Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
of part of their rights. Nevertheless the
consensus of opinion among the followers
of the democratic, and the republican
party for that matter, is that some such
move as that just suggested by the House
Committee on Judiciary should be taken.
Trusts that are monopolies should be
driven out of business, and so-called legiti-
mate trusts that appeal to the public,
through their sale of stocks, for support
should be open to national supervision just
the same as banks. Publicity is the only
preventive to stock watering and ''kiting."
ALWAYS ON TIME.
"THE Review may always be relied upon
for accurate and early news. In an-
other part of this paper will be found all
the happenings at the Convention in Chi-
cago. Expense and labor have not been
spared in this connection. The Review
believes, as does every member of the in-
dustry, that mighty little enterprise is dis-
played in bringing out a paper a week
after an event has occurred. We believe
in getting the news at any cost and in
never delaying the publication of the paper
a day. Saturday means Saturday in The
Review offices.
STRIKES AND BUSINESS.
A PIANO manufacturer, while discuss-
ing trade topics with us recently, ex-
pressed his opinion as to the detrimental
effect of strikes during the year upon this
industry.
There is no doubt that even now the in-
jury which is being wrought by labor trou-
bles in various centers is having an effect
not susceptible of an accurate estimation
upon business, and if we take the losses
incurred by the strikes which have oc-
curred during the past few months, includ-
ing the piano strike in Chicago, the figures
reach an amount which is paralyzing to
the ordinary mind.
It is exasperating that labor troubles
should break out on such a scale just at
this time when conditions are so generally
favorable to mercantile prosperity, and
when the piano manufacturer bids fair to
recoup his losses of the past four or five
years.
Doubtless there are faults on
both sides. Arrogance carried to an ab-
surd degree has in some cases been
shown by the "working-people;" de-
mands have been made to which no
self-respecting employer could accede.
But, on the other hand, the workman
has a right to share in the prosperity he
has helped to create, and in many cases he
has not done so. He has been well em-
ployed; true; he has received an advance
in wages; but this advance is not equal to
the increased cost of living resulting from
the higher prices of commodities. The
present differences have been apprehended
by thoughtful retailers and the conditions
are being carefully watched in every city
where prosperity depends on workpeople
being fully employed and at good wages.
It requires a little time to get every de-
partment of the industry adjusted to the
changed conditions, and it is possible that
we may have local depressions temporarily
for a while yet, but as a whole, the out-
look is encouraging, the shadow of strikes
notwithstanding.
CURRENCY AND CONFIDENCE.
|\]ATURALLY, we expect that business
will feel, to a certain extent, the ef-
fect of the coming presidential election,
but there can be no such feeling of alarm
as was experienced during the last presi-
dential campaign. The currency question
is all right, and in this connection it
pays, in more senses than one, to be hon-
est. The strengthening of the nation-
al credit by the recent enactment of the
gold standard law is one of the great-
est and best of its beneficent effects.
The statement made by Representative
Brosius, Chairman of the House Com-
mittee on Banking and Currency, and
one of the best authorities on financial
matters in the present Congress, is of
much significance. He shows that the
new law has already accomplished re-
sults which exceed the anticipations of
the most sanguine of its advocates. In
fact, he says of one feature alone, the re-
funding provisions of the act, that they
"are working out an achievement in fi-
nance without a parallel in the history of
the world," and he backs up the assertion
with figures to prove it. The government
has already refunded $260,020,750 of bonds
bearing three, four and five per cent, in-
terest, exchanging them for issues bearing
two per cent. To do this it had to pay
$26,034,771 in premiums, but it reduced
the interest charges $32,699,225, making a
net saving of $6,664,454. And this for
only a month and a half, the period during
which the law has been in operation.
This work is still going on, as it must do
with millions of bonds yet bearing the
higher rate of interest v/hich the govern •
ment will convert into two per cent, obli-
gations as fast as arrangements can be
made. With this go the increase in num-
ber of national banks and the enlargement
of note circulation permissible under the
law. The total increase up to April 1 was
$29,693,368. The additional currency goes
where it is most needed and meets the de-
mands of business and industry, adjusted
to the requirements of the localities where
the new banks are started. And as every
dollar thus issued is as absolutely safe for
one hundred cents as though it were a gold
coin of the same denomination, the sta-
bility and confidence thus assured afford an
ever-present object lesson in the value of
sound and honest currency.
ADVANTAGEOUS ADVERTISING.
LJOW shall I make my advertising pay?
is a question which business men are
asking over and over again.
One reason why, perhaps, advertising
does not pay better is because men do not
give enough attention to the systematic
arrangement and insertion of their ads.
In the trade paper world, how can a man
expect enormous returns for the insertion
of a casual card at a very modest sum?
Our experience tells us that the men
who have been fairly liberal in their appro-
priations, who have supplemented their
cards by pages and special work, have met
with splendid results. Some of our larg-
est advertisers to-day are men who began
with us years ago in a modest way, but
have steadily increased their appropria-
tions with us. They find that advertising
pays, and they are not the ones who are
advocates of any measure which embodies
a resolution to cut down trade paper ap-
propriations. We believe on the whole
that for the small amount of money in-
volved in yearly advertising in trade paper
work that the good results accomplished far
outweighs those which may be won by the
investment of the same amount of money
in almost any other field of advertising.
The man who takes a narrow view of the
mission of a trade paper usually takes a
contracted view of life and his own busi-
ness as well. He dislikes to see the con-
stant publicity which his brother manu-
facturer is receiving at the hands of trade
papers and rather than to go in and build
his business on the same basis he would
like to pull the other man down to his
level.
We have encountered such men, and
they are invariably the ones who cannot
be convinced that there is such a thing as
proper trade publicity. In the meanwhile
the more progressive manufacturer is a
liberal patron of the best trade papers and
as a result he is forging steadily ahead.
TN a communication received on Wednes-
day, the personal representative of
The Review at the Paris Exposition re-
ports the Exposition as still in a less than
half-finished condition. Goods for the
various exhibitors are arriving by every
steamer and it will be impossible to re-
ceive representative reports of the exhibits
in detail before the end of the month. The
French authorities kept their word regard..
ing the opening date, but the Exposition
will not be really opened, as far as a com-
plete showing of exhibits are concerned,
before June 1st.