These devices print a form of acceptance on cheques, either through a ribbon from a bronze die or from steel wheels inked by a felt pad. Some number the cheques with consecutive serial numbers. Certain models are locked against unauthorized operation.
Motor-driven machines are used for endorsing large numbers of cheques. Impressions are made from either a rubber or a metal die inked from rollers and having movable type for dates and batch numbers. Cheques are fed by hand, one at a time, to those models designed for use along side an adding machine, so that as each cheque is listed for clearing-house, transit or deposit, the operator turns it over and drops it into the endorser, which prints the endorsement and places the cheque in its original order in a tray beneath the machine. Other models provide for feeding a large number of cheques held at the feeder guide by the operator's hand.
Enduring and inerasable evidence that a cheque has been paid, together with the date of payment, is provided by machines which perforate the cancellation through cheques, and if desired, the bank's American Bankers Association number. Dating of deposit slips, notes, mortgages and other papers may also be done. Hand models cancel from r oo to 225 cheques a minute; motor-driven models are speedier.
Pay-cheque signing is speeded by devices which sign from five to ten cheques at once. A sheet of cheques is placed on an extension table under a writing frame to which are attached five to ten fountain pens controlled by a monitor penholder. As the operator signs a sheet of cheques they are pushed into a tray and another sheet is brought into position.
Simplification of filing and locating data compiled in digest form is achieved by three me chanical devices differing in construction, operation and purpose. The purpose of one is to find a single card by number. It is a metal, desk-like affair, in the top of which are ten trays, each holding numerically filed cards numbered from o to 999-1.000 in all. A card is found and filed according to its number. By de pressing the proper number-keys of the finding mechanism, the corresponding card is instantly raised above the others in the file.
In filing a card, the operator raises the card immediately follow ing to indicate the filing position. Means are provided for finding misfiled cards.
Another device finds a single card by means of the general class or name under which it has been classified. This system uses a steel drawer, on the front of which are two rows of keys marked with the classifications, such as "Farm Lands," "West Side Property," etc. The keys are connected with rods extending back through the drawer. One card can be filed under many classifications, by means of clips placed in position along its lower edge, which correspond to the classifications desired. Pres sure on the proper key raises the desired card, together with all those having a clip corresponding to the key. A tap returns the card to position.
A third system provides for the automatic selection and segre gation of cards according to any number of classifications, the basis of the system being the card. The top carries a brief sum mary of the record, or can be extensive enough for a posting record. The body of the card is perforated, two vertical perfora tions constituting a "position" to which some classification is assigned. Each card is prepared for automatic selection by con verting the two holes of significant positions into a slot by means of a hand-operated slotting punch. The cards are placed in a file drawer, which has a brass front perforated to conform to the cards. If, for example, the device is used for a list of garages, and all garage cards are to be selected, a steel rod is placed in the position designating garages. If all garages having service stations for a particular motor-car are to be selected, another rod is placed in the position designating that information. The more rods, the finer the classification. The drawer is then in verted, and the cards that are suitably slotted drop down. A rod inserted at the bottom of the drawer locks them in place, and when the drawer is held upright, the desired cards are held above the others in the file. When the work is finished, the locking rods are removed and the cards fall into place.