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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
no contract for the sale of a piano should
cover a period of time of more than two
years. One year would be a reasonable
time. Instruments should be sold on their
merits and the price should be according
to those merits. Dealers who get high
prices for cheap goods should be branded
as swindlers and tobooed by the trade as
such, instead of being considered as good
business men. The evil of low grade goods
consists only in their being represented as
good as the sterling grades. When they
are sold at a proper price legitimate
objection to them vanishes. The European
piano fills a position peculiarly its own
and its introduction to the American public
would result in opening a great many
homes to the delights of music that are
now closed by the high price of the
American piano.
flACKIE PIANO, ORGAN AND MUSIC CO.,
Rochester, N. Y.
Our views are that the piano manufac-
turers are much to blame for the unsatis-
factory and unprofitable state of trade,
consigning and selling to small towns their
goods and carrying the paper taken by
novices who sell them at ruinous terms
exceeding three (3) years time, and selling
when cash is offered at any price over
factory price, lowering the price and re-
spect for the business. This and atten-
dant evils breed unstableness of men and
goods, only dealers who pay money should
be sold, no "kite-flyers," should be toler-
ated. Those who have money will handle
carefully and for a profit, but no profit
comes to manufacturers and sellers when
factories force their goods and try to make
double what the normal consumption is.
Music goods are sold too close, and too
much credit is given both dealers and the
public at present rate of manufacturing.
Goods are a drug all over this fair land,
and if manufacturers do not stop, disaster
and panics must come. Trusts and com-
bines cannot avert it.
The >£olian on the Sea.
The above is a view of the main saloon
of Mr. Eugene Higgins's yacht " Varu-
na," with the ^Solian in position. ^Eo-
lians are now much in vogue among
yachtsmen. At this season many
bla," Mr. F. G. Bourne's "Reverie," Mr.
C. A. Postley's "Colonia," Mr. R. E.
Todd's " Katrina," and a host of others.
In this connection, the vEolian owes its
popularity to its artistic merit and its util-
ity. Its resources render it the best sub-
stitute for an orchestra. The extent of
the yEolian library permits the instant
use of every description, suitable for all
occasions.
are supplied for yachts and summer
homes.
Among the well-known pleasure craft in
which ^Eolian instruments have been
placed are Mr. M. C. D. Borden's "Sover-
eign," Mr. E. D. Morgan's "May," Mr.
J. P. Morgan's "Corsair," Mr. A. J. Drex-
el's "Sultana," Mr. John Hanan's " Em-
For yachting and country houses its
adaptability for playing dance music, vo-
cal or instrumental accompaniments, over-
tures, symphonies and even complete
operas audibly and accurately with a min-
imum of effort on the part of the person
using it makes it sure of a good reception
everywhere.
Fear War Taxes May Be Unjust.
Wolfram Co. Burned Out.
USED IN ALL THE PRINCIPAL YACHTS AND
SUMMER HOMES APPRECIATED ALIKE v
ON SEA AND LAND.
MERCHANTS'
C. V. YORK, Glenwood, Iowa.
What is the Remedy ? Here it is,
according to my view. As long as the
mamifacturers sell to the department stores
you may look for just such a condition of
affairs as the piano business is in to-day
for the honest dealer has to resort to cheap
goods iruorder to compete in prices.
Let the manufacturers stop selling in-
struments to the department stores and
you will see that all honest dealers will
take more interest in pushing to the front
all the better class of instruments and
therefore will get better prices, etc. I
have customers come in my store and say:
Mr. York I want a piano but I am going to
the department store to buy it as I can
beat your prices on the same piano fifty to
a hundred dollars. So yoti see I am in the
music business to stay, the department
man is not. He don't care for quality of
goods. He sells it in the quantity he
wants. Would like to hear from other
dealers on the department view.
Lyon & Healy report that their piano
business for May is in excess of the same
period last year.
ALL
ASSOCIATION
TELLS
CONGRESS
CORPORATIONS SHOULD NOT BE
ASSESSED ALIKE.
The Merchants' Association of this city,
while not objecting to paying an equitable
share of the war taxes, believes that Con-
gress is in danger of forcing an unjust dis-
crimination against mercantile corpor-
ations in its War Revenue bill, and has
issued a protest, copies of which have
been mailed to all members of Congress.
Mercantile and manufacturing corpora-
tions, the protest says, should not be sub-
jected to a tax from which private firms
doing similar business are exempt. The
War Revenue bill proposes a tax of one-
fourth of one per cent, of gross receipts
on all corporations.
Many of the mercantile and manufactur-
ing corporations, the protest points out,
were made such for the benefit of their
employees.
They cannot buy material
cheaper than private firms, nor sell their
products for higher prices. To discrim-
inate against them would be not only un-
fair, but in many cases ruinous.
The objections do not apply to corpora-
t i o n s that benefit by public charters.
[Special to The Review.]
Columbus, O., May 16, 1898.
A fire of unknown origin broke out in
the Baldwin Block at 81-89 North Third
street, in which are located the Wolfram
Guitar Co., on Thursday morning. The
fire was a stubborn one, but the occupants
of the building escaped with losses ap-
proximating $15,000.
The Wolfram Guitar Co. occupied prac-
tically all of the third floor, their fire loss
being small. Owing to the nature of their
stock, Mr. Wolfram thought his loss,
largely on account of heat and water,
would reach at least $5,000, but the fire
department officials do not think it will
come anywhere near that amount. Wol-
fram's insurance amounted to about $4,000,
but this he says will not cover his loss.
Violin rianufacture.
The only place in the world where violin
making may be said to constitute the main
industry is Markneukirchen, in Saxony,
with its numerous surrounding villages.
There are altogether about 15,000 people
in this district engaged exclusively in the
manufacture of violins and other small
instruments of the string family.