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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
purchasers to become possessors of reliable
medium grade instruments.
The people are beginning to learn that
they have purchased gold brick pianos, and
the result is the men who have been carry-
ing on that sort of business have com-
menced to suffer materially. Their ab-
normal profit has been reduced by demands
made upon them from angry claimants,
also they have found that the influence of
dissatisfied customers has been such as to
turn trade from their establishment rather
than towards it.
'"THE decision of the Circuit Court of
Appeals of St. Louis to the effect
that a trust cannot cover its objects under
the form of a corporation and evade the
penalties provided for the violation of the
anti-trust laws of Missouri, is liable to be
far-reaching- in its effect.
Under the Missouri interpretation of the
anti-trust law, persons buying any article
or commodity from a trust are not liable
for payment for the same and" may plead
the law as a defense to any suit for collec-
tion. Such a condition renders it practic-
ally impossible for any trust to do business
in that state. If this decision stands a test
of the Supreme Court, it will be the great-
est blow yet received by the trust, and
whether the decision would hold under the
laws of other states is a matter which re-
mains to be determined. It must be ad-
mitted, however, that as a precedent the
decision will naturally have great weight
with the judiciary of other states.
Trusts are not having it entirely their
own way in these days, and this Missouri
matter may be the beginning of a series
of obstacles hard to overcome. The bi-
cycle trust seems in danger of going to
pieces owing to internal disagreements.
The proposed piano trust seems to have
been severely frost-bitten and it has ex-
hibited no powers of rejuvenation under
the cheering influences of spring.
Antwerp Ivory flarket.
In a report to the Government by Consul-
General Lincoln from Antwerp he states
that at the first quarterly sale held on the
31st day of January, there were offered and
sold as follows: Kongo: hard, 81,780
pounds, soft, 5,792 pounds; Angola, 45,823
pounds, Gaboon, 2,414 pounds; Abyssinian,
1,952 pounds, and Senegal and Cote d'or,
789 pounds, making a total of 138,550
pounds.
The totals for preceding years were, in
pounds: 1898, 125,761; 1897, 131,656; i8;6,
145,062; 1895, 135,256; 1894, 82,777; 1893,
107,004; 1892, 56,217; 1891, 55,075; 1890,
26,715.
The prices paid showed an advance from
10 to 20 cents per kilogram (2.2046 pounds)
for tusks of all weights. For certain lots
of scrivailles, the advance reached about
38 cents per kilogram (2.2046 pounds).
The stock on hand to-day amounts to
Theodore Pfafflin.
181,074 pounds, as compared with 81,750
A WAR VETERAN.
pounds in T898, 134,480 pounds in 1897,
Probably few of the legion of friends 268,520 pounds in 1896, 174,163 pounds in
whom Theodore Pfafflin has formed with- 1895, and 40,785 pounds in 1894.
in the past quarter of a century would
recognize him in the above photograph,
but a closer inspection will reveal the
frank, open features which developed into
the Theodore Pfafflin that we know to-day.
Few, too, would imagine that the sprightly,
vigorous Pfafflin of '99 is a veteran of the
Civil War, having entered the service in
1863 at the age of thirteen.
We know of no younger soldier in the
Union army than this boy at the age of
thirteen, who, full of patriotic ardor, en-
couraged his friends to in some way get
him into the army, as his extreme youth
prevented his enlistment without some in-
fluence. The result was he enlisted in
136th Indiana and served in Kentucky and
Tennessee. He was mustered out, but re-
enlisted as drum major and was mustered
out long after the war closed, for it was not
until October 1865 that his honorable dis-
charge was signed at Nashville, Tenn.
Two years later he began in the music bus-
iness with Geo. W. Warren at Evansville,
Ind. Since that time Mr. Pfafflin has filled
many positions of trust and honor. He
has won a national reputation as being a
manager of ability and a salesman of ex-
ceptional qualifications. But more than
that, Theodore Pfafflin is a straight, out-
A CLOvSE inspection of the advertising" spoken, staunch and loyal man. He is
columns of our local papers for the true to his friends, and to the interests
week reveal the information that not one which he represents. His frank greeting
and hearty hand-shake show the real sin-
reference to pianos has appeared in the cerity of the man. Mr. Pfafflin is mana-
daily bulletin of the great dry goods houses ger of the Weber-Wheelock warerooms in
of this city. Our exchanges from Phila- this city and New York is glad to have
phia show that there has been no increase him with her.
in the advertising space devoted to inter-
The employees of the Starr Piano Co.
esting the public in musical instruments in are as patriotic as they are competent
the dry goods announcements of Philadel- workmen. They have raised a big fund
for a suitable celebration of the home-
phia houses.
coming of the Indiana Regiment of which
a
number of their old comrades are mem-
INDUSTRIALS seem to have met with a
bers. In the furtherance of this com-
set-back in the stock markets during mendable spirit Messrs. Starr and Gen-
the present week. The trust move is not nett have been as enthusiastic as any of
gaining appreciable headway just now.
the " boys."
The date for the next quarterly sale is
fixed for the 2d of May.
Mr. Sohmer's Attitude.
The demand for Sohmer parlor and
baby grands continues active.
General
business at the Sohmer factory and ware-
rooms is reported as good. When The Re-
view called at the Sohmer warerooms on
Tuesday, Hugo Sohmer stated that Soh-
mer representatives throughout the coun-
try generally approve of the firm's attitude
in the matter of department store piano
business.
"Most assuredly they do," he contin-
ued, "and in many instances we have
heard direct from them to that effect.
Furthermore, we are to-day stronger than
ever in our conviction that the stand we
take in this matter is the right one. We
are always willing to consider, and if
necessary adopt, proper practical plans for
furtherance of our best business interests,
but nothing has been developed, so far, in
this recent 'department store' idea, to
merit even serious attention on our part."
National Bankruptcy Law.
CONVENTION
TO
KE
HELD
IN CHICAGO TO
CORSIDKR AMENDMENTS.
Chicago, 111., May 10, 1899.
An appeal was sent out to-day for a con-
vention of representatives of leading credit
men's associations, members of Judicial
Committees of the House and Senate, United
States District Judges, experts on bank-
ruptcy law, and referees in bankruptcy
cases to consider and present to the next
Congress amendments to the National
Bankruptcy act. The convention will be
held in Chicago late in June.
The National Bankruptcy act has been in
operation nine months, and urgent demand
has been made from all parts of the coun-
try for certain amendments in the adminis-
tration and letter of the law.