Fig. 37. A Row of Metal Files. The Berger Co.
The most apparent advantage of metal files is the safety afforded, as it has been amply demonstrated that they will go through a very severe fire without damage to contents. Few offices have sufficient vault space for the papers that must be kept. Metal files not only take care of the valuable papers, but by keeping all papers away from combustible material, act as a fire preventive.
Another reason for the increasing popularity of metal files is the scarcity of suitable timber and its advancing cost. The supply of oak and mahogany is decreasing so rapidly that the necessity for a substitute seems inevitable in the near future. For office furniture steel seems to offer the most practical substitute.
BURROUGHS ADDING MACHINES IN THE OFFICE OF THE FAIR, DEPARTMENT STORE, CHICAGO, ILL.