February, 1937
13
AUTOMATIC AGE
Highlights of 1937 Convention
By A rth u r W . Luchs
T
H E 1937 Coin M achine Conven
tion, held in Chicago, Ja n u a ry
each of the 48 states of the U nited
States.
11
to 14, has more th a n fulfilled
The com mercial im portance of the
the promise of being “bigger and
industry, as indicated by the qu an tity
better” than any other previous annual
and variety of its m anufactured prod
convention of the coin m achine in
ucts, m ay be regarded as the o u t
dustry. I t exceeded all form er m eet
standing characteristic of the 1937
ings in attendance, booths, exhibitors
convention. M ore significant, perhaps,
and banquet attendance. The general
than any o f the records attained, so
im plications of the convention were
fa r as coin m achine progress is con
seen to be constructive. They p o int to
cerned, was the num ber and qu ality
w ard m any possibilities in expansion.
of
the
sparkling
new
machines
displayed.
The 1937 convention dw arfed all
form er conventions in com parison,
splendid as they were in their day,
and was a decided trib ute to the
people and the m achines, who are
m ak in g these rapid forw ard strides
possible. To those who were fortunate
enough to attend the show, the splen
dor and m agnitude, the g litte r and
glam o r of the m any be au tiful and
w onderful m achines exhibited, w ill
long be cherished w ith the fondest of
memories of this m om entous forw ard
step in the coin m achine industry.
To have been in attendance at those
m eetings w ill lon g be a source of
pleasure and satisfaction to all, w ith
the knowledge and assurance th a t
they were instrum ental in assisting
the industry a tta in its present p in
nacle of progress and growth.
The attendance at the 1937 conven
tion was estimated a t 7,500. A b out
1,700 paid adm issions were also
recorded. U nder the new system,
advance registration for trade m em
bers, and paid adm issions fo r those
who had not registered, was adopted
for the first tim e by the industry. The
wives and children of those in atte nd
ance, were n o t counted in on the
total registration. A pprox im ately 3,500
people attended the annual banquet,
w hich was distributed through four
of the largest rooms, in order to
accom m odate the members. Products
were exhibited in 258 booths.
There were representatives from
A frica, A ustralia, B elgium , Canada,
China, E ng land , France, Germ any,
Mexico and S outh A m erica, in ad di
tion to the local representatives from
The value of the products shown
and the total q u an tity (there were
approxim ately 361 types o f games and
machines exhibited) suggests th a t the
coin machine industry has attained
commercial im portance, and is to be
compared favorably w ith other n a
tional industries. The 1937 exhibit
takes rank w ith the largest national
exhibit show ing in Chicago. This
w ill remove m uch of the old prejudice
against the industry. I t w ill probably
b rin g about the development of some
type of progressive public policy, on
the part of the m an u fa ctu rin g division.
A tte n tio n has been directed to the
commercial im portance o f the industry
by the development of the larger and
more expensive m achines, such as
bow ling games, targets, phonographs,
cigarette machines and other high
grade products.
Types of M achines Shown
The targ et m achines, involving the
principle o f the photo electrical cell,
are com paratively new in the field of
coin-operated machines. They have
been the subject of costly development
work du rin g the year 1936. They
were one of the m a jo r hits of the
entire show. The target m achines are
now regarded as m echanically perfect
enough to m erit the consideration of
operators who w ant high grade m a
chines. There were 23 models or
variations of the targ et m achine at
the 1937 show. T hat is an indication
of the rapid forw ard steps made in
developing a m achine, w hich, in the
present cycle, is about one year
. . old
.
The fu tu re work in the field of the
targ et m achine w ill be to develop
new innovations in targets and accu
rate shooting qualities.
E ig h t models of coin-operated bow l
in g m achines were to be seen on the
exhibit floor. Great strides have been
taken w ith this machine, in an effort
to meet a dem and fo r unquestioned
skill games, w hich are so m uch in
dem and. They are appealing to players
and offer real opportunities fo r prom o
tion in g e ttin g new locations. T heir
field of expansion is lim ited by their
size, w hich also is a detrim ent in
allow in g fo r innovations.
The im portance of the music div i
sion o f the trade is shown by the
e x hibiting o f 22 coin-operated phono
graph models. This represents prob
ably one of the m ost progressive
groups w ith in the industry, fro m the
standpoint o f organization and de
velopm ent of public spirit. This m ay
portend th a t leadership fo r the in
dustry m ay develop in the music field,
since music m achines have some prob
lems com mon to the entire industry.
The digger and crane field appears
to have reached stability. The de
velopm ent of new models appears to
have dropped off considerably. There
were 13 models of diggers, cranes and
rotary prem ium venders on the floor.
The new adaption to this field is the
rotary prem ium vender.
There was a decided trend toward
expensive floor machines, w ith an ele
m ent of chance and skill. They in
cluded 21 models divided am o ng de
luxe racing, dice roulette, card and
baseball games. These machines are
splendid examples o f w orkm anship,
w ith their beautiful cabinets and hig h
grade mechanisms. The num ber of
machines of this nature displayed,
indicate the m any possibilities for de
velopm ent and m anufacture, w hich it
offers. The machines shown were
only an indication o f the variety and
adaptations th a t can be carried out
in such m achines. They are a predica-
(See page 17)
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