History of the Typewriter

—188— is necessary to bring the type to the printing point, but also enough to overcome the resistance of the universal bar. In the Underwood, this universal bar is fixed behind the type-bars, and is actuated by them in such a way that it does not commence its movements until the type is almost at the printing point ; the resistance is then overcome by the momentum of the moving bar, and, as a matter of fact, the universal bar moves after the finger has left the key. The Underwood was, we believe, the first machine which was fitted with a tabulator as part of the actual typewriter, and supplied without any additional charge. The occasions when tabular work is required are becoming more and more frequent, and invoicing, at all times a tedious occupation, becomes surprisingly easy when the tabulator is fixed to the machine. The Underwood tabu- lator is of a simplified form, and the carriage passes from one fixed point to another. Therefore, if irregular columns are required, as, say, units in a list of tens, it will be necessary to touch the space-bar once after depressing the tabular key ; but it is rightly considered that this occasional use of the space-bar in such cases involves no mental hesitation or friction, and the simplified form, plus this spacing once in a long time, is certainly better than the more elaborate decimal tabulator which gives one ten or more keys to remember and find. As fitted to the Underwood, the tabulator takes up no room, practically adds no weight to the machine and, moreover, it costs nothing extra. The tabulator stops differ from those to which we have been accustomed. At the rear of the machine is a rack- bar, and below this is a circular rod on which the stops work freely, simply having to be placed in the desired niche on the rack. Not being detachable or loose, they can never be lost, and can never fall off when the machine is carried about from place to place. The tabulator key is at the top right hand corner of the keyboard, and can easily be operated by the little finger. When using other forms of tabulating devices, the carriage flies along when the key is operated, stopping with a hard bang, and the result is a jarring and shaking which threaten in time to knock the life out of the machine ; but when the Underwood tabulator key is depressed, the carriage moves easily and softly, the reason being that at the back of it is a little strip of leather—called an automatic buffer—which comes into contact with the rack on which the tabulator stops are placed as soon as the key is depressed.