Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1911 Vol. 53 N. 15

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
Uruler
I
T is an interesting study to business men how our great rail-
roads keep track of the enormous quantities of freight that
is confined to their care. As a matter of fact, five great gateways
of traffic are situated in different parts of the United States.
Through these, generally speaking, freight moving east or west
that passes from one line of railroad to another must go. They
are described in detail as Chicago, East St. Louis, 111.; East Han-
nibal, Mo.; Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Minnesota Transfer, Minn.
They are known as freight transfer stations, and have been estab-
lished to facilitate the interchange of traffic between different lines.
In a sense, these freight transfer stations resemble the great clearing
houses of the associated banks in big cities like New York and
Chicago, but instead of bills and coin they handle daily thousands
of loaded freight cars. Instead of bank checks, such as the finan-
cial clearing houses sort out every morning when they balance their
accounts, the freight transfer stations have hundreds of thousands
of bigger and more unwieldy pieces of paper which are called way-
bills, which represent the tremendous volume of merchandise in the
loaded cars. Also there are the bills of lading, which answer the
same purpose, but in a different way. If the value of the costly
freight passing through one of these great gateways each day could
be computed it would not fall far behind the day's business of the
New York clearing house itself.
•6 « *t
I
N addition to these five transfer stations that handle only busi-
ness that passes over two or more different lines of rails before
reaching its destination, each of the great railroad systems has many
similar transfer stations for the interchange of freight traffic be-
tween the various roads of which it is composed. A big system
like the New York Central lines for example, is made up of twelve
different railroads, each a distinct corporation- For the purpose
of accounting, each of these lines is treated in the books as though
it were a foreign company, though the rules for the interchange of
freight traffic between the various roads of a system are modified
from those which govern the same work between two separate sys-
tems interchanging business at any of the four great gateways in
the West. Yet the organization of domestic freight transfer sta-
tions, such as those on the New York Central lines does not differ
materially from that of the railroads which meet at Chicago, East
St. Louis, East Hannibal or Council 1'luffs. Each system has
from ten to fifty of these freight transfer stations located at the
various junction points of its allied lines. The New York Central,
for example, has thirty-one. There is no better place for a young
man to get a thorough, practical knowledge of everything con-
nected with the actual handling of freight traffic than a freight
transfer station.
* K *
r
I "HE demoralization of prices in the retail piano trade, and the
X
lack of a definite policy regarding their uniformity has long
been a subject of comment among piano manufacturers and mer-
chants who have at heart the permanency and best interests of the
industry. The Review has long contended that there is a remedy
for this evil, and it is the establishment by manufacturers of the
prices at which pianos should be sold. The latest to fall in line
are the Briggs Piano Co., controlled and operated by the National
Piano Co., of Boston, Mass., who at the request of their dealers
have established the fixed retail prices on all the various styles of
uprights, grands and player-pianos which they manufacture. In
future the upright models made by this company will contain cellu-
loid tags with the retail price printed thereon, and the grands and
players will have cardboard tags attached indicating the retail price.
This is a step worthy of emulation by others, and the Boston manu-
facturers are to be congratulated on the adoption of this policy.
If this were adopted in a much larger degree throughout the trade
it would work decidedly for the benefit of the piano business. Deal-
ers as w r ell as manufacturers would be aided for it would insure
uniformity and stability of prices. It is a guarantee to the dealer
REVIEW
TOWER.
who desires to sell pianos at an honest price that he has the co-
operation and backing of the manufacturer in his efforts to get a
fair price for his product. It also helps the industry because it
prevents a purchaser from being able to get two, or three, or more
prices on the same instrument at different stores, and in this way
the business is elevated in the minds of the purchasing public and
the confidence of the public in the goods is increased.
•6 •? H
r
I ^HERE is no evil to-day of greater magnitude in connection
J.
with retailing than this tendency to sell cheap commercial
pianos at extravagant prices. In many instances dealers represent-
high grade pianos use them merely as a means of attracting trade to
their store and then palming off an inferior instrument at a superior
price. A prominent traveling man in discussing this kind of work
with The Review the other day, said: "We manufacture, as you
know, a high grade instrument and also a piano which is sold at a
popular price—the latter to satisfy the demands of a growing com-
munity. While visiting one of our agents recently I was present
when a salesman sold one of these popular-priced pianos for $375—
only $50 less than our high priced piano is usually retailed for.
As soon as the customer had left I impressed on this salesman how
unwise it was to secure a price like this for a piano that should
have been sold at $225, and inquired how could he expect to get a
proper price for our high grade instrument if he persisted in this
kind of work—selling pianos out of their class? His response was
that he was instructed to sell pianos at the highest price he could
get for them irrespective of grade or quality, and he saw nothing
wrong in this sale." Surely the interests of the manufacturer are
not helped by such a policy of merchandising. It is to save the
name of the industry that manufacturers are being compelled to fix
a price at which their instruments shall be sold. In this way they
are not only helping the dealer who desires to sell pianos at an
honest price and is content with an honest profit, but they are going
to place the retailing of pianos on a sound, healthy basis—one that
in time is bound to win the respect of the purchasing public.
G
O1XC1DEXT with the opening of a most extensive and elabo-
rate musical season with twenty-two weeks of grand opera
in New York alone and innumerable performances of classic and
modern music of the highest grade by organizations and individual
artists in this city, and in practically every city and town in the
country, a German doctor comes to the fore with the assertion that
Americans are going crazy through too much ragtime and that that
form of music is actually responsible for a great many business
failures. The doctor evidently talked simply for the purpose of
getting his name in print, and in that he succeeded to the fullest
extent. To place any dependence on his statement would be ridicu-
lous as the statement itself, for it shows his complete ignorance of
musical conditions in this country at large. The eagerness of the
public at large to aid in the support of good music and its perform-
ance offers a direct contradiction to the doctor's remark. The sales
of the higher class of music in sheet and book form is constantly
on the increase, the demand for music rolls shows a strong tendency
toward the better class of music and that kind of music forms a
good portion of the catalogs and the talking machine companies
report increased sales in the higher priced records bearing the best
in music. Then again a visit to any auditorium where such holds
sway would convince the most skeptical that the love of good music
is not only holding its own, but is increasing rapidly among all
classes- If the doctor insists upon remaining where ragtime holds
sway he should at least make a few observations in olier directions
before passing a general opinion.
*
Y
* *
'
OLT will sell more goods, and you will sell them at a greater
profit, when everyone in your store thoroughly knows the
products you offer for sale.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
tion of the musical supervisor, F. M. Tiller, the
local piano dealer, was given an opportunity to
Arrangements Made for Erection of New Build-
make a statement relative to a bid submitted by
ing for Cable Music House, Davenport, la.
him on the piano specifications, and which he stated
had not received proper consideration.
(Special to The Review.)
Mr. Tiller in a letter to the Board of Educa-
Davenport, la., October 10, 1911.
The Cable Music House, now located in the tion intimated that the commission offered, rather
Safety Building on Eighteenth street, have ar- than the bid, influenced the choice of the pianos
ranged for the construction of a home of their own and that Miss Bourgard had purchased a piano
adjoining their present quarters, work upon which at his store for a friend and received a check for
her commission on the sale. After a stormy scene
will be begun at once.
The new building will be 23 by 75 feet in dimen- between the piano man and the members of the
sions and will be two stories in height. Everything- Board it was unanimously decided to act according
necessary for the convenience and comfort of the to the report made by Miss Bourgard and the pur-
concern will be incorporated into the new struc- chase of pianos from Arthur Krausgill at the rate
ture, and will house one of the largest concerns of $8 per month on the upright and $16 for the
of the kind in this section of the country. The grand, ten months of each year, for three years, at
Cable Music House is owned by E. T. Anderson which time they will belong to the board, was
and has the agency for the full Cable line in Rock authorized. Tiller's bid was $5 per month for
Island, Scott and henry counties. Mr. Anderson upright pianos.
is well known over all of this territory as a piano
THE TRADE IN INDIANAPOLIS.
salesman and has made a decided success of busi-
ness for himself.
Shaping Up Stock and Business Plans for the
It is expected to have the new building com-
Winter Campaign — The Pearson Piano
pleted and ready for occupancy on Dec. 1 of this
House Having Special Sale of Players—
year.
Kurtzmann Grand for Noted Divine—Live-
NEW HOME FORJVIUSIC HOUSE.
FIGHT OVER j>CHOOL PIANOS.
F. M. Tiller Protests Against Action of Louis-
ville Board of Education in Accepting Higher
Bid of Another Dealer.
lier Trade with Starr Piano Co—Recent
Buyers of a Steinway and an Angelus—J.
R. Heartpence a Visitoi
Steinway—Pia-
nola Sales—H. M. Light Joins the Forces of
The Lenox Piano Co.—Other Items.
(Special to The Review.)
(Special to The Review.)
Louisville, Ky., October 9, 1911.
Members of the Board of Education who had on
several previous occasions expressed the belief that
in the matter of purchasing pianos for the public
schools only a musical expert should make the
final decision, reaffirmed that belief last week, at
the regular meeting of the board, and unanimously
adopted the recommendations of Miss Caroline
Bourgard, supervisor of music, and Business Di-
rector Jones, through which the purchase of
twenty-seven Kurtzmann upright and three Kurtz-
mann grand pianos was authorized on a three-year
"rental-purchase" basis.
Following the reading of the report of the Sup-
plies Committee, which contained the recommenda-
Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 7.
Indianapolis piano merchants are now shaping
up their stock for the winter months, and from
observations around the different stores it seems
that the buying public is to be well taken care oi
Nearly all of the stores have unusually large stocks
and are displaying them well.
The Pearson Piano House has been conducting
a player sale with great success, and the Knabe
Angelus, the Kurtzmann, Angelus, Ludwig, Win-
ter and other reliable makes have been going
rapidly. The Pearson house at the beginning of
the sale advertised six carloads of player-pianos.
The store was specially decorated and illuminated
for the sale. One window was filled with a
quantity of music rolls and instruments well dis-
played.
Among those who bought a Kurtzmann grand
recently at the Pearson Piano House was the Rev.
Joshua Stansfield, pastor of the Meridian street
M. E. church, regarded as one of the most im-
portant churches in Indianapolis. The Pearson
house first sold a mission style Kurtzmann grand
to the church, and the Rev. Mr. Stansfield ad-
mired it so that he concluded to buy one for his
own home.
During the recent meeting of the Sovereign
Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows in Indianapolis
the Pearson house was specially decorated and
entertained a number of its friends. Other stores
also were decorated for that week. Carl Walk,
of the Julius C. Walk Co., well known jewelers,
bought an Angelus piano at the Pearson house,
and O. V. Rouse, a well-known business man,
bought a Steinway grand.
Herman T. Spain, of the Starr Piano Co., and
president of the Indiana Association of Piano Mer-
chants, has announced that the next meeting of
the association will be held the first week in next
May, instead of in this month, as had been planned.
The council of the association decided that October
would be too soon after the close of the hot sea-
son for holding the meeting.
Trade has been taking on a livelier tone with
the Starr Piano Co. Mr. Spain has been hearing
from the Starr merchants over the State, and
they are greatly encouraged and all are pushing
the business.
George Carson, of the Haddorff Piano Co., and
Mr. Hollenbach, of Toledo, called on E. W. Exley,
sales manager of the Starr Piano Co. The latter,
by the way, has just returned from a visit to the
Starr branches at Noblesville and Sheridan, Ind.,
and says he found business moving along very
nicely.
The Carlin Music Co. reports that the Auto-
piano has been selling well and there has been
a decided improvement in the small goods trade.
A satisfied customer
is a real profit maker
—the best salesman a
piano dealer can possibly
have
Every Packard owner is a Packard
booster. He is more than satis-
fied—for he has received more
than "full value" for his money
That's the reason Packard pianos
are easy to sell—and that's the
reason you will find profit and
pleasure in selling them. Also it's
the reason why we are finding it
easy to get the better dealers
everywhere to handle them. Write
The Packard Company, Fort
Wayne, Indiana—to-day. If we
are not already represented in
your territory, we may be glad
to make agency arrangements
with you—and it may mean for
you the one big opportunity.
The building in the rear of the main building of
the Carlin Music Co. is being torn away and a
new two-story building is to go up. The first
floor of the new building will be used Tjy the
Carlin Co. as a player room.
Rapp & Lennox say that business has taken an
encouraging turn in the last week or two, and
the most pleasing thing is that it is largely a cash
business. There has been a good demand for
Cecilian players and also for Seybold pianos.
John R. Hartpence, manager of the branches in
Australia of the Aeolian Co., spent a few days
at Aeolian Hall, in Indianapolis, as the guest
of Manager Gressing, the Indiana manager. An-
other visitor was H. B. Schaad, of the Aeolian
Co. While in the city Mr. Schaad was confined!
to his room at the Columbia Club for some days
by sickness. Business was good last month with
the Aeolian Co., and the September record of
this year exceeded the same month a year ago.
A demand for the Steinway Pianola piano has been
:• feature of the Aeolian trade.
The E. L. Lennox Piano Co. report a good busi-
ness in Wegman, Laffargue and Milton players,
and an active trade in all lines. Hugh M. Light,
who was with the Starr Piano Co. here for several
years, has joined the selling force of this company.
A large electric sign featuring the Lennox house
now graces the south side of the Studebaker
building, the second floor of which is occupied by
the Lennox Co.
TO JOIN FATHER IN BUSINESS.
Lee Tiller, son of F. M. Tiller, a well-known
piano dealer of Louisville, Ky., has returned to
that city after four months spent in the various
departments of the W. W. Kimball Co. factories
in Chicago, and will in the future be associated
with his father in the retail piano business, where
the Kimball is handled most successfully.
An overflow drain pipe on an upper floor, caused
a loss of several hundred dollars to the stock of
the Benedict Piano Co., on South Cherry street,
Galesburg, 111. Five pianos and a large number
(jf talking machine records and sheets of music
were damaged.
THEY
COST
MORE
THEY'RE
WORTH
IT
values his reputation, and to
the dealer who wants his cus-
tomer's confidence, demand
them in the pianos you han-
dle—especially in the players
—made of superior German
401-424 E. 163d St., New York
Chicago Office: Republic Bldg.

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