Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
TWENTY-SECOND YEAR.
EDWARD LYMAN BILL,
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
J. B. S P I L L A N E . MANAGING EDITOR.
E M I L I E FRANCES BAUER,
Executive Staff
:
THOS. CAMPBELL-COPELAND
WALDO E. LADD
GEO. W. QUERIPEL
A. J. NICKLIN
PnBlislied Every Satnrflay at 3 East 14th Street, New Yorlt
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage). United States, Mexico
and Canada, $2.00 per year ; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per
insertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts a special discount
is allowed. Advertising Pages $50.00, opposite reading matter
$75.00.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency form, should be
made payable to Edward Lyman Bill.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
NEW YORK, NOV. 10, 1900.
TELEPHONE NUMBER, J745--EIOHTEENTH STREET.
On the first Saturday of each month The
Review contains in its "Artists Department"
all the current musical news. This is effected
without in any way trespassing on the size or
service of the trade section of the paper. It has
a special circulation, and therefore augments
materially the value of The Review to adver-
tisers.
NOW TO BUSINESS.
TV1OW that the great Presidential contest
of 1900 has passed into history busi-
ness will receive the undivided attention of
all.
The decisive nature of the defeat ad-
ministered last Tuesday is given as a rea-
son by men at the head of great industries
for anticipating a commercial revival of
vast and unprecedented proportions.
Never have general conditions been more
favorable for a large volume of business,
and influences which were inclined to have
a depressing effect upon commercial affairs
are now of the past.
With all these disturbing conditions re-
legated into oblivion, piano manufacturers
and merchants may look forward with
sanguine expectations to the greatest fall
business which they have ever experi-
enced. Contemplated enterprises which
have been postponed until the election was
definitely decided will now be carried on
without further delay. There are vast
contracts in all lines which were held until
the political battle was decided.
The immediate placing of these con-
tracts will have a stimulating effect all
along the skirmish line of business and the
result will be that activity will prevail in a
manner never before equalled in all indus-
tries through America. Strikes are about
over, and those now pending are of a local
character and in no case involve many
workmen.
The great advance in stocks since elec-
tion occurred demonstrates the faith of
the public in the markets. There has
been a rush to buy stocks on the part of
the public which has been out of the mar-
ket since the great industrial slump last
Spring. There is now an evident desire
to participate in the advance movement.
Judging from various reports which
have reached us there will be a dearth of
manufactured pianos for the holiday trade.
There is no accumulation of manufactured
goods in many factories and in a very
small number is there a sufficient stock to
stand an increased demand from the deal-
ers.
Wise piano merchants will be rushing
in their orders if they expect to take care
of their trade in good form during the
holiday whirl.
The business situation, as we view it, is
right, and there is no inclination to over-
do the situation by rushing into wild-cat
speculation. The American people have
not entirely forgotten the period of over-
inflation and never before have the busi-
ness interests of the country been on as
sound foundation as at the present time.
The piano man will have his innings.
THE CIRCULATION OF RUMORS.
""THERE are journalists, some of whom
are connected with music trade jour-
nalism, who evince a special fondness for
acting as circulating mediums for rumors.
These rumors relate to all classes and
reach the various subdivisions of trade,
including the financial standing of con-
cerns, the resignation of Mr. So-and-So,
the retirement of Mr. Smith, the new move
made by Mr. Jones, the rumored smash of
Mr. Blank. They are fond of meeting
members of the trade and telling them in
accents low all the inner facts relating to
members of the industry. They adopt a
strange, mysterious, poseful air as if the
entire trade world hung in suspense upon
their utterances.
Obviously it would be bad enough if
these reports were confined wholly to mouth
to mouth distribution ; but when it reaches
a point of printing them it is quite time to
call a halt upon the dangerous attitude of
journals of this character, and use, when
referring to papers, little discrimination
between those which disseminate rumors
and those which distribute facts.
If the editor of a paper published every-
thing which reached him in the nature of
a rumor he would, through his acceptance
of the sensational reports, be in water ap-
proaching the boiling point most of the
time.
There is no saving point in using the
words, it is alleged. It does not afford the
slightest protection for the editor who dis-
tributes unreliable matter by saying "it is
alleged," " i t is rumored," " i t is stated."
His publication of matter served up in that
way shows that he places emphasis upon
the rumor and sends it further along the
lines, as far as his circulation of papers go.
Unreliability is not wholly confined to
trade papers, for it extends to all branches
of journalism as well. It was only a short
time ago that an item appeared written by
some irresponsible and thoughtless scrib-
bler which affected the credit of a well-
known piano manufacturing institution of
northern New York State, and resulted in
doing serious damage to the credit of that
concern. Bad news flies along on electric
wings, while good news travels slowly.
The real ability of an editor is not dem-
onstrated in disseminating all that comes
to his mill for grinding, but in separating
the wheat of truth from the chaff of rumors
which are daily poured into his hoppers.
Some two weeks ago a local trade paper
noted for its unreliability, published a ru-
mor alleging the retirement of a well-
known member of the trade who occupies
a managerial position in one of the great-
est mercantile institutions in this country
operating stores in New York and Phil-
adelphia.
In this instance as in all others, The
Review traced the rumor to its source, and
was the only paper that exhibited the en-
terprise to secure a denial from the head
of that institution. Other papers accepted
the published information as correct and
further distributed the all g d resignation
along trade lines.
The gentleman referred to is now com-
pelled to write a letter to one of the papers
stating the falsity of the report.
In this letter, however, he does not do
justice to the reliable papers, for he states
that this report gained currency "through
the medium of one of the New York trade
papers."
In fairness to the papers of New York
which have won a reputation for reliability
this statement is unfair, and Mr. Wood-
ford, for it is Mr. Woodford to whom we
refer, should say, that this rumor first ap-
peared in the "Vaudeville Extra," for by
not stating the precise journal which com-
mitted the offense he unintentionally leaves
the readers of his communication in doubt
as to the original offender. Further—the
paper to which he was forced to send this
communication hides behind the absurd
screen that "they were astonished to hear
the rumor." As if it were not a paper's
duty to investigate a rumor before endors-
ing it by publication.
There is too much of this sort of thing,
and papers which are forced to make cor-
rections should be fair enough to give
their authority. If The Review is incor-
rect in its utterances it will acknowledge
them, and not hide behind the statement
that some of the other papers committed