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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
increased demand for high-priced instru-
ments. This, indeed, marks the renais-
sance of the "fittest." The day of the
"cheap and nasty," to use the Carlylean
phrase, is about ended, and good reliable
instruments of reputation and standing are
EDWARD LYMAN
Editor and Proprietor.
being sold, and can be sold in larger num-
bers still, if the manufacturer and dealer
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY
alike do their duty.
3 East 14th St.. New York
It only needs an intelligent comprehen-
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage) United States and
sion of the situation and a certain amount
Canada, $3-00 per year; Foreign Countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $2.30 per inch, single column, per
of commonsense and perseverance to rescue
Insertion.
ertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts a special cubs-
•aunt ' i»
" allowe
" red.
the industry from the setback it sustained
REMITTANCES, in other /than currency form, should
te made payablft to Edward Lyman BilL
during the past few years. Hand in hand
ttnitrtdmitlU New York Post Offict as Second-Class MmUmr. with a betterment in the quality of the in-
struments sold, there must be an increase
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 30, 1897.
in prices both in the manufacturing and
TELEPHONE NUnBER. 1745.--EIGHTEENTH STREET.
retail departments. And this is an impor-
tant matter, because with the increased
THE KEYNOTE.
The first week of each month, The Review price for supplies the " rattle box " can no
will contain a supplement embodying the liter- longer be considered an active factor in the
ary and musical features which have heretofore
appeared in The Keynote. This amalgamation competitive field.
will be effected without in any way trespassing
Let us lend a hand in making the new
on our regular news service. The Review will
continue to remain, as before, essentially a trade era of prosperity an era of excellence, and
we all shall be abundantly repaid and satis-
paper.
fied. The results may not be apparent in
THE TRADE DIRECTORY.
short order, but the effort cannot fail to
The Trade Directory, which is a feature of
The Review each month, is complete. In it ap- insure the "survival of the fittest."
pear the names and addresses of all firms en-
The latter is not possible, nor can any
gaged in the manufacture of musical instruments
and the allied trades. The Review is sent to instrument or firm win trade support with-
the United States Consulates throughout the out the inauguration of comprehensive
world, and is on file in the reading rooms of the
and up-to-date business methods. We are
principal hotels in America.
living in an active age when no firm,no mat-
ter how eminent their standing or excel-
"THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST,"
lent their wares, can maintain or advance
E hear much about the Darwinian
their position as long as they ignore the es-
shibboleth, the "survival of the
sential machinery to success—one of the
fittest " in the commercial world. But it
most powerful motors being "publicity."
is apparent to any music trade man that
The approved methods which have en-
this so-called law seems to have had a
abled houses in other industries to win fame
severe set-back during the past few years.
and fortune are slowly but surely finding
Because the fittest was not the cheapest
their way into the music trade, and those
from the dollars and cents standpoint it
firms who are up and doing, who have
was ignored, and the cheapest and showiest
moved with the times, have already noted
" survived."
that their efforts have been rewarded with
It is not a difficult task to find a reason
success.
for the temporary ascendency of the
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" poorest " over the "fittest." The curtail-
MILEAGE TICKETS.
ment of the purchasing power of the people,
A petition is now being circulated in this
the absence of security in financial circles
and the fierceness of competition which city in the interest of traveling men and
invested the cheapest with qualities it did members of business houses asking for the
not possess, compelled a situation which introduction of a five thousand-milemileage
not only lowered the standard of manu- ticket, good on any railroad in the country,
facture in the music trade, but in every to be purchasable for a hundred dollars,
industry in the country.
and to give the passenger the privilege of
The just as good gave place to the real carrying two hundred and fifty pounds of
thing—in other words rattle boxes paraded baggage.
as it were in borrowed plumes. Fortun-
The petition has been signed by the
ately this is now of the past.
prominent houses, and if the concession
It is only necessary to peruse the col- shall be obtained, the holder of such a
umns of this paper to note that the im- ticket will be able to travel from Maine
proved business conditions so evident in to California without having to purchase
all parts of the country are marked by an any'ticket other than what is obtained in
W
the book. It is evident that such a ticket
will be a great boon to traveling men,
while the price of two cents a mile would
be a great saving to business houses.
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BUSINESS ETHICS AND TRADE
DIGNITY.
Judging from recent developments in
the music trade, with which many of our
readers are no doubt familiar, there seems
to be an impression abroad in certain
quarters, somewhat vague, perhaps, but no
less real, that "business" is something
apart from, and not subject to the system
of moral principles which prevail in the
family—in fact among honest men.
They rather believe that business is gov-
erned by a code of morals that can be con-
veniently stretched and manipulated to
order. It matters little whether this is
in harmony with the supposed advanced
and progressive civilization of the age,
but it appears to obtain to no mean extent.
" I t ' s business, you know," is an every-
day phrase used in extenuation of trans-
actions that cannot bear the test of impar-
tial scrutiny. Accustomed as men often
are to consider petty schemes—sometimes
called policy—when successful in obtain-
ing temporary advantage, as correct in
principle, they find it difficult to draw the
line, and all modes that bring gain become
in time fixed "business" rules or princi-
ples. A different code may be adopted in
dealing with their families or with their
friends, but in business that which brings
gain is considered right.
A prominent manufacturer speaking
along these lines a little while ago covered
the grounds very thoroughly in this wise:
Anyone who gives this matter consider-
ation will concede that there can be no two
moral codes in the conduct of a business.
It possibly might have paid at some period
in the past, but it does not now.
Sharpness, cunning, smartness are no
longer the requirements of those who lead
in the industrial world. The dealer for
instance who is palming one thing off for
another and glories in it is of short life.
The man who knows everything, who is
"smart " on all occasions, who never makes
mistakes, is a dangerous element, because
he misleads himself as well as others—his
mind is of the cast iron order, never chang-
ing except when it acquires a new coat of
rust. He it is who has done so much to
create a special moral code for the business
man and to some extent bring contempt on
his fellows.
If there is one thing more patent to the
common mind than another it is that truth,
broadness, liberality and intelligence are