Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1908 Vol. 46 N. 7

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE:
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL - Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SPflLLANE, Managing Editor
Executive and Reportorlal Stall i
0BO. B . KCT.T.BB,
L. D. BOWERS,
W. H. DYKES,
F. H. THOMPSON.
J. HATDEN CLARENDON.
B. BBITTAIN WILSON,
L. J. CHAMBBRLIN,
A. J. NICKLIN.
••STON •FF1CE:
CHICAGO OFFICE:
E. P. VAN HARLINQEN. 195-197 Wabash Ave.
TELEPHONES : Central 414 ; Automatic 8643.
MINNEAPOLIS and ST.PAUL:
ST. LOUIS:
DBNBBT L. WAITT, 278A Tremont Bt
PHILADELPHIA t
R. W. KAurruAN.
A D O U EDSTDN.
SAN FRANCISCO:
CHAS. N. VAN BDRUN.
S. H. GRAY, 2407 Sacramento Bt
CINCINNATI. O.i NINA PUGH-SMITH.
BALTIMORE, MO.: A. ROBERT FRENCH.
LONDON. ENGLAND:
69 Baslnghall S t , E. C.
W. Lionel Sturdy, Manager.
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madison Avenue, New York
Enttrtd
at the New York Pott Office as Second Class Matter.
SUBSCRIPTION. (Including postage). United States and Mexico, $2.00 per year;
Canada, $3.50 ; 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
reading matter, $75.00.
REMITTANCES, In other than currency form, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill.
Dlraetwy ot P l o o
The directory of piano manufacturing firms and corporation!
~
~ ~
found on another page will be of great value, as a reference
Msinlieturcri
f o r dealers and others.
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prim
Paris Exposition, 1900 Silver Medal. Charleston Exposition 1902
Diploma.Pan-American Exposition, 1901 Gold Medal.. . S t Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold Medal. ...Lewis-Clark Exposition. 1905.
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES—NUMBERS 4677 and 4678 GRAMERCY
Connecting all Department*.
Cable address: "Elblll New York."
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 1 5 , 1908
~~
EDITORIAL
WELL-KNOWN member of the piano trade, while discuss-
ing business conditions with The Review recently, said:
"We have lost nothing but confidence." True, but that "nothing"
in this case is a very important essential in the business life o'f the
country, and are the men high up in the nation's councils doing
what they can to restore that confidence ?
Now, admitting that there may be a great deal to criticize in
high financing; admitting that gold bricks have been handed out
to the people by these manipulators of great corporations, whose
proper place is behind the bars; admitting all that, but why because
a few men in the community have gone wrong should the distrust
of everyone be continued? It is all well enough to talk about the
"malefactors of great wealth," as Mr. Roosevelt terms them, or
the "criminally rich," as Mr. Bryan designates them, but does the
discrediting of our business interests help matters in the way of
restoration of confidence? Ejaculatory sentences, even though they
may be fierce and even dripping with oratorical lava, do not bring
about a revolution. They may disturb conditions, but they do not
help them.
A
A
FTER all, what is the common dogma that unites Roosevelt
and Bryan, and is echoed by the various papers throughout
the country ? It is not that here and there are diseased spots which
need to be cut out. It is not that we have the usual average out-
breaks af the sinful heart of man and that the world old struggle
among men for material possessions leads now as always to seizure
of unfair advantages.
T
H E dogma is none of these. It is that confidence has much
less basis for foothold than at times past, and distrust infinitely
more. That is the meat of the business cocoanut. Did not men sin
before corporations were invented, and how is this charge against
the general character and integrity of our business and financial
establishments supported ? By a comprehensive survey of the facts ?
Not as we view them. It is established by that weakest of all
methods of demonstration—the citing of particular instances.
Would it be fair if, because some men committed burglary, that all
REVIEW
men should be accused of being thieves? Suppose we have had
some dishonest men in the piano industry, should it follow that all
are tarred with the brush of dishonesty?
L
AST year the percentage of trusts respected and obligations
fulfilled was probably as great as any year since recorded
history began, and yet this great essential is ignored. What do the
reformers say of this fact? Is it scare headed over the country?
We hear nothing about the good that men have accomplished—of
how they have lived up to their moral and financial obligations.
No, there is nothing said about that, but because the two per cent,
of thieves have carried on a gambling game the whole country must
suffer. When we come to figure upon these utterances against the
integrity of the country coming from those whom we should expect
better things, is it strange that the commercial affairs of this country
should have suddenly collapsed ?
Getting back to the statement of the piano manufacturer, "we
have lost nothing but confidence." That is true. We have had no
plague, nor succession of bad crops, but that same confidence is- the
necessary arterial blood of modern industrial civilization, and its
healthy flow has been interrupted. We are distrustful. We have
lost confidence in each other. We are afraid to do business on the
same terms as before. It is all well enough to say that we were going
too fast a pace ; that we were spending too much money; that we
were living beyond our means, but why not say that to-day there
are more people, better housed, better dressed than ever before
in the history of the world, showing that the great world heart of
man is in the right, place; that there are more institutions of learn-
ing, more refuges for the unfortunate, more dollars expended to
alleviate human suffering than ever before. Why do we not say
that millions upon millions are given by these "malefactors of great
wealth" for the cause of education and science? That money
taken from the people is given back to them? Why is it not well
to 1 emphasize the good that men have done instead of pouring out
these rattling volleys of abuse which shake the confidence of the
people in each other? The misdeeds of the few should not dis-
credit and injure the many.
A
S long as there are inequalities of brains there will be inequal-
ities of wealth, but there are always some who abuse their
position. But why breed distrust which is sure to destroy confi-
dence, that confidence so necessary to business success ? Yes, "the
only thing we have lost is confidence," and we shall not fully regain
it until we recognize the good that men have done; recognize the
honesty of purpose; recognize the higher accomplishments of in-
dividuals just as completely, as publicly, as vociferously as we
condemn dishonest principles. "Nothing lost but confidence," but
that is a great deal, and are we doing what we should do, each one
of us, to win it back ? Are we not talking too much of the evil and
too little of the go'od that men do ? Everyone is affected by existing
conditions, whether he is laboring by the day or whether he is an
employer of labor. There is no enterprise of any nature in this
land which has not been stricken by this business slump which was
created by the destruction of confidence.
T
H E piano player proposition did not develop until special
emphasis was placed upon it. Some dealers who sold players
for years in an indifferent manner, and whose stock was carried in
a most unattractive style, complained bitterly of their lack of sales
and became disgusted with the player outlook. Hut there were plenty
of shrewd intelligent men who saw that the player proposition must
be treated separately. It must be properly wareroomed and sales-
manized in order to produce results. As a consequence special
rooms were fitted up and player experts were placed in charge and
the business gradually grew into very large proportions. It never
would have reached its present position had it not been carefully
nurtured and specialized. It must be the same with talking ma-
chines, for that cannot be said by dealers if treated in a slipshod
manner. One or two talking machines displayed in a window
together with a lot of pianos will not draw trade, particularly when
a customer finds upon entering the store that no proper environment
is given them.
Special rooms should be fitted up and men placed in charge of
the talking machine department who know something about the
wonderful powers of entertainment of the up-to-date talker. It
should not be placed in the hands of a piano salesman who has given
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
TH
MUSIC TRADE
only the most superficial study to" talking machines, who is not in
sympathy with it, knows nothing about it and talks depreciatingly
of it, even when asked by a customer about its merits.
Sound-proof rooms should be a feature of the talking machine
store, where records can be listened to -without interference to other
lines o'f business. It should be understood that the record end is a
very profitable one. The sale of records bear the same relation to
the talking machine that music rolls do to the piano player, only
they are purchased in larger quantities and often at higher prices.
P
IANO manufacturers who conduct an interstate business will
be interested in the recent decision of the Supreme Court
that a labor union boycott against a manufacturer who manufac-
tures go'ods and disposes of them in interstate commerce is against
the Sherman anti-trust law. That such a boycott is a combination
or conspiracy in restraint of interstate commerce, abundantly justi-
fies the warning repeatedly given that the law was broad enough to
include the combinations and conspiracies of labor as well as capital.
The boycott, whether it be a boycott by employers or by
employes, has long been discountenanced and denounced by those
who seek the general good and condemn general evil, whether it
be evil of employers Or employes. And the illegality of the boycott
has been pronounced by State courts. In a way, therefore, public
opinion has been prepared for this federal view, though now that it
comes it marks a new era, a new order, in the status of trade union-
ism. If the misdeeds and machinations of Organized labor whenever
they are directed against a manufacturer who sells his goods in
interstate commerce can be arrested and controlled by the federal
government, clearly the grip of public authority is so strong that
the power which puffeth up high-handed combination must shrink
to much humbler proportions.
The decision apparently establishes a most valuable principle—
that mere acts of this kind, by whomsoever performed, may be
interdicted by the general government. May we not say that boy-
cotts by combinations of every kind if they restrain interstate com-
merce may be prohibited, that the boycotts of trusts and of labor
organization are within federal control? The trust will no longer
have power to say to the local dealers: "You must buy all your
goods of us. Otherwise you shall have none of our goods v they
will all be given to your rival." It will be prohibited from boycot-
ting. And if boycotting, whether by capital or by labor, can be
reached, the way seems clear for the termination of other and
equally pernicious abuses in which both indulge. From this point
of view the decision is to be warmly welcomed.
I
N the death of James C. Miller the piano industry has lost the
influence of a high-minded gentleman whose entire business life
had been devoted to splendid business ideals. He well sustained
the dignity of the trade to an eminent degree. The influence of
men of character in any industry is considerable and when one
builds up he is doing infinitely more for the trade or profession in
which he is engaged than the man who tears down or drags certain
cherished ideals in the dust.
James C. Miller, after completing his education, devoted all
of his energies to the furtherance of the business founded by his
father. There has always been loyalty among the "Miller boys,"
as they are termed. The first break occurred some years ago when
Walter Miller's death occurred. Now the family circle is again
saddened by the sudden taking away of another talented member.
The "Miller boys" have always stood shoulder to shoulder and
another such an illustration of five brothers pulling together for
many years in the upbuilding of the business founded by their
father cannot be found in this or any other industry. The brothers
who remain, although saddened by their great loss, are inspired by
the splendid records made by those who have gone, and the influence
o'f James C. Miller will long be felt not only by those who were
closely bound to him by ties of blood and affection, but by the
entire trade with which he was identified and of which he was a dis-
tinguished member.
Mr. Miller was modest, courteous, low-voiced and tactful. H e
was an ideal type of the modern American business man who never
for once forgot his duties to his family and to his profession. As
a result perhaps of the over-strenuous and earnest work of such
men they are cut o'ff by the grim Reaper in the very prime of life,
when it seems to us all that they should have many years of use-
fulness before the breaking of the earthly strand.
REVIEW
Not to-morrow—but now.
Somehow or other "near-truth" doesn't wear very well.
Luck seldom turns of its own accord.
It must be pried over.
Don't sway too far back in any direction. Just keep your balance.
Substitutes are generally gold bricks that have to be sold quickly.
We find that the man who has really good sense invariably agrees
with our own opinion.
Don't follow—be original.
can tell what to do next.
The world is waiting for the man who
Usually the man with something to sell smiles more pleasantly than
the man with something to buy.
The more difficult the undertaking, the more worthy the effort and
the more glorious the achievement.
The man who works his way up to the top manages to get a better
hold than the man who is shoved up.
Usually a man who is putting up a job on somebody else forgets to
look behind to see who is putting up a job on him.
TO BEGIN WITH.—"Now, my children, what is an absolute neces-
sity for family prayers?"
Boy—A family.
JUDGING BY HAIR.—Patience—Don't you think great pianists are
born?
Patrice—Well, I don't believe any child is born with as much hair as
a pianist has to have!—Yonkers Statesman.
MERELY A SUGGESTION.—Pat (to farmer)—I say, boss, do you
know what we used to do when there was no pasture for the cows?
Farmer—No.
Pat.—Well, we used to put a pair of green goggles on the cows and
make them eat shavings—but the milk had the taste of antique furniture.
FULFILLING ITS MISSION.—The stranger from Damascus, who
never had been in Rhodes before, was looking at the great Colossus.
"I wonder what that thing is. for?" he said.
"That's what it's for,"explained one of the natives. "You guessed it
the first time."
Casually remarking that there were six other wonders in the world
without counting the Singer Building, he strolled away and left the
stranger still wondering.
CRUSHED.—Pale and dejected, he took his seat by her.
With her womanly sympathy, she asked him what was the matter.
"I'm crushed," he said sadly, "completely crushed!''
She looked at him with inquiring anxiety.
"Is it because of what I said last time?" she asked. "You know your
proposal was so sudden and
"
He shook his head. "It isn't that," he said. "It was that awful jam
in the subway!"—February Young's Magazine.
NEARING THE END.—Joe Lincoln, whose Cape Cod folks are well-
known characters, recently attended a lecture. When asked how he liked
it, he related this little story:
A stranger entered a church in the middle of the sermon and seated
himself in the back pew. After a while he began to fidget. Leaning over
to the white-haired man at his side, evidently an old member of the con-
gregation, he whispered:
"How long has he been preaching?"
"Thirty or forty years, I think," the old man answered. "I don't
know exactly."
"I'll stay, then," decided the stranger. "He must be nearly done."—
Everybody's Magazine.
HOW THE NEWS SPREAD.—New Arrival at the Suburban Tavern
—Part of the roof of the old brewery in the city fell in a while ago and
hurt three men.
First Lounger to Second—Hear that? ' Old brewery in th' city just
fell in an' nearly killed three men.
Second Lounger to Third—Gosh! Th' old brewery down in th' city
just tumbled down an' killed three men.
Third Lounger to Fourth—Gee whiz! Th' old brewery in th' city's
collapsed an' squashed four men t' death.
When the first newspaper containing the correct account of the acci-
dent reached them, however, the most they could make out of it was
only one man hurt,

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