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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
PROMINENT manufacturer, while recently discussing for-
eign trade with The Review, remarked: "I have been pay-
A
ing considerable attention to trade possibilities in England and on
the continent, and I am sure that if I had placed the whole of my
energy on my home trade, instead of dividing it and trying to
develop a music business in other countries, while I was broadening
my own here, we should have been much better off in every respect.
I am convinced that it costs too much to handle a trade at a dis-
tance.
"I believe that this applies truthfully to the selling of pianos
and organs abroad. It may not be said of talking machines and
small instruments, but I am positive that America is the finest
ground for the piano business in the world."
HERE is no doubt of the truth of the statement made by the
man whom we quote above, but many of our people have
found that a foreign trade was a very pleasing adjunct to a busi-
ness when times were a little slow at home, but with such conditions
as we have enjoyed for the past few years, America is by far the
best market in the world for pianos and organs. The purchasing
power of one million of our people is worth five times a million
population which might be selected in any country in Europe.
There is a trade, however, in the Canadian northwest which
is worth looking after, as the farmers there are fast growing opu-
lent, and they are naturally desirous of fitting up their homes with
the pleasing accessories of modern life. The big piano concerns of
Toronto have not been slow in following up trade advantages in
the Manitoba belt.
The Orient offers big possibilities for the American manu-
facturer, and while it is not probable that vast numbers of pianos
and organs will be shipped there during the next few years, yet all
of that trade which is built up abroad, and which keeps our factory
wheels going at a lively rate, is helpful to our business interests.
T
HE prosperity of one industry has a reflex effect upon another,
and certainly when our people are well employed, and at good
wages, they are in a position to buy more pianos and organs. Here
is the reply of an expert to an inquiry by The Review, Why are
manufacturers not doing a much larger trade in the Orient?
"Largely," he said, "l>ecause, generally speaking, they have
not as yet taken up seriously the question of foreign trade. When
they do they will astonish both their customers and their competi-
tors abroad by the thoroughness with which they will handle a
large and growing international business, as they have handled an
ever-increasing home trade. To-day the British and Germans are
doing the bulk of the export business in the Orient and waxing
fat upon it. The comparatively few American houses which have not
only studied the problem, but have the right representatives in the
field and are giving the necessary attention to the prompt and care-
ful filling of orders and the proper packing of goods, are doing so
well that they are not talking much about it.
"If American manufacturers could only realize that half of the
inhabitants of the globe live on the shores of the Pacific; that much
of this trade can be secured for America by making the proper
effort, and that in most of the countries—Japan, China and the
Philippines, for instance—English is the commercial language, they
would lose no time in making the effort that is necessary to control
these markets. Were some of our leading manufacturers to make
such a tour of the Orient as I have, interviewing the principal
import merchants and large consumers, as I have done, they would
be as enthusiastic as 1 am over the possibilities of extending our
trade in this important quarter of the world."
T
HE spirit of camaraderie is steadily developing in this industry,
and every well wisher must necessarily wish to see it gen-
erally encouraged. Its influence is steadily making for better con-
ditions and cleaner methods of conducting business. Its influence
ui>on piano dealers is clearly in evidence, and in no trade should
there be a more general recognition of faithful service to the com-
munity than in the retailing of pianos. We may not live to see all
pianos sold in their proper class, at the right prices, but there is no
mistaking the fact that more of them are sold on nearer correct
lines than ever before. Broad methods will assist to bring about
good results, and many a piano merchant who to-day is governed
by certain circumscribed ideas is just plodding along, but with the
T
5
adoption of more up-to-date methods there would open for him a
wider horizon which would be in harmony with a broader conception
of his own powers and opportunities. He would achieve a material
success, too, far beyond anything some of the present methods would
possibly bring. It is material success that most men are seeking for,
and no more lasting results can be achieved than through the effect
of clean methods.
O
UR special trade reports for the past ten days have indicated
a slowing up in the trade in smaller localities. This may be
accounted for on the ground that the agricultural classes are busily
engaged in getting their crops in shape, and there has been mov-
ing, and all of those things which are incident to the middle of
May. However, most of the factories are running to their full
capacity, many of them being indeed behind in their orders, thus
suffering some annoyance in sales, and subjecting their customers
to serious inconvenience.
It is fortunate that we have a big and diversified country else
we would have suffered more keenly from the terrible Pacific coast
disaster, but so great and varied are our resources that a $300,000,-
000 loss does not stagger the country, or unsettle business condi-
tions.
S
OME manufacturers to-day are learning that while it is very
desirable to have well filled order books, there is a disadvan-
tage connected with the inability to execute orders promptly. There
is a considerable inconvenience suffered by the manufacturers on
account of difficulty in obtaining materials—a condition of things
which is owing principally to the slow shipments on the part of
some of the mills, and also to delayed deliveries, by reason of in-
sufficient or congested transportation facilities.
Naturally there has been a slowing up of orders from the
Pacific coast, but still moderate shipments are steadily going for-
ward to points within the earthquake zone. The dealers there aie
plucky, and it will be seen by our special reports from the coast that
they are not losing any time in prosecuting their business interests
with astonishing vigor. San Francisco is certainly to be congratu-
lated on the promptness of her decision to rebuild the city. Practi-
cally unlimited credit has been offered for the purchase of new
goods, while treatment no less liberal has been applied to bills due.
We know of numerous generous actions by firms in this in-
dustry who have extended most liberal aid to the far western fac-
tors. Such actions not only present further evidence that "one
touch of nature makes the whole world kin," but they show the
closer union between the widely separated and diverse elements of
which this nation is composed.
C
ONFIDENCE in the prosperity of 1906 has taken a stronger
hold on the public mind in the West as a result of the settle-
ment of the strike of lake laborers and iron workers and the issu-
ance of a favorable crop report by the Government Agricultural
Department. These were the important commercial and industrial
happenings of the week and they were enough to clear away any
doubt that might have lingered regarding the outlook for the sum-
mer. The settlement of the anthracite coal miners' strike also has
had a buoyant effect on trade in the West, especially the iron and
steel trade.
Nearly every item of news from the farms is encouraging. The
Government percentages on condition and figures on acreage in-
dicate a winter wheat crop of 456,000,000 to 465,000,000 bushels,
according to the basis of averages figured on. For the railroads
that is a strong bull item. The cold weather did no appreciable
damage to wheat. Drought in Missouri, Kansas, and other States
threatened to cut down wheat prospects materially, but timely rains
are averting disaster. Corn planting progresses under favorable
conditions, and oats are doing well. Broadly speaking the present
outlook is for a most successful year for the farmer.
Just now California faces an abnormal supply of money, sent
there in its emergency. All this cannot be used at once and within
ninety days much of it will find its way back East. This will work
for rather easier money rates for the time at least. Southern Cali-
fornia is profiting from San Francisco's misfortune. Los Angeles
has a veritable boom, which probably will continue for some time.
Some of the San Francisco business houses have established
branches there and are conducting most of their business from that
point.