November, 1939
AUTOMATIC AGE
with sheer mechanical wizardry
and make him happy by letting
him demonstrate his skill and
body english, then you don’t
need jackpots, payouts, reward
cards or first cousins in the
Sheriff’s office.
*
*
*
The August issue of A u t o
A g e carried an article by
Charles W. Schlict of Mills Nov
elty Company entitled “The
Coin Machine Business — Its
Growth and Development.”
Turn back to your August is
sue and read this article over
again, not merely to bolster con
fidence in your industry or to
gather fresh inspiration for car
rying on your profession, but to
review what will undoubtedly
prove to be one of the most im
portant stories ever written by
a member of the industry.
The United States Department
of Commerce has included this
article in its “Business Informa
tion Service” which is distrib
uted to Chambers of Commerce,
trade associations, libraries, uni
versities, and similar organiza
tions where it is maintained
under standardized file headings
for the use of business men,
officials and the public.
This is the first time, to our
knowledge, that the Department
of Commerce has printed and
distributed, at its own expense,
an informative article originat
ing within the coin machine in
dustry. The article is without
question the finest presentation
of the economic importance of
the coin machine business that
we have ever seen. Here are a
few excerpts from the story
which appears in its complete
and original form in the Depart
ment of Commerce “Business
Information Service:”
“This industry has multiplied
itself tenfold during the years of
1928 to 1939, inclusive . Such
phenomenal growth has been
achieved when practically every
other established business was
m a t ic
either barely holding its own, or
else was sliding backwards to
such an alarming degree that in
many cases only subsidy by Gov
ernmental agencies kept them on
our economic map ”
“It is useless to attempt to
answer feature article writers
who, after a casual glance at the
business, set themselves up as
self-appointed authorities. They
make their living out of such ar
ticles, and the amount of indig
nation or criticism they can in
spire is regarded as a direct
yardstick of their literary abil
ity r
“In the final analysis, our
judge is going to be the man on
the street, and when he realizes,
or is made to realize, how closely
allied this business is with his
economic welfare, these same
feature writers will commence
passing out bouquets to us.”
An important suggestion was
made to operators by Mr. Schlict
in the article which appeared in
our August issue. How many of
you have acted upon that sug
gestion? Read that article over
and over. Convince yourself that
you, as an operator, can do more
for the future of the industry
than anyone else in the business.
On behalf of the coin machine
industry, A u t o m a t ic A g e takes
this opportunity to congratulate
Mr. Schlict.
*
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*
The Chicago Vending Machine
Operators Association celebrated
its Twentieth Anniversary this
month with a dance and card
party. Attendance fell short of
filling the huge Marshall Square
Hall on Chicago’s west side, due
to a bad break in the weather.
Members and friends made it a
gala party with card games,
dancing to a fine orchestra, and
frequent visits to the huge “op
erators’ bar” where W. P. Con
sidine, secretary of the associa
tion, was busy directing several
assistants in “serving up the
suds.” Valuable door prizes were
awarded to many “ops.”
© International A rcade M useum
13
Operator J. J. Orlowski was
chairman of the committe which
arranged the anniversary party.
Wm. Sheade, well known Chi
cago vending machine operator,
was also a member of the com
mittee on arrangements for the
affair. “Bill” is the proud father
of three grown boys. Martin, the
youngest son, will graduate soon
from medical school. Inciden
tally, Martin and his girl-friend
attended the operators’ party,
and what the G. F. could do with
that microphone would make
many professional blues singers
look to their laurels.
*
*
*
Frank Sanders of Chicago is
playing his third season with
the famous St. Mary’s football
team. He is a player and also
team manager of the Gaels. He
was a star in the “Cotton Bowl”
game in Texas last New Year’s
Day. A picture of him appears
in this issue. Frank is the son of
Fred Sanders, well-known Chi
cago operator.
*
*
*
H.
C. Lemke, well-known
Michigan coin machine man,
with Mrs. Lemke, spent a few
days in Chicago early this
month. At his hotel room Mr.
Lemke was glancing through a
copy of “Specialty Salesman.”
Exhibiting the copy to us he
said: “About twenty years ago I
was reading a copy of ‘Specialty
Salesman’ and found an ad in it
that told me how to get into the
coin machine business.”
“And so— ?”, we asked.
“Well, I thought I would look
through a current copy to see if
it could tell me how to get out of
the business.”
This, of course, was just one
of Henry Lemke’s little jokes—
for Lemke Coin Machine Com
pany placed substantial orders
for new equipment for his ex
tensive Michigan routes. As
most everyone knows, Mr. Lemke
is one of the most successful
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