The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-08-18
SODA WATER FOUNTAINS.
Some Run as High as 500, 000-Many
Fountains Rented to Druggists.

Some Run as High as $40, 000-Many
Fountains Rented to Druggists.
Those whose pleasure is commensu-
rate with the cost Of the source whence
it is derived should be raised to the
seventh heaven of bliss when drinking
soda water. Not that the liquid itself
is so expensive, but the fountain it Is
drawn from is. A confectioner or drug
gist who makes up his mind to keep up
with the march of progress by put
ting in soda water plant will have
to be equipped with something more
substantial than determination. He
must have money and good deal of IL.
according to the kind of fountain he
buys.
1.-The cost of a soda water fountain.
ike everything else, is determined by
the fixings,'' said the head clerk of q
First avenue manufacturing house.
There are soda water plants in this
town that cost as much as $4,000.
could take you to dozen within half
an hour, over on Broadway and Sixth
avenue, that did not cost a cent less
than that amount. These are the big
twenty-foot plants in the popular stores
where a rushing business is the rule.
These expensive plants are made or
onyx, the faucets are of heavily plated
silver, and they are provided with fine
mirrors for the accommodation Of fenai-
show, the high-priced fountains are
finished off with exceeding care on the
inside. They are lined with glass, in
stead of tin, which is utilized in the
cheaper fountains. The use of glass
naturally raises the price considerably,
but it is sure preventive against
accidents from poison that are likely.
TO result at any time from the use OF
metal, which is bound to be affected to
a greater or less degree, by the acidus
| lous juices.
! After considering the $4,000 and
$4,000 plants, the prices range all the
way down to 81, 900 and even $500. The
average price is $4,000 to s5v,.. These
cheaper grades are made of various
kinds of marble, and have less orna-
! mentation. Styles in soda water foun-
tains change from year to year the
same as anything else. A year or 50
ago it was the fashion to run to archie
| tectural display, and fountains are
seen in many stores today whose onyx
and marble pillars and ornamental ia
cades. form quite an imposing picture.
In this seasons output the prevailing
feature has been simplicity.
"All soda water fountains in use In
New York do not represent cash sale
by any means. The renting of foun-
tains Is a big business. In fact, more
than half the fountains in operation in
this city today are still owned by the
manufacturer, who let's them by the
i season. This applies more particularly
to the small fry druggists and confec-
TONERS, large percentage of whom
avail themselves Of the renting system.
The more expensive plants, however.
are of course owned by the proprietors
of the stores. for the charges on a
900 plant would be so great that II
is more economical in the long run ia
buy the whole business outright.
THE rental of soda water fountain
varies from $40 to $500 a season, ac-
r cording to the size and material Some
stores keep the plants the year round
! while others store the apparatus with
US during the winter, which can be done
E free of charge. Often one man WILL rent
! the same plant season after season. w,
' guarantee the life of each fountain tt
! be ten years, but we have plants IN
g operation today in parts of the city
) where the latest improvements are no
insisted upon, that were used in tina,
: same store fifteen years ago. A s12.00
I plant couldn't show any better recort
: than that. Anyway, the longevity OF .
r $500 plant is almost as great as or
$ costing twenty times that much. Tn
: difference lies in the appearance ans
t the number of people that can be &C
a icommodated New York Sun,