Automatic Age

T he A
u t o m a t ic
A
ge
13
to this field. They will get a location in the heart of the best
cities, and there they will install an electric palace that will attract
the best class of people. The name “ penny” should not be asso­
r t e d with it for that in itself tends to cheapen it. The penny
sPender will go where the crowd is. Amusement machines oper­
ating in 5c, 10c and 25c should largely dominate the place.
The photomaton machine has shown what can be done with an
automatic machine conducted on a high plane and a dignified scale.
The penny machines will have their place of course, but the big
Machines should be in the forefront to attract and draw the
crowds. With the large populations that congregate in our cities
and the abundance of spending coins that is carried in the pockets
°f the public offers a great opportunity for automatic amusement
Palaces.
These crowds will be as different as the gorgeous motion picture
Palaces are from the old nickelodeons of the early days. The
trouble with us in the automatic business is that we are still in
the nickelodeon stage. What should be done is for the manufac­
turers of coin-controlled amusement machines to form an experi­
mental company, get a gigantic central location in New York or
Chicago and demonstrate what can be done. The manufacturers
could pool their interests and take enough stock to construct a
dazzling institution. It will unquestionably be a success, and then
*t can be followed by private capital, who will see the big money
to be made in enterprises of this kind.
A little imagination and leadership will put it over.
An Apology
In our April issue we stated we would begin in
this number an article in serial form pertaining to the coin ma­
chine industry. We regret to state the first installment of this
story will have to be deferred until next month. Our chief col­
laborator has been ill since we made this announcement and only
Recently returned to his desk; too late to prepare an article for
this issue. This, surely, will appear in our June number and in
each subsequent issue until the story is completed. It promises
to be informative as well as interesting and we know will be en­
joyed by our readers.
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