The Daily Mercury
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Description: Roll-Call By Electricity - John Enos
Date: July 31 1890Newspaper published in: Huntsville, AL
Source: Library
Page/Column: Page 1, Column 2
ROLL-CALL BY ELECTRICITY
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WASHINGTON, July 30.—The house committee on rules gave a hearing to-day to John E. Enos, a Washington inventor, who wants to supply the house with an electrical apparatus for recording the votes of members.
Mr. Enos explained his invention carefully to this committee claiming that by its use a vote of the house could be taken in five minutes. He claimed that by the adoption and use of this invention a great deal of time might be saved that is now lost in the slow and tedious operation of calling the roll. Thus far during the session the roll has been called 300 times, occupying at least half an hour for each call, or thirty average working legislative days of five hours each. Five-sixths of this time, or twenty-five days, Mr. Enos claimed, might have been saved had his invention been in use. He estimated the cost of putting his system in operation in the house at about $60,000, and asked a small appropriation to construct the working model with which to demonstrate the practical utility of the system. The committee has taken the matter under consideration.