The Washington herald., 1907-10-21


chine by the government. Yet so numer-
Gus are the patents that have been issued
on such devices that the Patent Office has
separate division for them. There have
been 2,lOO patents taken out on vending
machines controlled by coins or checks
One may now drop coin in the slot and
get in return a cigar. cigarette, piece,
or even a box, of candy He may have
his boots blacked, see panoramic cxhi-
bition, game OF baseball, or "a horse
race lie may get a glass Of soda or a
quick lunch. have a spray Of perfume put
on his handkerchief. send a telephone
message. get an electric shock. get
weighed. or have his fortune told with a
piece Of music thrown in for good meas
ure. He may have his picture taken. or
may set an original package" and if he
IS In Europe he may drop his coin in the
slot and get as much Illuminating gas as
ne wishes for an hour day, or week.
If he has not the proper change, he can
have IT, By dropping a nickel in the slot
he can get five pennies By putting IN a
quarter he may get five nickels, and
SO on.
In the field Of invention there Is con-
slant proof of the truth I'm the wise mans
saving that there is nothing new under
The sun. More than two thousand years
ago the priests of Alexandria were using
the coln-in-the-slot machine TO sell ''lus-
tral water to their people It was
simple machine, IL is true bat except for
the fact that IT, did not very we'll safe
guard itself against the fellow who would
beat IT, il served its purposes in every
particular tt consisted of a vessel con-
tanning the water and a little slide valve
balanced on lever. Dropping the coin
on one end Of the lever would raise the
valve on the other end see-saw fashion,
and this would allow the water 10 run.
When the lever was depressed as far as
il should he by the coins they would slip
of. and the valve would slide shut again.
The first slot-machine ever made in
America was patented in 1859 But the
ways that the ingenious small boys found
To beat it made it an Improbable sales
man. From that day % this there has
been a perpetual warfare between the
fellow who would beat the slut-machine
and the fellow who would prevent it.
There were thirty-eight separate and dis
IiHct ways TO beat the first one that came
ogt. But gradually the inventor has
overcome these. until machines of to-
day have been so perfected that even the
genius of the small boy cannot outwit
them. tt used 10 be that a vigorous
shaking would take the place of the
coin. but that was eliminated by bal
ance that nothing but coin would
operate Then again. ia the olden times.
wire could throw the trigger that would
release the candy. or whatever prize the
machine held. A zigzaE channel and
star-Wheal cut that trick out. Then they
got dummy coins and buttons 10 throw
the springs. The inventor went them one
better again, and put IN the magnet,
which would draw out any metallic
dummy before it could throw the trigger
releasing the article Then the beater
cot things the magnet would not attract
and the inventor put a size and weight
testing laboratory in the machine. Now
the man who finds something that VIII
so down the zgzdg way. run the gantlct
OF the magnet. and pass muster with the
size and weight tester is entitled TO
reward
But the most remarkable Of all inven-
ti0ns for the prevention Of fraud is the
vending machine. with the rogUes gal
lery apparatus. used in Paris and other
European cities. 1t Is SO arranged that
il a man drops in the proper coin he gets
The article he desires. If he drops in the
wrong coin IL comes out to him again,
But if he drops IN a dummy piece it
stays and a picture of him is taken. de-
veIOped. and placed on view. there TO re-
main until some one else tries 20 get in
crooked work with the machine
The coin-in-the-slot gas meter has
proved a popular innovation in Europe
1t is stated in the technical journals that
II has resulted in the wider use of gas
and that tie elimination Of the deposit
system Of securing gas meter has
brought it into the reach of hundreds Of
poor families who might otherwise have
10 use oil. Il has been introduced into
America, but not % any large extent.
Some few restaurants in this country
are equipped with clothes hooks that pre-
vent the articles hung on them from be-
ing stolen. y man gets check for a
given hook from the person in charge. He
hangs his overcoat and his hat on the
hook, and they cannot b6 removed from
it until the check is placed in the slot.
ticket Offices the Metropolitan Railway of
London. has installed vending machines
for selling tickets. The experiment has
proved a most satisfactory one.
There is not more than one out Of ten
of the slot machine inventions that
proves successful from a financial
standpoint The majority of them
are never given a trial Even OF
those which are tried. many are
weighed in the balance and found want (
ing This is true of the coin-in-the-slot /
opera-glass holder. The day was when /.
this was popular At first the coin was
dropped in the slot and the one who 4
dropped it got opera glasses for use dur /
ing the performance. But some folks
wanted them longer and took the glasses /
away Then the glasses We're fastened /.
with chains so that they could not be I
rarried away But this proved unpopular 4
with the patron. Then an aEnGnciator 4
was attached to the sl0t-machines, which /
would tell the box office which seats were /
using the glasses and az the end of the /
performance the box office would send a 4
message back 70 the seats to replace the /
glasses. But this proved as unsatisfac- /
tory as the other Inventions and the ma |
chimes were retired from the theaters.
The most widely used sI0t-machine in /
connection with theaters to-day is the one
by which you may drop Il dime in the SLOT /
I'm a little box on the back of the seat in /
front of you and get a small box Of candy. /
This is 10 De found in several hun
dred theaters in the United States. The
inventor. James w. Patterson, gets roy /
atty Of s. on every machine in use, and. /
as there are thousands OF them used. il