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VOL. XVIII. No. 8.
published Every Saturday.
CHICAGO.
AUU ABOUT TH£
WRANGLE OV£R
THE AWARDS.
CHICAGO, September 13th, 1893.
EDITOR MUSIC TRADE REVIEW :
Section I in the Manufacturers' Building is in
a lively buzz of excitement and speculation.
The first because of court proceedings enjoining
the jury of awards on pianos, and the second as
to the next move on the checker board and the
possible outcome of it all. The injunction applied
for last week by Chase Bros. & Co. restraining
the jury as constituted from carrying out the
objects for which it was founded because of
alleged efforts influencing its action, has set the
whole music trade agog, not to say by the ears.
At least the outline of the case, as presented by
that firm, has set not a few to thinking, and
sentiment is rapidly dividing on the question as
to whether or not undue influence has been
exerted. The attorneys for the firm of Chase
Bros. & Co. have served notice on the news-
papers that the publishing of any award made,
or alleged to have been made, by the judges on
musical instruments, or any list purporting to
be such, or a portion of such, will be met by
proceedings against them in attachment for
contempt of Judge Seaman's restraining order.
I have heard rumors of what certain firms have
been gazetted for or what they have been led to
expect, and while I have received no warning
notice, I fancy it will be best to withhold such
reports for a more opportune time. I may say,
however, that while so many reports have been
current of efforts on the part of the Kimball
Company for first place, I have good authority
for saying that the company has not sought or
expected first place for its pianos, but merely
wanted and hoped for a commercial standing for
it through the medium of the jury. But what
it does want and has sought early and late is
recognition for its portable pipe organ, the
pride and glory of the house. That attained, I
am told, the firm will be entirely satisfied.
I heard this afternoon that still other sur-
prises for the trade are brewing in Section I. It
reported that Kranich & Bach, Ves« &
*
Yor% September 16, 1893.
Sons, Behr Bros., Schomacker, and Henry Pil-
cher's Sons, the Louisville organ makers, were
shortly to apply for injunctions. The first four
will urge practically the same persons as were
set forth in the Chase Bros, application for a
restraining order. The latter firm is said to have
additional cause of complaint in that their
organ was critically examined by six of the
best of the judges, while the Farrand & Votey
organ, for which a ten thousand dollar bonus
was paid, was committed to Mrs. Lee solely for
examination. It will be claimed by the concern
that they will have the strictly professional
critical opinion of six experts to meet while the
festival organ will have only that of one lady,
and she too, it is averred, with no practical
knowledge of organs. The opinion prevails
that the Pilchers have an exceptionally good
case. It is believed that the jury had practi-
cally reached a conclusion on all the instruments
examined prior to the Chase injunction, and
many of those interested would "give their
eyes " to know the favored ones, but few outside
the jury know who they are.
Since we got rid of Thomas, visitors to the
World's Fair have had lots of music without
money and without price. And good music, too,
most of it has been, from all nations and from
almost every known instrument. We have had
organ recitals by Alexandre Guilmant and Mr.
S. A. Baldwin ; choruses from Kansas, Colorado,
Michigan, and the Welsh visitors to Chicago,
with vocal and instrumental work daily by
noted soloists, with almost a surfeit of band
music out-doors. The general public has shown
a high sense of appreciation of all the efforts
to entertain, and many are the congratulations
that the Exposition is no longer incumbered
with the expensive Herr Thomas.
Mr. B. S. Chase, one of the noted piano man-
ufacturing firm of Chase Bros. & Co., of Musk-
egon, Mich., is here for awhile enjoying the Fair
and all thereto appertaining.
Mr. S. Fabian, a popular pianist of Baltimore,
looked over and dallied with some of the finest
pianos in Section I, yesterday.
Trade is looking up and dealers seem more
hopeful, though most interest is just now
centered in affairs at the Exposition.
Yours, etc.,
84.00 PER YEAR.
SINGLE COPIES, 10 CENTS.
MR. OTTO SUTRO, President Oratorio Society,
and senior partner of the music firm of Otto
Sutro & Son, Baltimore, Md., has just returned
from a two months' trip in Europe where his
wife and two daughters are.
PHILLIPS' music store, of Kalamazoo, Mich.,
has been purchased by C. J. Whitney, of De-
troit, who will run it.
SCHEMMEL & PFiSTER's niusic store, on E.
Santa Clara street, San Jose, Cal., was entered
by burglars the other night but were frightened
away before anything could be taken.
A NEW piano store is to be opened at San
Jose, Cal., to be a branch of Henry Schomberg
& Co., of Los Galos.
THE residence of Alfred Brown, dealer in
pianos and music at 2016 Market street, Cal.,
was entered by burglars September 3d, and Mrs.
Brown, whose house is located at 2 Octavia
street, awakened just in time to see the men
depart from the front door. A search proved
that the burglars had secured nothing.
THE Detroit Tribune says that Farrand & Votey
have received a proposition from their employes
for the firm to issue notes for 50 per cent, of the
pay roll, bearing 7 per cent, interest and payable
February 1st, 1894. It is understood that the
proposition has been accepted.
MR. MYRON A. DECKER is not forgetting
business interests while on his present pleasant
trip through the West. The following from
the Duluth (Minn.) Herald will be read with
interest: " M. A. Decker, the piano manufact-
urer, of New York city, and his three daughters,
who have been stopping in the city for a week
past, left to-day for Denver and the West. Mr.
HARRY MANNING.
Decker is very favorably impressed with Duluth,
and may establish a Western headquarters
THE large music house of L. Grunewald & here."
Co., of 127 Canal street, are erecting a mag-
JOHN N. MERRILL, of the Merrill Piano
nificent building on Baronne Street, on site of Company, Boston, who has been abroad for the
Grunewald Hall, recently destroyed by fire.
past few weeks, returned on Thursday, Septem-
ber 7th, aboard the La Saale. Mr. Merrill
states that business on the other side is gen-
TRAVELER.
erally quiet.
A N experienced traveler of twelve years' experience
THEDahlman M'f'g. Co. has been incorporated
-^"*- in the music trade desires to open negotiations
at Minneapolis, with $50,000 paid in capital, to
for position with piano or organ concern. Address,
manufacture musical instruments. Among the
TRADE TRAVELER,
Care of T H E MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, members are Henry Dahlman and Amos C
Sardeson, of that progressive city,
3 East 14th St., New York.