Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1908 Vol. 46 N. 17

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REMFW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL - Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SPILLANE, Managing Editor
Executive and Reportorial Stall:
W. II. DYKES.
F. II. THOMPSON,
J. IIAYDBN CLARENDON,
B. BUITTAIN WILSON.
L. J. OIIAMBERLIN,
A. J. NICKLIN.
GEO. B. KKI-LER,
L. E. BOWERS,
CHICAGO OFFICE:
B. P. VAN IIARLINGEN, 195-197 Wabash Ave.
TEi.EriioNES : Central 414 ; Automatic 8643.
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL:
ST. LOUIS:
BOSTON OFFICE:
KRNEST I.. WAITT, 100 Boylston St.
PHILADELPHIA:
K. W. KAUFFMA.N.
ADOLF KDSTKN.
CHAS. N. VAN BURBN.
SAN FRANCISCO: S. II. GRAY, 2407 Sacramento St.
CINCINNATI,©.: NINA PUGH-SMITH.
BALTIMORE, MD.: A. ROBERT FRENCH.
LONDON, ENGLAND: (!!i Kasinghall St., E. C.
W. LIONEL STURDY, Manager.
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madison Avenue, New York
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
SUBSCRIPTION, (Including postage), United States and Mexico, $2.00 per year;
CaniHlM. .f :?.. r >0 : all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, .$2.00 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising Pages, $60.00 ; opposite
Trading matter. $75.00.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency form, should be made payable to Edward
l.yman Bill.
Music Publishers'
An interesting feature of this publication is a special depart-
Department >• V ment devoted exclusively to the world of music publishing.
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Crand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900 Silver Medal.Charleston Exposition, 1902
Diploma.Pan-American Exposition, 1901 Gold Medal. ...St. Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold Medal. . . .Lewis Clark Exposition, 1905.
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES-NUMBERS 4677 and 4678 GRAMERCY
Connecting all Departments.
Cable a d d r e s s : "Elbill, New York."
NEW
YORK,
APRIL
25, 1 9 0 8
EDITORIAL
I
N a communication recently addressed to this publication by a
piano manufacturer, whose product has an excellent reputation
throughout the entire country, appears the following: "I am con-
vinced that notwithstanding the strenuous efforts to uproot it, graft
still obtains in certain departments of the retail trade,. I am posi-
tive that some few salesmen are being paid by traveling representa-
tives of some piano houses money for selling their instruments.
I have been interested in some of the editorials presented in The
Review in which these practices have been denounced in the most
positive terms. I have also been interested in the action taken by
the Travelers' National Association, but I feel that in spite of all
the good work which has been put forth the evil is not entirely
stamped out, and as long as it exists, even in a minor way, it is a
serious menace to the industry. Serious because it demoralizes
settled conditions, and makes the salesmen bribe takers. Serious,
because if this plan were to obtain instruments would not be sold
on their merits, but according to the dollars the salesmen received
as bribes in selling them. Serious, because it would reduce piano
selling dow r n to a basis of bidding against each other for the favors
of salesmen. I hope The Review will continue its work. I hope
you will give us some more strong editorials along the lines which
you have previously laid down. Such work is bound to be helpful.
It cannot be otherwise. Give us some more 1 of your straight from
the shoulder talk. It will do good. Show the salesmen up in
their true light and show how ungrateful and traitorous they are
when they receive bribes on pianos which they sell."
T
HE subject of bribe taking is a grievous one and one which
should be agitated by trade papers because, as our friend
has stated, it is of vital importance to the industry, and if indulged
in to a great extent would eliminate the question of merit in the
sale of instruments. It would, under the bribe giving regime, be-
come a mere question of representatives bidding against each other,
and the salesman would sell his influence to the highest bidder.
There is, however, a reverse side to the medal, and when we come
right down to the subject and divest it of all superficialities we
cannot find it in our heart to condemn the salesman without em-
REVIEW
ploying just as strong language in expressing our opinion of the
bribe giver.
It should be understood that salesmen in some cases draw ex-
tremely modest salaries and a few additional dollars look very
large to them, particularly when they can satisfy their own con-
science that they arc doing business for their etnifloycr and are not
being overpaid for it at that. The man who is the real author of
this most despicable system is the bribe giver. He tempts the sales-
man and he is creating a demand for his instruments by bribing
the man to whom a few extra dollars per week means many extra
comforts. The punishment and condemnation should be meted out
to the bribe giver for stultifying the conscience of a salesman to
such a degree that he will run the risk of loss of position for the
small compensation given for unprofessional services.
The representative who visits retail piano establishments and
is forced to adopt such methods of unfair competition should change
his line. He should take up something in which he can succeed
without descending to the depths, prostituting the decency of men
who, barring this lapse from rectitude, have been honest men. The
punishment naturally follows discovery as the salesmen find them-
selves business pariahs, when their fall from grace has become pub-
lic property, but the punishment produced and the humiliation
should be transferred to the shoulders of the briber as the first
cause, for although it is quite proper to say an honest man would
be honest under all conditions, yet how do we know that axiom is
true until it has been proven?
W
E concede that salesmen should not take bribes, but we insist
that the first law should be that the wholesale representa-
tives should not offer bribes to salesmen for selling their instru-
ments. In this case the tempter is the one who should be blamed
more than the tempted. We do not mean that all the blame should
be removed from the shoulders of the salesman who accepts the
bribe, but the man who offers it is a much worse enemy to trade
interests than the man who accepts it. l!e is the breeder of the
trouble, while the other man is simply the beneficiary under a mis-
chievous, dishonest, bribe giving system. The salesman who ac-
cepts the bribe is also guilty, and he is betraying the confidence of
his employer. Naturally his energies are placed not on the in-
struments which afford his employer the best margins, but upon
those instruments which yield him the most graft.
In New York State, however, it is extremely dangerous under"
the existing law to give or accept a bribe for selling merchandise.
It has been tested in the courts here and recent judicial decisions
have been rendered to the effect that a merchant cannot be com-
pelled to pay for merchandise on which it had been proven that his
salesman had received a commission from the seller. There are
few indeed in any line who care to take a risk in this State, but graft
is not confined to the retail trade in this or any other line. It ex-
tends to factory products and all kinds of things. So great has
become the evil that laws have been framed which, so far as New
York State is concerned, makes it exceedingly dangerous for the
bribe giver to carry on his nefarious and business undermining
practices.
A
GOOD trade newspaper does not lend itself to creating strife
or jealousy between members of a corporation. It is only"
the low down trickster who parades under a journalistic title who
endeavors to foment trouble between men who are bound closely
together in a business way, with the hope that through engendering
a feeling of jealousy the sandbagger may win out with his plunder
schemes. But this brutal method will not win to-day. A good
newspaper is run on business principles and should make money
and prosper like any other business, but its conductors should not
endeavor to make money through holdup methods. The modern
trade paper has a field of its own and its special mission is to build
up trade and not prey upon the weaknesses of individuals in a
special industry. The trade paper is the medium between the manu-
facturer and dealer. It is the one powerful force that creates the
demand with the retailers. Notwithstanding its restricted circula-
tion it gets closer to the people who are interested in a special
industry than any other kind of publication. It is a paper that the
retailer reads as the devotee reads his Bible. But the paper which
is read and has standing is the paper that holds steadfastly to high
ideals and to honorable conduct in the direction of its news and
editorial departments. The. time has gone by when blackmailing
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE: MUSIC TRADE
methods can win in any industry to any appreciable extent. The
holdup methods are no longer in vogue and the man who resorts to
such tactics is despised, as he should be, for he has disgraced an
honorable profession.
r
P R A D E during the past week has brightened up materially, but
•L buying is still irregular in all lines and in our belief this con-
dition will exist during a large portion of the year. Some manu-
facturers tell us that one week they have plenty of orders and the
next week the demands from dealers are not forthcoming. It
would seem that that condition is likely to prevail not only in the
piano trade, but in all other lines. Dealers are inclined to order
only as they need the merchandise.
Of course, all this makes it difficult for the piano manufacturer
because he has to carry a reserve stock in anticipation of the de-
mand which may come, and the men who have the most complete
lines to draw upon and who can fill orders with the greatest
promptness are the ones likely to secure the largest share of trade.
Dealers show a decided unwillingness to place orders with
freedom. Their requisitions upon the manufacturers show that
they are buying to supply present needs only. Carload orders are
a rarity indeed, but, of course, there are some men who will always
purchase in large lots. However, they are extremely few in num-
ber at the present time.
T
H E R E is no concern so large or so prosperous that it does not
require constant watchfulness to prevent retrogression of
some kind. No business man can say truthfully that he occupies
an impregnable position and can rest securely upon his laurels be-
cause he will find shortly if he slackens his energies that his strong
position has become weakened through encroachments made steadily
upon him. There is no such thing as standing still. We must
either go forward or we are bound to go backward. Many men
have deluded themselves with the idea that their position was abso-
lutely impregnable to assault and yet we can name some individuals
who have been driven out of their stronghold and have practically
surrendered to defeat. It pays pretty well to watch carefully every
means of advance and not think that because a position is once
honorably won it can be forever retained without exercising strong
defensive powers.
T
H E power of advertising was well illustrated in the Thomas
Lawson flotation of Yukon mining stock. Mr. Lawson com-
menced his campaign on a Wednesday and announced that on the
Saturday following he would offer for sale, through brokers, a cer-
tain valuable stock, the name of which he withheld. Thursday
another strong Lawsonian ad was presented and on Friday nearly
an entire page was used in the principal newspapers of the United
States. As a result of this remarkable advertising nearly 700,000
shares of Yukon were sold during the two hours of trade on Satur-
day, and so great was the rush of people clamoring for Yukon
stock that the police had to be called out in order to keep the crowd
orderly. This condition, in spite of the fact that regular brokers
were opposed to Lawson, and Yukon was sold as a curb stock.
Great indeed is the power of advertising with Lawson behind it.
I
N truth the eighty-eight note player seems to be occupying the
attention of many inventive minds at the present time and this
week in the news department of this paper the announcement is
made that the Cable Company of Chicago have placed upon the
market a new eighty-eight note player. One thing is certain—if
the player is to develop the full resources of the piano the eighty-
eight note compass must be used. But if this is to at once supplant
the sixty-five note player a vast amount of music must become obso-
lete. In this new Inner Player of the Cable Company the standard
music, as well as the eighty-eight note music, can be used at the
will of the player. It should be known further that the Cable Com-
pany have been withholding an announcement of their eighty-eight
note player until their creative department was organized to supply
all demands for this new product. This is indeed interesting trade
news.
N
OTWITHSTANDING the much discussed "financial flurry"
which prevailed the past six months, the great artists, both
vocal and instrumental, are returning to Europe after one of the
most successful musical seasons, in the history of New York, at
least.
REIVIEIW
There is no money in being a "quitter."
If you can't be absolutely original, be careful whom you copy.
If you can't do a thing well, don't do it at all. There is no success
without thoroughness.
Some how or other the impression is g!owing that cheap help is
the most expensive kind.
Lack of courtesy is a fault which cannot be excused. Customers will
not excuse it, and. proprietors should not.
Loyalty is a cardinal virtue in an employe, and much can be for-
given the man who is always true to the establishment and to his em-
ployer.
There is no permanent advantage in inducing a man to buy beyond
his judgment in purchasing, for the purchaser's regret is destined to
react upon the seller.
The salesman who has a practical knowledge of the instiuments
which he is offering is in a better position to convince the customer than
one who has given the subject of piano construction no study.
Editor—I am obliged to decline your poem with thanks. I am very
sorry, but
Poet—But what?
Editor—The management insists upon my declining all poems politely,
you know.
Office Boy—The editor says he's much obliged to you for allowing
him to see your drawings, but much regrets he is unable to use them.
Fair Artist (eagerly)—Did he say that?
Office Boy (truthfully)—Well, not exactly. He just said, "Take 'em
away, Pimple; they make me sick."
They were about to entertain a few friends, and her husband sud-
denly busied himself with the umbrellas, carrying them upstairs. When
he had taken up the last one she said to him, somewhat amazed:
"Why, dear, why do you hide the umbrellas like that? Are you afraid
our friends will steal them?"
"No," said he; "I am afraid they will recognize them!"
If an editor makes a mistake he has to apologize for it, but if a
doctor makes a mistake he buries it. If an editor makes one there is a
lawsuit, swearing and the smell of sulphur, but if a doctor makes one
there is a funeral, cut flowers and a smell of varnish.
A doctor can use a word a yard long without knowing what it means,
but if an editor uses it he has to spell it. Any old college can make a
doctor. You can't make an editor: he has to be born.
The late Theodore Thomas was rehearsing the Chicago Orchestra o the stage of the Auditorium Theatre. He was disturbed by the whistling
of Albert Burridge, the well-known scene painter, who was at work in the
loft above the stage. A few minutes later Mr. Thomas' librarian appeared
on the "bridge" where Mr. Burridge, merrily whistling, was at work. "Mr.
Thomas' compliments," said the librarian, "and he requests me to state
that if Mr. Burridge wishes to whistle he will be glad to discontinue his
rehearsal." To which Mr. Burridge replied, suavely: "Mr. Burridge's
compliments to Mr. Thomas; and please inform Mr. Thomas that, if Mr.
Burridge cannot whistle with the orchestra, he won't whistle at all."
Two brothers were being entertained by one who was anxious to
avail himself of their financial acumen. But, as ill luck would have It,
the talk veered to other things.
"Do you like Omar Khayyam?" thoughtlessly asked the host, trying
to make conversation.
It was the elder brother who plunged heroically into the breach.
"Pretty well,'" he said, "but I prefer Chianti."
Nothing more was said until the Ecksteins were on their way home.
"Jimmy," said Abe, bitterly, breaking a painful silence, "why can't
yer leave thingth ath yer don't underthtanth to me? Omar Khayyam
ain't a wine, yer cuckoo; it's a cheese!"
"What, Massa Bones," asked Silly Sambo, after the opening chorus
had been trolled to an ear-splitting accompaniment of banjos—what am
de difference between an ol' maid an' a married woman?"
What am de difference between an ol' maid an' a married woman?"
repeated Massa Bones, in the approved negroid fashion.
There was a pause. Then:
"I done give it up," said Massa Bones.
"Why," explained Sambo, "de oV maid am lookin' for a husban' every
day, an' de married woman am lookin' for 'im ebery night!"
There might have been more hearty laughter from the audience than
was the case after the speech.
Several white-haired gentlemen were seen to rise hurriedly anfl hasten
homeward.

Download Page 4: PDF File | Image

Download Page 5 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.