Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
THE COLLAPSE OF TRUSTS.
TT would seem as if the trust octopus was
receiving some pretty severe blows
these July days. There has been a failure
of the chair trust, the glove trust and two
or three other of lesser importance, and
now it appears that a lack of financial sup-
port came near producing the entire collapse
of the much talked of bicycle trust.
The trust—that is, The American Bi-
cycle Co.—which was recently incorporated
under the laws of the State of New Jersey
with a capital of $80,000,000, was seriously
hampered, to say the least, by complications
which prevented the perfection of the
organization. A crisis was reached with
the inability of the under-writers to furnish
the funds requisite for carrying on the
amalgamated interests as one.
Several meetings were held in this city
during the week and the result was that a
new combination was made with half the
capitalization of the original trust. It is
understood that more than one half of the
manufacturers in the country are outside
of the new deal, and the success of the
combination as it now stands is looked upon
as extremely doubtful. It is stated that a
small percentage of cash will now be paid
the owners of the plants who are included
in the re-organization scheme.
A talk with some of the manufacturers
who have remained out of the combination
leads one to the belief that they look upon
the scheme as full of possibilities for failure.
The partial collapse of this gigantic trust
is of particular interest to piano manufac-
turers, as the conditions which exist in the
bicycle industry conform more closely to
those which now prevail in the piano
trade perhaps than almost any other in-
dustry that we can name.
There are more than two hundred con-
cerns employed in the manufacture of
bicycles. Then, too, there are many parts
made in other factories which correspond
closely with what we term the supply fac-
tories of the piano industry.
It has been claimed by those who have
looked over the field carefully that it would
be almost an impossibility to form a suc-
cessful bicycle trust or combination, owing
to the fact that capital always could be
secured to carry on competitive manufac-
turing. The promoters of the bicycle
trust succeeded in obtaining options on
115 plants. These options expired prior
to July 1st, and an extension of another
month was granted under the plea
that a further examination of the
plants was necessary. It was during the
interim that the American Bicycle Co. was
incorporated. Having nominally purchas-
ed about 43 plants, the promoters attempt-
ed to float the securities of the corporation.
This they were unable to do, and it is
stated that the manufacturers themselves
will have to furnish capital to start the en-
terprise, if it is ever really floated. They
are now seeking to discover some means to
successfully bolster up the scheme, but
it seems the promoters will have to pump
a powerful lot of wind into the finan-
cial tire before it will support the or-
ganization. Then if they ever do succeed
in starting the wheel there are plenty of
tacks in the path in the way of sound com-
petition which is liable to make some
mighty big punctures.
It is the old story of attempting to float
a vast financial scheme on wind chiefly,
and relying entirely for the launching up-
on the willingness of the people to sub-
scribe for stock through the various
brokers.
Take up almost any leading metropolitan
paper and we will find an alluring an-
nouncement of some new corporation,
known in the vernacular as a trust, which
desires to sell stock. The directorate of
these concerns invariably is made up of men
who rank high in the financial world.
These are supposed to give the color of
legitimacy as well as solidity to the scheme,
but the people are beginning to find out,
after all, that the responsibilities of these
stool pigeon directors amount to little or
nothing, and are becoming decidedly chary
of investing in the over-inflated stock
which is being offered.
How much better the piano trade is to-
day to have followed the advice of The
Review, and preserved its independence.
If a trust had been formed in this indus-
try what assurance have we that it would
be any more successful than many of the
others which have been launched largely
upon promoters' inflated talk. If a man
can get cold cash for his business and dis-
pose of it at a fair price, why it is all well
and good to retire from active life, but
how many men in this industry are there
who would be satisfied even with those
conditions? The fact is the piano industry
never was as healthy since its inception as
it is this day, and the prospects never were
as bright. If our views count for any-
thing, formed by personal observations by
thousands of miles of travel during the
past few months, we say that this industry
will enjoy the biggest fall business in trade
history and men are wise who retain
their individual independence and have
immediate control of their business insti-
tutions.
And how much better for this industry,
and for the whole country for that matter
to encourage individual independence
rather than to merge interests into one
colossal combination.
PESSIMISTS TO THE REAR.
T H E wail of the pessimist is no longer
heard in the land. The fact that the
United States by reason of its great excess
of exports is draining the moneyed centers
of Europe is something to set all thinking.
It is known positively that the $12,000,000
recently shipped abroad by our local insti-
tutions in defiance of the laws of the
foreign exchange, was money actually bor-
rowed from Wall street by Berlin bankers
to meet the money stringency there.
America to-day cuts a mighty important
figure before the world. The Spanish-
American war has given America greater
prominence in the eyes of Europeans than
all of the events that have transpired in
the last quarter of a century.
A fact showing the business of this coun-
try has grown during the twelve months is
the enormous figures in bank clearings.
For the six months ending June 30th the
clearings in seventy-six cities aggregate
$48,073,459,121, a gain of forty-six per
cent, over 1898, ninety-four per cent, over
1897 and 117 per cent, over 1894.
When such figures are presented it means
that the pessimist together with the anti-
expansionist must go. This country is
not to be halted in its onward career by
pessimistic howls.
A S The Review has frequently stated
there is a tremendous business abroad
to be secured for American pianos, just as
well as for American engines, or anything
else which we create. We have suggested
time and time again that pianos be built
specially for foreign markets. Still the
wise realize to-day that the home trade
pays the best and is the best, and until we
have that pretty fairly supplied our manu-
facturers will prefer to work on this conti-
nent rather than across the seas.
T H A T our foreign trade relations would
be considerably improved if Ameri-
can exporters paid more attention to the
manners and customs of the different peo-
ple the world over is a fact that admits of
but little discussion. Some testimony put
forth by the Philadelphia Commercial Mu-
seum shows that a carelessnesss in pack-
ing, shipping and divers other shortcom-
ings has tended to prevent foreigners from
buying our goods. If Americans desire to
obtain a still larger share of the trade of
the old world than they now have they
must pay considerable attention to the
whims and caprices of their customers.