A strip of paper fed through the printing mechanism has on it five rows of figures, letters, etc., thus—
| s. | d. | ||
| H | 6 | 11 | |
| Pd. | A | 0 | 5 |
| B | 0 | 0 | |
| Rc. | K | 5 | 0 |
| Ch. | D | 16 | 6 |
The proprietor is, therefore, enabled to see at a glance (1) who served or attended to a customer, (2) what kind of business he did with him, (3) the monetary value of the transaction. At the end of the day each assistant sends in his separate account, which should tally exactly with the record of the machine.
Simultaneously with the strip printing, special counting apparatus has been (a) adding up the total of all money taken for goods, (b) recording the number of times the drawer has been opened for each purpose. Here, again, is a check upon the records.
This ingenious machine not only protects the proprietor against carelessness or dishonesty on the part of his employés, but also protects the latter against one another. If only one drawer and letter were used in common, it would be impossible to trace an error to the guilty party. The lettering system also serves to show which assistant does the most business.
Where a cash register of this type is employed every transaction must pass through its hands—or rather mechanism. It would be risky for an assistant not to use the machine, as eyes may be watching him. He cannot open his drawers without making a record; nor can he make a record without first closing the drawers; so that he must give a reason for each use of the register. If he used somebody else's letter, the ear of the rightful owner would at once be attracted by the note of his particular gong. When going away for lunch, or on business, a letter can be locked by means of a special key, which fits none of the other five locks.
The printing mechanism is particularly ingenious. Every morning the date is set by means of index-screws: and a consecutive numbering train is put back to zero. A third division accommodates a circular "electro" block for printing the advertisements, and a fourth division the figure wheels.
The turn given to the handle passes a length of the ticket strip through, a slot—prints the date, the number of the ticket, an advertisement on the back, the assistant's letter, the nature of the business done, and feeds the paper on to the figures which give the finishing touch. A knife cuts off the ticket, and a special lever shoots it out of the slot.
The National Cash Register Company, for prudential reasons, do not wish the details of the internal machinery to be described; nor would it be an easy task even were the permission granted. So we must imagine the extreme intricacy of the levers and wheels which perform all the tasks enumerated, and turn aside to consider the origin and manufacture of the register, which are both of interest.