Music Trade Review

Issue: 1901 Vol. 32 N. 24

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
8
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
TWENTY-SECOND YEAR.
tising, we may say that one of the most
glaringly misleading announcements which
has been brought to our notice for a long
time past is the one which we present be-
low, taken from the Pittsburg Press, under
date of June 2d:
No man has a legal or moral right to
trade upon the reputation worthily won by
another, and if the Chickerings of Chicago
desire to win the respect of the trade, they
should rigidly insist upon their agents elim-
inating misrepresentation from their public
EDWARD LYMAN BILL,
acts.
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
CHICKERING BROS,' PIANOS.
J . B. S P I L L A N E , MANAGING EDITOR.
The name Chickering, as applied to pi-
The Only Piano Made by a Chickering Now
THOS. CAMPBELL-COPELAND
Hold by Ambuhl Bros., the Enterpris-
WALDO E. LADD
anos, possesses an enormous value. It con-
ing Piano Dealers, on Wood Street.
Executive Staff:
GEO. W. QUERIPEL
Ambuhl
Bros,
of
433
Wood
Street
are
stitutes a piano trade mark which assures
A. J. NICKLIN
pleased to announce that they have now
the purchaser of an instrument bearing that
the exclusive agency for this territory
Every Saturday at 3 East 14th street, New Y o u
for the world-famed Chickering Bros.'
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States, Mexico
name,
of a conceded artistic worth, and the
pianos.
and Canada, $2.00 per year; another countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEriENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per
For the past nearly eighty years the
attempt by anyone to trade upon this repu-
insertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts a. special discount
name Chickering has been connected
is allowed. Advertising Pages $50.00, opposite reading matter,
with high-grade pianos and probably no
$75.00.
tation, so long and honorably maintained,
REniTTANCE*, in other than currency form, should be
other name is better or more favorably
made payable to Edward Lyman Bill.
known in connection with the great in-
should be met with such emphatic disap-
dustry of piano making. It is therefore
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter
proval that the offense will not likely be
with pride that Ambuhl Bros, announce
that they now have the exclusive agency
NEW YORK, JUNE 15, 190L
repeated.
In this connection, we may say
for Lhickering Bros.' pianos, positively
TELEPHONE NUMBER, 1745-E1QHTEENTH STREET.
the only piano made by a Chickering.
that we consider that here is a case which
We also wish to announce that al-
THE
On the first Saturday of each
though the grade of these famous pianos
ARTISTS 1
month The Review contains in its
could, with perfect propriety, be brought to
is too well known to admit of contro-
DEPARTMENT " Artists' Department" all the cur-
the attention of the National Association of
versy, it is our intention to carry out in
rent musical news. This is effected
the sale of them, as in all other instru-
without in any way trespassing on the size or ser-
Piano Manufacturers, even though Chicker-
ments we sell, our well-established plan
vice of the trade section of the paper. It has a
of small profits and quick sales. You
special circulation, and therefore augments mater-
ing & Sons be not members of that organ-
can therefore buy at Ambuhl Bros, one
ially the value of The Review to advertisers.
of these famous Chickering Bros, pianos
ization.
DIRECTORY OF
The directory of piano manu-
at the price you would pay at many
other stores for a very obscure make,
u^NMrsrTunrn. facturing firms and corporations
It is openly stated that Ambuhl Bros., of
and on terms as low as ten dollars per
MANUFACTURERS f Q u n d Q n p a g e ^ ^^ b e Q £
value as a reference for dealers and others.
Pittsburg, are largely controlled by the Kim-
month.
AMBUHL BROS.,
ball
institution of Chicago. If such be the
433 Wood Street, Pittsburg.
It is difficult, indeed, to appreciate that case, we believe that as soon as the atten-
EDITORIAL
state of ecstatic bliss that Ambuhl Bros, en- tion of Mr. Conway is drawn to this mis-
joy when they "take pleasure" in announc- leading announcement he will disapprove of
PROFITING BY OTHERS WORK.
ing that they have the exclusive agency for it in terms easily understood. He has clear-
\ \ f E have frequently
Fraudulent p i a n o
"the world-famed Chickering Bros, pianos." ly and emphatically expressed himself re-
schemes decreasing—
called attention
Misleading advertising
This announcement constitutes the grossest garding trade ethics, and here is an oppor-
to the various kinds of
— Attempt t o trade
upon the n a m e of
libel on one of the distinguished names in tunity early in his presidency which will
advertising in which
Chickering — Ambuhl
Bros.' attitude.
piano history, and its authors cannot plead afford a magnificent chance for the Asso-
misrepresentation h a s
ignorance in the issuance of such an adver- ciation, under his guidance, to win hearty
been a prominent feature. We have also re-
applause from those who have hitherto re-
tisement.
ferred to fraudulent schemes allied with
mained
aloof from participation in its coun-
The second paragraph of their notice dem-
stenciling, whereby instruments have been
onstrates beyond power of argument the ob- sels.
branded with names closely resembling some of
THE C L U T C E T O F UNIONISM.
the old and famous piano patronymics. Hap- vious desire on their part to trade upon
A MANUFACTUR-
the old-established Chickering. It is plain
pily, deceptions of this kind have been on
Opinion of a manu-
facturer—The absurd
ER of prominence *
that
the
purpose
of
their
advertisements
is
the wane, and there are now only sporadic
and arbitrary demands
connected
with this in-/
of labor unions—The
to establish the closest, relations between the
cases, principally confined to the great cities
decline of England's
famous old name of Chickering and the commercial supremacy dustry, said recently,
where pianos are exploited under fictitious
due largely to this.
while discussing labor
Chickering Bros., which they represent, for
and deceptive names.
they proceed to say further on that "the grade topics, and the probability of the spread of
The decrease of this business has been
of these famous pianos (referring to Chick- Doldism: "I am convinced, from my ob-
brought about by education on the part of
servation of the labor conditions in America,
ering Bros.) is too well known to admit of
the general public, aided by a determination
that the more one tries to elevate the con-
on the part of the legitimate dealer to ex- controversy."
If this is not the rankest kind of misrep- dition of certain classes of men, the more
pose deceptions of that character.
resentation, then where shall we look for it ? he is adding to his own future troubles.
The numbers of manufacturers who have
The advertisement is plainly written with the There is not one man in fifty who really ap-
been parties to schemes of such a nature
intent to trade upon the fame of the illus- preciates thoughtful effort on the part of
arc growing beautifully less. Publicity has
trious Chickering piano, for its authors seek manufacturers to better his condition. See
largely destroyed illegitimate stenciling.
to lead the public into th& belief that theirs how all the finely arranged plans of men
There are, however, other trade nuisances
who conceived the profit-sharing schemes
is the great piano of history.
which have largely supplanted the old form
and
all that have crumbled. I propose to
It is not the purpose of this article to
of exploiting deceptive piano nomenclature..
enter into a discussion of the rights of Chick- do just exactly as much as is possible in
In many cities there are dealers who still
ering Bros, to stencil pianos as they elect, the way of providing healthy surroundings
adopt unfair methods to bring a compet-
but when it is clearly apparent that the for my employees. I do this in purely a self-
itor's pianos into disrepute. It is hoped
name of Chickering Bros, isbeing used openly ish spirit; not because J desire specially
that the Dealers' National Association may-
to deceive, why, then, it is quite time that the to better them, but solely for the reason
be instrumental in eliminating this kind of
men who are parties to it should be held up that they wilt be better satisfied, more con-
fraud and misrepresentation from the trade.
tent, and we get better results from them."
for trade condemnation.
Referring to kinds of deceptive adver-
KEMEW
1
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
It is certainly true that many of the em-
ployers of labor who have worked in an
altruistic spirit have been little appreciated
by those whose conditions they have sought
to advance.
Let us take the recent troubles at the
works of the National Cash Register Co.,
at Dayton, O. This plant is famous the
world over for the efforts which have been
made by its management to improve factory
conditions. This plant has been frequently
pointed out as a model for all industrial in-
stitutions. Its work has been the theme
of magazine articles, and writers of all kinds
have used the plant at Dayton as an illus-
tration of what could be done to make the
conditions of workmen pleasant.
Let us see what were the causes which
led up to a recent strike at this model in-
stitution. The labor union men in the shops
complained that the towels (which, by the
way, were supplied free of charge) were
washed by women not connected with any
union. They demanded that this work be
done by a union laundry. The manage-
ment simply stopped the supply of towels.
Later it was discovered that the compressed
air springs on the doors of the polishing
department were manufactured by a non-
union shop in Connecticut. They were re-
moved.
The very grave questions of towels and
springs had hardly been well disposed of
before another and more difficult problem
arose. It was a question about three car-
penters, and the urrions themselves were un-
able to determine just in what particular
schedule these carpenters should go. This
led up to serious difficulties and unjust de-
mands were made upon the general man-
agement of the company. Ultimatums were
made which were not acceded to, and, as
a final result, the company posted a notice
to the effect that certain employees of the*
company having quit work, it would be
necessary for the entire factory to shut down
indefinitely. Thus we see one of the model
plants of the world closed by the arbitrary
demands of union men—a question of towels,
springs and unions.
The history of strikes proves that strikers
are benefited least of all. Labor unions,
as they exist to-day, are a serious menace
to prosperity and progress. England is be-
ing slowly strangled by them, and the loss
of her supremacy as a manufacturing na-
tion has its origin largely in the throttling
hands of the English labor unions whose
demands have been carried to such extreme
points as prohibiting the use of machinery,
and unwarrantable dictation as to how bus-
iness affairs of institutions should be con-
ducted.
The United States must meet and solve
this problem, or, in the end, suffer the same
fate as England.
Occasionally a labor strike accomplishes
results that are useful, and are so in ac-
cordance with enlightened public opinion, as
to warrant the strike itself as an orderly
step in social progress.
These cases, however, are rare, and the
average strike is a reckless, selfish and ig-
norant disturbance of the swing and rhythm
of industry, and gives a serious setback to
general prosperity. We are rather of a
practical people with an admittedly well-
developed sense of humor, and the absur-
dity of allowing our industrial march to be
thrown into confusion at frequent inter-
vals, because free towels were not washed
by union women, strikes us quite as forci-
bly as the injustice of it.
The right of a man to join a union is
unquestionable; the right of a union to fix
its hours, and wages for which its members
shall work is unquestionable; and the gen-
eral right of a man to work or not as he
pleases is quite beyond discussion; but the
right of any set of men to say that a man
not in that set shall not work excepting
by their permission cannot be permitted for
a moment, and the attempt to exercise it
should not be permitted for an hour. Once
put interference with non-union workers
on the same basis as other felonies, and the
principle inducement for the ordering of
strikes would be done away with.
These are matters which should interest
every music trade employer of labor—great
and small—for it is known that there is a
general effort being made to nationalize all
piano forces of this country. The report
has already reached us that, in order to
strengthen this organization, the piano
makers' union will be associated with one or
two others of similar lines of work, thus aug-
menting its membership as well as its
strength.
TRADE CHANGES SUGGESTED.
T" HE National Asso-
Reciprocity recog-
nized — T h e Review
ciation of Manu-
suggests appointment
facturers
is an impor-
of permanent t a r i f f
commission and con-
tant organization, and
sular college—Ameri-
can business abroad.
the recent utterances of
its members at the National Convention held
recently in Detroit is of more than usual
interest. There are a number of well known
members of our own industry who main-
tain membership in this organization. This
association, through its president, endorsed
the policy of protection as necessary to the
building up of American industries, yet it
recognizes that a new era and a different
order of things has come upon us within
this new century. "The time has gone by,"
said President Theodore C. Search in his
animal repprt, "when it matters not what
other nations thought or said of the Amer-
ican protective policy. Formerly the fact
that they considered selfish what we
deemed patriotic, did not concern us, but
to-day, having crossed the seas with goods
to sell, and having secured a business that
has amazed foreign competitors, we find that
the outer view of our economic policy dif-
fers somewhat from its appearance on -this
side." The expressions of this important or-
ganization show that it is committed not only
to reciprocity, but it recognizes the fact that
the maintenance of a protective tariff is to-
day less important in the prosperity of this
country than our cordial trade relations with
foreign countries.
It occurs to us that the tariff should be
forever removed from politics by the appoint-
ment of a Tariff Commission. This com-
mission should be non-partisan and made
up of men who have won important posi-
tions in the various industries. Like the mem-
bers of the Supreme Court, they should be
appointed for life, and selected on account
of their individual fitness. It should be their
duty to listen to and to weigh all recipro-
city arguments, and their decision regard-
ing tariff adjustments between countries
should be final. In this way the business
interests of the country would never be
threatened as they have been during the
past three presidential campaigns by the
fear of free trade. There would be no dis-
turbing tariff elements injected into our fu-
ture political struggles for supremacy.
Another suggestion in line with this:
American interests would be materially ad-
vanced abroad by the removal of consular
appointments as a reward for political ser-
vices.
We should have a national consular and
diplomatic institution supported by the Gov-
ernment on similar lines to Annapolis and
West Point, which educate men for naval
and military service, an institution where
young men would be trained for consular
service in all parts of the world. They
would then be fitted by education to ad-
vance the commercial interests of this coun-
try. They would be familiar with the
languages and customs and productions of
the different countries and the possibilities
of American trade relations with those vari-
ous governments. They could tell in what
manner the interests of our country could
be best advanced by our dealings with them.
By this course American industry can be
materially benefited, and good men would
not be removed from consular service who
are doing splendid work for America at
certain posts abroad, even if a- president of
an opposite political faith were elected to
office. A National Tariff Commission and a
National Consular College would not be

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