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THE
VOL. XLI. No. 26.
PabUshed Every Saturday by Edward LymanBill at J Madison Avc, New York, Dec. 30,1905.
POOR FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION. .
Piano Manufacturers and Dealers Have
Suffered Considerably Within the Past
Couple of Months from the Delay in
the
Matter
of
Shipments
by Rail-
roads—Freight Traffic
Facilities Should
be Given Greater Consideration in the In-
terests of Our Growing Commerce.
While not in any sense attempting to dis-
parage the remarkable strides that the steam
railways of the country are making in the mat-
ter of quick passenger traffic, it seems that there
are other phases of the railroad development that
are vastly more important to the business in-
terests of the country.
It is undoubtedly true that the high speed
trains are wanted by the traveling public; at
the same time the business world is being ham-
pered and retarded by slow freight transporta-
tion. We have what are known as fast freights,
but their use is largely confined to the trans-
portation of perishable supplies.
The freight traffic of a raliroad is the sub-
stantial, the living portion of the road's busi-
ness, while the passenger traffic is a luxury or
rather a necessary evil, for it is not the money
making feature.
Why then should the attention of yie railroad
companies be confined very largely to the bet-
terment of the condition, so far as the traveling
public is concerned, while the matter of improv-
ing the quick transportation of freight is left
with little consideration; in fact, is given a set-
back by the conditions brought about in the ef-
forts being made to reduce the passenger train
time between given points.
Any business man who is shipping or receiv-
ing goods by rail will bear testimony to the ex-
asperating delays to which he is subjected, and
the railroads will admit the truth of the claims.
It is a fact that while it requires but twenty-
four hours for a passenger train to make a given
distance, the carrying of freight for the same
distance means from a week to a month, if not
longer, and then very often the final delivery is
not secured until tracers have been employed to
scour the country for missing cars.
Very recently one of the great roads of the
country was compelled to make strenuous efforts
on different Sundays, employing every available
locomotive, to relieve the glut of freight at Pitts-
burg. At the same time the tracks were kept
clear" for the movement of passenger trains
which earn the road practically nothing.
There are no greater sufferers from the slow
transportation of freight than are the piano
manufacturers, lumber dealers and the dealers
in general building supplies. The goods they
handle are what is termed of a non-perishable
nature, and consequently there seems to be an
idea among railroad men that there is no espe-
cial need for-getting the cars through to their
destination in anything like a reasonable time,
and in thousands of cases the losses sustained
have been considerable.
In this age of progress and rapid communica-
tion there is no matter that is in need of greater
study than this one of improving the freight
traffic facilities on the part of the railroads
which are sustained by the earnings from this
portion of their business. Germany is giving
the problem thought as one of the prime factors
in the advancement of the business welfare of
the nation, and it is reasonable to ask that it
be given the attention it deserves in this country.
WHAT WE OWE THE SALESMAN.
Manufacturers Should Give Them Hearty Sup-
port in Their Labors.
At a recent convention of credit men in St.
Louis, L. D. Vogel made a splendid address, of
which the following is an extract:
"Salesmanship is the science of putting into
each day's work honesty in speech, loyalty to
employer, the hustle of modern civilization, of
watching your weak points, of strengthening
them, of not only keeping your customers but
gaining new ones, of being always a gentleman.
"It has been my pleasure to meet many sales-
men—in our office and during my travels, and a
more courteous and pleasant lot of gentlemen it
has never been my pleasure to become acquainted
with. * * * Quoting from the sayings of a
wise man, 'The principal thing to strive for is
wisdom.' Next to that the thing we are all
working for is the almighty dollar. The sales-
man is human; he wants his share, and the em-
ployer who does not cheerfully give it to him
makes a mistake. * * * A salesman's efforts
can be supplemented by the firm employing him.
Proper attention and treatment of the customer
by the house will certainly strengthen their
position. There are so many ways. Setting
aside the question of equipping a man with
salable goods and proper prices, the attention an
account receives by the firm in any and all of
the departments of a business, has a vast influ-
ence on the efforts of a salesman. Modern and
thorough business methods suggest so many ex-
cellent ways of doing what is right and. proper
that it must be a careless man indeed who does
not give this subject thought and attention.
"And the house should not only give attention
to those that the traveler sells, but those as
well on whom he calls and does not sell. It is
certainly important to give attention to pros-
pective customers, and the firm can often put on
the final touch needed to supplement the efforts
of the salesman and open up a desirable ac-
count. • * * The traveling salesman, if he
is a gentleman and has not proven himself un-
worthy of your confidence, deserves courteous
treatment and all the encouragement you can
afford to give him. He calls on you because it
is his business, and in most cases, his pleasure
also. There can be cited plenty of cases in
which the buyer suffered more by discourtesy
than the salesman against whom it was directed,
whether thoughtlessly or intentionally."
WEAVER PIANO CELEBRATION
Held In Honor of the Manufacture of Their
500th Piano.
There was a celebration held at the factory of
the Weaver Organ & Piano Co., York, Pa., on
SINGLE COPIES, 10 CENTS.
$2.00 PER YEAR.
Saturday afternoon, Dec. 23, that was unique. It
was the occasion of celebrating the completion
of Weaver Piano No. 50500. In the history of
this business, which was established in 1870, the
organs were numbered consecutively from No. 1
up. In 1882, when the company was incorporated,
the organs started at No. 1400, and in 1900, when
the Weaver piano was first manufactured, the
organs had reached over 40,000, and it was then
determined that the piano numbers should begin
with 50,000. Up to this time 500 of these pianos
have been completed.
The men of the piano department being proud
of their accomplishments, decorated piano No.
50500 and invited the men from every other de-
partment, including the officers of the company,
the force in the office including the lady stenog-
raphers, to the celebration Saturday afternoon.
Richard Gleitz, superintendent of the piano de-
partment, opened the celebration with a short
address, after which there were some musical
numbers. Addresses were also made by M. B.
Gibson, president; W. S. Bond, secretary and
treasurer; John S. Mundorf, salesman, and W. H.
Poff, factory superintendent.
The men in the factory are not only proud of
the finished piano, but they are proud of the fact
that the scale was drawn and developed, and the
case was designed and is made and finished right
in the factory at York, Pa. The backs are also
constructed there and the sounding boards con-
structed and prepared for the case. All this re-
quires skill in many departments. The most
beautiful thing in this whole demonstration was
the fine spirit existing between the different de-
partments in the factory as well as between the
employers and the employes.
LARGE SHIPMENTS OF VOITGH PIANOS.
(Special to The Review.)
Waterloo, N. Y., Dec. 27, 1905.
The Vough Piano Co. find that their shipments
for this month have been even larger than those
for November, their previous record month.
When last month they shipped two weeks' reg-
ular output of the factory more than they had
ever shipped in one month before, they thought
that another record month was quite remote.
The December shipments, however, have ex-
ceeded those of November by a good percentage,
thereby making a more than excellent showing
for the Vough Changeable Pitch Piano.
TO BRANCH OUT IN NEW JERSEY.
The Armstrong-Orr Piano Co., recently incor-
porated in Newark, N. J., with $50,000 capital
have closed a lease for warerooms at 22 New
Street, where they will have three floors and
basement. It is the intention of the company in
due course to open branches in Jersey City, Tren-
ton and Paterson, N. J. The pianos to be han-
dled will include the Marshall & Wendell, Foster
& Co., Haines Bros., Brewster, Armstrong, Haines
& Co., Smith & Nixon and Ebersole.
The Mathushek Piano Co., of New Haven,
Conn., have been working overtime in order to
fill the demands for the holiday trade.