Automatic Age

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practiced by merchants,
manufacturers, and other groups is always an interesting check for the public relations
program of our own industry.
O the successful molders of
public opinion, the rewards
in public acceptance and
public approval, are worth many
times over the time, thought,
and money necessary to conduct
a program of public relations.
While many industries and
groups of business men have
gone far in the development and
continuance of their public rela­
tions programs, our own indus­
try has only recently awakened
to the benefits of presenting its
case to the public.
Outstanding in this needed
and valuable work are the Min­
nesota Amusement Games Asso­
ciation, the Amusement Board
of Trade of New Jersey, the As­
sociated Operators of Los
Angeles County, and the Phono­
graph Merchants Association
of Cleveland. These are men­
tioned here because they have
r e c e n t l y accomplished note­
worthy achievements, w h i c h
T
have been reported in recent is­
sues of AUTOMATIC AGE.
To get a perspective of the
operation of a public relations
program, it is well to look to
groups outside of our own in­
dustry, and study their methods.
Recently in the Detroit Free-
Press, Charles E. Boyd, Secre­
tary of the Retail Merchants
Association, was given promin­
ent space for his ideas on a cur­
rently live local situation. Here’s
what he wrote to show that
parking meters will solve many
problems.
“The Retail Merchants Asso­
ciation of Detroit has been an
ardent exponent of the plan for
an experimental installation of
parking meters in Detroit’s con­
gested business areas since 1935.
At this time it felt that the idea
had considerable merit, and sub­
sequent investigation and ex­
haustive study of available data
have more than substantiated
this opinion.
The Farm M aid Dairy Bar, Detroit, Mich., is another of the growing list of ice cream and
dairy bars throughout Detroit, having a Pla-Mor remote control installation.
Installation by
A ngott Sales Co., Packard distributors, made for operator Lee Chadwick.
70
AUTOMATIC AGE
© International Arcade Museum
“Because of the unusual lay­
out of its main arteries of traffic
which run through many busi­
ness districts, and which, in the
main, converge in a small area
downtown, and because of the
high percentage of automo­
biles to the population, among
other things, Detroit’s traffic
problems as compared to those
of other cities are greatly in­
tensified. It is constantly seek­
ing means to alleviate its semi­
chronic vehicular snarl and any
plan which offers potentiality of
solution such as the parking me­
ter plan seems to offer should
not, in our opinion, be consid­
ered lightly.
“Should Detroit adopt the
plan or install meters for test
purposes it would be the largest
city in the country to date to
undertake the experiment. This,
no doubt, accounts in part for
the delay encountered in obtain­
ing the approval of the Common
Council and other powers that
be.
“The Retail Merchants of De­
troit favor making a test instal­
lation of parking meters in the
City’s major business district,
first, because the installation has
proven so outstandingly success­
ful in other cities. Approxi­
mately 160 c o m m u n i t i e s
throughout the country now em­
ploy this system of traffic con­
trol and the results as reported
have been overwhelmingly in
favor of their continuation.
These cities in Michigan are
among those listed as users—
Flint, Grand Rapids, Saginaw,
Hamtramck, Highland Park,
Pontiac, Monroe and River
Rouge.
“Flint has had meters for
nearly two years and revenues
from the devices have paid for
the meters, their installation and
August, 1941
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