START 'SO WITH THESE 2 HITS
ROT RODS
Here's a 5-Ball that is really fast-fast in play and fast
in profits. So fast , in fact , it rivals one-balls in earning
power. Player selects I to 7 selections, deposits coin for
each selection. Then a flip of the ball shooter .. . and
all 5 balls are off, swirling Ilnd scrambling and wildly
racing down the field. Free play .. . but a gold-mine
in all territory.
SHUFFLE-BOWLER
SHUFFLEBOARD PLUS BOWLING
Only 9 1 1. feet long but all the real bowling thrills are
here PLUS real shuffle science. Realistic gutters on each
side of alley, puck returns to player automatically, auto-
matic scoring, official bowling rules and scores ,
anism mounted in convenient drawer in side of cabinet.
Puck locks in at end of game.
COME IN AND SEE THESE. TWO TODAYI
PAUL A. LAYMON, Inc.
1429-31 W. Pico, Los Angeles
PRospect 7351
on-factory employmen t is sa id to be tak-
in g up the s lack and all prediction for
1950 are on th e favorable side. But em-
ployment gain are not keeping pace with
new workers du e to population ga in.
Man-hour output is ga inin g and poses a
problem in employme nt ; average weekly
ea rnin gs of f actory workers increased dur-
in g most of 1949; personal income for
1949 set a new reco rd ; wage rates are
expected to continu e a t a hi gh level.
FARMERS-Reta il trade leaders are be-
gi nning to say th a t th e weak spot in th e
national business picture is farm income,
which is declining and red uces buyin g
power. Suppliers of vending me rcha ndi se
and also operators of vendors say farm
prices are still too hi gh-on suga r, tobacco,
pea nuts, etc.
GASOLINE- On this phase of operator's
tran sportation costs, the outlook i ~ becom-
in g more favorabl e. Some price red uction s
have already been made an d more are
expected in 1950, even thou gh small. Th e
average gasoline price, however, advanced
o ne cent per gallon durin g th e past year-
the average on Nov. 1 being practically
27 cents per gallon. De mand in creased
about 5 per cent in 1949 and is expected
to in crease about the arne in 1950 ; supply
outlook is con sidered a mpl e. Oil industry
say taxes are th e real p robl e m in gasoline
costs.
GOVER NMENT MONEY-Cash to vet-
erans will help as th e new year starts off;
bigger defense spendin g, RFC loans, a nd
European aid is expected to come to the
aid of business in a bi g way by sprin g.
Government money may weaken on one
front, however, as un employm en t funds are
reported as about exhausted in several
areas.
MATERIALS - Purchasing agents re-
port most materials readily available, ex-
cept for th e tempo rary upset in steel which
is expected to e nd by Feb. 1. Prices began
advancing by November, e pecially on lum -
ber, copper, bra s. Purchasers said the an-
ticipated lower prices on materials may be
put off " for so me tim e." Operators will
see in this genera l report a problem that
face manufacturers of co in machines.
PROFITS -For ind ustry in general,
profits for th e third quar ter of 1949 were
abo ut 16 per cen t below th t; average for
th e same period in 1948, but were about
6
4 pe r ce nt above the seco nd quarter of the
year; auto makers headed th e parade for
increased profits.
PRICES-Price announcements at th e
a nnual NAMA conven ti on revea led that
reductions are till a minor factor in th e
eq uipme nt a nd also suppl y field. Some com-
me nts on price trends in th e I!;eneral busi-
nes ' picture have already been made in
thi s column. Th e best guess for 1950 is
that th e price level is likely to r ema in
quite stabl e-well a bove th e prewar level ;
livin g costs a re expec ted to remain about
the same, although lower food prices are
predicted.
Although operators ge ne rall y are unde r-
stood to wa nt to see real price declines
a ll alon g th e lin e, one of th e conservative
business reviews says: "S table prices will
help to keep th e good tim es going."
PEOPLE-T he inc rea ing gains in popu-
la tion must now be reckoned with as a
big fa ctor in business, and ma ny industries
and lin es of business a re not making the
ga ins that population ga ins should cause.
Thi s is a weakness in the business picture
that may prove serious in the future. Some
fa ctors, such a insura nce compan ies, social
sec urity, e tc., pile up billions due to popu-
lati o n gains, while other lines of business
are not cap italizin g on th e population in -
crease.
RETAIL TRADE-Th e major stri kes
upset th e normal trend for two months; re-
The Review Calendar ...
I MPORTANT DATES
-New Year's Day.
-Canned Citrus Promotion .
-March of Dimes Campaign.
-National Thrift Week.
CO N VE NTIO NS
Mar. 6-8
-Music O perators of America, first
annual convention , Palmer House,
Chicago.
Mar. 26-31
-National Assn . of Tobacco Dis-
tributors, annual convention, Pal-
mer House, Chicago .
May 31-June 3-National Candy Wholesalers Assn.,
Hotel Commodore, New York City .
June 4-9
-National Confectioners Assn ., an-
nual convention , Grand Central
Palace, New York.
June 26-28
-Coin Machine Institute, annual con-
vention, Stevens Hotel, Chicago.
-National Automatic Mercha ndising
Nov. 15-18
Assn., annual convention and ex-
hibit, Palmer House, Chicago .
Jan .
Jan.
Jan .
Jan.
I
6-15
15-30
17-23
ports on final holiday trade were not avail-
able for this review.
STOCK MARKET-For th e year 1949
th e stock market ran a pretty favorable
co urse. Divid en d payments by co rporations
are firmly expected to increase over 1949,
so a noth er good year hould co me to th e
stoc k market.
SMALL BUSINESS-Co ngress is almost
sure to conside r guaranteed loans to small
business firms, on the sa me basis th a t
guara nteed loa ns are avai lable to large
firms ( under RFC) and to farmer. Such
a step would aid many operators and small
firm s in th e co in machine trade th at may
get in a ti ght place. Small bu iness will
get a better hear in g in th e next Congress
than in the last two sessions.
TAXES-Operato rs will probably hear
more, and think more, about exc ise taxes
than other forms of federal tax. Now is
the time to get ready to fight for repeal of
the federal tax on music machines a nd
games. Some states are also threa tening
in creases in cigarette taxes in 1950.
Mr. EmplDyer:
Why do you not sive yOUl' em-
ployees the consideration they de-
serve, since it costs you nothing?
The 1" State Unemplorment deduction
that you take from their .. Iuiet and
send to the State doel nO( buy them
as much unemployment Disability Bene·
lit as you can obtain by purchasing a
replu insurance plan with a PriYate
Insurance Carrier_
This is nO( salet talk, but a fact--.ince
the law proyides that no prJyate iDlur-
ance company plan complies wllh the
law unless it giyes b."ft' {wo/eclio" than
the state '" Ibe Slim. cost.
The AIsociation and Group Insurance
Bureau will gladly assist yOU to make
the change over witbolll charge b,. tele·
phoning them or dropping them a note
at
ZEIGLER INS. AGENCY, Inc.
541 Soutlo Sprl-9 Street
Lo. AIHJ ..... Can ••
Mlc:hlgan 0961
ALL INSURANCE aad IOND LINES
COIN MACHINE REVIEW