The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-12
AN AUTOMATIC SALESMAN.
Mr.. Whchtcrort Finally PcrTecta n
Coffee. Benn, Flour ana Peanut seller.

Country store ingenuity coping with country
store habits Of acquisitivcnoss in the matter Of
small commodities has evolved an automatic
clerk or silent salesman" for which its inven-
tor claims all of the virtues and none of the vice.
OF the animate clerk. It is q nickclin.thc.slot
machine Of comparatively simple design. which,
as n mattcr Of fact, has taken nearly twenty
years to perfect. The inventor. T. S. Wheat
croft, has one on private exhibition In this city.
Mr.. Whchtcroft is the proprietor of n coun.
trysstore in Rush, Pa, where he sells coffee,
peanuts, dried apples, cross-cut saws, ~lollipops,
pickaNcs, bean shooters. putty, popcorn, calico.
and other ncccssarics of life. Pennsylvanians
are very fond Of peanuts. and 1t has always been
the custom OF Mr.. Whcatcroft's patrons TO re.
gard the peanut sack as n sort of grab bag Of per
quisitcs TO tho purchaser. Each man who had
purchased II fvc.ccnt plug of tobacco fclt.privi-
legged to help himself TO peanuts with the cheer
full inquiry:
"Busincss briskin' up, Whcatcrofti'
Similarly every woman who bought so much
as a spool Of thread would have thought her.
self rcmiss in duty to her family il she hadn't
taken II handful TO the children, observing
absent. mindedly in accomplishing her piracy:
peanuts amt quite's good this year ez last"
watching his peanuts and his profits disap-
pear, the country storckcpcr grew wan and
haggard. Once no tried putting wire screens
over the peanut sack, but dcsistcd upon hear
ing II general rumor about town that:
"Whcatc%pft's gcttin' too Summation mean to
trade wIth.'
In the course of time he evolved the idea OF
an automatic, peanut machine which should
prevent hlgh.handcd robbery, and vet, by tho
interest which IL excited, should prevent the peo-
pie from ,brooding upon their lost proprietary
rights. For years he lnhorcd on his devices
only to turn out II succession OF machines which
were lacking in one OF another essential partic.
ular. Now, at last, ne has an invention which
nn npt nNtrI want AVID N will nll
not only peanuts, but coffee, flour. crackers,
tea. sugar, rice, or any other small, commodity
OF that kind. 1t was operating with peanuts at
work the other day.
The machine is an oblong box. six feet tall.
with glass panels IN front, through which the
commodity in which ii is dealing ard part OF
the workings can be seen. 1t can be set either
for IA cent, a nickel, n dime, or n quarter. The
inventor dropped u nickel in the slot and a small
funnel leading down from the storage box
paper bag. Then he pulled a handle, the filled
nag tore itself lose. sid down a sort of groove,
nickel went clinking down and registered it.
self. As the funnel closed another paper bag
RoppG;a into o d t Mr. Without a ,Hsn drsrI the
In a coin of that denomination. 1t immediate.
" came out through a slot lower down. The
.o %Ih Ns the way it works il its a good coin"
From a pile of mutilatcd and spurious coin he
selected an iron marker filled in with lead. ex-
actly the size and apparently thc.weight off,
nickel, and dropped it in. There was no re-
sponsc on the part Of the machine. but the imi-
tation coin was contlscatcd. Next he put in n
nickel with a hole in 1t. Same result.
You can't fool it, declared the inventor.
IF you. put in n good coin OF the wrong de-
nomination yol get il back, but n bad coin
ed in Philadelphia
He showed a collection OF thirty testimonials
to the guile Of the Quaker City.
They tried to beat Ii down there with an
other game. but l was ready for that" he con
tinued. The working of the delivery is all in
plain view. YOU see. Some smart Yankee boys
down there got q long, thin blade and tried to
reach up through the delivery groove and force
the gates OF the funnel apart. Do you know
what happened to the boy who did thati H.
just went kiting across the sidewalk and stood
on his head in the gutter. There. an electric
battery inside, there. and any one who monkeys
with the works gets II good enough shock SO
that he won't come back for more"
In the back of the machine arc arrangements
for dry.heating and steam heating. and a little
motor that keeps n whirling whistle going and
turns a succession of advertising cards behind
a glass door. The capacity of the machine,
when set in a store. il practically unlimited
as it can be connected easily with the bin con,
tanning the commodity in which it deals. II
has been tried with success in other villages
as well as Philadelphia. 1t is not yet OF
public view here