Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL
Editor and Proprietor.
PUBLISHED
EVERY
SATURDAY
3 East 14th St., New York
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Insertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts >- special dis-
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REMITTANCES, in other than currency form, should
t» made payable to Edward Lynian Bill.
&nttred at its New York Post Office as Second CZus Mmttmr.
NEW YORK, JANUARY 23, 1897.
TELEPHONE NUMBER, 1745.—EIGHTbENTH STREET.
ECHOES OF THE DINNER.
The treatment accorded the recent banquet
of the Boston Music Trade Association by the
newspapers of Boston, in comparison with the
attention given similar events in the local trade
by the New York papers is so striking that
one is prone to seek the " why and where-
fore."
It is a well-known fact that the newspapers
of this city have invariably dismissed the an-
nual dinner of the Piano Manufacturers' As-
sociation, or any purely trade dinner, with a
few lines, while the recent gathering in Boston
was fully reported, and in "some instances given
editorial comment by the press of that city.
It seems to us that the wide publicity given
the Boston dinner was due entirely to the ad-
mirable programme outlined by the commit-
tee in charge. The leaders of the representa-
tive business organizations in Boston were in-
vited to be present. The speakers were not
merely theorists, but men of wide and varied
experience in the matter of associations, and
their views upon the value of organized effort
were so valuable, so practical, and so timely,
that they were the source of enlightenment to
all who attended the dinner, and of general
interest to the business world.
That is why the newspapers devoted so
•much space to the Boston banquet.
In New York so far an association has been
considered favorably from a social standpoint,
and as one of the speakers intimated, of value
in the case of strikes, but its real utility has ap-
parently been considered somewhat question-
able.
It is this lack of faith in the splendid oppor-
tunities which arise from associated effort—
the inability to realize the great achievements
possible by a broader policy—that has pre-
vented the local association of manufacturers
from becoming a greater power in the mercan-
tile world, and of wielding a vital influence for
the betterment and purification of the trade.
As a matter of course this criticism applies
more directly to the organization which pre-
ceded the American Piano Manufacturers' As-
sociation. The policy oi the present body may
be more comprehensive in its scope, and it
may see in a clearer light the possibilities to
be derived from an association founded on
lines so very clearly and so very ably outlined
by Mr. Sayward, secretary of the Boston
Board of Associated Trades, in his speech at
the recent banquet of the Boston Music Trade
Association.
We have persistently advocated the value
of associations, and we have propounded what
we thought and still think can be accomplished
by an organization founded on national lines.
There is a big field to be worked. Many re-
forms can be effected which will be of benefit
to the honest dealer and the fair dealing man-
ufacturer—reforms that will wipe out the
many evils now in the trade and prevent dis-
honesty and fraud.
The association idea is a growing one and
it received a big stimulus from the common-
sense and pertinent utterances of the speakers
at the recent banquet. It is the lack of such
sensible oratory that has hitherto kept our
local association from attaining any public
notice.
*
*
We do not believe in rushing into print, like
some of our contemporaries, with extensive
and ardent congratulations to any manufac-
turer upon immediate transfers of agencies.
The plain, logical deductions drawn from
such changes are, if the agency was handled in
a manner satisfactory to the manufacturers,
there would be no change. When affairs are
progressing in a manner which is eminent-
ly satisfying, people usually allow their busi-
ness course to run in the same groove, but the
matter of a paper stating that so and so will
accomplish such startling results with any new
piano that he may take on is unwarranted, and
no one has authority for making such a state-
ment. Future developments alone will dis-
close the effect of the business capabilities oi
men and of the possibilities there are for the
instruments under their control.
The year 1897 begins with one clear ad-
vantage, says Dun's " Review." The past
year has swept out of the way a great number
of unsound concerns which in any time of ac-
tivity would have been dangerous to business.
Of the 15,286 commercial and banking failures
in 1896, with liabilities of $276,815,749, a large
share represented crippling losses in previous
years, or the violence of speculative storms in
1895 or the first half of 1896, while thousands
more resulted from the fury of the political
tornado last fall. Banking failures amount-
ing to $50,718,915 during the year averaged
$256,156 each, and were 145 per cent, larger
than in 1895.
The Review expresses the hope that 1896
was the clearing-out year following the dis-
aster of 1893, a s ^78 swept away nearly all
the remaining wrecks caused by the disaster
of 1873.
In another portion of this paper the official
announcement is made of John W. Northrop's
admission to membership in the Emerson
Piano Co. The Review extends congratula-
tions to Mr. Northrop upon his accession to
the ranks of piano manufacturers. He has
long been associated with the piano trade,
and with the Emerson piano in particular.
He has a strong following of personal friends
in Chicago, in fact all over the country, who
will be glad to learn of his new advance. With-
out doubt Mr. Northrop's influence will be felt
in further extending the prestige of the Emer-
son name.
Long live John W. Northrop! Long live
the Emerson piano!
In compliance with a request of the Judici-
ary Committee, the Senate has agreed to a
special order setting apart Monday next, Jan-
uary 25, for the discussion of the National
Bankruptcy Bill. The special order will have
the right of way until favorable or adverse
action is taken on the measure.
The summary of exports and imports of mu-
sical instruments which appears elsewhere in
this paper is of considerable interest inasmuch
as it shows the changed condition of trade from
this time a year ago. At that time our import
trade was so large that in comparison our ex-
ports made a miserable showing. A better
condition of things now prevails. The total
value of the exports of pianos, organs, and
other musical instruments for November, the
latest period for which they have been com-
piled, show a gain of almost $13,000, while for
the eleven months ending November, there is
a gain of exports over imports of almost one
hundred thousand dollars.
This is an exceedingly satisfactory show-
ing, and as the same ratio of improvement in
export trade prevails in other industries, it
speaks volumes for the improved condition
of the country in contrast with the same period
a year ago. We notice that the total exports
from this country for the past eleven months,
as compared with the same period of 1895,
show a total gain in favor of the United States
of $154,000,000. These are telling figures,
and stupendous and irrefutable evidence of the
improving condition of the country.