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VOL. XIX. No. 20.
-published Every Saturday.
+ flew Yoi% December 8, 1894.
Moving Right
Ahead
J. V. Steger Feeds
Thousands of De=
serving Persons.
And Their Business Shows A
Great Big Increase Over Last
Year's Record -Still They
Are "A. B. C."
providing more than 3,000 poor
§ FTER
persons with good Thanksgiving dinners
B. Chase Company, Norwajk, Ohio,
are moving straight ahead, and are receiv-
ing substantial indications of the popularity of
their Instruments. Business with them for the
past four months has shown a gradual increase,
until to-day the volume of trade is fully fifty per
cent, over the same time last year—convincing
that. As Mr. Calvin Whitney, the president of
the company, said to us a short time ago, " trade
with the A. B. Chase Company is better now
than it has been for two years past, and better
still, there is every indication of a healthy in-
crease way into the year 1895, which will un-
doubtedly show a steady improvement over the
present year.''
The popularity of the A. B. Chase piano is not
apparently confined to any section of the coun-
try ; orders are flowing in from agents in the
West and South as well as the East. In this
city, Mr. Herbert, the local agent, is making
quite a record with the A. B. Chase pianos, and
among his customers for the past few months he
can count quite a number of prominent Gotham -
ites. In this connection, it is not amiss to say,
that Mr. Herbert has made arrangements to en-
large his present commodious quarters, by add-
ing the adjoining store, 8 East 17th street.
This will afford him needed room and give him
a better opportunity for showing off the various
styles of A. B. Chase pianos.
The high place at present occupied by the A.
B. Chase piano in the trade is a well deserved
one. The manufacturers have made it their aim
to turn out an instrument, not only handsome
exteriorly, but possessing intrinsic musical
worth. This was recognized by the strong
award which they received at the World's Fair.
While it is hardly necessary to specialize any of
the points which have contributed to that end,
yet we cannot refrain from drawing attention to
their wonderful "octavo pedal," which is con-
ceded by all who have examined it to be among
the meritorious inventions applied to the piano
in our time. It contributes a variety of effects,
which render the A. B. Chase piano a delight in
the home, and furnishes strong selling points to
the dealer.
THE Litson Music Company, of Bozeman,
Mont., are doing an excellent business with the
W. W. Kimball Company's line of goods.
J. V. Steger said he had never felt happier in his
life.
As early as 7 o'clock hundreds of men, women
and children armed with baskets and bags were
congregated about the front doors of Mr. Steger's
piano store, Wabash and Jackeon, wanting to be
served. Piled high in the big show windows
and along the walls they could see the good
things awaiting them. Inside Mr. Steger and
his force of assistants were getting ready for the
work of distribution. Every minute the crowd
kept growing in volume until it almost blocked
the streets. From every direction came pro-
cessions of poverty-stricken mothers in thin
shawls, pinched-faced children poorly clad, and
hungry men in tattered coats, so anxious to re-
ceive the gifts their benefactors were about to
bestow upon them that they did notmind the cold.
They packed themselves so closely together that
it became necessary for them to hold their
baskets above their heads.
It was an orderly and patient crowd until two
or three policemen stationed themselves in the
main entrance and commenced to admit to the
store those in front, half a dozen at a time.
Then there were some pushing and pulling and
disorderly conduct on the part of those at the
outer edges, chiefly impostors, they were, to
make their way through and get in first.
Several weak and sickly women were so squeezed
and crushed that they fainted and had to be
carried away. One old woman was so exhausted
that by the time she reached the door, being
carried along by the throng, she started to fall
and would have gone down had not a stalwart
young man caught her in his arms. Mr. Steger
saw she was taken to the back part of the store
and cared for until sufficiently revived to get her
basket filled with the best of everything and go
on her way rejoicing.
From 9 o'clock until 12 a dozen men worked
rapidly filling the baskets. Mr. Steger stood in
the passageway keeping the line moving and
looking out for such as seemed more worthy of
assistance than others, and seeing to it that
they got proper attention. By previous arrange-
ment with ministers and persons engaged in
charity work a good many came with letters and
cards stating their conditions. All such were
abundantly provided for. They each received a
piece of meat, a chicken, two and three loaves
of bread, some tea and generally a bottle of
wine. While the police detected a number of
impostors, every one admitted to the store got at
least a piece of meat and loaf of bread. The
impostor class did not feel particularly thankful
$3.00 PUR YEAR.
SINGLE COPIES. 10 CERTS.
and generally said so. One woman, quite well
dressed, asked for turkey, and when told by Mr.
Steger he could not afford to eat turkey himself,
thought it an outrage that she should be slighted.
During the three hours some 3,500 baskets
were filled. In that time the firm dis-
tributed 12,000 loaves of bread, four tons and a
half of meat, 1,200 chickens, six chests of tea
done up in packages of a quarter pound each,
and a dozen cases of port wine. When the last
loaf was gone, there were still a few who had not
been served. Each of these was given money
enough to purchase a dinner. Besides all this
eight or ten wagon loads of stuff were sent
around to the various waifs' missions, so that
the generosity of Steger & Co. reached every
part of the city.
Two weeks ago Mr. Steger made up his mind
to celebrate Thanksgiving by feeding the poor.
He turned the matter of buying provisions and
arranging for distributing them over to Charles
M. Rein, who contracted with the bakers and
butchers and poultry dealers to furnish supplies
in unlimited quantities.—Chicago Tribune, Nov.
That's What Counts.
^jjPHE famous house of Boardman & Gray, Al-
-€> bany, N. Y., have no reason to complain
of the condition of trade just now. They are
turning out some splendid instruments and sell-
ing them, and that's what counts nowadays.
Boardman & Gray may be an old-established
house, but they are manufacturing modern
pianos and intend to push them through the
trade by modern methods.
Things We Need to Know.'
•R. A. G. CONE, of the W. W. Kimball
Company, is a tireless worker in the ad-
vertising field. His latest specialty to hand is
a booklet bearing the title, '' Things We Need
to Know." It furnishes the'reader with eight
potent reasons why they should purchase the
products of the W. W. Kimball concern. Mr.
Cone's logic is convincing, and his ability as an
effective advertiser is further demonstrated in
this little book.
Waterloo Organ Company.
IjEDUSY organ and piano factories are the order
&^ of the day with the Waterloo Organ Com-
pany. There is an increasing demand for their
well-made organs, particularly the new styles,
but the piano factory is the busiest of the two
just now. The latest styles of Malcolm Love
pianos are finding an enlarged market in all sec-
tions of the country, and the Waterloo Organ
Company are making every effort to fill the
orders flowing in.