Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
its advantages as a manufacturing center. Result: Eighteen fac-
tories-—which it would have taken years to secure in the ordinary
course—locate there, and a whole community is benefited. A great
railroad system runs through the wilderness, a small town is sur-
rounded by fertile but unsettled prairies. Both advertise, and set-
tlers pour in on every train to make new homes. The settlement of
the Northwest, the development of the western apple country, have
been pushed forward ten years by judicious advertising. The
enormous expansion of the automobile industry is undoubtedly due
to the fact that these manufacturers, who are selling something that
appeals to progressive minds, are progressive enough to use the
most progressive of all methods of salesmanship—advertising.
t t ' T % H E R E is no use multiplying examples. They are at your
I
hand. The thing argues itself. Imagine for one moment
your daily newspaper without the dry goods store and local adver-
tisements ; imagine your magazines without the mass of time-saving
and money-saving information called advertising, and the con-
suming public forced to return to the old, slow, wasteful methods.
It is stepping back into a world without telephones and trolleys.
That will give you some slight idea of what a vital factor in
your lives is this advertising matter which it is proposed to tax.
The merchant and the manufacturer do not have to imagine; they
know just what advertising means to the life and prosperity of busi-
ness. And the Postmaster-General ought to know not only these
things, but also just how much the advertiser does to swell that big
profit on the first-class mail. Does he know that from one page in
The Ladies' Home Journal an advertiser received thirty-one thou-
sand answers and sent thirty-one thousand replies, all at the first-
class rate? Does he know that one advertiser, in a four-months'
campaign, has created 310,000 letters in reply; that another adver-
tiser spent $433,242 in a year in first, third and fourth class mail,
and that in the same period he received over 4,000,000 answers to
magazine advertisements? These are but a few examples; they
might be multiplied indefinitely."
Mr. Latimer says his paper "is not wholly selfish in its argu-
ment against an increase in the postal rate, unless a plea for a square
deal is selfishness," and he adds, "We simply have a constitutional
aversion to being the goat. Because we have a special and indi-
vidual sales force, built up as a bulwark against just such ill-in-
formed legislation, we could bear up under an increase in the postal
rate much better than our weaker brothers, many of whom would
be forced out of business by it. We have even been asked what
we are making all this fuss about, as after the dead had been given
decent burial there would be more room for us. W r e are not looking
for that kind of advantage. We have won our place by a clean,
hard fight and by straight business methods. Under present condi-
tions magazine publishing is an open field, the last stronghold of
free competition. Whatever influence we have shall be devoted to
keeping the field open.
"Once the public clearly understands this matter we have small
fear of the outcome. We do not believe that it will consent to the
imposition of an unnecessary tax on its reading matter, or that inde-
pendent business will consent to a tax on its most important selling
force. Magazines will continue to be published and merchants to
advertise in them. The road to business perdition is choked with
men who stopped advertising. Sisyphus was the first of these, arid
he is still trying to get back to the top of the hill. While we are on
this subject of advertising we might as well make the confession
that the magazines and newspapers are "subsidized"—not by the
American Government, but by the Great American Advertiser.
Without him, The Saturday Evening Post would bankrupt John
D. Rockefeller if he sold it at five cents the copy and stuck to it
long enough."
T N the larger cities most of the show windows of piano establish-
1 ments are kept up in an attractive manner, but in hundreds of
smaller towns and cities throughout the country piano merchants
neglect their windows in a most lamentable manner.
By so doing they are losing the most valuable space in their
store when they neglect the show window.
Show windows should be made to produce, and nothing attracts
the public so quickly as a well arranged show window where the
goods should always be fittingly displayed.
The show window never gets tired of displaying goods.
REVIEW
It is willing to work day and night—holidays and every other
day and permit us to say in our opinion it is a mistake to draw down
the curtains of the show window and turn off the light at six .o'clock.
Show windows never look better than at night and the goods
show up as elaborately as through the day.
They tell their story of style and prices just as effectively as
they do when the door swings open for the exit and entrance of
customers during the day.
We have passed the splendid show windows of Lyon & Healy
after six o'clock and have noted the throngs which have stopped to
gaze with critical inspection and obvious delight at the various
articles of musical merchandise artistically displayed in the show
windows of this great house.
Show windows should work continuously just as the interest
does on the mortgage.
Neither interest nor rent takes a holiday or rest on Sunday.
Show windows are in the same class.
We have seen humanity gathered 'round a show window at
night when it was too cold to stay out, much less to linger to look
in show windows.
The business man who neglects to keep his show window well
up to a splendid point of attractiveness is acting unwisely.
He is losing one of the best points of interest to attract trade.
IN LIGHTER VEIN
Avarice increases with the increasing pile of gold.
A man doesn't have to get fat to make the most of himself.
It's easier to descend from our ancestors than it is to rise above them.
A WAIT IT HAS.—"De truth," said brother Williams, "is lak a rubber
band—de mo' you stretch it de mo' it comes back ter de place whar it
started frum."
Mrs. Johnston—Oh, professor, I wonder what I could do to improve
my daughter's voice?
Distinguished Professor of Music—Well, I am sure I do not know,
unless you try feeding her on canary seed.
JUSTLY HAPPY.—"Father," said little Rollo, "what is happy
medium?"
"I suppose, my son, that it is one who can earn several hundred dol-
lars a day by making tables and chairs move about the room."
LEFT UNDER A CLOUD.—"This is a pretty tough town, isn't it?"
"Tough? Say, we got up a scheme to hold an 'Old Home Week' here,
and had to give it up. No former resident could oome back without
being arrested the minute they struck the town."
Farmer's Wife—I hear your son is making money out of his voice
nt the opera?
Byles—That's right, mum.
Farmer's Wife—'Where did he learn singing?
Byles—Oh! he don't sing, mum. He calls the carriages!
A teacher in a big elementary school had given a lesson in an infants'
class on the Ten Commandments. In order to test their memories, she
asked, "Can any little child give me a Commandment with only four
words in it?"
A hand was raised immediately.
"Well?" said the teacher.
"Keep off the grass/' was the reply.
A well-known judge often relieved his judicial wisdom with a touch
of him"or. One day, during a trial of a case, Mr. Gunn was a witness in
the box, and as he hesitated a good deal, and seemed unwilling, after
much persistent questioning, to tell what he knew, the judge said to him:
"Come, Mr. Gunn, don't hang fire."
After the examination had closed, the bar was convulsed by the judge
adding:
"Mr. Gunn, you can go off; you are discharged."
"Fader," said young Isaacstein to his parent, "is it vicked to vork
on de Sabbath?"
"Of course it is, mine poy," replied Mr. Isaacstein.
"Den vy do you open de shop on Saturday, vich is our Sabbath,
fader?"
"Mine tear poy, ve do not vork den; ve takes monish—lots of
monish!" added Mr. Isaacstein cheerfully rubbing his hands.
"Den vot is vork, fader?" continued his son, persistently.
"Vork, mine poy," said Mr. Isaacstein impressively, "is ven you do
somet'ing and get nodings for it!"