Music Trade Review

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A PIANO MAN PLAYING IN THE WRONG
KEY.
AHONEY City, Perm., has recently been thrown
into a fever of social excitement by the esca-
pade of J. H. Hintermeister, who is well
known as the general agent of the Ithaca Organ and
Piano Company, and who has instituted suits in thir-
ty counties in the State of Pennsylvania, on foreign
attachments, to collect a claim of between $30,000
and $40,000 against the oificersof the company, some
of which are still pending. For the past two years,
Hintermeister has been a frequent visitor to Maho-
ney City, and while at that place has been the guest
of William Spargo, a dealer in organs and pianos.
Mr. Spargo's daughter Annie, aged fifteen years, was
introduced to Hintermeister by her father.
The man of many suits fell in love with Annie, and
proposed for her hand. Her father would not con-
sent to her marriage on account of her youth, and
Hintermeister consented to wait until she had reached
the age of discretion, and agreed not to broach the
subject until then.
In the meantime it is said that Hintermeister kept
up a clandestine correspondence with Annie, and pro-
vided her with money to purchase new dresses, etc.
On Saturday, the 8th inst., Annie left her home, and
not returning , t night, her father began making in-
quiries about her, and ascertained that she had taken
a Lehigh Valley train during the afternoon. Tele-
grams were sent in all directions, but without avail.
That evening Mr. Spargo received a letter from Hin-
termeister, saying that when he received the letter,
he and Annie would be man and wife.
On Monday, the 10th inst, the couple were seen by
a resident of Mahoney City at Reading. Hinter-
meister said they had been married at Phillipsburg,
N. J. Hintermeister, who is fifty-five years of age,
has been married once, but claims to have been di-
vorced. Whether this is true or not is not known.
If he has not been, he will be arrested. It is said
that Mr. and Mrs. Spargo, the parents of Annie,
are grief-stricken over the waywardness of their
daughter.
M
THE TREACHERY OF THE SCH0MAKER
PIANO CO.S 1 WORKMEN.
HE action of the piano workmen of the Scho-
maker Piano Co, Philadelphia, Pa., deserve
to be criticised in the most severe terms. In
April last the workmen informed Colonel Gray, the
president of the company, that after May 1st, they
would ask of him eight hours' work at ten hours'
pay. Colonel Gray, upon receiving the notice, re-
plied that he would agree to be regulated by the
terms arranged by the piano workmen of New York
and Boston. To this both parties agreed, and that
there should be no strike, but while awaiting the re-
sult in theae cities the day's work should be eight
hours, but at eight hours' pay. A few days ago, the
workmen violated their promise, by leaving the shop
and declaring that they would not resume work un-
til they received pay for ten hours, while they only
worked eight. Colonel Gray justly decided to stop
all work as long as it is necessary, rather than sub-
mit to such terms, which ho readily saw would be
almost ruinous to himself and the firm of which he is
the head. The following letter is the last which
Colonel Gray proposes to send to his workmen:
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
289
above the moiety value of the value given, and
second, because this schedule is practically a return
to the fictitious value which the war placed upon
labor, a value which the law of supply and demand
long ago reduced.
Accompanying this schedule, Is a notification that
the executive committee of New York Piano Workers
is holding daily sessions at No. 211 South Tenth
street. This I regard as an invitation to consult
with that body, which I decline to accept. I do not
regard the presence of a committee from another
city as necessary for the adjustment of our dif-
ferences, and I most emphatically decline to con-
sult with any party or parties outside of our regular
employees. I cannot consent to any interference or
dictation from any organization whose interests are
not those of this company, and I do hope, gentlemen,
you will not allow your New York brethern to in-
fluence you in the matter which so directly affects
your interests. The difference between you and this
company you thoroughly understand, for the exist-
ence of which you alone are responsible. It was you
who forced the present issue ; it was your own act
which closed the doors of our factories, and it is in
your power to again set in motion the now idle ma-
chinery. The presence of a committee from New
York should show the workmen of Philadelphia that
the organization this committee represents has a
powerful motive at its back, which, I take it, is to
breed such discoid as will close the doors of our
manufactories, to bring our capitalists and our
laboring men in conflict, so that their products
may find here a market, and thus take from you
the means of earning a livelihood. If Philadelphia
workingmen are willing to be thus used, no one will
suffer so much as these same Philadelphia working-
men, whose interest this company has ever sought to
foster and uphold. If the workmen can stand such
a condition of affairs, this company has no other
course than to quietly submit.
In conclusion, I am reluctantly compelled to say
to you, that our factories will remain closed until the
depletion of our stock makes resumption necessary.
When that time comes we will endeavor to securo
workmen who are willing to give a fair day's work
for a fair day's wages, so that we can successfully
compete with the manufacturers of other cities. I
to-day leave for the West for the purpose of can-
celling all contracts, a course made necessary by
your arbitrary course.
Yours, &c.,,
same manner ventilate the top, so as to allow all
parts an equal escape for the moist air. Steam is
best and safest if you have it. If you require steam
only for the dry room, a hot air stove is preferable.
H. W. GRAY,
Schomacker Pianoforte Manufacturing Co.
FACTORY SUGGESTIONS.
{Scientific American.)
HE manufacturer who hopes to hold his own in
the fierce competition which characterizes
modern industry must of necessity keep a
sharp lookout for valuable improvements in machin-
ery, and must introduce them promptly when they
are presented. The movement of the industries is
always forward. Thousands of ingenious minds are
continually studying out methods for making pro-
cesses easier and more economical. Every month
some kind of a device for bettering the way of doing
a thing, or for saving a little labor, is patented. The
manufacturer who simply ignores these things and
runs along heedlessly in the old way, with the old
devices, will be left behind and beaten as surely as
, May 15, 1886.
the earth rolls around the sun. A mill built and
To the Employees of the Schomacker Pianoforte Company: filled with machinery twenty years ago, and left unim-
proved, could not begin to compete with a modern
GENTLEMEN : I was waited upon yesterday by a mill containing all the new mechanical improve-
committee appointed from your ranks, in reference ments. And the way to keep a mill property from
to the difference which has been the cause of this deteriorating is to add in every important improve-
company closing its factories. Your committee, in- ment as it is put on the market. The most successful
stead of offering something in the form of a reason- mills are the mills that do this very thing; and they
able compromise, which would adjust the existing succeed because they do it.
trouble, presented a revised schedule of wages,
which, upon examination, I found to be equivalent
J. M. asks : How many horse power will it require
to an advance of from 10 to 30 per cent., and in to furnish steam for drying room 14x14x8, tempera-
some of the more important branches even more. ture 120 w to 150° ? How many coils of pipe, and the
This schedule I am asked to accept, in lieu of your best way to arrange them, etc , for drying fibrous
original request, that eight hours shall constitute a plaster plates % inch thick ? Is steam or hot air
day's work, with full pay.
preferable? A. You will require about 3 horsepower
Tne present condition of affairs makes the accept- and about 700 feet 1 inch pipe, which may be arranged
ance of such a schedule a matter of impossibility, In a flat coil just above the floor. For ventilating,
first, because the prices asked are out of proportion have a small inlet for fresh air under the coil, so as
to those paid in ordinary branches of trade, and far to spread the air to all parts of the coil and In the
T
F. W. L. asks: 1. Is there any cement which is
suitable to fill cracks in brass, such as those in scr«w-
heads, and which polish down satisfactorily ? A.
Use shellac melted in. 2. A good receipe for brass
lacquer ? A. Clear shellac dissolved in 96 per cent,
alcohol. Settle, and decant the clear lacquer. 3. Is
there any cement easy to apply which will make
good electrical connections, as, for instance, between
German silver wire and the brass or copper plates of
a rheostat V A. Nothing but metallic solders.
Reno asks how to polish black walnut with oil,
and what kind of oil to use. A. Mix with good whit-
ing such colors as will produce as near as possible
the color of the wood to be filled. This mixture to
be dry. Then give the wood a good coat of oil, and
sprinkle the mixture over the work until it is pretty
well covered ; then with a soft rag or other soft sub-
stance rub this on well. Whon the filling is satis-
factory, finish with linseed oil, put on with a brush,
wipe off, and rub to polish with fine cotton; finish
a silk handkerchief of any fine fabric.
G. G. McC. asks how to get a black dye or stain for
cast iron that can be varnished. Dip in a solution
of gallic acid and water, or make by boiling gall nuts
in water, in a glass or earthen jar.
R. W. W. desires a receipt to make a good water
stain to imitate walnut, not to cost too much.
A. Take of burnt umber 2 parts, rose pink 1 part,
glue 1 part, water sufficient ; heat all together, and
dissolve completely. Apply to the work first with a
sponge, then go over it with a brush, and varnish
over with shellac.
G. A. C. asks: 1. What is a good paint for steam
pipes when exposed to a very high temperature ?
A. Finely pulverized plumbago and linseed oil is
as durable as any. 2. What is used to mix gilt,
gold, copper, etc., for painting steam heating appar-
atus V A. for ordinary bronzing, the metallic bronze
powder is rubbed upon the paint when nearly dry,
then varnished with thin mastic.
E. S. asks : 1. Will a leather belt transmit as
much power on rubber-covered pulleys as a rubber
one ? If not, about what is the difference V A. No ;
fifty per cent, in favor of rubber belt on rubber
pulley, when both are new. 2. What oil is best for
a small lathe and like machinery ? I have trouble
with the oil gumming. A. Best cold pressed lard
oil, with one tenth kerosene.
PATENTS AND INVENTIONS.
(Scientific American.)
Folding music stand, No. 340,391, 0. S. Vaughan.
Cabinet pipe organ, No. 340,4(31, Roosevelt & Has-
kell.
Key-bottom for piano, No. 340,219, S. La Grassa.
Brass musical instrument, No. 340,813, D. O. Hare.
Mechanical musical instrument, No. 340,876, P.
H. Hartling.
Sub bass attachment for reed organ, No. 340,636,
F. Stone.
Design for plate for an upright piano, No. 10,058,
P. Gamehlin.
Music leaf turner, No. 340,749, L. L. White.
Musical wind instrument, No. 341,181, J. C. St
John.
Reed board for organs, No. 341,041, W. N. Mur-
dock.
Stringing pianos, No. 341,003, S. Hansing.
A piano wagon has been patented by Mr. John D.
Lindsley, of Hiawatha, Kansas. It is provided with
windlasses and ropes, skids and various attachments
for holding and managing the piano, to promote the
safety of the instrument during loading or while in
transit, and to lessen the labor of piano moving.
MK. CHASE, of Kohler & Chase, San Francisco,
Cal., has been spending a few days in the city select-
ing stock for their large Western trade. Mr. Chase
states that business in San Francisco has be«n very
quiet for some time past, but now that the labor
troubles are quieting down, he trusts that trade will