History of the Typewriter

—206— Fig. 151. automatic mechanism, and insures, at the same time, positive automatic regularity. However, with all the perfection possessed by the Secor escapement, unless the type-bar and type-bar action are equally responsive and perfect, the result would still be short of the highest efficiency. The Secor idea of the automatic action is no more pronounced in the escapement than in the type-bar and its action. Another exclusive type-bar feature on the Secor is the control both of the impression and the alignment. It has a type-guide, which is a pivot-pointed ball, bringing every type-bar to absolute alignment without friction, completely controlling the type-bar, no matter how badly worn, against movement in every direction, both upward and downward and sidewise, except to and from the platen. A type-bar is out of alignment when the type strike too high or too low. The Secor has the only guide that controls and prevents this trouble. The guide on all other machines controls only on the side. This feature is patented, and therefore cannot be applied to any other machine. The type-bar is made of tempered spring steel, wonder-