Another ingenious postal device which has just been put on trial is the scheme for registering letters yourself.
The first thing to do is to put a ten-cent piece in the slot. The coin opens a small registering window, and reveals a pad on which you write the address of the registered letter, and also an aperture through which the letter is to be dropped. The letter must first have been stamped with a two-cent stamp.
After the letter is mailed, the sender pulls a handle until a gong rings and a receipt is then pushed out toward the sender. This receipt is in fact the second half of the order which he himself has written. As soon as the receipt is given the machine locks itself, and nothing will unlock it but a fresh dime in the slot.
Worn coins, or those that are not full size and weight, are instantly rejected by the machine.
The coin, after entering the machine, passes over a very delicate balance, and if it is found to be light or bad when it is weighed, the machine throws it out on the floor in front of the would-be registerer.

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