Automatic Age

Issue: 1931 November

II
Single copies 25 cents: $1.00 per
year U. S. and possessions;
Foreign $1.50.
O. C. L IG H T N E R
President
C A R R O L L E. V E T T E R IC K
Managing Editor
Established 1925
AUTOMATIC AGE
2810 S o u th M ic h ig a n A v e n u e , C h ic a g o , 111.
O C T O B E R , 1931
V o l. 8, N o . 3
C h ill D a y s
**“
-
-
S n u g E v e n in g s
N O V E M B E R
A.
STROLOGISTS say: “Beware of November — anything
can happen. It is that moody month of uncertainties.”
History shows they are partly correct. Some unexpected things
have happened in November without a doubt. No one has quite
forgotten the November of 1929. But a few years before that
November brought the end of the war. A lot of things can happen
in November it’s true. But this so-called moody month is as likely
to show a good disposition as a bad one. This year it is more than
due to show a warm heart and smile.
As far as we are concerned, November always brings the most
prosperous days for the entire industry, other things being equal.
Appetites are on edge for that between-meal snack that convenient
merchandise, machines offer. School children are over the newness
of the first weeks of school and are exploiting every new possibility
for adventure and amusement. Everyone is on edge—nerves are
atingle—minds are open to everything new that is offered. Novem­
ber is truly the month to cash in on bigger profits from machines
of every type.
.
There is little need to urge operators to snap up every possible
location now that there is a tang in the air. Most operators are
very much alive to seasonable opportunities. They know where
there are choice inside locations now opening up. They know the
value, of planting some new types of machines there this Fall. They
know that the brightest and cleanest machines get the biggest play,
and that fresh Fall merchandise must be in those machines.
All the action these days is not on the football field. There is
pep and enthusiasm on every operator’s route, and their orders
are making shipping clerks step on it to get machines and merchan­
dise out to them on time.
Table of Contents and Advertising Index for this issue will be found near
the inside back cover
© International Arcade Museum
http://www.arcade-museum.com/
12
A u t o m a t ic A g e
November, 1931
T h in g s A r e L o o k in g U p — A r e Y o u ?
W
-
'
HEN every body decides that times CAN’T GET ANY
WORSE, then there is sure to be a turning point.
Every man you meet today is an optimist. There are undoubt­
edly more optimists in the world today than at any other time in
history.
How come1
?
Because• business has worn out every kind of blues song it
knows and seeks music that has a more agreeable pitch and key.
Because we all know that after business hits the bottom there is
no place for it to go out up the scale.
Because nobody really believes that business can slump any
deeper, and when th.ire is no one left to cry the blues, well, we all
just naturally become optimists and realize that BETTER TIMES
ARE COMING.
We can all be enthusiastic about the sound reports from busi­
ness authorities that things are looking up. When consumer de­
mand is found to be on the increase in practically all lines of busi­
ness, then we have something concrete to believe in; something
more than propaganda to coax us out of pessimistic trends of mind.
A recent statement from the United States Treasury is to the
effect that there is more printed money in the country today than
at any other time in the history of the United States. The prob­
lem then must be one of getting it into circulation. And this will
come through efforts made to stimulate trade.
One new operator in a large manufacturing city that is one of
the hardest hit by general business conditions is making money
with a route of new amusement machines. It took a lot of “guts”
to start up a new route in that city, and make the necessary in­
vestment in new machines. But he is coming along in great shape.
Even in good times there nothing better to stimulate business
thwn new machines. And under present conditions it may be more
important to make a change in every possible location.
Almost any plan of stimulating trade can get results. The
thing to do is to try various plans to make a machine pay. If it
doesn’t pick up—move it. A machine is sure to collect more dust
than customers if it has been in one location too long, whether it
is an amusement machine or a vender.
There are frequent reports of operators who are making more,
money now than ever before. In every case the operator has sim­
ply exercised more initiative than before and worked harder in­
stead of “waiting for things to pick up.”
© International Arcade Museum
http://www.arcade-museum.com/

Download Page 11: PDF File | Image

Download Page 12 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.