The Phonogram, Vol. 2:3 (1892-03)

THE PHONOGRAM. 69 Will it Pay? HE coin-in-t'ne-Blot machine is in its infancy. Its pro- genitor was the penny in- the-slot machine, which loaned its influence to various trades and associa- tions ; for instance, the fruit-vender found in it a potential ally—it deprived Mr. fair- banks of many a dollar, it slyly diverted the “ nimble sixpence ” from the grasp of the perambulating tradesmen who would “shock you ” for a penny, and hence de- rived its cognomen of “shocking ma- chine.” Other branches of business were also monopolized by it, but we will not stop to consider these because there is so much to say in its behalf. For all its employers it has realized large profits. And so has its competitor the nickel- in-the-slot phonograph ; not only keeping up the pace, but outstripping it in the quality of a money earner, as has been authoritatively stated in The Phoxogkam by the heads of phonographic companies. In certain localities it has yielded *C0 per day. The receipts of the Louisiana Company, under Mr. Hugh Conyngton, of New Orleans, are published as follows : ReeetfffsTb April 8ih. one month $516.85 *• « Hi ay 8th. two months... 1,017 85 “ “ June 8tli. three months.. 1,420 80 Mr. J. C. Wood, General Manager of the Missouri Phonograph Co., writes: “The nickel-in the-slot machine has kept steady growth with the other improve- ments, and it is almost impossible to suc- ceed in operating it without placing the necessarv nickel in the slot. “ Each cylinder can be used about fifty-five hun- dred times.’' At Spokane Falls, Washington Terri- tory, Mr. J. W. Wilson states that many phonographs have been placed in the mining towns, and they have proved very profitable. The fraud of slugs and the item of freight on storage batteries have been successfully overcome, and now the company is not only entirely out of debt, but will be on a dividend-paying basis in a few months. The fact is, the industry is assuming such proportions that companies are be- ing formed for its propagation, all over the country. The phonograph is now considered an accompaniment to the traveler’s jour- neying appendages, as indispensable as his gripsack. Why? Because he keeps with this his diary, recording every sound or event deemed worthy of record around him ; just as he imprints all sights or scenes with a Kodak. This is likewise an enduring diary. Few persons reflect what a power this instrument possesses in its capacity of recording and retaining music, oratory and all sounds. 1st. Let it be remembered that in towns distant from grealfeities, of which there are so many hundred thousand in the United States alone, this piece of mechanism enables one to hear, at the cost of five cents, what it would cost five dollars to hear in New Xork—that is, Patti* Albani, Cainpanini and the De Iteskes, or an oratCffn from some-professor in any of our great universities, or the learned lectures of a Tyndall, or Huxley, a Tesla or a Thomson. The. genius is thus brought to them. The/ lose it other- wise. Phonographs can be propelled by water, steam, electricity, or by the treadle. As to batteries for running them, the storage and primary battdfies have now reached sulh perfection, and their cur- rent is so uniform, that they forestall all other motive power. Discussions with regard to the merits of each of these hgye taken place. The stor- age battery has warm adherents, and the Edison-Lalande battery, we may safely *