Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1908 Vol. 47 N. 15

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:
ORO. It. KEI.LMB,
L. K. ISOWEIIS,
W. H. DYKES,
F. II. THOMPSON,
J. HAYDHN CLARENDON,
A. J . N l C K U N .
T,. .T. Oil AM BERLIN,
B . BltlTTAIN WlI.HON.
BOSTON OFFICE:
CHICAGO OFFICE
EUNBST L WAITT, 100 ltoylston St.E. I'. VAN HARLINOKN, Room 806, 156 Wabash Ave.
PHILADELPHIA:
K. W. KAcrrMAN.
Telephone, Central 414.
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL:
ST. LOUIS:
ADOLF EUSTBN.
CHAS. N. VAN HORBN.
SAN FRANCISCO: S. II. GRAY, 2407 Sacramento St.
CINCINNATI. O.: BERNARD C. HOWRN.
BALTIMORE. MD.: A. KUUEIIT FHKNCH.
LONDON, ENGLAND: fifl Kflslnsrhnll 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;
Canada, $."•!.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
l.ymiin • -til.
Music Publishers'
An interesting feature of this publication Is a special depart
Department V V ment devoted excluB:vely to the world of music publishing
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900 Silver Medal.Charleston Imposition, 11)02
Diploma. Pan American Exposition, 1901 Gold Medal. ...St. Louis Exposition. 1904
Gold Medal
I.ewls-Clnrk Exposition, 1905.
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES-NUMBERS 4677 and 4678 GRAMERCY
Connecting all Departments.
Cable address: "Elblll. New York."
_ _
NEW YORK,
OCTOBER
10, 1908
EDITORIAL
D
URING a recent conversation, Frank Anrys, general manager
of the Wiley B. Allen Co., San Francisco, Cal, remarked:
"It has been my practice always to impress upon salesmen the neces-
sity of believing in the instruments which they offer for sale. They
must have confidence in their instruments, else they cannot succeed
in impressing others."
There can be no doubt as to the truth of Mr. Anrys' statement
and because of his belief in that principle is no doubt one of the
reasons why he has made such a distinct success of the big retail
concern which has been under his management. Now, if salesmen
generally would stop to consider the importance of having faith in
their product, many of them would do better.
How can a man reasonably expect to impress others unless he
himself shows an enthusiasm in that which he offers for sale, more
particularly so when we consider the amount of money involved in
the purchase of a single piano and what a large percentage that is
of the average yearly income of a piano purchaser.
Enthusiasm assists materially in achieving success and it is abso-
lutely indispensable to good salesmanship. There are always prob-
lems which confront the business man, whether manufacturer or
merchant, but without enthusiasm none of these problems can be
successfully solved.
T
H E R E is no retail establishment in which the problem does not
sometimes arise of creating in the members of the selling
force that enthusiasm which the firm itself feels in its own business
and which it thinks all the staff ought likewise to feel.
Many who grapple with a problem of this kind are prone to
err at the outset because of their endeavor to cure symptoms instead
of getting at the root of the disorder. For example, the fault may
lie wholly with the policy of the house. It may be that that policy,
too, has not taught the men that they are integral parts of a great
working machine and they must work in harmony with every other
part, else the results are not achieved..
REVIEW
The force as a whole may be thoroughly loyal, but may be
affected by indifference, which is sure to lead to poor business re-
sults. Again, it may be found that there are inefficient members of
the selling force who are constantly showing a lack of interest in
the store's welfare and those who exhibit that spirit of indifference
have perhaps influenced others.
We may argue that successful business management requires
the consideration of many elements which enter into business. There
is no doubt of that, but there must be a definite policy and that policy
must be adhered to. There must be determination and enthusiasm
on the part of the selling forces to work in harmony with that
policy and to have confidence and respect for the pianos that they
are selling. Without that they cannot interest others.
T
HERE is no longer in retail merchandizing a great gulf be-
tween the employer and the employed, and it is conceded that
the closer the two elements are brought together and the more
clearly they realize the interdependence of their interests, the better
for each, and it is by showing to salesmen in some tangible way his
belief in this idea that the retail merchant can best get them to
strongly support him in his enterprise.
Nor does he attempt this only by the granting of pecuniary
rewards, although necessarily he regards that as the most effective
object lesson. He knows that with some people money is not every-
thing, that some employes can be influenced to a far greater degree
by courteous treatment and consideration than others can by the
payment of what are to them large sums. Hence, the up-to-date
employer sees to it that those members of his staff who can be
brought into line by diplomatic handling get that handling and
those who require such influence, dollars and cents are brought to
bear. What particular form of monetary reward should be em-
ployed is up to each merchant, of course, to decide.
T
HERE is a great deal to learn in conducting modern enter-
prises and aggressive merchants realize that even if their
merchandise may be thoroughly reliable, their prices as low as those
in other stores, their advertisements as truthful, their services
prompt and exact, their store interiors as inviting, yet if the selling
force are permeated with inattention and overbearing, the estab-
lishment itself will not win out in a business sense. There is, in-
deed, an obvious difference between different mercantile establish-
ments. There is just as much difference between shops as there is
between salesmen and applying these thoughts directly to the retail
department of the music trade industry, it must be conceded that
those who are informed and who have personal knowledge of the
various retail establishments, that those who have made a study of
salesmanship themselves, who have cultivated enthusiasm and im-
pressed upon their men the importance of having confidence in their
product, are the ones who have forged rapidly to the front.
A
GENCY changes have been made with surprising frequency
during the past few weeks and still they go uninterruptedly
on. Rumors of new combinations, too, still obtain and there is
hardly a day passes that telegrams are not received at these offices,
making specific inquiries as to certain reports which have been
circulated in other cities.
We certainly have fallen into the rumor habit and it is a mighty
bad habit to have as a permanent attachment. It sort of unsettles
things. But ever since the big combination between the Knabe,
Chickering and Foster-Armstrong corporations occurred, the trade
has been particularly rich in rumors. Hardly a firm of importance
in the country has remained outside of the rumor breastworks.
They have all come in for a fair share in the general shakeup.
Rumors should be kept in their proper place, if anybody can tell
where that place is, for they have a tendency to distract one's
thoughts from business and it is business that pays, not rumors.
T
HERE is no denying the fact that the coming election is seri-
ously interfering with business in some sections. The ex-
citement can but result in turning the attention of people from
ordinary business into political by-paths. Then again, there is a
certain anxiety on the part of a large number of people who will be
guided very materially in their business plans for the future by the
election. Yet notwithstanding the strong elements which naturally
have, a deterrent effect upon trade, it is evident that business is
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE
steadily improving. Our reports indicate a bettered condition in
the retail trade and this is immediately reflected in factory activity.
Business for the last half of September and thus far in October
has been somewhat indicative of old times. During the past two
weeks collections have shown a decided turn for the better and
money is much easier. The best sales, however, are being made
in the Central West. The reports are very good which come from
the Pacific Coast and from the South, while New England trade is
still dull.
T
H E main reasons why the average American exporter does not
sell more goods abroad may be readily summed up. He pays
little or no attention to the little things which often turn foreigners
against him. American goods shipped abroad are too frequently
wretchedly packed, correspondence is carried on in English instead
of the customer's language, catalogues are often printed in English
instead of Spanish, and other languages, and another thing, lack of
sufficient postage on letters is one of the most common complaints
of foreign merchants against American concerns.
Foreigners are often irritated by being addressed in the Amer-
ican manner, and a letter which would pull wonderfully well in this
country would fall flat in the Latin countries, just as the French or
German method of advertising would not be successful here.
Considered first, insufficient postage seems a small matter, but
it annoys a foreigner more perhaps than anything else. It seems to
demonstrate to him that the American exporter does not care a hang
how he treats him. It shows want of care, engenders bad feeling
and is a source of loss of trade abroad. The first of the month the
two-cent letter rate went in effect between this country and England.
The task of mailing letters is relegated to an office boy who is
ignorant of the postage rates, and the foreign letters generally go
out in the same mail with domestic letters and, as a result, foreigners
turn against the Americans who hope to interest him. The Ger-
mans have won the big piano business in Latin-America. Their
pianos are all shipped in zinc lined boxes and reach their destina-
tion in perfect condition. Every care is shown by foreigners in
working up South American trade and the Americans who bid
for business in other countries must show care at least equal to
competitors.
Ludwig Ullmann, the Knabe European representative, remarked
in an interview with The Review this week that there was a splendid
opportunity for American piano manufacturers to develop a trade
in foreign countries, only, he added a statement which The Review
has repeatedly made, that pianos must be made to satisfy the tastes
of the people of the various countries. In other words, we must
give them what they want.
Q
UITE a number of financial institutions, such as banks and
trust companies', are now advertising far patronage. This
condition was practically unknown a few years ago and it was con-
sidered that a bank was too dignified an institution to advertise, and
if it did advertise, it must be along such lines that looked more like
an undertaking announcement than a real live business advertise-
ment that was calculated to draw trade. The advertising of finan-
cial institutions was formerly done along dull and listless lines.
There was no snap or ginger whatever in their meagre announce-
ments. Now, however, the iconoclast is abroad in the land and he
is demolishing some of the cherished gods of the financial people
among which are the time-honored theories that banking institutions
should not advertise.
The savings banks were the first to feel the effects of this
change. Then many old conservative institutions gradually un-
wound themselves and are now treading along the advertising path,
where, if they keep on going they will eventually see more light.
Why should not financial institutions advertise and why should they
not advertise intelligently? They are after business and they wish
to appeal to business men, and how can they do it better than in an
advertising form which will attract the attention of wide-awake,
progressive people, and that is the kind of people whose trade they
desire.
The publishers, of course, will welcome this kind of advertising,
and without doubt they will do all that they can consistently to
encourage them along the good old track which has been followed
by successful business men in all other lines. Advertising is the
great lubricator to the business machinery.
^
REVIEW
m
Don't listen to the man who knocks.
A strong man is never heard to exaggerate his difficulties.
Confidence is a plant of slow growth and is easily frosted.
A padded expense account is the sign that somebody's sense of honor
has shrunk.
Keep hard at work—the days of your fitness to hustle and increase
the bank account won't last forever.
Miss Gusher—I understand, professor, that you have mastered all
the modern tongues.
Prof. Wise—All but my wife's.
THE WONDERFUL BABY.—Fond Mother—I wonder what baby is
thinking of?
Fond Father—He is not thinking; he is listening to hear if his first
tooth is coming.
AN ENCORE.—The Man—Ah, Miss Snooks, I used to know your
mother when she was a girl.
The Woman—Would you mind repeating that in a louder tone of
voice so the rest of the people can hear it?—^Cleveland Leader.
POOR HENRY.—"Henry, do I look like you when I have your hat
on?"
"I don't know, M'ria; why?"
"I wore your hat out in the yard to-day and mother told me it made
me look like a fool."
THE ACCUSATION.—Johann—I have fifteen children. And you,
Hans—how many call you father?
Hans—Eight, Johann.
Johann—What! And are you, then, one of those infidels who believe
in race suicide?—Jugend.
BUT NOT TO WORK FOR.—"Do you like peaches?" asked the kind-
hearted farmer.
"Sometimes," replied the tramp, cautiously.
"Only sometimes, eh?"
"Yep. I like 'em fine when they're already picked."
WANTED TO KNOW.—"Excuse me," said the city boarder in the
country, "but in which part of the garden does the succotash grow? I
thought I would like to pick some."
Hastily recovering from the shock, the obliging farmer showed him
the sweet peas.—Milwaukee Sentinel.
IT COOLED HIS COURAGE.—Wifey—Henry, I want you to go and
discharge the cook; she's intoxicated.
Hubby—Certainly, my dear. Where is she?
Wifey—She is in the kitchen waiting for you.
Hubby—Waiting for me? Then there's no hurry.
EMBARRASSING EXPLANATION.—"Why do you charge me twenty-
five cents, when your sign says 'First Class Hair Cut, 15 cents?'" de-
manded the indignant customer. The small French barber shrugged his
shoulders and lifted his eyebrows.
"Pardon, monsieur," he returned softly, "but it is not all who come
to me that have the first-class hair."
BROTHER DICKEY'S SENTIMENTS.—I don't want poverty, en I
don't want riches. I des wants money enough ter pull through.
De worl' is des ez God made it, but some folks is sorry dat dey
wuzn't dar ter give Providence instructions.
We all time waitin' fer de long lane ter turn, w'en it frequent turns
so sharp it tilts the wagon over.
I hears many people talkin' 'bout science, but de best science yit is
dat what teaches a man ter do good en keep at it.
Misery likes company on de road, but w'en you sees him comin', dea
tell him dat ain't de day fer you ter feel sociable.—Atlanta Constitution.
THOSE HAPPY DAYS.—"Alfred," said Mrs. Wolcott over the tele-
phone at 10 a. m., "our cook was taken ill a few minutes ago, so I intend
to cook dinner myself. We will have a plain meal of steak, potatoes and
perhaps pie, if I have time—just the sort of meal I used to cook when
we were first married and started housekeeping. Now, I wish you would
bring somebody from the office home to dinner. I want your friends to
know what a practical woman you have for a wife."
"All right," replied Wolcott, "I'll bring Jones."
"But I thought you said the other day Jones was your worst enemy
at the office!"
"Well," replied the fond husband, 3s he rang off, "he is!"

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