AUG'UST, 1948
OFFICE OF PUBLICATION: 1115 V .. lce Blyd., Los Angel .. 15, Calif. Paul W . Blackford, Editor and
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BUSINESS REVIEW . .. Industry In Trllnsitory Period
Witll Mllny Perplexing Problems
All agencies that report on business activ-
ity seem to agree the nation moved into
the second half of the year with a general
upward trend which is expected to con-
tinue for the rest of the year.
The upward trend in business activity
began in April and May, after a lag during
the first quarter, most of the reporting
agencies say. Business leaders were uneasy
during the first three months of the year,
but that uneasiness has disappeared, a
government report says.
The renewed wave of national prosperity,
measured in terms of dollar volume, is
passing almost beyond imagination and
still greater gains are expected. One report
says factory production is beginning to
"firm," which suggests a leveling off for
the rest of the year.
One phase of the high dollar level of
business is high prices, and all reporting
agencies agree that the general level of
prices is on another upward spiral. There
will be spotty price declines, including
some farm crops, fruits, cotton goods, per-
haps shoes and some other lines. But the
price trend is decidedly upward, having
started the climb with vigor about April 15.
Some business leaders call the new price
climb another wave of inflation and the
man in the street also calls it inflation.
Operators generally agree that inflation
pinches him in three ways: it raises his
own cost of living, it raises his costs of do-
ing business, and it cuts down the spending
of the masses and thus reduces total in-
come for his machines.
So, the present news of another inflation
spiral is not good news for operators gen-
erally.
Chief points on which the coin machine
trade will gain are the high level of em-
ployment, increased circulation of money
and the building of new factories and other
types of locations.
For the masses, who make up coin ma-
(See BUSINESS REVIEW, page 8)
Call
PR. 7351
For Coin.operated Equipment,
Parts and Supplies
PAUL A. LAYIVlON
DISftIIUTOI
142'·31 ad 1503 W. Pleo
Los "gel .. 15
GIVE TO RUNYON CANCER rUNO
CHICAGO-Many operators, distributors and manufacturers in the Indus·
try think the summer of 1948 might have been a normal transition to a
favorable fall upswing, but for the new wave of inflation under way. This
is the consensus of opinion among trade leaders here and also those who
visit the manufacturing center.
Manufacturers and distributors express full . sympathy for the operator
who has not yet found a satisfactory way to raise his prices in keeping with
the increases in his costs.
The mid-summer season is still to be judged on what the full effects of
the new trend of plant closings for vacation will have on patronage. Coin
machine factories joined in the new trend in a general way.
Gesick New Mills Treasurer
CHICAGO-At a meeting of the Board
of Directors of Mills Industries, Edward J .
Gesick, former assistant secretary and
treasurer of Popular Mechanics, was elected
treasurer.
Board of Directors now comprises Ralph
J. Mills, chairman; Herbert S. Mills, presi-
dent; A. E. Tregenza, executive vice-presi-
dent; Simms D. McGuire, president of Be-
loit Dairy Co.; and Fred L. Mills, Jr., son
of the former president of Mills Industries.
Churvis Joins WEMP
CHICAGO - Art Churvis, son of Mac
Churvis of the Churvis Advertising Co. and
well-known in coin machine circles, is now
connected with radio station WEMP in
Milwaukee. Art was formerly connected
with WBBM in Chicago and more recently
with WKMO, Kokomo.
The Review Calendar ...
Important Date.
Aug .
-Air Force .Day.
Aug.
-Friendship Day.
Aug . 14 -V-J Day.
Conventions
Aug . 9-12-lnternational Apple Assn . convention,
New York.
Aug . IS-21-National Food Distributors Assn. ,
Chicago .
Sept. 17-IS-NAMA Reg ional Meeting, Reg ion II,
Syracuse, N. Y.; GeorGe Seedman,
Chr.
Oct. 25-27-lnternational Assn. of Ice Cream
Manufacturers, Atlantic City, N. J .
Dec . 4 -CMI Health Bowl Game (tentative
date), Soldier Field , Chicago.
Dec. 13-IS-National Assn. of Pop Corn Manufac-
turers, Sherman Hotel, Chicago.
Dec. 12-IS-National Automatic Merchandising
Assn ., Pa lmer House, Chicago.
AUGUST, 1948
The turn of the year, and the new up-
surge in prices, has produced many com-
ments on what "the future holds for the
Coin Machine Indus~ry." Concern is chiefly
about what the course of general business
will be, and how it will react on the trade.
The second half of the year is regarded
still as a period of transition.
A summary of some of the many views
on the way the Industry is going is given
as follows:
1. Costs are still rising; this pinches
the operator most, but it also confronts
distributors and manufacturers. On this
point the trade must wait on the national
trend. Operators have found no way to
hike their prices, although they still talk
about 7lh-cent coins, front money, dime
play .to replace nickel, etc.
When all trade talk is digested, this
is probably the one big topic.
2. Expected postwar booms have not
come to pass. The nearest approach to a
boom has been in the placing of bottle-
type soft drink vendors; the full force of
soft drink vendor expansion is still to be
felt; lack of materials has severely checked
a runaway boom-certainly for the good
of the fu ture of the business.
The prevention of a runaway boom,
REPAIRS ond PARTS
Buy and Sell Slofs
•
OVER 20 YEARS IN
SERVICING SLOTS
G. StrHt,
B. SAM
541 E. 32ad
Loa ....... 11, c.I.
ADam. 7"1
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