Stamps by the Mile; Pennies by the Ton

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 119, 10 August 1927, Page 1

Stamps by the Mile; Pennies by the Ton

Machines that work for Nothing and Give No Trouble Postage stamps by the mile. Pennies by the ton. Have you ever seen them in such quantities? Perhaps the only man who has is Mr. R. J. Dickie. He invented and takes care of those hungry little penny-in-the-slot machines, several of which devour coppers and disgorge penny stamps so regularly at the entrance to the Auckland General Post Office. There are 158 of these stamp-selling machines in New Zealand. The life of each is estimated at seven years, but some of those installed in 1904 are still going strong. These little machines work for nothing, and cost the Government very little. Their upkeep runs into about 4s a year. Aucklanders find the machines very useful and efficient. Without them the stamp problem would be provoking. During the week-end as much as £l6 is taken in the machines at the Auckland G.P.O. ASTOUNDING FIGURES During the last four years the figures from the stamp machines are

Totals .. 1,634,164 14 5 4J It takes 108,000 pennies (£450) to weigh one ton, and 79,000 stamps (£330) laid end to end to measure one mile. No wonder Mr. Dickie is so well acquainted with weights and figures. He handles all the pennies and stamps used in the Auckland machines. Should any of the machines refuse duty he doctors them and sets them right again. New Zealand is not the only place where Mr. Dickie’s penny-in-the-slot stamp machines save the public a great deal of worry. In both England and France they have been adopted with the greatest success. ONLY ONE LAW Strikes may come and go, the electric power may go off, holidays may close businesses, but all the time the little machines work away, provided they are supplied with pennies. They know no law except the law of gravity; they have no springs and require no power; they weigh 9 Jib. each, and take up very little space. The largest working part is a wheel which measures two inches across. The stamp-seller is simplicity itself. The action of pushing the penny in the slot is all that is required to set it in motion, turn the wheels, and issue the stamp. When a roll of stamps has run out a small piece of metal falls forward and the “empty” sign appears. Mr. Dickie invented his machine in 1904. He has a natural ability to invent things. The idea of the automatic stamp machine came to him one day, and he worked on it until it was complete. The machines are practically fool-proof. Sometimes, during muggy, wet weather, the stamps become damp and curl up, but otherwise practically nothing else will throw them out of order. In order to maintain a dry and even temperature, the machines are enclosed in oak-wood cases. SHARP, STRAIGHT PULL “Of course there are some people who cannot work the machines,” said Mr. Dickie. “I have actually seen them trying to push pennies into the place where the stamps come out when the ‘empty’ sign has been showing. A sharp straight pull is all that is needed when the stamp shows itself. Women often tear the stamps through trying to pull them out with their gloves on.” Mr. Dickie is a lightning calculator with stamps and pennies. He can tell in an instant that 240 pennies weigh 51b, and that that number of stamps measures 16 feet, or any other numbers you like to give him. And he is justly proud of his invention. Each day, in his office in the old post office building in Fort Street, he plans improvements to a machine for which letter-writers have offered up thanks on many occasions.

interesting. Here they are : — Year. Pennies. Tons. Cwt. Lbs. 1922-23 .. .. 317,280 2 39 2 1923-24 .. 403,200 6 8 1924-25 .. 432,600 4 0 1925-26 . . . . 481,084 4 9 545