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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
Causes of
Business Depression.
A Well Known Music Trade Man Dis=
courses Upon the Situation—Panic
Began in Russia—Foreign Finan=
ciers Looking For A " S u c k e r
Nation "—Tariff Changes
Interfere With Settled
Conditions.
Europe Rushed In Goods—A Bright Out-
look For the Music Trade—
Pullman Punctured.
HERE are many things which have con-
tributed to the continuance of the dull
times," said a well-known music trade man the
other day as we sat enjoying our coffee and
cigars. " Of course, the recent strikes have had
a detrimental effect, the prolonged and endless
wrangle over the tariff schedule keeps up the
unsettled conditions, but there are other causes.
" The panic has been general over the civi-
lized nations, and began by Russia hoarding
gold. She wanted it as the price of her national
life, to be solvent and strong, which over there
is a security equal to victory in battle. Russia
hid from the light of the world and buried from
its transactions nearly one billion of gold. Sud-
denly England missed it, and in the effort to
procure gold nearly broke the country. Ger-
many, France and finally Austria, also went to
hoarding gold, till about one quarter of the gold
supply of the earth is under lock and key, to
await the exigencies of war. At that time the
United States was conducting negotiations to
exchange its silver. The foreign State financiers
said : ' Perhaps there is one sucker nation left.
We will encourage America to get on a silver
base, and with her silver will buy her gold, her
grain, oil and produce. They had drawn away
with silver and its certificates a large quantity
of our gold when we saw through the game."
" Don't you think, however, that the tariff
question is the greatest in accentuating the de-
pression with us ? " we asked.
"Both the tariffs, McKinley's and Wilson's,
meddle with business and stability. McKinley 's
tariff clogged the market with goods. All over
Europe they put in more machinery to rush
goods in here before the tariff took effect. After
that they said, ' We must employ our new ma-
chinery. ' So they offered goods to the Ameri-
can market which they had already sold full.
Meantime our own factories overproduced. A
vast competition took place, not only in the fin-
ished products, but in the raw materials, and
raw materials are sold here now down below
Free Trade prices. The Wilson Tariff bill is a
further muddling of the prospect. Nobody can
see ahead. Future tariffs will pull down the
newest one and nothing is settled. '\
" What is the hope of the future ? "
'' The disposition of the people to trade.
Americans will sell an) thing for a profit, make
anything for the hope of profit. We have much
to sell and necessity will make us alert. Our
mistakes have been great, our faith unbounded,
but we have the stuff and the experience. A
little rest will freshen us up for a new race. The
music trade business will boom with others a
little later on. There never has been such a
clearing out of accumulated stock since I have
been in business. There is no manufactured
stock on hand. Why we never had so little
stock on hand as at present, and it is the same
thing with others. We shall now begin to pile
up some finished goods."
' You are going right ahead, tariff or no tariff,
politics or no politics ? ''
" Why, yes ; confound the politics. We have
too much of that in this country ? "
" How much has politics been our injury ? "
'' Presidential elections every four years bot-
tomed upon the agitation of business questions,
the politicians having no real issues half the
time, so that they resort to plaguing business,
are an uncomfortable nuisance. A Presidential
term of eight years and one term only would
be the greatest reform. The immense area of
our development, the sensitiveness of every part
to political interference, the exasperating attitude
of many of our politicians to business and their
oft ignorance of any business complicate a situ-
ation not wholly free from business errors. Rail-
road overconstruction lies on our stomach hard."
"Yes, but have not the railroads been won-
derful developers of the great regions of the
West! "
" I don't dispute that, but they have been
great gainers as well.''
"Do you uphold Debs in the course he has
pursued ? ''
"Uphold Debs; the devil! no; but I think
much blame can be honestly attached to Pull-
man ; his attitude was un-American. If, as
he claims, he had noting to arbitrate, he surely
could have lost nothing by submitting his affairs
to an impartial board of arbitration."
Kim ball Organs and Pianos in
London.
M
MONG the most admired American organs
known to dealers in this country are those
manufactured by the W. W. Kimball Co., of
Chicago, which, despite the enormous competi-
tion and fatuous cutting down of prices, have
always enjoyed a fair demand. The transference
of the agency will assure for these goods a still
wider sale, for Mr. Marples has not only excel-
lent facilities for pushing these organs, but is
adopting the best means to render them popular
with the trade. Styles 370 and 450 are especial
favorites, the former being a handsome instru-
ment with bevel mirror, and the latter an instru-
ment without the high top—finished at the back
as well as the front. Both have 11 stops, 2 full
sets of reeds, and are admirable alike in tone
and workmanship. The prices of the Kimball
organs are as low as those of any other make
which will at all bear comparison with them in
quality of tone, construction and casework. Mr.
Marples has just imported a few Kimball pianos
with a view of testing their chances in the Eng-
lish market. Those who cultivate a trade in
high-priced instruments would do well to ex-
amine these goods ; for those who have only a
demand for cheap classes these instruments
would, of course, be too costly. A recent num-
ber of the Journal contained a description of the
Kimball portable pipe-organs, which are con-
structed on a new system, and have many points
to recommend them. Dealers will shortly have
an opportunity of inspecting these instruments
for themselves. Mr. Marples will, in the month
of September, open a show-room in a central
part of Manchester to enable members of the
trade in that city to critically compare the Kim-
ball instruments with o;her goods.— The Piano,
Organ and Music Trades Journal, London.
IT is said that Hugo Worch & Co., the well-
known piano dealers, of Washington, are about
to enter the manufacturing field.
MR. HENRY GENNETTE, Vice-President of the
Starr Piano Co., and who for a number of years
has resided at St. Louis, has removed to Rich-
mond, Ind., where he will in future reside.
MR. ADOLPH MEYER, of Max Meyer & Bro.,
Omaha, Neb., was in town during the week.
A MUSICAL instrument recently patented by
Bernhard H. Monneuse, of Brooklyn, N. Y., is a
tubephone, or an instrument made up of a series
of tubes, the tubes arranged in such order that
when struck by a hammer the scale may be play-
ed in whatever key the tubes have been tuned
to, or any piece of music written in such a key.
The tubes are designed to be suspended in a
frame in a very simple and inexpensive manner,
and so that it will be exceedingly simple to make
the necessary repairs should any tube support
be broken.
MR. ERNEST URCHS, with Steinway & Sons,
is making a trip among Steinway agents in the
West.
AN Estey '' Phonorium '' has been placed at
Brighton Beach for the use of Seidl 's orchestra.
THE Dolgeville Herald of July 12th appears
in gala dress in honor of the Turnfest, to be held
in Dolgeville, July 25th-28th. It is printed in
colors and handsomely illustrated with half tone
portraits.
AT a recent concert of the Bach choir in Lon-
don a bass trombone was used with new alumi-
num slide, which is considered an important im-
provement. Its weight is only one-third the
weight of that made of other metals ; it does not
deposit verdigris, and does not alter the pitch
by cooling down so rapidly when the player has
a number of bars' rest.
DRUMS used in several of the regiments of the
Prussian army are made of aluminium. Besides
being much lighter in weight, they are said to
emit a fuller and richer tone.
WE beg to acknowledge receipt of invitation
to the 52d Anniversary and Picnic of the Em-
ployees of Mr. Chas. M. Stieff, which will take
place at Darley Park, Baltimore, Md., Tuesday,
July 24th. We trust the event will prove highly
enjoyable.
W. P. VAN WICKXE, Washington representa-
tive of F. G. Smith, is making a business trip
to Norfolk, Richmond, Staunton and other points
South.
A DEVICE for tuning stringed instruments
such as pianos, etc., recently patented by Daniel
H. White, of Boston, Mass., is thus described :
The outer ends of the strings, after leaving the
bridge, are each connected with a lever ful-
crumed at the base of the bridge on the string
plate, the free end of each lever being engaged
by a wicst pin screwing in the string plate and
extending into openings formed in the pin block,
so that any sound passing through the wrest
pin also passes into the pin block and to the
other wooden parts of the frame. The device is
of simple construction, and designed to hold the
strings more permanently at a proper tension,
permitting the operator to quickly and accurate-
ly tune the instrument without much exertion.