Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1892-07-31
NOVELTIES N SLOT MACHINES.
There Seems TO lie M End 10 the Inge-
nuity of Inventors In That Line.


There Seems TO lie No End 10 the Inge-
nuity of Inventors In That Line.
THE slot and nickel business is vet
In It's infancy" remarked Jerseyman
who is engaged in manufacturing au-
lonatic machinery of the most per-
suaSive kind to coax people to part |
| with their nickels. This country il |
the greatest field in the world for this |
branch of industry for two reasons. /
4 The main one is that Americans are |
/ improyident and never stop TO think |
! that twenty nickels make dollar. The I
other one is that the nickel Is the only |
coin in this world which is built in |
the right way to encourage genius in
this direction. No other country has
n standard coin adapted to the devices,
and one which Is 80 popular So uni
form, and 50 slightly valued. The
five cent piece Of this country was
made for automatic machinery, and
not the machines 10 suit the money.
This may sound queer, but mean that
the changes in the size and weight of
the coin have been SO slight since it
was first put III circulation that il en-
couraged inventors To make slots and
! other devices 10 put ii in.
The first Slot machine | remember
seeing was race course III southern
hotel. 4 nickel started the horses.
, think first saw the machine ia 1873,
and | believe il 70 be one Of tire first
! devices of the kind IN this country, but
: / have no doubt that historians can
: rake up testimony Ia SHOW that Attic
! dIachmas were dropped into slots by
: ancient Greeks, who sought To- learn
/ their weight or test their grip, and
that in Cesar time the Romans drop.
!. ped small coins into slots and thus pro
4 cured their confectionery.
! 1T Is only within few years that
the slot machines have assumed any
! prominence People are beginning 10
4 think now that the field IT ingenuity
is about exhausted, but they are mis-
a taken Ii has really just begun To
= open There will be something new
= every few months, for know half a
!. dozen like myself who are pulling
their brains over new devices. | ann
n, SO thoroughly identified with the bust
"a ness now that people stop me and ask
% what | am going TO get out next, and
Ia try to engage machines in advance
10 without knowing what they are going
- TO be.
\ Il recently had queer cali from q
h man who wants 10 be a monopolist.
n lie asked me il | could devise an au-
" tomato machine 10 sell hot Frank.
IA furter sausages, and | told him that
I thought | could. lie wanted a ma.
l. chine actuated by nickels which would
~ deliver hot sausage incased in q
n split roll, just rs the peddlers do it on
ri the streets | said that il could he
IN done, and when he wanted 10 talk
ne terms ! said $2U, 600 down la be put III
preliminaries and $4,000 10 CONT
ia when the machine was success. liz
in couldn't figure enough out of il q
al talk business. ! have an application
: from man who wants machine 4
N deliver, conseeutivelv. numbered ami
dated cards, which, in addition, wil
40 show the exact hour at which the card
III is taken from the box am working
ID ON a model think lie wants 10 us,
nj the machines for accident policy
tickets. | saw machine few weeks
RIO ago which for nickel sold chcaI
edition Of novels. Pens, lead pen
Nv ellis, chewing gum, matches, electri,
es shocks, etc, are so commonly dis
penscd by automatic machines tina
nd they cease 10 81 remarked
ID. Now | am getting up deeidet
n. novelty an automatic doctor iillet
y. with pure drugs IN capsules, which
nj will drop out as the pennies are drop
n. ped IN. Each machine will have from
N dozen ~ twenty compartment
-, marked With the name of tie drug
the quantity Ia take for dose and tn
id ills That the remedy IS supposed TO al
ia leyiatc. OF course poisonous drug
IN cannot 90 III IL, but others can. and
rb believe II will be "A success. just tllinl
what an accommodation it would b
to be able L. 20 up 10 a machine an,
get Your dose OF guinine. "A headach
s, cure a remedy for the grippe or dos
! 20 of salts without having IL disturb tin
le fopose of drug clerk Then | an
=. thinking over fountain which vii
Is. deliver good glass If lemonade, on
u. III fact. soda water, with assorted sill
.. ups. There is really 10 end 10 the ~
oe pliratiohs that can be made 81 auto
lf matte machines and no limit 10 tn
~ field Of operation. They 20 every
~ where, from the church fair down, an,
ne all sorts OF people drop their pennie
CT and niekcis into them.
At i know OF weighing machines whici
nc take IN from Sis 10 SO week. Now
~. there Is an impression abroad thai an
re tomato machines are reccptacles 70
III bad coins, brass checks and othe
"a things which viii operate the levers
N In fact. the percentage Of bud none,
OF Is not one. tenth OF per cent. TIL
no machines arc not complicated, bu
IL safeguards lie inside Of the sIat 10 prc
ad vent decentralization Of wires Small
%, er coins Than live cent pieces fall asid
after entering the slots aud are caugh
IN separate receptacle Tire goo
coin falls certain distance aud strike
gu lever just hard enough h release lii
no machinery \ lead nickel will d
- this, but even 50 the loss i nothing il
= tue majority Of machines. None o
~ the machines afe sold. They ARE usu
i. ally put ont on shares running iron
nv 10 to 20 per cont, and this Statistic
nd. those who have tire machines il
tn charge. New York Sun.
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