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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
In the West
How Will the Coal Strike Effect Manufact-
urers—A Serious Condition—A Chat
With C. C. Colby—A Valuable
Award—Labor Day in Cleve-
land—At the U. 5. Organ
Factory—Retail Trade
—Smith & Nixon
Pianos.
A. Q. Clemmer—Hustling Preliers—On
the Lake Shore—A Morning at the
A. B. Chase Factory—The Edna
Organs—A Successful
Concern.
©TRANGE conditions confront us in these
c-^ days of Clevelandism and Coxeyism.
Contingents of Coxey's followers marching on
Washington from remote sections with the
avowed object of asking Congress to pass an
enactment which will provide them with means
of gaining employment. These " non-interest
bearing bonds " advocates stand in strong con-
trast with the striking miners in the coal
regions. Seriously : The coal strike is assum-
ing an alarming phase. Already some of the
industrial interests in Pennsylvania have been
forced to shut down for lack of fuel, and unless
there is a speedy adjustment of the differences
between the mine owners and operators there
will follow much loss and annoyance to the
manufacturing interests in all sections where
they rely upon the striking districts for their
fuel. It is to be hoped that the difficulties
under which the manufacturer has labored dur-
ing the past year may not be further accentuated.
ERIE, PA.
Colby Piano Company.
" Business," said Mr. C. C. Colby, whom I
found at his desk endeavoring to reach the bot-
tom of a voluminous correspondence, "Business
with us is excellent. While I cannot say that
we are shipping as large a number of pianos
weekly as we have done in the past, yet we have
no reason to complain as our shipments are
large," and here Mr. Colby named a figure
which should be satisfying to most manufact-
urers. He continued : " We have recently made
some very handsome deals, a particularly large
deal in Michigan. The fact is, we have a goodly
number of advance orders, and we are not crying
dull times." Mr. Colby is not given to making
boastful statements, but has been steadily mov-
ing ahead and in the right direction. He
aimed to place upon the market a good instru-
ment at a price which should cause it to be
sought for. He has not been compelled to force
his instruments before the public by bill board
advertising, and he has carefully eschewed every
line of notoriety which has not been strictly
dignified. The Colby pianos are essentially the
pianos of Erie, and one does not have to go out-
side of that city to find their merit appreciated.
There are hundreds of them sold in the town of
their manufacture ; hundreds of the homes of the
elite of Erie are graced by the presence of a
Colby piano. The recognition which the Colby
pianos received at Chicago was most gratifying
to the company and has been stimulating to
their trade. The Colby award was signed by
Max Schiedmayer, and contains the following :
" For excellent tone quality, with good sustain-
ing power. For even and smooth scale, well
balanced. For easy, elastic action, with good
repeating property. For good materials and
workmanship.''
CLEVELAND, OHIO.
F. L. Raymond.
When I arrived at the factory where the
organs to which is attached the patriotic name
of " United States " are manufactured, I found
the proprietor, Mr. F. L. Raymond, in his shirt
sleeves. His general appearance betokened
hustle, and I so informed Mr. Raymond. He,
however, replied that appearances in his case
were misleading ; that the great big rushing
tide of business had not as yet risen to the place
he held. It might come later ; he was ready
and anxious to see it. He thought incidentally
Clevelandism and Coxeyism had done much to
keep down the tide.
The Trade in the City.
It was Labor Day when I was in Cleveland.
The procession was large and demonstrative.
It depressed the business men to see the large
army of the unemployed, and I think as a whole
the members of the trade were rather inclined to
take a pessimistic view of matters in general.
In the warerooms of A. D. Coe I examined some
new Smith & Nixon pianos. They have greatly
improved these instruments, both in external
appearance and in tone effect, over those which
I last saw. I will predict, but the prediction is
entirely unauthorized, that with the improve-
ment which they are making in their own in-
struments, that ere long some of the pianos now
handled by the big Cincinnati firm will be
diopped from their list. Mr. A. G. Clemmer,
my old friend of Philadelphia, is doing some
good work on behalf of the Hallet & Davis
pianos. Mr. Clemmer came here with a good
all round experience and he will become a strong
factor in the trade in Forest City. The Dreher
boys are hustlers and are building up a big
business. Henry Dreher was engaged in selling
a piano when I called, and I wish to say right
here that every time that I have called upon him
in the past six years he was always in the same
posture — always selling a piano. If this
continues I shall be compelled to think that
Henry has some intuitive knowledge that I am
coming in just at a specified time, and has some
previous arrangement with a customer. I shall
ask his brother Oscar about this.
Young Mr. Glidden, of the Glidden Varnish
Co., is still sojourning on the Pacific Coast. It
will be a month before he returns.
NORWALK, OHIO.
The A. B. Chase Co.
By the time the traveler has reached this
Western city, noted for the manufacture of first
class pianos, he has become, to a certain degree,
accustomed to the extraordinary politeness of
the brakemen of the West Shore road. If he is
a dweller on Isle Manhattan, he is at first
startled, then surprised, then mutters to himself
that it can't last, but it does. Did you ever
notice—of course you have—how they enter, walk
like a drum major to the center of the car, and
with the purest English accent repeat the
words: "The next station at which this train
stops is Norwalk." There is none of the jar-
gonized Manhattanese to which at home we are
daily subjected on the " L." Then, after deliv-
ering the preparatory words to the travelers, he
goes right about face and marches down the
aisle with stately tread, appearing when the
station is reached and announcing in lower but
perfectly distinct words " where we are at."
It was a pleasant morning that I passed with
Calvin Whitney, and an interesting one as well.
I accompanied him over the great big factory,
where the A. B. Chase instruments are manu-
factured. If anyone can inspect that factory,
note the care taken in the selection and prepar-
ation of the material, the close attention to every
detail of the instruments in transit, and after
weighing all this I think they will no longer
wonder why the A. B. Chase pianos are such a
success. Such work as evolves from their fac-
tory requires time, and more, it requires capital.
It should be known that in their lumber yard ad-
joining the factory buildings is carried at all
times upward of a million feet of selected woods.
It is managed in such a way that they use only
lumber which has been seasoned for at least two
years. There is evidence of an artist's taste in
the selection of their veneers. I saw there some
of the handsomest of mahogany cases.
MONROEVILLE, OHIO.
The Edna Piano & Organ Co.
The substantial appearance of the factory of
the Edna Piano & Organ Co. impresses one as
they approach it. It is typical of and is a sort
of an index to the solidity of their goods. After
pleasant greetings from Mr. John A. Baldwin
and Mr. M. C. Price I looked over their plant.
When these gentlemen embarked in their organ
enterprise, it was their intention to create an
instrument entirely different from any on the
market, in fact Mr. Baldwin said " It must have
an individuality.'' The Edna organ has a dis-
tinct individuality. The piano cased organs
made by this concern are much sought for by
dealers. The greatest of care is exercised in the
finishing of their cases. They are all hand rub-
bed. A fact worthy of note is in their finishing
department they have as foreman one Jacob
Leonhard, who has been for over thirty years in
this same business. He has with him five
sturdy sons, whom he has trained in the same
industry. The foreman of the case department
is his brother, Martin. Thus the Lconhards all
take a family pride in the excellence of their
work.
In my next letter I shall have something to
say regarding the condition of the music trade
in Michigan.
-MUSIC IN LITERATURE. "
Sjf HE HALLET & DAVIS PIANO CO. have
-t) sent us a very handsome souvenir book of
the World's Fair, entitled "Music In Litera-
ture." This book is the outcome of a promise
made last year to all visitors who affixed their
signatures to the register in the Hallet & Davis
booth at the World's Fair. It is a most complete
work of its kind. The innumerable quotations
cover a wide field, and they have been well select-
ed and capably edited by Major C. F. Howes. The
pages are interspersed with illustrated adver-
tisements of the Hallet & Davis instruments,
and the entire work cannot fail to be of value to
the recipients and of direct benefit to the pub-
lishers.
Arrested for Embezzlement.
J. R. Sharp Hust Explain the Disposal of
a Piano.
R. SHARP, late proprietor of the Temple
of Music, South Main street, was arrested
Friday, April 27th, on a charge of embezzlement,
preferred by the Mathushek & Son Piano Com-
pany, of New York. He was taken before Squire
Donohoo and gave bail for a hearing at 10 A. M.
next Friday. The piano firm alleges that in May,
1893, they consigned to him one of their pianos
for sale on a commission, and no return was
made to the Company, though the instrument
was disposed of in some way. J. M. Braden,
Esq., is attorney for Mr. Sharp and Messrs.
McCrackens & McGiffen for the prosecuting firm.
—Washington Reporter, April 28th.