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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
INDIANAPOLIS TRADE IS UNEVEN.
Sales Not as Large as the Early Part of the
Month—Weather Has Had Something to do
With It—Mr. Carlin Complains of the Dif-
ficulty of Securing Competent Salesmen—
Encouraging Reports from Dealers.
(Special to The Heview.)
of this firm on Wegman pianos has been excel-
lent."
Fuller & Currens say that collections were
never better. Business in the State is good, they
assert. They sell among others the Kimball and
Strich & Zeidler instruments.
Paul Stroupe, of the Aeolian Co., says that his
holiday trade is in fairly good shape. He is well
satisfied with the business of the year up to this
time.
Joseph Joiner says that his business in Lud-
wigs has been most satisfactory. He has had an
unusually good trade in the city for several
weeks. He handles also the Kranich & Bach
and Lagonda instruments.
weight controlling that note is released. It must
be very interesting to hear the sort of music pro-
duced bv this latest wonder.
SCARCITY OF FREIGHT CARS.
Congestion of Business Is Such on the Above
Account That President Roosevelt Has Asked
the Interstate Commerce Commission to Act
—Too Much Business or Prosperity the
Cause, Railroad Officers Here Say.
Indianapolis, Ind., Dec. 14, 1906.
Trade conditions in the music trade field in
this city are unusual, and have been so ever since
According to railroad officers in this city, the
the first of this month. Dealers at the first of
scarcity of freight cars throughout the West and
December predicted that the holiday business
the resultant congestion of business which
would be unprecedented. Sales were lively, there
brought about a conference Friday between
was evidently plenty of money in the city and in
President Roosevelt and the Interstate Com-
STEEL BOX FOR PIANOS.
the State and every one seemed to be willing
merce Commission, is the result of nothing less
to buy pianos. There was an unusually large
thani the prosperity which the United States is
Geo. A. Witney's Clever Solution of the Piano
number of lookers.
now enjoying. The railroads, the officers main-
Box Problem—Made in the "Knockdown"
For ten days this kept up and then all at once
tain, are and have been doing everything in
Plan Hence Returnable—Its Use Will do
there was a slump, and it seems just now that
their power to meet demands, but expansion of
Away
With
a Great Expense to Piano
the holiday season is to establish only a very
business in this country within the last twelve
Shippers If It Is Adopted.
mild record in the musical history of the city.
years has been so prodigious that the capacity
Some dealers say that business is slow in the
One of the greatest sources of waste encoun- of every big railroad in the country was reached
State and fairly good in the city, while others tered by the piano manufacturer is that of
long ago.
say that they are active in the State and slow piano boxes. In addition to the difficulty in ob-
Freight cars, the officers say, are not the only
in the city, but nearly all admit that the holiday taining them in sufficient quantities, there is the cause of the congestion now existing. It was the
trade is not what it should be and not what it corftinually increasing cost, and it is almost im- general opinion that to meet fully the business
has been in former years.
possible to have the boxes returned by the of the country to-day would necessitate the lay-
This slump cannot be due to any lack of ac- dealers after use.
ing of thousands of miles of additional track,
tivity on the part of the dealers. Many methods
George A. Witney, secretary and general man- the building of thousands of additional locomo-
of advertising have been employed by the large ager of the Brockport Piano Manufacturing Co., tives, besides the building of hundreds of thou-
houses. Great displays have been run in the in speaking of the cost of boxing pianos, said sands of new cars. This, ini the minds of the
newspapers, various schemes have been used in recently: "It is wonderful what little regard the railroad magnates, is not advisable. Prosperity,
the stores and some dealers have sent out circu- majority of dealers in smaller towns have for they say, is a fickle thing, which moves across
lar letters. Outside men have been urged to ac- the value of piano boxes. As soon as received the country in waves, and the present good times
tivity, and in the city the daily papers, both in they are turned into dog houses, used for vari- are no assurance against a hard-time panic ten
the news columns and in the editorial depart- ous purposes of shelter by neighboring farmers, years hence.
ments, have urged Christmas shoppers to do or chopped into ordinary firewood. Although no
According to such men as F. E. Williamson,
their buying early, but the people will otherwise. extra charge is made to the dealer for the cases, chief car accountant of the New York Central
The weather, it is believed, has something to and the manufacturer will often allow a reason- Railroad; W. G. Besler, vice-president and gen-
do with the lack of business in the city. It has able amount for their return, it is impossible to eral manager of the Central Railroad of New
l:een unusually pleasant, and the public has not get even a small percentage of them back.
Jersey, and F. J. Woulfe, general freight agent
centered its mind on buying pianos. As to the
"The worst of the matter is that except when for the Eastern division of the Lehigh Valley
slow sales in the country, i. e., in smaller branch shipped in carload lots, where harnessing is pos- Railroad, the present congestion/ is a condition
houses of the State—this condition is attributed
sible, it is absolutely necessary to box the instru- for which no one in particular is responsible,
also to the weather. The farmers have been ments if safe delivery is to be assured.
and which will, in time, remedy itself.
delayed in their work. Some weeks ago, when all
Mr. Williamson said to-day that, in compari-
"Many schemes have been tried to ensure the
were ready to begin their corn-husking, a heavy return of boxes, such as painiting them a cer- son with the business which the railroads are
rain set in and kept up for several days. As a tain color and marking them plainly as being called upon to handle, every road is suffering
result the tillers of the soil in Indiana just now the property of the manufacturer and requesting from a scarcity of cars.
are busily engaged in harvesting the corn crop, that they be sent back, but so far no successful
"We are working our men night and day, mak-
and naturally have little time to think of buying system has been devised.
ing improvements to secure the highest speed in
pianos, or, for that matter, anything else for
"In thinking over the matter, I conceived the travel and doing everything known to railroad-
Christmas.
idea that a steel box was practical, and as a re- ing to facilitate transportation, but we can't keep
However, dealers are hopeful that sales will sult of experimenting, now have a box which I up with the rapid increase in business," said
be better before Christmas. And if they are not, think will prove a solution of the problem. The Mr. Williamson.. "The men, who, in my opinion,
the dealers will not be completely "out of the box is of regulation size, built of sheet steel, is can do most to alleviate conditions," he con-
game," for business all year has been far above lighter and easier to handle than the wooden tinued, "are the merchants and shippers, espe-
the average.
ones, and by a system of clamps anid grooves cially thousands of smaller ones throughout the
For several months during the summer the the instrument is held in a most rfgid manner.
country. Many of the shippers have an empty
Starr Piano Co.. according to H. T. Spain, man-
"The box is of the 'knock-down' order, and car or two standing on their spurs waiting to
ager, went ahead of any previous records for the folds flat when not in use, and being steel does be loaded, while the receiving merchants have a
same time, and therefore the average for the not make good fuel, and cannot be readily al- loaded car or two waiting on their spurs to be
year will be good.
tered for other purposes, therefore their return unloaded. This takes thousands and thousands
The George C. Pearson house reports a good seems to be the only thing left for the dealer." of cars from the main lines of travel."
trade for the year so far with a fairly good
Asked about the charge that has been made
Christmas trade in the city, especially in the
against railroads that they use oniy the big
PIANO WITH TWO KEYBOARDS.
higher grade pianos, including Steinways and
new cars and abandon the older ones, Vice-Presi-
Kurtzmanns.
A South Carolina inventor is responsible for dent Besler, of the Central Railroad of New Jer-
Carlin & Lennox say that their sales in the city the construction of a piano with three keyboards, sey, said that the Interstate Commerce Commis-
in medium and high-priced instruments have banked one above the other. On the upper key- sion itself holds up many cars if they lack the
been unusual and the trade in the city is good boards practically no operation is necessary. least part of the regulation apparatus. Other
now. Trade in the country is not so good, how- They are controlled and released by weights. The officers and their companies would use any cars
ever, with this firm. "We are not able to get notes connected with these extra keyboards are they could get.
efficient salesmen," said Frank Carlin, of the really what might be termed "sustained notes."
firm. "We have tried, but as long as we can find Tf the player wishes to sustain the sound of a cer-
The Rosenblatt Piano Co. are now occupying
few men to present the merits of our instruments tain note or an octave, for instance, he strikes larger quarters on Main street, Greenville, Tex.
we cannot expect to have lively sales. The sales the note, the latter being sustained until the Increasing business necessitated the change.
THE
ERNEST A.
TONK
PIANO
E XTRAORDINARY
DURABILITY
A RTISTICDE S I G N
Correspondence with active
dealers solicited.
^fOUCH LIGHT AND
1
RESPONSIVE
INCORPORATED
William Tonk&Bro.
452-466 TtRth Avt., Niw Ytrk