432 THE PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL POWER
conducted just as successfully as food can be dispensed with the aid
of automatic vending machines.
The seed of the idea has been here sown. It is yours for the taking!
Someone with an inventive mind is going to make a fortune, and
at the same time save thousands of lives each year, by perfecting an
automatic railroad-crossing "control" that will reduce the number of
automobile accidents on crossings.
Imagination, plus some mechanical skill, will give the motorist this
much needed safeguard, and make the person who perfects the system
all the money they need and much more besides.
Some inventor who understands the value of Imagination and has
a working knowledge of the radio principle, may make a fortune by per-
fecting a burglar alarm system that will signal police headquarters and
at the same time switch on lights and ring a gong in the place about to
be burglarized, with the aid of apparatus similar to that now used for
broadcasting.
Any farmer with enough Imagination to create a plan, plus the use
of a list of all automobile licenses issued in his state, may easily create
a clientele of motorists who will come to his farm and purchase all the
vegetables he can produce and all the chickens he can raise, thus saving
him the expense of hauling his products to the city. By contracting
with each motorist for the season, the farmer may accurately estimate
the amount of produce that he should provide. The advantage to the
motorists is that they will be sure of direct-from-the-farm produce, at
less cost than they could purchase it from local dealers.
The roadside gasoline-station owner can make effective use of
Imagination by placing a lunch stand near their filling station, and
then doing some attractive advertising along the road in each direction,
calling attention to "barbecue;' "home-made sandwiches;' or whatever
else the owner may wish to specialize in. The lunch stand will cause
the motorists to stop, and many of them will purchase gasoline before
starting on their way again.