -type of machine desired by the personal user. The earliest of the -portables was the small Blickensderfer, a type-wheel machine. The -first type-bar portable machine to attract wide notice was the Corona, -which dates from the year 1912. Today there are a number of these -machines, including the portable Remington, Underwood, Hammond, -Gourland and others, two of these, the Remington and Gourland, with -keyboards like those on the big machines. The rapid progress of the -portable in its own field points clearly to the time when the use of -the typewriter for every kind of writing will be nearly universal. - -The accounting machine and the portable, different as they are in -nearly every way, have one point in common. Both have contributed to -what we may call the intensive use of the writing machine. One other -development, which concerns its extensive use, will close the list. - -We have already spoken of the world-wide use of the writing -machine. This is not a mere figure of speech; it is a literal statement -of fact. There is no article of commerce in the world more universal in -its distribution. Everywhere on earth today, where man is found with -the ability to read and write, there will be found the omnipresent -typewriter. - -It is hard for the imagination to visualize this universal fact. A -map of the world does not help much. Perhaps a photograph gallery of -all the types of people of all the nations that follow typing as a -profession would convey a better idea. But fortunately a still better -method of visualization is at our command. Some years ago a linguistic -genius conceived the idea of collecting typewritten translations of the -motto "To save time is to lengthen life," in all the languages of the -world. The collection, which had grown when published to eighty-four -languages, is here presented. Truly a remarkable evidence of the -way in which a writing machine produced in the village of Ilion has -conquered the world. - -Some may ask, "what language is Quoc-Ngu?" Quoc-Ngu is a Romanized -version of a Chinese dialect, spoken in Anam, a division of French -Indo-China. If the language is as strange as its name it must be a -"tongue twister," and our typewritten sample shows that it is as -strange--just about. Nevertheless a considerable number of typewriters -are used today for writing Quoc-Ngu. - -The purely Celtic languages form an interesting group. They are -represented by five examples, Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, Breton and -Manx. The typewritten sample shows the Romanized writing of the Irish -or Erse language. Typewriters have also been sold to write Erse in the -original character, the type having been specially cut for the purpose. - -Six of the Philippine languages are represented, Tagalog, Pampango, -Ilocano, Visayan, Bicol and Pangasinan. Here, indeed, is striking -evidence of the heterogeneous population of these new American -possessions. Equally notable is the South African group in which five -languages are represented, Sizulu, Sesotho, Sixosa, Setshangaan and -Taal. Of these the first four are native Kafir dialects. Hollandsch -or Dutch was in the old days of the Transvaal Republic the official -language. Taal is the every-day language of the South African -Dutchman, and is a conglomeration, principally of Hollandsch, with -some English. English-speaking people who have never been in South -Africa may be curious to know what mixed Dutch and English sounds -like. The typewritten sample, however, can only show how it looks. - - - "TO SAVE TIME IS TO LENGTHEN LIFE" - - Typewritten in 84 Languages - - [Transcriber's note: non-Latin scripts have been omitted.] - -English-- To save time is to lengthen life. -French-- Gagner du temps, c'est prolonger la vie. -Portuguese-- Economisar tempo é alargar a vida. -Hungarian-- Takarékoskodj az idövel, meghosszabitod az életed. -Polish-- Kto czas oszczodza--przedluza sobie zycie. -Basque-- Demboraren irabaztia, biciaren luçatzia da. -Catalan-- Economizar tèmps es allargar la vida. -Provençal-- Temps gagna fa longo vido. -Breton-- Hastenn ar vuez ho c'honi amzer. -Irish-- Is Ionann Am-Coigilt agus Seagal-buanad. -Gaelic-- Faid saoghail is seadh do re chuir a b-feidhm. -Welsh-- Mae arbed amser yn estyn oes. -Manx-- Dy hauail traa te jannoo bea ny sleurey. -Flemish-- Tijd besparen is leven verlengen. -Frisian-- Tüd besparje is libjen verlenge. -Icelandic-- Að spara tíma er að lengja lifið. -Bohemian-- Úspora casu jest prodlouzenim zivota. -Roumanian-- A economisi timp este a prelungi viata. -Slovenian-- Varcevanje s casom, je daljsanje zivljenja. -Slovak-- Usporuvat cas je prodluhit zivota. -Esthonian-- Jôudsam tôô on elu pidkendus. -Lettish-- Laiku taupot--pagarina dzivibu. -Lithuanian-- Uzcedyjimas laiko ilgina amzo. -Croatian-- Tko vrijeme stedi, taj produzuje zivot. -Spaniolish-- Economia di tiempu, alarga la vida. -German-- Zeit sparen heisst das Leben verlängern. -Italian-- Risparmiando tempo prolungate la vita. -Latin-- Parcere tempori vitara longiorem facit. -Swedish-- Att vinna tid är att förlänga lifvet. -Danish-- At spare Tid er at forlænge Livet. -Norwegian-- At spare tid er at forlænge livet. -Finnish-- Aikaa voittaessa, elämä pidentyy. -Maltese-- Min jahdem fis, itaughal haghtu. -Albanian-- Kur ngi bier mot ron shum. -Romanch-- Spargner temp ais prolunger la vita. -Ido-- Sparar tempo esas longigar la vivo. -Esperanto-- Spari tempon estas plilongigi la vivon. -Sioux-- Wicoran yuptecana kin he wiconi yuhanske. -Winnebago-- Wo shkännä lä kä lä ki ci gi shi, wankshik ho i - nä ni gi sa letch nä nä. -Aztec-- Aquin àmo quixpoloa in cahuitl quihuellaquilia - inemiliz. -Maya-- Ká taquick tiempo cu chokuactal á kimil. -Ilocano-- Ti pinagtiped iti añget paatidduguen ni biag. -Visayan-- Magdaginot sa adlao, kay mao ang hataas ñga - kinabuhi. -Bicol-- Pag-imotan ang panahon pagpa-láwig nin buhay. -Pampango-- Ing pamagarimuhan king panaun makakaba king bie. -Pangasinan-- Say panagteper ed maong sa panahon so macasuldon - ed pan bilay. -Tagalog-- Ang pag-aarimuhán sa panahón ay nakapagpapahaba - ñg buhay. -Sizulu-- Lowo o gcina isikati sake u yena o nesikati eside - ukusandisa emhlabeni. -Sesotho-- Ea sa senyeng linako tsa hae ke eena ea phelang - halelele lefatseng. -Sixosa-- Ongaciti ixesha lake nguyena o nexesha elide - ukulandisa emhlabeni. -Setshangaan-- A lavisaka shikati utomi wa yena u tayengeteleka - muhlabeni. -Spanish-- Economizar tiempo es alargar la vida. -Dutch-- Tyd uitwinnen is zyn leven verlengen. -Taal-- Tijd te spaar maakt gebruik langer. -Quoc-Ngu-- Loi ngày gio, bang song lâu nam. -Hawaiian-- Malama pono anamika manawa, He mea ia e hooloihi - aku ai ike ola. -Maori-- E poto taima e ora roa. -Romanized-Malay-- Me-niampumakan waktu itu me-nambahi panjang umor. -Eskimo-- Uvdlunik aungnertusârinek inûtnertunarpok. -Hova-- Tsy mandany andro foana no manalava ny aina. - - -The languages of the American Indian are represented by only three -examples, Sioux, Winnebago and Aztec. "To save time is to lengthen -life" takes nineteen words to say in Winnebago. Evidently the moral -of this motto was never applied very seriously by the Winnebago -Indians. If it took them as long as that to say everything, it is -perhaps no wonder that the Winnebagos are nearly all dead. - -Many other languages in this extensive list are worth lingering over, -but we must pass on to the most interesting feature of the collection, -namely those languages that are written in non-Roman characters. In -the languages we have thus far considered, the mechanical problem, from -the typewriter standpoint, was an easy one. Where special accents are -required, they are easily supplied by the simple expedient of using -"dead," i.e., non-spacing keys. The adaptation of the typewriter, -however, to write the non-Roman languages was in some instances a -very difficult mechanical problem. There are twenty-four languages -in this list, written in no less than eight different characters, -Russian, Hebrew, Greek, Armenian, Burmese, Hindi, Arabic and Japanese -(Katakana). - -The Russian group includes four languages, Russian, Servian, Ruthenian -and Bulgarian. The character in which these languages are written is -known as Cyrilian, an invention of St. Cyril in the ninth century, -and is based on the Greek character, to which its resemblance will -be noted. The languages written today in the Greek and Cyrilian -characters correspond almost exactly to the present limits of the -Orthodox Greek Church. - -The use of the Arabic character also corresponds very nearly to -the geographical limits of the Mohammedan religion. Seven languages -written in this character are represented, Arabic, Turkish, Persian, -Sart, Urdu, Malay and Tartar. Of all the languages now written on -the typewriter, the Arabic group presented the gravest mechanical -difficulties. The Arabic character, as written, is not subject to -any of the usual rules. It has in its complete alphabet over one -hundred individual characters; it writes backwards, i.e., from -right to left; the characters are written on the line, above the -line and below the line, and they are of various widths, requiring -full spacing, half spacing and no spacing at all. Here indeed was -a medley of problems well calculated to tax ingenuity to the limit, -and the Arabic typewriter is a crowning triumph of mechanical skill. - -The Hindu group shows the ancient Sanscrit and four modern Hindu -vernacular languages written in the same character, which is known as -Devanagari. These vernacular languages are Hindi, Marawari, Magadhi, -and Marathi. The Hindu vernacular machines, especially the Marathi, -are having a considerable sale today among the native princes and -potentates of British India. - -The Japanese (Katakana) sample is interesting mainly as a curiosity. It -does not write the complete Japanese language--only the syllabic system -known as Katakana. This is read from right to left in perpendicular -columns. In order to write this character on the horizontal lines -of the typewriter, the type are laid on their faces and, in reading, -the lines are held in perpendicular position. - -After reviewing this formidable list of eighty-four languages, -the question naturally arises, "Are there any written languages -that it does not include?" Yes, there are, and this collection of -typewritten samples has steadily grown until it now includes more than -150 languages, while the number of different non-Roman characters now -written on the typewriter has increased from eight to twenty. There -are two important languages, however, which still lie outside the -pale of the writing machine. These are the ideographic languages, -Chinese and Japanese. - -The ancient Japanese language was originally phonetic, but the syllabic -signs are now commonly intermixed with ideographic characters of -Chinese origin. - -Chinese is a strange language. It has no alphabet or phonetic -signs--only ideographs. These ideographs are literally word pictures, -and there is a separate picture for every word. There are from 40,000 -to 50,000 of these ideographs, and to write each one at a single stroke -would require a typewriter with many thousands of keys. Can the problem -ever be solved of writing this language on a practical typewriter? Some -inventors claim they have already solved it. It seems hard to credit, -but the typewriter developments of the past and present warn us not -to call anything impossible that is demanded of the writing machine. - -Meanwhile the Chinese and Japanese buy typewriters--thousands of them; -not to write their own languages, of course, but other languages, -usually English. And they are coming to use these machines, not alone -for foreign correspondence, but for business correspondence among -themselves. The time saving service of the typewriter is so great that -they find it "worth another language." And this brings us to what many -will regard as the most interesting of all the achievements of the -typewriter. The steady growth of English as the commercial language -of the Far East is a well known fact, and of all the influences that -have caused this growth, one of the most important is the writing -machine. Thus it may be said for the typewriter that it has not only -facilitated the use of language but it has been no mean influence in -determining the spread of language itself. - -What is to be the future of this remarkable mechanism, which in -fifty years has transformed the whole world of business, and has -wrought such fundamental changes in our modern social order? As we -pass the fiftieth milestone of typewriter history, it is natural, -not only to review the past, but to think of all that time may hold -in store. That the future of the typewriter will be wonderful, more -wonderful than anything we have yet known, is certain, but what new -forms it may assume is for no man to say, for the futility of such -speculations has been demonstrated by all human experience. - -On the mechanical side such forecasts are obviously impossible. The -most farseeing typewriter man of today knows that the mechanical -progress of the next fifty years is a sealed book to him--even as the -history we have just recorded was a sealed book to the pioneers of -1873. Even on the side of its application to human needs, it is hard to -forecast the future progress of a machine, the use of which is already -so nearly universal. We know, however, that this fact does not impose -any limits on future development. Even if the reign of the typewriter -today were complete and absolute, and the pen had become as obsolete -as the stylus, there would still be new worlds for the writing machine -to conquer. The need which first called the typewriter into being, -the problem of clerical time and labor saving, is always with us; it -changes its form, but never its essence. The enormous time-saving the -machine has already achieved is only the promise of more time-saving, -and when every writing task has been annexed by the typewriter, it -will be more than ever its mission to perform these tasks with ever -increasing efficiency, increasing accuracy, and increasing speed. - -Only in one phase do the new developments of the present give a -clear indication of what the future has in store. The rapid growth -in the personal and home use of the typewriter, following the advent -of the portable machines, is revealing to many thousands a quality -of the machine, long known but never before aggressively exploited, -namely, its incomparable value as an educational implement. We do -not mean commercial education, for in this field the typewriter -established its reign many years ago. We mean the education of the -child in reading, writing, spelling, and, as he grows older, in all -the fundamentals of language composition. There are two reasons for -this value. One is the delight of the child in the machine itself, -the use of which provides a vehicle for his creative instinct. The -other is the perfection of form in the typed words and sentences, -which present attainable standards to the child from the very outset -of his efforts. The extraordinary results obtained by the typewriter -in this field are attested by educators and by parents without number, -and the progress of such recent "wonder children" as Winifred Stoner -and Willmore Kendall is directly attributed to their early and -continuous use of the writing machine. - -It is interesting to know that, among the founders of the business, -that man of vision, William O. Wyckoff, foresaw these results, and -his letters to Earle, written in the late seventies, to which we have -already referred, urge strongly the sale of machines in the home for -educational use. Wyckoff was fifty years ahead of his time, and it -has remained for the portable machine of our day to spread this great -message. It may be a long time yet before the use of the typewriter -is established in the elementary schools, as an educational implement -as necessary as charts and blackboards, but in the home this service -has already begun and will be extended with every passing year. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -HOW WOMEN ACHIEVED ECONOMIC EMANCIPATION THROUGH THE WRITING MACHINE - - -The greatest of all the triumphs of the typewriter, greater even -than its influence on business or education or language, is the -transformation it has wrought in our whole social order. - -This is a phase of typewriter influence which even today is far too -little understood. The fact that the writing machine has freed the -world from pen slavery is itself a triumph so vast and palpable that -it rivets attention, almost to the exclusion of anything else. This is -not because the facts are obscure concerning other phases of typewriter -influence. That it was the writing machine which opened to women the -doors of business life is so well known that the mere mention of it -sounds like a commonplace. But few indeed have considered the real -importance of this fact in its relation to human society. - -The movement that we know by the name of "feminism" is undoubtedly the -most significant and important social evolution of our time. The aims -and aspirations behind this great movement need not detain us. Suffice -it is to say that, like all great social movements, its cause and its -aim have been primarily economic. What is known as "sex-emancipation" -might almost be translated to read "economic emancipation"; at any rate -it could only be attained through one means, namely, equal economic -opportunity, and such opportunity could never have been won by mere -statute or enactment. Before the aims of "feminism" could be achieved -it was necessary that women should find and make this opportunity, -and they found it in the writing machine. - -We have described the transformation of the whole business world -since the invention of the writing machine. Equally revolutionary, -and facilitated by the same agency, has been the transformation in -the economic status of women during the same period. The business -office of 1873 seems no more remote from the present than the -economic restrictions imposed on the women of fifty years ago. It -might almost be said that no real career was possible for her outside -of the home. Such opportunities for gainful occupation as did exist -were usually for the untrained and uneducated, in shops, factories, -domestic service and the like. In only two other callings had they -made themselves indispensable, that of school teaching and nursing, -and all the openings in this and a few minor occupations could do -little more than utilize a fraction of intelligent womanhood. They -furnished no adequate basis for true and general economic freedom. - -Obviously it was the business world, and that alone, which could -furnish women with the opportunity for real emancipation, and so long -as this door remained closed, there could be no hope of its attainment. - -The prejudice which existed fifty years ago against the employment -of women in a business office, or in clerical capacities of any kind, -is something which in our day is hard to understand. It was blind and -unreasoning, as prejudices usually are, but it was universal. How -strong it was, and how unreasoning, was clearly shown in the one -notable attempt to utilize the services of women in clerical work, -which came before the advent of the typewriter. - -It is a singular fact that this attempt was made by a native and -life-long resident of Herkimer County, a forecast of the part that -other native sons of Herkimer County were yet to play in the great -work of sex emancipation. - -This man was General Francis Elias Spinner, born in Mohawk, N.Y., -a suburb of Ilion, and a close friend of Philo Remington. General -Spinner was appointed Treasurer of the United States by President -Lincoln on March 16, 1861, and continued to hold this office until -June 30, 1875. When he took up his official duties at Washington, -he found a condition similar to the one with which all of us were -recently familiar during the Great War. The men had gone to war in -such vast numbers that there was everywhere a scarcity of workers, and -General Spinner conceived the idea of employing women as government -clerks. This was a startling innovation in those days; nevertheless -several hundred women were appointed to government clerkships through -his agency. - -The grateful women of the time afterwards remembered General Spinner's -efforts, and his statue, erected by the women of the Departments of -the Government, now stands in Herkimer, N.Y. On the pedestal of this -statue are General Spinner's words: "The fact that I was instrumental -in introducing women to employment in the offices of the Government -gives me more real satisfaction than all the other deeds of my life." - -However, the unhappy experiences of many of these women showed how -strong were the prejudices of the time. Grace Greenwood, the authoress, -tells of a letter she received from one of them which says: "Would -you work for nothing, board yourself, and be lied about?" - -Such was the world's attitude fifty years ago concerning women's -work. And then Herkimer County made another contribution to the cause -of sex emancipation. A new and strange machine appeared, and it went to -work, at first quietly and unobtrusively, but in the end triumphantly -to break down these barriers of conservatism and prejudice. - -Even at this day, many of us, though recognizing the facts, are puzzled -to account for this amazing achievement of the writing machine. Yet -there is no mystery about it, for it was all due to the operation of -that law which is sure to break all barriers, the law of necessity -and fitness. We have shown that the typewriter did more than save -business time. It stimulated business activity, and in time this -activity reached the point where there were no longer men enough to -perform all of the clerical tasks. The girl stenographer and typist -came into business because she was needed, and with her coming the -ancient barriers fell. The typist blazed the path by which other women -entered every department of business. Economic emancipation was won -and from this great triumph has resulted every other development of -modern feminism. The suffrage, the winning of greater social freedom, -the wider participation of women in every phase of public life, all -these are children of the same parent. When economic freedom was won, -everything was won, and all else followed, naturally and inevitably. - -The feminist movement has had its leaders, many and prominent ones, -but it is sometimes the one with no thought or consciousness of -leadership who renders the greatest service. In the choice of some -historic figure to symbolize this movement, who has a better claim -than the man whose life and work created the great opportunity through -which sex emancipation was achieved? - -It is pleasing to know that the inventor of the typewriter lived to see -the beginnings of this great movement and the knowledge of it gladdened -his later years. Sholes died in Milwaukee on February 17, 1890, and -for some years before his death he never rose from his bed. But though -more dead than alive in body, his mind remained clear, unclouded and -active to the very end. Mr. C. E. Weller tells of a private letter -which relates the following incident which occurred shortly before -his death, when a daughter-in-law remarked to him, "Father Sholes, -what a wonderful thing you have done for the world." He replied, "I -don't know about the world, but I do feel that I have done something -for the women who have always had to work so hard. This will enable -them more easily to earn a living." - -In one of the last letters he ever wrote, Sholes says, "Whatever I -may have felt in the early days of the value of the typewriter, it -is obviously a blessing to mankind, and especially to womankind. I -am glad I had something to do with it. I builded wiser than I knew, -and the world has the benefit of it." - -These farewell words of Sholes form a suitable close to this story. He -rendered the world of womankind a great service, he lived long enough -to know it, and he died contented and happy in that knowledge. His -closing words show that he thought more of this achievement than of -any other service rendered by his invention. - -In this anniversary year of the writing machine it is fitting that -our thoughts should turn to the simple, gentle, kindly, modest, -lovable man, who in his lifetime neither sought nor obtained rewards -or honors, and whose very name is little known today in the great -world of business which he transformed with his invention, or to the -millions of women who owe so much to his efforts. - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of the Typewriter, by -Herkimer County Historical Society - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF THE TYPEWRITER *** - -***** This file should be named 60794-8.txt or 60794-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/7/9/60794/ - -Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project -Gutenberg (This file was produced from images generously -made available by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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