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102
PAGES
REVIEW
THE
fflJJIC TRADE
VOL. XLIV. No. 25.
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill at J Madison AYC,, New York, June 22, 1907
MASSACHUSETTS LAWS GOVERNING CONDITIONAL SALES.
An Interesting Summary of the Laws Bearing Upon This Important Question Put Forth by Chas.
R. Putnam the Enterprising Music Trade Man of Boston—Their Observance Will do Much
to Save Dealers in That State Trouble and Expense and Are Worthy Consideration.
Owing to his being unfamiliar with the Massa-
chusetts laws governing conditional sales of
pianos, a Boston dealer lost an expensive lawsuit,
and the frequency of similar though less serious
cases led Secretary Charles R. Putnam, of the
Boston Music Trades Association and of the Na-
tional Association of Piano Dealers, and one of
the recognized trade authorities on such matters,
to offer the following valuable information on
the subject for the benefit of dealers. Close study
of the information given may save a dealer in
the old Bay State considerable time, annoyance
and money in the future:
"The laws of Massachusetts fully protect the
lessees and lessors, and as there are attorneys in
Boston as in other cities who make a specialty
of conditional sale replevin suits, no piano dealer
need fear an adverse judgment, provided he keeps
within the spirit of the law.
"The laws and resolves of 1881-1884, amended
in 1892 and 1898, in reference to conditional sale
contracts are in substance as follows:
"Thirty days at least before taking possession
of said furniture or effects for default of vendee,
the vendor shall demand in writing or vendee or
other person in charge of said furniture or ef-
fects, such balance then due, and shall furnish
the said vendee or other person an itemized
statement of the account, showing the amount
due thereon. If said vendee or other person can
by the exercise of reasonable care and diligence
be found by the vendor, the fifteen days during
which his right of redemption exists under the
provision of Section 11 shall not begin to run
until said demand has bsen made and said state-
ment furnished and said thirty days have ex-
pired. If seventy-five per cent, or more of the
contract price has been paid by the vendee whose
right of redemption has expired, the furniture or
effects shall, if the vendee or his legal represent-
ative in writing so requests the vendor, be sold
by public auction after due advertisement, and
shall be published at least three days prior to the
sale in one of the principal newspapers, if any,
published in the city or town, otherwise in one of
the principal newspapers published in the county
in which the furniture or effects are situated. If
the vendor refuses or neglects to make the sale
as provided herein, the right of redemption shall
not be foreclosed. If a balance of proceeds of
the sale remains after deducting the actual ex-
penses of the sale by auction and paying from
said proceeds to the vendor the balance of the
interest price due him, it shall be paid to the
vendee or his legal representative.
"If a contract for the sale of personal property
is made on condition that the title thereto shall
not pass until the purchase money has been fully
paid and the vendor upon default takes from
the vendee possession of the property, the vendee
may, within fifteen days after such taking, re-
deem the property so taken by paying to the
vendor the full amount then unpaid, with inter-
est and all lawful charges and expenses to the
vendor.
"Such contracts for the sale of furniture or
other household effects in the form of a lease or
otherwise shall be in writing and a copy thereof
shall be furnished to the vendee by the vendor
at the time of such sale; and all payments made
by or in the behalf of the vendee and all charges
in the nature of interest or otherwise as they
may accrue, shall, if the vendee so requests, be
endorsed by the vendor or his agent upon such
copy. A failure of the vendor through negli-
gence to comply with any of the provisions of
this section shall suspend his rights under the
contract while the failure continues. His refusal
or wilful or fraudulent failure so to comply shall
be a waiver by him of the condition of the sale.
"Few piano dealers are cognizant of the fact
that they can waive their right and title to a
leased piano and sue the lessee for the amount
due.
"The Supreme Court of Massachusetts has not
treated the so-called piano leases as leases, but
as contracts of conditional sale and have ex-
pressly said in the case of Bailey vs. Hervey, 135
Mass. 172, that it is a misnomer to call the
amount paid under these leases "rent" and the
court further holds that the lessor can have
either one of two remedies—that is, he can either
take back his goods or sue for the price, but can-
not do both, and having decided to proceed along
one line he cannot afterwards pursue the other.
This decision is cited with approval in the case
of Smith vs. Aldrich, 180 Mass. 367 (1902).
"Considering the fact that leased and rented
pianos are frequently lost, strayed or stolen,
Chapter 203, Sections 71, 72, 73 and 74, Public
Statutes, are interesting inasmuch as they pro-
vide for the fine and imprisonment of any per-
son convicted of selling, conveying and conceal-
ing leased or hired property.
"A few good rules to follow are:
"Use a lease which conforms to the laws of the
State. Always furnish the lessee with a dupli-
cate lease, not as a matter of fact, but of good
faith.
"Endorse payments on duplicate lease if re-
quested by lessee to do so. If separate receipts
are given, they must read 'On account of lease'
and not 'On account of piano.'
"A memorandum on the original lease that the
lessee acknowledges receipt of duplicate is not
sufficient evidence that same has been furnished.
Thirty days prior to serving a replevin writ, fur-
nish the lessee with a copy of original lease
and an itemized statement of payments and in-
terest. The^e should be delivered by messenger
who should be accompanied by a witness. After
securing possession of the piano, hold it for fif-
teen days, when the lessee's right of redemption
expires."
INCREASE THEIR CAPITAL STOCK.
The England Organ and Piano Company, Hous-
ton, Tex., have announced an increase in their
capital stock from $50,000 to $100,000. John H.
Kirby succeeds J. M. Dorrance as president of
SINGL E
S
$ 2 .OO°PER
YE°AR CENTS -
the company, while J. R. England is vice presi-
dent, R. S. Vandervoort, secretary; E. L. Neville,
treasurer, and C. M. Rein, general manager. They
have purchased a site and will erect a two-story
factory.
UNIFORM BILL^OF LADING.
A Form Agreed Upon That All the Railroads
and Shippers May Accept.
(Special to The Review.)
Washington, June 19, 1907.
The Interstate Commerce Commission Satur-
day held a conference upon the subject of a
unjform bill of lading with a joint committee
representing substantially all the roads in official
classification territory and some sixty different
association of shippers of the same territory with
an aggregate of about 800,000 members. The
commission announced that negotiations which
have been in progress for two years and more
have resulted in an agreement on the form and
contents of a uniform bill of lading, and it
is believed by the representatives of the ship-
pers and carriers that the bill of lading sub-
mitted will receive general approval and accept-
ance.
A proceeding which has been pending before
the commission during the continuance of these
negotiations will be enlarged to take in all the
railroads of the country, and they will be noti-
fied of what has occurred and an opportunity
given them to be heard, if desired, with the view
to a further order by the commission prescrib-
ing this uniform bill of lading to take effect on
January 1 next.
0. K. HOUCK PIANO CO. BUILDING.
Work has begun on the repairing of the build-
ing occupied by the O. K. Houck Piano Company
in Nashville, Tenn., and the contractors promise
to complete the job in sixty days by employing
an unusually large force of workmen. It is very
likely, therefore, that when the Fall trade be-
gins the Houck Company will occupy one of the
handsomest piano stores in that section of the
South.
KIMBALL PIPE ORGAN CAMPAIGN.
The W. W. Kimball Company have opened a
strong pipe organ campaign in Milwaukee and
other sections of Wisconsin through the medium
of their Milwaukee agents, the Andrews Schubert
Company. J. K. Fagan, of Chicago, headquarters
of the Kimball Company, is in Milwaukee for the
purpose of assisting the local representatives.
Many new churches are being built throughout
the State and Mr. Fagan has excellent prospects
for landing a full share of orders for his house.
STERLING CO. OPEN TEMPORARY STORE.
The Sterling Piano Company, Brooklyn, N. Y.,
have opened a temporary branch store at 1234
Bedford avenue, in order to relieve the conges-
tion at the main warerooms. Business at the
new store has been good from the start.
McAuley & Gardner is the title of a new music
firm in Barton, Vt.