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THE: MUSIC TRADE
Fortunes have been lost on that busy thoroughfare, but in the
face of it all business has moved along smoothly and with increas-
ing volume in regular channels. The fact is, that whatever may be
said, the true basis of prosperity is confidence; and the country is
confident to-day not only of its own resources but of the proper
management of its national affairs.
IANO merchants—and we have met many of them during the
past few weeks—talk confidently of the fall business. They
are not influenced by what the great speculators are doing, but they
are interested in making good sales in their own localities.
There is every reason to believe that there will be a marked
activity in the trade during the present fall. It is extremely unfor-
tunate that two important supply firms should have suffered such
serious loss at the height of a busy season.
The destruction of the great piano plate plant of Wickham,
Chapman & Co. at Springfield, O., which was reported last week,
and the sounding- board establishment of Julius Breckwoldt at
Dolgeville, will have a serious effect upon the piano output for
October.
REVIEW
'~T V HE numerical strength of the unions has been greatly exag-
*
gerated, and there are no authentic figures which can be
produced showing what in figures the total membership of the var-
ious organizations would amount to. However, it is safe to say
that the Steinway operation is repeated in many instances, and that,
it is too often the case of the majority being led by a small minority.
The labor situation, so far as it applies to the music trade, has
decidedly cleared in both Chicago and New York during the past
two weeks. The attitude of the house of Steinway to completely
maintain its independence, and the action of the Chicago piano man-
ufacturers have shown Dold and his kind that it will not be easy to
dictate to the piano men this fall.
There are a lot of timid and subservient unionists who are easily
led by men of the Dold type, and oftentimes to their own ruin.
•\ X f l T H all their apparent recklessness the striking element of
the labor unions is discriminating enough to have a whole-
some regard for Uncle Sam. So far as municipal, or even State
authorities are concerned, they have little hesitancy in attempting
almost anything to gain their ends. But when it comes to interfer-
HESE fires not only meant severe financial loss for the firms
whose properties were destroyed, but will seriously hamper
the business of manufacturers who dealt with them and who have
no large reserve stock on hand.
Wickham, Chapman & Co. were casting daily three hundred
and fifty plates. Now for that product to be suddenly shut off
without other supply sources being able to supply the deficit natur-
ally means a lessening of the finished product, for it requires some
time to build and equip a foundry for the production of piano plates.
ence with federal regulations they are very cautious.
There is no concern in America capable of taking on this busi-
ness immediately. The Breckwoldt sounding board business is also
a serious setback to general trade, as well as a large personal loss
to Mr. Breckwoldt. Dealers should exercise patience when dealing
with manufacturers whose supply lines have suffered such severe
loss through the recent disastrous conflagrations.
changed.
HT HE firm position assumed by Steinway & Sons when the de-
*
mands were made upon them by the local Piano Workers'
Union has been of obvious benefit to the entire trade.
Cha's. H.. Steinway did not seek to inquire whether a man was
a member of the union or not, but his continuance in the. employ
of Steinway & Sons rested entirely upon his fitness, and the house
did not propose to recede from the directorship of the great Stein-
way enterprise.
Mr. Steinway properly believes in the right of every man
to work without molestation by others, whether organized or unor-
ganized, and his decision to maintain an "open shop" was decisive
and final.
To show the amount of support which the promoters of the
ultimatum to Steinway & Sons had behind their enterprise, we may
say that the figures given in The Review of last week show that
three hundred men voted not to strike and continued at work, while
forty were in favor of quitting. It shows, too, that the union mem-
bership of the Steinway factories is much less than the union leaders
had claimed, for out of the total of nine hundred men they could
control but three hundred and forty votes, and out of that number
only forty in favor of striking.
A recent strike on a lake steamship is a case in point. It hav-
ing been learned that the men who refused to work in the steamer
while in mid-lake were arrested, the business agent of the union to
which they belonged ordered a strike on the boat as soon as it was
tied to the wharf and asserted that he would tie up every boat in
the harbor if necessary to enforce it.
As soon as it was found out that the action of the men consti-
tuted an offense against United States laws, their attitude quickly
New men to take their places were not only promptly supplied
by the union, but that body actually refused to approve of the action
of the men quitting work.
It is unfortunate that our local laws are of such a character,
and their enforcement so lax as to encourage the striking element
of the labor unions to ignore them.
1 X 7 HILE this striking element, as in the Steinway case, is usual-
^ *
ly largely in the minority, it is so aggressive as to make it
at times all powerful.
Every employer of labor, whether on a large or small
scale, should know the total number of people he employs, the wages
of each, the combined total weekly, monthly and yearly wages, what
the increase, if any, amounts to, how it affects his business and many
other items.
He should know what is being paid in other cities to em-
ployes in similar lines of work and the cost of living, and he
should keep in touch with what is going on in the industrial world.
Every business man and employer should have complete data of this
character on hand, so that in case of any emergency it might be
readily obtained.
The necessity of organizing employers' associations in all lines
of industry and giving more thought and attention to the labor ques-
tion is becoming more apparent. When such organizations are
formed, employers will be in a position to handle intelligently what-
ever industrial troubles may come upon them.