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M E D IU M S
We believe that our April issue carried one of the most detailed digests
of opinion on the slug evil ever offered to the automatic trade. It is
natural that there should be many echoes from that Convention discussion.
— Editor.
I have read over April A utomatic A ge on
"the subject of slugs. I might add to my
previous list the Check Mfg. Co., who ad
vertised slot machine slugs—work any ma
chines, etc.
Denver, because of low industrial rating,
rated low on slugs; but on my,cigarette
venders, slugs seem to be increasing lo
cally—the solid nickel or aluminum, etc.,
as well as the brass kind. The principle
of weight in a certain “balanced” 'cigarette
mechanism eliminates some, but unfortun
ately it also returns and fails to operate on
too many perfectly good coins.
. Instead of only going after the trade
Journals, might it not be a good idea if I
may ask, to go after the advertising col-
ums of certain daily newspapers, notably
those dominating their respective trade ter
ritories. They claim to be in the interests
of, clean juornalism and advertising, re
jecting all undesirable advertising, the na
ture of whiek I refer you to one of the
magazines in the selling field, and it seems
to me that slug advertising should fall in
the same classification. In other words, if
you close the mediums to this advertising
you go a long way towards eliminating the
trouble— at least so it seems to me.
I cannot give you specific examples of
the above or following, but I judge my
statement relative to advertising likewise
true of certain cheap magazines (not trade
journals) of perhaps doubtful repute. Such
merchandise as slugs might be technically
legal merchandise—technically so a r e
loaded dice, marked cards, holdouts and
like merchandise put out by a large Chi
cago concern, the leader in its field. But
has anyone the gall to say that so much as
one pair of loaded dice in a thousand are
really legitimately used, etc.? Even I, an
operator with much invested in the busi
ness— what real honest legitimate use have
I for solid slugs for testing? But if I have
so little, and practically all other operators
have so little, what, if I may ask, legitimate
usage has the man in the street? Seems
to me that he has no legitimate right to
© International Arcade Museum
even really test a slug in a machine. Is
not the mere possession of burglar’s tools
circumstantial evidence of the owner’s in
tention to rob? Then the mere possession
and/or purchase through .the mail or other
wise of a weapon (tool): "to defraud (with
out evidence of legitimate usability) should
be ‘ circumstantial and/or 'prim a facie evi
dence of a man’s intent to defraud some
one sooner or later.
It may all be within the law but even
so, who would dare contest on such a sub
ject his rights to advertise'and sell such a
product if the U. S. Post Office Depart
ment issued an order to return slug firm’s
mail to senders. I may be wrong, but the
biggest future of coin operators is in the
merchandising field, and that means in na
tionally known merchandise, and the mar
gin of profit is so small on such that slugs,
uneorreeted, may be its Waterloo, for cer
tainly the margin of profit is too small to
stand but pitifully little in the way of
“sluggings.”
What are your advertising rates per in
sertion? What is the latest date I could
reserve space and send in copy? I have
a simple device I wish to put on the market
as -an improvement for usage on cigarette
venders. I believe it would constitute an
improvement usable to advantage on all
types of cigarette venders on the market,
except those operating on the drum and
endless chain principle.
Especially de
signed and, adapted for me to correct what
I would term a serious fault in venders I
am operating (which can be robbed of mer
chandise by semi-facile manipulation with
tools or only the human hand; an expert
_at it could, during rush hour in an eating
place, notably “hamburgers,” clean out a
machine of this type with a few assistants
to “cover” him in fifteen minutes.) Aside
from this—and one other thing, it’s an
awfully good machine. According to esti
mates furnished me today, I shall be able
to sell them at a price that will equip a
four column vender for $5.00 and possibly
less. Obviously, the greater its usage, the
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