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THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
PRICE & TEEPLEJX). EXPANSION.
BUYS A "BARGAIN" PIANO.
D. S. JOHNSTON'S RETIREMENT
Building an Addition to Their Factory—When
Completed Will Have a Capacity of Between
Six and Seven Thousand Pianos a Year.
Greenstan Says a Different One Was Sent Him
and Has Seller Arrested.
From Active Management of the D. S. John-
ston Co.—Succeeded by His Son, D. W.
Johnston—Will Continue as President—To
Visit the East—His Farewell Letter.
Harry Greenstan, of 172 East 90th street, went
into the West 125th street police station Tuesday
Chicago, 111., Oct. 15, 1906.
and said to the sergeant: "I saw an advertise-
The Price & Teeple Piano Co. have begun an ment in a paper offering a $500 piano for $125. I
addition to their factory, south and adjoining thought I'd surprise my wife, so I went to the
their present site, which, when completed, will address on Claremont avenue and saw Mrs. Wil-
give them a capacity of between six and seven son. She had a beautiful piano and showed me
thousand pianos a year.
its good qualities by playing on it. I told her I
This is perhaps the most potent evidence of
would take the piano, and paid $25 as a de-
the satisfaction-giving qualities of the Price & posit. Next day I went around again, paid
Teeple pianos, which have now a tremendous the remaining $100 and gave her my address to
following in every part of the United States. which to send the piano. When I got home at
They represent satisfactory values both construc- dinner time I found my wife looking in a won-
tively, architecturally and musically, and their dering way at an old battered thing of a dif-
popularity is steadily increasing, at least so the ferent make than the one I had bought."
dealers report who are handling them.
Detectives were sent to the address on Clare-
The Price & Teeple pianos have now been on mont avenue. In the apartment indicated by
the market many years, and perhaps the best Greenstan they found a stylishly dressed woman
tribute to their merits is to be found in the fact with a young face and white hair. They took her
that dealers who first took hold of them are their to the station house. On the advice of a law-
most enthusiastic admirers, and have steadily in- yer she refused to make a statement. •
creased their sales. In fact, every Price &
At the apartment house the housekeeper said
Teeple piano sold by these dealers has proven a that Mrs. Wilson had rented a furnished apart-
virtual advertisement for their house, and thus ment a week ago from a family named Wash-
manufacturer and dealer have been benefited.
burn. She had furnished references which the
The best test of a piano, after all, is to be Washburns had looked up and found to be good.
found through use. Purchasers never fail to
WASHINGTON ASSOCIATION MEETS
find fault if an instrument does not come up to
their expectations, and it is to the credit of the
(Special to The Review.)
Price & Teeple Co. that at no time have the deal-
Washington, D. C, Oct. 15, 1906.
ers received complaints regarding the instru-
The first meeting of the Piano and Music Deal-
ments which they manufacture. All of these
facts necessarily result in a greater output of ers' Association, of Washington, was held at the
Price & Teeple pianos, and to meet this demand home of Edward H. Droop, the president, last
the important move chronicled at the opening of Thursday evening. Those present were: E. F.
this story has resulted. From the very founda- Droop, Carl Droop, Charles B. Bayly, of the
tion of their business Messrs. Price and Teeple Ellis Music Co.; O. J. De Moll and R. K. Payn-
thoroughly understood the requirements of the ter, who is in charge of the local interests of the
trade. Their long experience in the piano busi- Knabes. Those who were unable to attend the
ness and their knowledge of conditions in prac- meeting sent letters of regret. The evening
tically every part of the country, has fitted them passed pleasantly and the members were en-
to supply an instrument that answers the de- thusiastic in their views of the present trade
outlook.
mands of the trade.
(Special to The Review.I
(Special to The Review.)
Tacoma, Wash., Oct. 13, 1906.
D. S. Johnston, who since 1888 has played a
prominent part in music trade affairs in this city,
has retired from the active management of the
D. S. Johnston Co. He will, however, continue
to be the president of the corporation, with D.
Waller Johnston, his son, as general manager,
and R. S. Fringer as manager of the Seattle
house.
When Mr. Johnston opened up in this city it
had a population of only 900 people and one street
of importance. Notwithstanding the fact that
there were six other stores in the city at the time,
far too many for its size, he started in the
Theatre Building and gradually enlarged his
business, and within four and one-half years he
was the only man in town selling pianos. He
later moved to warerooms on C street and from
there to the Temple of Music, where the Johns-
ton Co. now control one of the finest stores in
this section.
In a chat with Mr. Johnston regarding the
volume of business transacted by his house he
said: "During the short month of June (for it
had only twenty-four business days, there being
five Sundays and one holiday) we sold the
phenomenal number of just 452 pianos and or-
gans, aggregating more than $140,000; a record
never equaled by any house in the world unless
it was by John Wananiaker."
"How many employes, Mr. Johnston, do you
have to handle this enormous business?"
"Just sixty-eight, and while on the subject of
employes, let me say that the one feature of this
business, of which I am prouder than any other,
is the fine character of the people associated with
me. Among them are 10 or 12 young men who
came to me without a dollar and without any
business experience, but they husbanded well
their incomes and are now husbanding beautiful
homes, lovely wives and fine children. I urged
THOMPSON PIANO CO. IN GENOA.
them all to save every dollar they could and put
SIMPLIFIED TARIFFS.
it in the business. Many of them did so, and now
The Thompson Piano Co., of Chicago, have own large blocks of stock, one of them over
Railroad
Man's
Suggestion
to Commerce
been negotiating with the Citizens' Association, of $20,000. I believe in those who help build a
Commission.
Genoa, 111., with the result that the piano com- business sharing in the profits if they will."
pany will remove to a factory site in the latter
(Special to The Review.)
It is Mr. Johnston's intention to leave for the
Washington, D. C, Oct. 15, 1906. town early next spring. The main offices and East on Tuesday, spending two months, as he
A. B. Stickney, of St. Paul, president of the salesroom of the company, however, will remain puts it, ''among piano manufacturers, my
children, grandchildren and old friends; then
Chicago Great Western Railway, to-day presented at 268 Wabash avenue, Chioago, as formerly.
In Genoa the Thompson Piano Co. will occupy two months in southern California, thence to
his views as to the method of filing rate
schedules before the Interstate Commerce Com- a new building situated convenient to the rail- Honolulu to meet my son and his family who
mission. All tariffs, he said, should be so sim- road, and the capacity of the plant will be 3,000 have been on an evangelistic foreign missionary
tour of the world, returning to Tacoma about
ple that any shipper could tell the rate for him- pianos per year.
March 10."
self without having to rely wholly on the word
VAN DYKE PIANO CO. EXPANSION.
Mr. Johnston has written an unique farewell
of a freight agent.
For legal reasons also he thought a simple
The Van Dyke Piano Mfg. Co., Scranton, Pa., letter to all connected with the piano house, in
method of filing was desirable to the railroads. have added a five-story building to their plant, which he emphasizes the importance of character
He likewise urged a uniform classification of
nearly doubling their capacity. A dry kiln ca- and good citizenship, which he maintains cannot
rates throughout the United States. He believed pable of holding 500,000 feet of lumber is con- be secured unless the moral and spiritual side of
the man is developed equally with the intel-
in republishing rate schedules whenever any tained in the new addition.
lectual and material side, and attributes the
change in the rate was made. His object in ad-
foundation of character and goodness as well as
vocating this proposition, he said, was to do
MORRIS STEINERT'S PRIZE.
the greatness of the nation to the teachings of the
away with the multiplicity of changes that are
now a burden to both the railroads and the
During a speech in acknowledgment of his re- Bible.
shippers.
election to the presidency of the New Haven
The Geo. Kr Darling Co. Is the title of a new
Chairman Knapp. suggested that a small repre- Symphony Orchestra Morris Steinert announced
sentative committee of railroad men be appointed a gift of $100 annually to the department of piano firm, who opened recently in Los Angeles,
to confer with the commission to work out a music at Yale University, to be given as a prize Cal. They handle Bush & Gerts pianos and
method of filing rate schedules satisfactory to to the student composing the best piece of music player-pianos, King pianos and other instru-
ments.
all the railroads in the country.
during the year.
THE
ERNEST A.
TONK
EXTRAORDINARY
J-<
DURABILITY
Correspondence with active
dealers solicited*
RTISTIC
A
DESIGN
PIANO
OUCH LIGHT AND
William Tonk & Bro.
T
RESPONSIVE
INCORPORATED
452-456 Tenth Ave., Now York