Automatic Age

T he A
u t o m a t ic
numbers. So when they punch they
switch numbers falling from the
board and produce the bogus numbers
which are winning numbers.
At
Kuhl’s place the men are said to have
“ won” a check for $20, a diamond
ring and other grand prizes. As good
a haul of “winning” numbers was
made at Travello’s place. The num­
bers displayed by the men are said
to have corresponded in serial and to
be duplicates of the numbers of the
particular punch board so that the
punch board owner could not detect
the fraud.
Kuhl was victimized, it is said on
Thursday, and had with him at the
time a written warning to look out
for slick strangers. He did not dis­
cover the deception until many hours
later. It is thought that the three
men, traveling leisurely in an Essex
car are making a good living with
this bunco punch board drawing
stunt.
Nertney Shows Us
Some Old Timers
W e had a pleasant half hour visit
with K. G. Nertney, Ottawa, 111.,
during the holidays, when we took a
trip across country looking over the
field along the route of the Lincoln
Highway. Mr. Nertney succeeded his
late lamented father, and these oper­
ations founded by the Mr. T. J. Nert­
ney, are among the largest in the
country. Mr. Nertney showed us
some floor machines that were form­
erly operated in a local buffet until
recently, and these machines would
bring a premium on the market. We
wei-e told under breath that although
he wanted to keep one or two of
these machines as relics, he would
part with same of them to the right
parties.
Farms in the United States repre­
sent one-fifth of the total national
wealth and contribute one-sixth of
the national income.
© International Arcade Museum
A
ge
75
First Slot Machines
Installed ,at St. Johnsburg, Vt., by
English Inventor.
The first slot machines in America
were known as “Nickel in the Slot”
weighing machines, and were manu­
factured at St. Johnsburg, Vt.
After the patent expired the slot
feature was applied to almost every
known device.
Slot machines had been in use in
England. The inventor was Percival
Everitt, an Englishman who came to
the United States in 1885 to interest
capital in his invention. He was suc­
cessful in forming a company, with a
young man from Rutland, Vt., as
manager, who is now president of
one of the trust companies in New
York and a financial power.
Toledo Scale Company
Changes Ownership
Hubert D. Bennett of Toledo, has
secured controling interest in the
Toledo Scale Company of Toledo,
Ohio. Mr. Bennett was elected pres­
ident of the company and has as­
sumed active charge of this interna­
tionally known concern.
O. C.
Reeves, former factoiy superintend­
ent, has been elected first vice-presi­
dent of the company, and W. C.
Gookin, formerly sales manager, is
now second vice-president. Mr. Ben­
nett, who is the son of the late
George W. Bennett, former general
manager of the
Willys-Overland
Company at Toledo, has, since his
graduation, worked up from a factory
hand in the Willys-Overland plant to
a place in the Overland Company's
advertising department. He was also
with the Studebaker Corporation for
several years, connected with the sales
division of that company. TRe past
year has been a successful one for
the Toledo Scale Company, sales hav­
ing shown a very substantial in­
crease.
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