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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
324
The piano, when completed, has a rich, pure, and
powerful tone. There is no doubt but that in a
short time the A. B. CHASE COMPANY will have
attained the same excellent reputation for their
pianos that they have so long held on their
organs. The firm report the organ trade im-
proving and expect that they will have a very large
Fall trade. The new styles which they have just
placed before the public are very handsome in
design, and deserve a good run.
has spent seven years in that branch of industry, and
is thoroughly cognizantwith the art of printing, as
can readily be seen from the work turned out by his
hands. Notwithstanding the many improvements
and enlargements made in the factory room, the firm
proved to me, by their books, that they are over 250
organs behind in their orders,* and are rushing with
all their might to try and catch up, and get some
stock ahead for the generally busy season. The
firm of STOBY & CLARK have met with remarkable
success from the first, and there has not been one
month, since they started, but that their business has
CHESTERTON.
been on the increase. They are so fortunately
I FOUND that MR. C 0. HILLSTROM has gone for
situated as to enable them to offer inducements
a trip through ENGLAND, GERMANY and SWEDEN,
to dealers to handle their goods, equal to any firm
and will not return before September. However,
of organ makers in the country. MB. STOBY says
the business does not by any means suffer during his
that they are constantly in receipt of letters from
absence, for ho has an able representative in the
parties of whom they never heard before, requesting
person of his cousin, MR. C. E. HILLSTROM, who
catalogues and prices, and it is very seldom that they
manages the affairs of the concern in a manner
fail to secure them as agents, when their standing is
which would do credit to anyone. MR. HILLSTBOM
satisfactory.
states that they have all the orders they can fill with
These agents, MB. STOBY says, are secured through
their present factory room, but they intend to build
their
advertisments in the trade papers, and he gives
another addition as soon as MR. HILLSTROM returns
the
Music
TRADE REVIEW credit for a oodly share
from abroad. I am indebted to MR. C. E. HILL-
of
this
list,
and says he is convinced his advertise-
STROM for a very pleasant ride of an hour or more,
ments
with
us
has always been a paying investment.
through the the town of Chesterton, after his spirited
We are pleased to learn that there is at least one firm
bay mare.
in the music trade that is willing to acknowledge to
us the benefit derived from advertising in our col-
CHICAGO.
THE reports from the different manufacturers and umns.
• *
dealers here are somewhat conflicting. Some state
AUGUSTUS NEWELL & Co. state that trade in the
that trade is better than it was last year at this
time, while others claim that it is not as good. organ key business, since the first of January, has not
However, on the whole, I think it will compare been very profitable. The orders have been plenty
favorably with other places, and the general feeling enough, but the margin exceedingly small. This is
is that we have seen the worst of the dull times, and owing to the bitter competition between the organ
that trade will hold its own through the coming and piano key manufacturers. I wish to say right
months, confidence will gradually be regained, and here, that this fight, now going on between the manu-
by Fall the people will feel justified in enlarging facturers of this branch of the trade, is nothing more
their business pursuits, and business of all branches nor less than cut-throat business, and should be
be good, even better than it has been for many stopped at once. Two years ago, a set of organ keys
years. There is no doubt but that the wholesale sold from $4 to $4.50 per set, and at that price there
trade is even now larger than it was last year at was a good, fair margin, and nothing more. Now,
this time, but the retail trade cannot be said to be however, the fight has reached such a stage that a
set only brings $2 at the most, and we know of many
brisk.
firms who are paying only $1.75 per set. Every per-
• *
son
at all conversant with matters pertaining to the
THE W. W. KIMBALL CO. are certainly doing an
manufacture
of organs, knows full well that every
excellent business. I spent some time in the ware-
set
sold
at
these
last prices is at a loss. The worst
rooms of this firm, and during my stay the entire
of
the
whole
affair
is, that the organ manufacturers
corps of salesmen were kept busy attending to cus-
themselves
do
not
like
this cut in prices, if I can
tomers. MR. KIMBALL informs me that with the ex-
judge
from
what
they
tell
me. They have made no
ception of the few days which he shut down at the
reduction
in
the
price
of
their
organs on account of
time of the strike, there has been no time but that
this
fight,
as
it
is
liable
to
end
at any time, and then
his factory has been running full time, and that the
it
will
be
hard
work
to
raise
the
price again. The
demand is equal to the supply. MB. CONE and MR.
intelligent
dealer
knows
perfectly
well of this great
CONWAY are both on the road, and there is no doubt
reduction
in
the
cost
of
keys,
and
is
constantly har-
b«t that they will send in orders enough to keep the
assing
the
manufacturer
of
organs
with
requests for
factory running full time right through the summer
a
reduction
in
prices.
Thus
it
can
be
readily
seen
months. MB. NORTHBTJP, who has heretofore done a
that
it
makes
trouble
all
around,
and
no
one
receives
great deal of the traveling with excellent success, will
hereafter devote the most of his time to the ware- any decided benefit. As a rule, I do not believe in
rooms, taking a trip once or twice a year among tho the pooling of issues between any firms, but if there
dealers, just for old acquaintance sake. MB. NOBTH- is no other way to adjust this matter, it should be
BUP, by his gentlemanly manners and genial dis- done in this way, and this fight stopped at once. I
position, has won host of friends, who will very have spoken my mind freely in this case, and believe
that the majority of the trade will bear me out in the
much miss his visits.
statements I have made.
• *
STORY & CLARK have made a great many improve-
ments, and enlarged their factory facilities since my
last visit. They have put in a new Buckeye engine,
of 150 horse power, which contains every improve-
ment possible, and is one of the finest engines I ever
saw. They have added a printing department to the
factory and do all the printing of their catalogues,
circulars, etc. They have obtained the services of a
young man to take charge of this department, who
ESTEY & CAMP, state that their retail trade is quiet,
but the wholesale trade is all that they can ask it to
be. MB. CAMP informs me that they intend to open
their new warerooms the first week in July. These
new rooms the firm claim are the finest in the West,
being 50x120 feet, with four stories. The ESTEY piano,
they find, meets with a ready sale, and it is impossi-
ble for them to obtain these instruments fast enough.
There will be an important change in some of the in-
struments which this house handles, in a very short
time, which at present I am requested not to make
public, but trust to be able to give full particulars
very soon.
JULIUS BAUER'S estate will be settled up in a very
short time, and then those who are managing the
affairs will be at liberty to push the business in earn-
est. I am informed that the retail trade of this con-
cern is very good, and the cash sales are more nu-
merous than for some time past.
•
• •
JOHN A. BRYANT is doing an excellent business.
He runs as his leader the KRANICH «fc BACH PIANO,
and he has sold large numbers of them to the people
in the West, g ving universal satisfaction. M B .
BRYANT is also having a good trade with the pianos
made by the GBOVESTEEN & FULLER PIANO CO.
•*•
THE STERLING ORGAN CO'S branch here continues
to be a great success. Now that the warerooms have
been enlarged to double their former size, they pre-
sent as pretty an appearance as any in the city.
MB. AMBULL informed me that they are constantly
forming new agencies in the West, and that the
STEBLING PIANO has become a very popular instru-
ment out here.
* *
T H E B. SHONINGER OBGAN AND PIAHO CO.'S ware-
rooms are located in the very best part of the city,
and show that the firm have spared no expense in
making them attractive. MR. TONY D'ANGUEBA,
who is in charge, says that they have sold double
the instruments they expected to, in the the time
they have been established here. Th« Chicago
branch will be the general distributing "point for the
WEST and NOBTHWEST.
B.
A MASTER PRINTER ON CO-OPERATION.
HE July Century contains a number of articles
and editorials on the labor question. From a
brief paper on " Co-operation," by Theo. L.
De Vinne, the well known printer, we quote as fol-
lows : '' The greatest obstacle to the success of manu-
facturing co-operations of journeymen is their im-
perfect knowledge of the expenses of business, and
of the smallness of the profit made from each work-
man. To illustrate. A factory that employs one
hundred workmen, and pays a net profit of $10,000 a
year, does a thriving business. Few journeymen can
see that this profit of $10,000 a year, if paid to them,
would give each only about two dollars more a week.
The average workman is not content with the risk
and responsibility of a copartner for so small a re-
turn.
"The intent of trades unions is to secure uniform-
ity of wages, with slight regard to the conditions of
business, or to the unequal production of different
workmen. The spirit of the co-operative method is
the readjustment of the returns of labor in true pro-
portion with the profits of the business, and the true
production of each co-operator. The two policies
are in direct opposition. Men who have been edu-
oated to believe in the wisdom of the first policy, will
not cheerfully accept the second. To many, co-op-
eration would be a disappointment. If every factory
were organized under the co-operative method, there
would be great inequality in the earnings of workmen
in the same factory, and still greater inequality
in the earnings of men in different factories.
In some shops men would receive large divi-
dends; in others, equally good, and, perhaps,
better workmen would get nothing. In other
shops good workmen as well as poor might be debited
on their weekly wages with the losses of an unprofit-
able year. That there might be more of the latter
than of the former class is plain enough to any one
who has consulted the statistics of manufacturing
industries. Few succeed where many fail. The dis-
T
(Continued on page 326.)