Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

with
ROBERT LATIMER
With some of the hottesr weather in
years, operators in and around St. Louis are
looking longingly toward cooler climates.
Business has dropped because of the heat,
operators report, and the only machines that
are really "booming" are the Bally Beverage
Vendors, several of which have been placed
in local department stores.
Carl Trippe, president of the Missouri
Amusement Machine Operators' Associa-
tion, announces that the organization will
discontinue all meetings until September
because of the hot weather and the absence
of so many members due to vacations.
Louis Morris, president of the Morris
Novelty Company, and Mrs. Morris have
gone on an extended vacation trip.
Five prominent, local coin men were ap-
pointed to various committees in prepara-
tion for the five-day national B. P. 0. E.
convention held here in July. The five, all
Elks in active membership, were Carl
Trippe, Harry Davies, W. Betz, Barney
Frerick and Louis Morris. Operators re-
port that the convention brought a pleasing
volume of business to St. Louis, particularly
in the pin table field.
An Elk from Oklahoma, who set up a
wigwam in Forest Park, was a source of
considerable amusement to members of the
Ideal Amusement Company and they con-
sidered setting up a penny arcade for the
children who came to visit him.
Dick Westbrook, vending machine opera-
tor, enjoyed the month of July in Chicago .
where he spent considerable time around
Lake Michigan cooling off.
Harry Davies, of the Davies Novelty Com-
pany, is planning a visit to California short-
ly to look up some of the coast operators
and dealers who correspond with him.
Doc Wilcox, partner in the Ideal Sales
Company, visited Denver during the latter
part of July for a few days of trout fishing.
Officers of the St. Louis Phonograph Own-
ers Association are receiving the plaudits of
the membership for their excellent work in
establishing standard rates on all phases of
phonograph operation throughout St. Louis
and East St. Louis. Martin Balensiefer, sec-
retary of the group, believes that the Asso-
ciation is one of the strongest in the in-
dustry.
One of the busiest coin machine men in
the Middle-West is Carl Trippe of the Ideal
Novelty Company. For the past few months
Carl has been extremely busy with his pen-
ny arcade and roller rink at Westlake Park.
Now he sets forth on a new business ven-
ture with the purchase of the Modern Cabi-
net Company at 1517 Market Street in St.
Louis. The Ideal Novelty Company will
control all selling rights of the Modern
Cabinet products in this vicinity. ·
. The. firm will hereafter manufacture only
m their local factory and will not sell di-
rectly to operators in St. Louis. The con-
cern manufactures change-over cabinets and
grilles, with light-up effects for all models
of automatic phonographs. Trippe is highly
enthusiastic over the results the Modern
Cabinet products have been getting with the
renovation of old models.
Mark Hanna, East St. Louis plumbing
company president, has been "discovered"
as one of the largest vending machine oper-
ators in the Illinois territory. Hanna took
up coin machine operation as a hobby two
years ago. He makes a specialty of unusual
and individual lighting effects on all his
machines, most of which light up when a
coin is deposited.
Bally's new "Pick Em" game is going
over very well in St. Louis, Leo Wichlan of
Ideal reports. Another item which has
shown a popular reception with operators
and public alike is the Counter Model
Rock-Ola, being displayed by Carl Trippe.
An additional revenue tax of two cents
per package was passed on all cigarettes in
St. Louis during June. The tax will prevail
only in St. Louis itself and will not be
levied in St. Louis County.
Although for a time it was feared that
cigarette machine vending of all brands
would suffer by the passage of the tax,
those who have studied the situation care-
fully agree that the two cent tax will not
affect the price of the standard 15 cent
brands. These will continue to sell at 15
cents and will not retail at 17 cents as was
expected. Ten cent cigarettes, however,
must now be sold at 12 cents, the Missouri
Amusement Machine Operators' Association
has reported.
Merchants throughout the city have
agreed to take a reduction on commissions
because of the doubled volume expected.
According to Carl Trippe, of Ideal Sales,
the tax move brought vending machine
prices on a level with drugstore prices,
which will tend to benefit machine sales.
The tax will be collected through the sale
of stamps, which will be affixed to each
package of cigarettes. This went into effect
July 13, allowing the dealers a ten per cent
reduction in return for their efforts in affix-
ing the stamps.
The St. Louis Phonograph Owners' Asso-
ciation held its regular monthly dinner
meeting at the Statler Hotel, July 19. Al-
though many of the members were on vaca-
tions, the turn-out was good and .Martin
Balensiefer, executive secretary of the
group, expressed his satisfaction at the way
the membership has been supporting the
organization.
An open forum on better route manage-
ment took up most of the time devoted to
business. New manufacturing developments
were also discussed.
♦
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