finally going to get the scale and the deal was falls into the payout cup below. This would be
made. I contacted a very good friend of mine in the gambling feature of the machine as you are
trying to get your penny
Texas who was able to drive over that Saturday,
back and your weight
pay him the price of the Simplex, and pick the
for free.
scale up before he
came to his senses.
The scale is very in-
teresting and also has a
I had always want-
metal tag on the front
ed to find a nice
below the pin field which
gambling scale and
states property of the
this one had such
Yale Operating Com-
a great look along
pany 720 Main Kansas
with the Caille name
City, Missouri where it
to boot. The glass
was located. The Yale
around the scale
Amusement Company
face is glue chipped
resided at 720 main be-
just as the upright
floor machines of ginning in 1904 and later in 1914 they changed
that period. The the name to the Yale Arcade Theater. This the-
ater building at 7 20 Main actually opened in
1898 and was the pioneer for moving picture
theaters in Kansas City. It was the first of its
kind and among the first in the United States.
The theater held 7 5 seats with no side arms or
cushions and the films ranged from 100 to 300
feet in length.
scale glass has big
maroon letters which
state "Money Back
Scale" and the Caille
company initials are
found in the lower
corners. This big ma-
chine almost looks
like an old grandfa-
ther clock standing
just over 6 feet tall
with its curved wood
top. The scale face
shows charts for men
and women but then
goes into more detail
with the boys and
girls. The big cast
iron plate above th e
pin field reads "watch
where your money
goes" and the center
chute in the pin field
is labeled "money
back". The pin field
is located right in the center of the machine and
when you drop your penny in the scale it will fall
down and bounce through this area. If you get
lucky and the penny hits the center money back
chute a set of bells inside will ding as the penny
The Kansas City Star on May 28th 1916 talks
about the old Yale Theater closing its doors and
running the last picture. It also had this to say
about the theater in the newspaper article which
I had to share with you; and no I didn't make
it up, "The patrons who saw the last picture
explored their way through the same magical
surroundings that in ancient days attracted the
pleasure seekers to the new, the ultimate thrill.
For the way has always led through a room filled
with penny slot machines, some of which, with
their quickly flopping cards, were the predeces-
sors of the movie picture."
One clear answer to the date of the scale is
right on the face as it reads "made only by the
Caille Company 206 Randolph street Detroit
U.S.A." Adolph Caille started out as a Coin
Machine Manufacturer in 1897, working out
of his home at 96 Park Place. The next year the
company opened its doors at 24 Gratiot where
it remained until 19?2 when it moved to 1427
Woodward. The Ca1lle Company was located
5