HONEST PEOPLE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19845, 20 May 1927, Page 6

HONEST PEOPLE

SLOT MACHINE FRAUDS WANGANUI FREE The people of Wanganui who pa> ronise penny-in-thc-slot stamp and chocolate machines and box telephones must be singularly honest compared with the people of some other cities. Tobacconists in England are complaining that the use of spurious coins in automatic cigarette machinss is causing them serious less. Some of tho swindlers arc said to be working systematically with spurious coins which have been carefully faked by machinery. A favourite coin used is a half penny cut down to the size of a shilling and then carefully milled. The proprietor of one entertainment hall which contains many penny-in-thc-slot machines showed a small sack of spurious coins and other things inserted in the machines. The collection comprised foreign coins, washers, medallions, metal discs and crudely trimmed pieces of stout cardboard. In Christchurch sometime ago there were several cases of breaking open telephone slot machines, and in addition a groat deal of trouble was caused by “faked” coins being inserted in various stamp, telephone and chocolate} machines. Here in Wanganui matters are different. A Post Office official was asked whether trouble was given by people who tampered with slot machines. “Oh, no,” he replied, “wo get an occasional ‘dud’ coin now and again. Pennies with holes in them and bent coins sometimes put the machines out of gear until they are removed, but it happens very rarely.” Proprietors of chocolate-vending machines were also satisfied with the manner in which their apparatus was left alone. Sometimes, they said, there was evidence of small boys trying conclusions with the mechanism, but these occurrences were rare