Coin Machine Journal

60
T HE COI N M A C H I N E J O U R N A L
E D IT O R IA L
Show Exceeded Expectations
• It is a matter of pride among all factors in the industry
that despite business conditions in other lines the 1933
Coin Machine Show was an outstanding success. The man­
agement of the Show reported a substantial surplus.
As an evidence of the unselfish interest of manufacturers
in the general welfare of operators the Association had a
special meeting the last night of the Show and voted to util­
ize this fund to the betterment of operating conditions. A
committee was appointed to consider ways and means of
accomplishing this purpose. None of this money will be
frittered away on aimless projects.
With such leaders as PresidentXee S. Jones and Secretary
Joe Huber, Walter Tratsch and others there is every assur­
ance that only decisions of benefit to the industry as a whole
will be made in the conduct of the organization and the dis­
pensation of the funds it holds.
Blab-Mouth Editors Keep Up Unrest
• One of the things wrong with this country today is the
lack of judgment displayed by people in responsible posi­
tions, people who should know better. In a recent issue of
an insurance magazine appeared a story on coin machines
which dispenses considerable misinformation and reflects
the attitude of a lot of editors who slap anything into their
papers before checking up on the facts. This story started
off by saying:
“When you slip a coin into a slot machine and receive
this usual product—gum, candy, pencils, combs, etc.-—
it has not occurred to you that the owner of the ma­
chine may be operating a chain and making an income
of as high as $1,000,000 a year. . . . ”
Of all the people in the world who should make certain of
the information they dispense certainly the editors of our
various local and national publications should use some dis­
cretion. Anyone who knows anything at all about the vend­
ing machine business will recognize that whoever is respon­
sible for this story went off half-cocked.
Where are all these big chain operators?
Why is it that taxes imposed on vending machines in­
variably fail to produce the cost of collection? If this is the
type of information that is being fed to the public by the
press it is no wonder that the country is in bad shape.
If all the information dispensed by newspapers and mag­
azines in regard to the industrial activities, stocks and bonds,
finances, politics, is as inaccurate as this story it is no
wonder that the country is in a sea of fear and misgiving.
It is true that we know of some operators who have made
more than a comfortable living and a handful who have
acquired an enviable competence. Taking the industry as
a whole, however, it is made up of a great many small oper­
ators who manage by hard work and diligent application
to little things to make a fair living.
M arch , 1933
C O M M E N T
The only big money ever made of any syndicate operation
was made by wholesale stock promotions. If anybody
should know these facts, certainly, it is the editors of in­
surance publications who are considered to be authorities
on economics.
Keeping Faith With Our Readers
• In this keenly competitive world publishers, naturally,
are eager to procure all the revenue they can from advertis­
ers. But, there are certain obligations a publisher has to
perform in order to give a square deal to the industry as a
whole.
T h e C o in M a c h in e J o u r n a l has refused to accept ad­
vertising from certain fly-by-night concerns whose specialty
is copying the successful numbers of other manufacturers.
We see some of these ads in other publications. It may be
doing the operators a temporary favor to offer them copies
of machines at greatly reduced prices. In the long run the
operator- suffers because his territory is soon swamped with
these machines which cripple his earnings if they do not
entirely eliminate his activities.
What this business needs is a wholesale cleanup to elimi­
nate a number of outright pirates.
It might not be so bad if some of these concerns stayed in
business long enough to set themselves right in regard to
costs and methods, but most of them fold up within a few
weeks after taking the operators for deposits and not making
the machines.
We know of one such outfit who bob up periodically here
and there; and within the course of'a year have had a half
dozen different company names and as many different ad­
dresses. As far as we are able, T h e C o in M a c h in e J o u r n a l
has refused to accept the advertising of concerns who cannot
show some degree of responsibility. We must be assured
that the machines are actually in production, and there is a
reasonable assurance that all shipments will be made, and
that any complaints or refunds will be handled according to
recognized business principles.
A publisher who accepts any other kind of advertising
invariably gets stuck himself.
By patronizing Journal advertisers operators have a rea­
sonable assurance that the concerns represented in its col­
umns are qualified to make good.
Hiding From the Politicians
• Indiana has a new bill which has been introduced seeking
to tax machines from $10.00 to $100.00 a year. It is no
reflection on the character and earnestness of legislators
who introduce these bills, but it is certainly a glaring ex­
ample of ignorance of economic values, if not outright
stupidity. It may be that the only cure for legislators of
this kind would be for the operators to turn their business
over to these representatives and let them see how much
they can derive out of the operation of machines. ’
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