T
he
A u t o m a t ic A ge
77
mum. For the year a grand total c f
65.000 is attained. Other Providence
stores belonging to the same chain
register a total of 85,000 weight cus
As Reported by a Providence Paper
tomers.
F.
D. Rose, enterprising operator
“ The five-and-tens, whose custom
of Gloucester, Mass., sends us a ers are always equipped with cash,
clipping from his local newspaper furnish a cool 300,000. Other stores,
telling about the operation of scales
shops and scores of odd places where
in an Eastern city. The story was “ Correct weight, 1 cent” is available
Written by an amateur, and is some add at least 50,000. That mykes the
what of an exaggeration, however, it 500.000 and all authorities agree that
is of interest to our readers, and is it is a very conservative estimate.
reproduced in full herewith:
“ The fact that this is fully twice
“ Tons o f cents slide down penny-
the population of the city doesn’t in
in-the-slot weighing machines annu validate the figures. Tourists and
ally—most of them in the summer.
other transients are just as likely to
“ In Providence alone, yearly 560, do their weighing-in here as in their
000 mortals climb aboard the wiggly
own home towns. Moreover, those
Platforms to send said cents jingling
addicted to the weighing habit are
down the tin throats of the most fa great repeaters. Some of them ore
miliar of all money collectors.
“ regulars,” weighing themselves at
“ Five hundred and sixty thousand
least weekly.
Pairs of eyes follow the hand around
“ It is easy to see how the ma
the dial or are glued to the little tray
chines gather their annual harvest of
'Whereupon the rasping, metalic in
some 2200 or 2300 pounds of coppers.
wards disgorge the ticket, weight and
‘W h y do people want to weigh
date neatly printed. Five hundred
themselves? Why the stampede for
and sixty thousand mortals step down
the penny-in-the-slot machine? Ask
to feast or fast, according to the
story told by the dial and ticket. Fig the man who runs one!
“ Perhaps he will say that people
ured in waking hours, somebody is
are becoming more concerned about
Weighing every 30 seconds.
their physical welfare and believe a
Hard to believe?
checkup of their avoirdupois is one
‘“ The proof is easy. A survey of
of the best means. Perhaps he will
the city reveals those figures not only
say most of them do it because they
trustworthy, but really conservative.
At the railroad station there are 11 see some one else do it. Perhaps he
will merely shrug his shoulders and
weighing machines in constant use.
then casually wander over to the ma
Their total receipts for a year amount
chine in his own place, straighten it
to $600, indicating that 60,000 weights
a bit, dust it off, stand back and sur
are registered for 60,000 persons
vey it—and be unceremoniously el
patronize them.
bowed out of the way by some one
“ The records of a large downtown
with
a waiting cent.
drug store show monthly receipts
“ The second reason undoubtedly is
from its penny-in-the-slot machines
greater than generally believed. In
ranging from $40 in the winter
the course of the investigation for
months to an $80 top through the
summer, or that from 4000 to 8000 this story the Journal man was in
vited by a drug store manager to try
people are weighed monthly.
the scales. He did so, the manager
“ The 8000 total prevails through
explaining the mechanism. Hardly
June, July and August. September
had he stepped off when a man
sees a slight decline. October drops
stepped up, inquired the cost o f be
to 7000, and s > down to the 400 mini
Scale Operations in the
East
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