Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE
phrases or innuendoes upon the new firm,
which is composed of gentlemen who are
certainly doing their best to establish a per-
manent business as well as to make it
worthy of the respect, confidence and credit
of the trade at large.
Mr. W. P. Haines and his associates have
certainly labored indefatigably to build a
new business upon the ruins of the old.
They have had a hard fight, but they seem
to have thrived under it. It takes troublous
times to bring out the qualities which per-
haps have long slumbered or have been kept
down. It cannot be denied that W. P.
Haines has given incontrovertible evidence
of his ability to finance and to manage a
large business institution.
#
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Mr. Stein way's remarks elsewhere in
this paper on the question of sound cur-
rency, will be read with interest. As is
well known, Mr. Steinway is a loyal
Democrat in politics, but on the money
question he is in favor of the party which
adopts the gold standard as its platform in
the coming campaign. In fact, the Ger-
man-American Sound Money League,
which he has been instrumental in found-
ing, have come out flat-footed in this
matter, and, like true Americans, who have
the interest of their country at heart, they
have relegated party to the rear for the
nonce.
The picture which Mr. Steinway paints
of the results of the adoption of a bi-
metallic platform, is not fanciful. It is
the general opinion of all sound thinkers.
England is one of the largest investors in
this country, and at the present time is ac-
tually enjoying a glut of money which
would find its way for investment in our
railroad or other stocks had not Congress
and the heresies of politicians in the West
so disturbed Europe as to compel investors
to fight shy of this country.
Were foreign investors confident that the
United States was sound on the money
question, and would remain quiet and open
to a healthy and peaceful development of
industrial interests,there can be no question
but the abundance of wealth which seems
to be loose in Europe just now would find
its way to our shores for investment, and
tend to the general prosperity of the
country.
THE volume of business transacted by
the Pease Piano Co., 316 West Forty-third
street, for the first four months of this year
is 25 per cent, ahead of the same period
last year. This is a satisfactory showing,
considering the depressing condition of the
times.
NAIIUM STETSON is still in the West.
Keller Bros. & Blight Co. in the
hands of a Receiver.
OR some time past it has been known
there has been dissension among the
officers of the Keller Bros. & Blight Co.,
Bridgeport, Conn. The trouble culminated
this week in application being made to the
Court for the appointment of a Receiver for
the company.
A meeting occurred late in the week, at
which time some of the stockholders recom-
mended that Mr. W. M. Blight, present sec-
retary, be appointed Receiver for the com-
pany. " Joseph Keller, through his attor-
ney, objected to this, and the result was a
final hearing before the presiding City
Judge at Bridgeport, yesterday morning.
After considerable discussion, Mr. John
Davenport was appointed by the Court to
act as temporary Receiver for the Keller
Bros. & Blight Co. in $25,000 bonds.
It is extremely unfortunate that this
trouble has occurred, as the company were
manufacturing instruments which seemed
to meet with ready sales, and to all
outward appearances, were doing well.
This sudden turn in affairs will, of course,
have a serious effect upon the business,
and just whether it will be brought to a
close in the near future is at the present
writing problematical.
The merchandise creditors of the com-
pany were represented at the meeting. It
is contrary to our established rule to print
a list of creditors with the amounts in-
volved, but we may say that the principal
creditors are the Staib Piano AcUuii Co.,
Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co., Davenport
& Treacy Co., Comstock, Cheney & Co., L.
F. Hepburn & Co., Roth & Engelhardt,
Alfred Dolge & Son and H. Herman.
It is stated that the assets are twenty-
seven thousand dollars, while the liabilities
are thirty-two thousand, so with Mr. Dav-
enport—a gentleman of superior executive
ability—as receiver, the showing for the
creditors is most encouraging.
The appointment of Mr. John Davenport
as receiver was particularly desired by the
merchandise creditors, who represented at
the meeting an indebtedness of nearly sev-
enteen thousand dollars.
F
The /Eolian=Automaton Piano
Co. Dispute.
AGREEMENTS SIGNED RECOGNIZING THE VALID-
ITY OF THE AEOLIAN PATENTS THE AUTOM-
ATON PIANO CO. AND THE ADEK MANU-
FACTURING CO. TAKE A LICENSE FROM
THE /EOLIAN CO.
N
EGOTIATIONS that have been pend-
ing for several months, and looking
to a general settlement of the disputes and
litigations pending between the ^Eolian Co.
and the Automaton Piano Co., have been
finally settled by the signing of agreements
on Saturday last, under which agreements
the ^olian Co. have succeeded in having
their rights to the exclusive manufacture
of perforated sheets for mechanical instru-
ments acknowledged, and whereby the Au-
tomaton Piano Co. have taken from the
^Eolian Co. a license under which they are
authorized to cut music for their own in-
struments. This is a complete victory for
the yEolian Co., and must also be regarded
as the most satisfactory termination of
what might have proven most costly and
disastrous litigation for the Automaton
Piano Co. By the terms of the agreements
entered into, the ^olian Co. have proven
the value of their patents, and such patents
will certainly command the respect of
would-be infringers, in view of the fact
that so experienced and thorough a fighter as
Mr. Emile Klaber, of the Automaton Piano
Co., has found it advisable to adopt the
course pursued, rather than risk the conse-
quences of a costly litigation.
The terms of the settlement further in-
clude a disposition of all the controversies
and claims put forward by Mr. George
Howlett Davis, late of the Electric Self-
Playing Piano Co., so that the Automaton
Piano Co. is now untrammelled and free to
conduct its business without threats of "let
or hindrance," as have been manifest on
the part of all their competitors in the past.
The attachments manufactured by the
Automaton Piano Co., and which are now
selling retail at $100 complete, including
electric motor, may now be bought and
handled by the trade without fear of im-
pending litigation, and there is no doubt
Alderman Cowan.
that the trade will investigate this attach-
T the municipal election held in Mt. ment, now that the fear of litigation is re-
Vernon, N. Y., last Tuesday, Staf- moved.
ford H. Cowan, well known to the music
trade through his connection with the var- MR. H. B. TREMAINE'S VIEWS ON THE ABOVE
CONTROVERSY.
nish house of Clarence Brooks & Co., was
elected Alderman. Mr. Cowan's vote was
THE REVIEW representative called at the
not only complimentary to him as a citizen, ^Eolian Co.'s warerooms yesterday morn-
but it showed the esteem in which he is ing, and interviewed Mr. H. B. Tremaine
held in Mt. Vernon. To his host of friends relative to the ^Eolian Co.'s position in the
in the music trade he will now be Alder- recent ^Eolian-Antomaton Piano Co.'s dis-
man Cowan.
pute. Mr. Tremaine stated in substance:
"We desire to control the production of
W. D. BROWN, of Lynn, Mass., and Mr. perforated music paper, and have been
Hauschild, of Hauschild Bros., Victoria,
Tex., piano dealers, were in town the early quietly at work for the past ten years put-
ting ourselves in a position to do so. Dur-
part of the week.
ing this time we have not only been per-
THE adjourned meeting relative to the fecting our own system of cutting this
Weber-Wheelock-Stuyvesant matters, held
before the Referee, has again been ad- music, but have also acquired the rights in
every machine that has been produced that
journed until June 2,
A