that over 30,000 of these cast iron machines were made, ers of "High-Grade Bicycles, Expert Model and Pattern
though few are found today.
Makers, Inventions perfected and specialties manufac-
We can follow the fate of the Paul E. Berger Com- tured, Tin and sheet metal work, Nickel plating in all
pany in papers filed with the State of Illinois as part its branches." A July 20, 1901 advertisement in the
of their yearly corporate reporting requirements and Police Gazette read: "For Sale. Peanut venders abso-
through other documents: On the 28th day of February lutely perfect, can't be manipulated. Our machines are
1898, Paul E. Berger, Theodore Nagel, and James A. their own salesmen. Place a sample order, it will do
Davis put their hands to the documents forming the Paul the rest. Prompt shipments. We also control all the
E. Berger Manufacturing Company and paid the $25 Spanish Salted Peanuts in the world, roasted by our
filing fee (the equivalent of $553.89 in 2005 dollars). own special process. Positively the most perfect and
They proposed the object of the new company to be artistic in design Card Machines, 5-slot combination,
the "buying, manufacturing, operating, marketing, and $7.50 each. Phonograph Horns, Garden Benches, Slot
handling on commission wood and metal working ma- Machines, all kinds. Address Paul E. Berger, Co., 395
chinery; steam, hydraulic, wind, compressed air, horse, Dearborn St. Chicago, Ill. Factory: Chicago Ridge, Ill.
foot and electric power machinery; farmers, dairymen, A visit to our factory means money and valuable infor-
mechanics and artisans machinery, tools and supplies; mation for you." What an ad, everything from claim-
also owning and operating gold, silver, nickel and tin ing a worldwide monopoly on peanuts to selling garden
plating plants; smelting plants and iron, brass and other benches and phonograph horns! An existing copy of
metal foundries." They proposed to capitalize the new Paul E. Berger, Co. letterhead from just after the turn
company with the issue of $2500 in corporate bonds, of the century shows a world globe surmounted by a
valued at $50 each, $2400 of which were to be held by wheel and electric sparks and the words "Worlds largest
Paul E. Berger with the remaining $100 to be held by manufacturer of slot and vending machines." It goes
Charlotte Berger (his wife?). The stockholders and or- on to tout lots of other manufacturing activities includ-
ganizers met on March 24th and elected the new Board ing tin plating and enameling and "Mechanical work to
of Directors: Paul E. Berger, Charlotte Berger and Otto order in any metal, copper, aluminum, bronze, machin-
Berger. Having met all the requirements of the State ing, spinning, finishing." In a era notable for hyper-
of Illinois, the Paul E. Berger Manufacturing Company bole, Paul E. Berger certainly held his own.
officially was chartered March 28th, 1898.
By 1901, the Ripley J. White Manufacturing Compa-
The new company must have been reasonably pros- ny, also of Chicago Ridge, had entered into some sort of
perous in their first year. On October 30th the follow- agreement with the Berger Company to produce some
ing year (1899), the stockholders of the company voted or all of their slot machines with the White Company
to increase the capital stock of the company to $50,000 producing their own versions of the American Beauty
(over $1.1 million in today's dollars). Based on their (regular and musical versions), the Chicago Ridge and
building and economic effect on the little city of Chi- the Oom-Paul. (Ripley J. White actually lived almost
cago Ridge, the early years were boom years, but by next door to the Berger plant.) There is some evidence
1901 there were definite signs of impending financial to support White 's production of the Berger Dewey
doom. Machines made by the company in the years ( 1901-1904). With the collapse of the electric slot ma-
of 1900 and 1901 show cutbacks in ornamentation, us- chine market in 1901 and 1902, the Berger Company
ing a sparser look and cheaper manufacturing methods. must have been in serious trouble because they failed
An advertisement that ran weekly in The National Po- to file the required annual report with the state and their
lice Gazette from May 4, 1901 to June 8, 1901 prom- charter was temporarily revoked in July of 1902. The
ised, "Guaranteed new and perfect slot machines. Owl, RJ White company loaned Berger $8,000 to help bail
Judge, Uno, Fox, Star, Lion, $40 each, Paul E. Berger out the company, but court records from 1905 indicate
Mfg Co Chicago." This was a very low price for ma- that this may have been a form of buyout. (Berger sued
chines of the time and reflects the cheaper manufacture RJ White March 29, 1905, to try to regain control of the
and (possibly) desperation by the company.
company, then valued at $120,000 and further alleged
Either because of economic pressure or as a poten- that White sold off finished inventory worth $40,000 and
tial cause of it, the Berger company was offering a diz- machinery originally costing $20,000, while pocketing
zying array of services: An early entry in the Chicago the profits for himself.) By 1903, the Berger Company
Business Directory advertised them to be manufactur- was officially reinstated in business by the State of Illi-
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