Automatic Age

86
AUTOMATIC AGE
BATTLE
March, 1941
WITS
In this department we w ill present both sides to any question, prob­
lem, or topic pertaining to the operator’s business. You are all
invited to write your views to this department. Exchange of ideas,
even when there is an honest difference of opinion, is the greatest
aid to your success.
SLUGGERS VANISH
WITH THIS IDEA
Hillory Macklin is no slouch
when it comes to outsmarting
the slugger. “I ’m smarter than
they are,” he says, “and I ’ve
proved it.”
For a long time Macklin was
bothered by slugs. His cigarette
vendors were loaded with every­
thing from candy wafers to Ger­
man silver money imitations. It
got so that Macklin decided it
would almost be better to give
up selling cigarettes and go into
the shoe business. But then an
idea struck him.
Selecting several different
kinds of slugs found in his ma­
chines, Macklin haa a card
printed to which ne glued the
slugs and pasted the entire dis­
play inside his machines so that
it was plenty visible. The card
read:
“These slugs were introduced
as evidence in a court trial that
convicted three slug users, gave
them a $300.00 fine, and sent
them to prison for a period of
one year! Slug users are hereby
warned that they are being
watched by secret service men
who will arrest them on sight
and see that the heaviest pen­
alty of the law is meted out to
them.”
Macklin claims that after put­
ting these notices in his vendors
he received 75 per cent less slugs
the very first week. After that,
he said, the slug trouble dwin­
dled down until today he has to
look hard to find a slug in his
cash boxes. Location owners, he
revealed, were afraid of the slug
sign at first because they felt
that it might drive some of their
customers elsewhere. The re­
verse was true, however, since
the sluggers were doubtless per­
sons who could afford to pay for
what they wanted but were just
using slugs because they found
it easy. Business did not drop
off, but the slug menace did.
sented itself, Phillips and Kelly
had a consultation. Kelly, too,
was at a loss to understand why
receipts were not much higher.
A sudden thought struck him.
His wife, who is a stern paci­
fist, tended things during the
day while Kelly slept.
Cross examination revealed
the fact that Mrs. Kelly pulled
the plug out of the machine
when she came on duty. She told
customers that it was out of
order. Several customers re­
ported to Kelly later that his
THIS WAS A NEW
wife gave them a good lecture
ONE ON US, TOO
against thinking about war
Bill Kelly owns one of the
when they tried to operate the
finest locations in the great Illi­
ray gun machine.
nois Fox River valley. It is a
In any event, Mrs. Kelly has
show place for travellers and
been
made to see things in a
has a beautiful outdoor garden
different
light now, and Phillips’
that attracts much steady local
ray
gun
is doing a land office
trade.
Harry Phillips operates ray business.
guns out through Kelly’s terri­
tory, and recently installed one
in his place. Kelly was quick to TALKING POINT
see the possibilities of the gun GETS LOCATION
A fairly large radio station
at this particular time with so
much emphasis being placed on located near Chicago allows the
public to come in at any time
national defense.
during
the day and witness the
Phillips allowed about two
broadcast
of various programs.
weeks to elapse before he re­
The
entire
show is visible to
turned to check the rifle game,
the
audience
through double, air
and was very much surprised to
insulated
windows.
find that it had taken in only
A long time ago, an operator
a small amount of money. There
had
a cigarette vendor located
must be something wrong he
in
the
audience room. It did re­
reasoned, especially since Kelly’s
markably
good business, but un­
place was always filled with cus­
fortunately
he was requested to
tomers.
Another week passed, and remove it one day because it
when the same situation pre­ was found that every time some-
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