The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-07-26
SODA WATER FOUNTAINS.
Some Rum as High as 2,00O-Mamy
Fountains Rented to Druggists.

Those whose pleasure is commensurate
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 druggist who
makes up his mind to keep up with the
march OF progress by putting in a soda
water plant will have to be equipped with
something more substantial than determ-
ination He must have money and a
good deal of it, according to the kind OF
fountain he buys.
"The cost of a soda water fountain
like everything else, is determined by the
filings, said the head clerk of First
avenue. manufacturing house "There
are soda water plants in this town that
cost as much as S12, 600. I could take you
to dozen within half an hour, over on
Broadway and Sixth avenue, that did
not cost q cent less than that amount.
These are the big twenty-foot plants in
the popular stores where rushing busi-
ness is the rule. These expensive plants
are made of onyx, the faucets ara of
heavily plated silver and they are provid-
ed with fine mirrors for the aCcommoda-
ton of feminine soda tipplers. Besides
all this outside show, the high priced
fountains are finished off with exceeding
care on the inside. They are lined with
glass, instead of tin, which is utilized in
the cheaper fountains. The use of glass
naturally raises the price consid arably,
h77f &c F1rn IL or
dents from poisoning that are likely to
result at any time from the use OF metal,
which is bound to be affected, to great
er or less degree, by the acidulOus juices.
After considering the $12, 900 and $40, =
COO plants, the prices range all the way
down to 81, coo and even $500. The aver
age price Is $4, 600 to &c. 900. These cheap
er grades are made of various kinds OF
marble and have less OrnamentatlOn.
Styles in soda water fountains change
from year to year the same as in every
thing else A season or SO ago it was the
fashion to run to architectural display,
and fountains are seen in many stores to-
day whose onyx and marble pillars and
Ornamentalf acades form quite an impOs-
ing picture. In this season S output the
prevailing feature has been simplicity
'All the soda fountains in uss in New
York do not represent cash sale by any
means. The renting Of fountains is big
business. In fact, more than half of the
fountains in operation in this city today
are still owned by the manufacturer, who
let's them by the season. This applies
more particularly to the smaIl-fry drug
gists and cOnfectiOners, a large percent
age of whom avail themselves Of the rent
ing system. The more expensive plants,
however, are of course owned by the pro-
prietOrs Of the stores, for the charges on
a $12 QUO plant would be so great That it
is more economical in the long run to buy
the whole business outright.
1.-The rental of a soda water plant va
ries from $40 to $500 a season, according
TO the size and material. Some stores
keep the plants in the year round, while
others store the apparatus with us during
the winter, which can be done free OF
charge. Often one man will rent the
same plant season after season. We
guarantee the life Of each fountain to be
ten years, but we have plants in opera
ton today in parts Of the city where the
latest improvements are not insisted
upon that were used in that same store
fifteen years ago. A $4,000 plant
couldn't show much better record than
that: Anyway, the longevity of a $500
plant is almost as great as one costing
twenty times as much. The difference
lies in the appearance and the number
OF people that can be accommodated.