Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1912 Vol. 54 N. 14

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
REVIEW
FAVORITE subject for discussion these days is that of South
American trade, and there has been no small share of loose
A
thinking and talking as well as an indulgence in generalities when
treating of this subject.
We have some who picture Latin America as the land of milk
and honey with endless opportunities for our manufactures; others
who consider it a waste of time and a'great expenditure of money
in an effort to cultivate a market which they claim "doesn't exist."
There is still another class of manufacturers, much smaller, of
EDWARD LYMAN BILL - Editor and Proprietor course, and neither ecstatic, nor blue, who understand the require-
J. B. SPILLANE, Managing Editor
ments of the South American people the same as they understand
the requirements of the people of California, Louisiana or Minne-
Executive and Reportorlal Stall:
sota, and who are finding satisfactory markets for their goods.
GLAD. HENDERSON,
H. E. JAMASON,
C. CHACE.
B. BRITTAIN WILSON,
A. J.NICKLIN,
AUGUST J. TIMPE,
WM. B. WHITE,
L. E. BOWERS.
In a general way. however, we are apt to read a lot of nonsense
BOSTON OFFICE:
CHICAGO OFFICE:
about
the tremendous markets for our products in South American
E.
P.
VAN
HARLINGEN,
87
South
Wabash
Ave
JOHN H. WILSON, 824 Washington St.
Telephone, Central 414.
Telephone, Main 6950.
countries,
but as far as pianos are concerned the market is neces-
Room 806.
PHILADELPHIA:
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL:
ST. LOUIS:
sarily a limited one.
*
R. W. KAUFFMAN.
ADOLF EDSTEN.
CLYDE JENNINGS,
George
P.
Bent,
president
of
the
Bent
Co.,
Chicago,
111.—a
SAN FRANCISCO: S. H. GRAY, 88 First Street.
CINCINNATI, O.: JACOB W. WALTERS.
man
of
unusually
keen
observation—who
has
just
returned
from
BALTIMORE, MD.: A. ROBERT FRENCH.
an
extended
visit
to
the
leading
South
American
countries,
states
LONDON. ENGLAND: 1 Gresham Buildings, Basinghall St., E. C.
that so far as South America is concerned the chances of competing
Published Every Saturday at 373 Fourth Avenue, New York
with Germany or any other European country are almost nil. He
Enttted at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
said to The Review: "The people of Latin America have been
SUBSCRIPTION, (including postage), United States and Mexico, $2.00 per year; Can
literally brought up on European methods and they possess all the
ada, $8.60; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $2.50 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or
traits
typical of continental life. Their ideas regarding pianos run
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising Pages, $76.00.
largely
to the 'gingerbread' style of work; gilt ornaments and fancy
REMITTANCES, in other than currency forms, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill.
touches here and there appeal to the Latin American. The same
Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques
PljIVPF
1 i a j C l - 1 PlUIlA
lailU anil
ailU
condition regarding the American-made instruments exists in South
tions of a technical nature relating to the tuning, reg
ulating and repairing of pianos and player-pianos art
America that does in Europe, namely, that the volume of tone, the
p
. d e a l t ^ i t h < wi ff b e f oun( f i n another section of this.
paper. We also publish a number of reliable technical works, information concerning
size, the weight and the general style of the American piano is not
which will be cheerfully given upon request.
in accordance with the natives' bred-in-the-bone idea of what a
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
piano should be. Dealers are possessed of peculiar ideas, they
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900 Silver Medal. . .Charleston Exposition, 180?
Diploma Pan-American Exposition, 1901 Gold Medal
St. Louis Exposition, 1904
only
want to buy a few instruments, and those few must be made
Gold Medal.... Lewis-Clark Exposition, 1905
in
certain
styles, to suit their trade. The American manufacturer
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES NUMBERS 5982-5983 MADISON SQUARE
Connecting all Departments.
cannot afford to do this. With the European manufacturer it is
Cable address " "Elblll, New York."
different; his pianos are in nearly all cases hand finished and re-
quire only four or five days for completion, while our method of
NEW YORK, APRIL 6, 1912,
high grade finishing takes the better part of three or four months.
For this reason the European maker can cater to that particular
line of trade. A great many radical changes will have to be in-
EDITORIAL
augurated before we transact much business with South America
or Europe. The tariff laws must undergo a decided remodeling
HE business situation in the music trade field continues to be in order to interest foreign manufacturers in a general exchange
most satisfactory, and this despite the very bitter political
of business. Certainly we cannot expect to sell where we are not
campaign which is being waged in connection with the forthcom-
willing to buy. Trade, to be real trade, must be reciprocal."
ing conventions to select candidates for the Presidency of the
One need not be a seer to prophesy a tremendous trade future
United States.
in the South' America countries as soon as the habit of overthrow-
Reports from Review correspondents and traveling repre-
ing- governments, thus causing constant commercial unrest and un-
sentatives of the leading piano houses are a unit to the effect that
certainty, disappears permanently. It is a market well worth
politics this year is having less influence than in any Presidential
watching and nursing, and particularly as the opening of the
election year ever known.
Panama Canal will bring the leading trade centers so much nearer
As a matter of fact business men are no longer influenced by
the shipping ports of this country.
the superstition that a change of officials in Washington will under-
mine confidence or disturb settled conditions.
E have had occasion several times recently to refer in com-
Sometimes great issues, such as the money, or the tariff ques-
mendatory terms to the high class advertising campaign
tions, have done this in the past, but to-day the line of demarcation
carried on by the Aeolian Co. in the daily papers. It is along the
between the two leading political parties is not as clearly defined
line of interesting and educating the public to a new viewpoint on
as it was many years ago.
the Pianola piano, and the Pianola family of instruments generally,
Again, the attitude of the Government toward business in-
and of a character to dignify and uplift the industry. The latest
terests has not been over-sympathetic for the past seven years, and
advertisement of this character was that appearing above the
business men have learned to break away from traditions and
Aeolian Co.'s name in last Sunday's papers, and occupying almost
realize that their own affairs must be the first consideration and
a page, entitled, "Since Music Came." Written in colloquial style,
that politics must not dominate.
it tells the story of how music brought back the freshness, the life,
the eagerness, the spirit of youth to a gray-haired, plodding, mid-
Whatever the cause be the fact remains that there is a steady
dle-aged man, weighed down with business responsibilities and
betterment in business throughout the country and a feeling of
worry. It is an admirably written tale, and shows how the mar-
confidence that is most encouraging. This K combined with the
velous magic in music, through the Pianola, transformed a home
pleasing crop prospects following the favorable winter conditions
in the agricultural sections, have led piano manufacturers and mer- into one of joy, and a man into a new being with new aspirations,
new hopes and fortified with ambition for new conquests. It is
chants to look forward to a continuance and further development
of the improvement which is now in evidence in all parts of the quality advertising in the best sense of the word. It helps to dig-
nify not only the Aeolian Co.'s products, but the entire industry.
country, with a few exceptions in the Central West.
The impending strike of the coal miners has caused some con- It is a pleasing contrast to the rift of cheap, maudlin, degrading,
prize-gift publicity which has done so much to lower the music
cern to piano merchants throughout Pennsylvania, but there are
trade industry in the estimation of thinking people. Therefore,
abundant indications that the difficulties will be adjusted and that
hats off to the Aeolian Co. for its splendid work!
the men will resume work without resorting to a strike.
T
W
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE:
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Manufacturers' Refusal to Sell Certain Buyers
S
OME time ago 1 wrote an article for this series on "A Manu-
facturer's Right to Choose Whom He Will Sell." It dis-
cussed the cases which frequently arise, where a manufacturer,
when remonstrated with for not refusing to sell a cutter, or some
concern which in some other way is demoralizing the business of
the general trade, pleads that he would be glad to do so, but under
the law he had not the legal right. In the article in question I
expressed the unqualified opinion that there was nothing in this
contention, and that any manufacturer not engaged in a public
service business such as operating a railroad, telephone or tele-
graph, had an absolute right to sell or refuse to sell as he liked,
with or without a reason.
The subject being of vital importance to all lines of merchan-
dising, I received a great many letters about it, some of which I
answered publicly and others privately. The latest -letter, just re-
ceived, raises a point of sufficient importance to warrant a supple-
mental article being written upon it. It is from the executive clerk
of the National Association of Master Plumbers, who I understand
is himself a lawyer, and keeps in particularly close touch with all
court decisions which concern trade restrictions of any kind.
The phase of the question mentioned in the letter affects all
lines of trade just as intimately as it affects plumbing. That is
why I am discussing it in an article which goes to other lines. The
text is as follows:
"I now have an inclination to take issue with Mr. Buckley on
his recent article on 'Refusing to Sell Would-be Purchasers.'
The answer Mr. Buckley makes in this article is very true and the
same point has been directly brought up in the work of different'
association leaders. However, I think Mr. Buckley overlooked
one important question. The inquiry which he made the text of
his former article contained the following: 'When we meet with
or write to unfair manufacturers and jobbers about their misdeeds
they usually come back by saying they cannot refuse to sell any
dealer if they tender the money to pay for the goods.' There has
been considerable trouble from time to time caused by association
members or officers who meet with or write in protest to a house
which sells to someone outside of its legitimate field. This often
conveys a request not to sell, or in what is construed as a threat
if the sale is made. Then even the mild suggestion by the asso-
ciation member that some buyer should be refused because he is
outside the territory or for some other reason, amounts to a de-
mand or threat.
.
"Of course, by every decision handed down, the right to sell or
not, as he desires, is granted to every business man, but here is
where the trouble comes. If an agreement is made by the whole-
sale house, who receives a protest, not to sell some buyer as the
result of a request by a tradesman, it becomes a conspiracy and is
magnified when the promise is made by the manufacturer to some
member who is acting for an association. Little wonder is it, in
view of past experiences, that in many instances when the claim is
made by the wholesaler that he cannot refuse to sell, it causes dis-
trust on the part of those who do not take the trouble to inform
themselves fully upon the status on this matter in and out of the
courts, as it exists at the present time. Those who take a leading
part in all organized efforts have had trouble on this account, and
yet the rank and file of the members do not understand why it is
best that they have absolutely no correspondence or conversation
with wholesale houses on such a question.
"With the above explanation it may appear to Mr. Buckley
that though he answered the direct question in his former article,
he has not perhaps realized the real meaning of the inquiry or the
object of it, and in consequence it is more than possible that the
answer will get someone into trouble. This view of the matter is
brought up with the hope that Mr. Buckley can treat the matter
from another point of view, so as to save possible disagreeable ex-
periences to those who need some further light on the subject that
is directly applicable to their situation."
In the former article it was not my intention to consider any
phase of the subject except the right of a manufacturer to refuse
to sell individual concerns for some causes peculiar to themselves,
such as the habit of cutting. The point raised in the above letter
is quite different from that discussed in the first article; the latter
concerned itself only with the right of a manufacturer, not under
coercion, except such moral or practical coercion as comes from
the disposition to do that which will best serve the business, to refuse
to sell concerns who for any reason were objectionable. The point
raised in the above letter touches on conspiracy and restraint of
trade.
Now let us see about the latter. Consider three reasons which
a manufacturer might have for refusing to sell a given merchant.
First, he is a cutter, and persistently cuts the price of the manu-
facturer's product, thus tending to destroy his market because of
the disinclination of regular dealers to handle goods upon which
they cannot make a profit. As already explained, the manufac-
turer's right to refuse to sell such a concern cannot be questioned.
His own personal reason for refusing to sell, viz., continued de-
moralization of his own business, is absolutely sufficient from any
standpoint.
Second—He is alarge retailer rather than a jobber, although
he buys in jobbing quantities. An organization of jobbers makes
demands upon the manufacturer that he cease selling the given
merchant on that ground. The manufacturer's tendency is to sell
him. His orders are large, his credit good, and from him there
comes no business demoralization whatever. If left alone the
manufacturer would sell this man, but he knows that if he does
the organized jobbers will get after him and probably throw his
goods out. Therefore, he refuses to take any more of the large
retailer's orders, and the latter is compelled to buy through a jobber
and to pay an extra profit, being thus deprived of the advantage
of his large buying capacity.
Such a thing would "in my judgment be close to conspiracy,
although it is by no means clear that it is conspiracy, for the rea-
son that the manufacturer would have had at any time the right to
refuse to sell the retailer on his own account without pressure hav-
ing been brought to bear upon him by jobbers or anybody else.
Since he needs no reason at all, how can the fact that he had a
bad reason make his act illegal ?
However, I have always advised my own clients to stay as far
away from this sort of thing as possible. There is not the slightest
conspiracy in reasonably presenting to a manufacturer, however,
the fact that he is pursuing a course which is giving offence to a
large part of the factors who are distributing his product, leaving
him to draw his own inferences as to what will happen if he con-
tinues. Neither is there the slightest illegality in refusing to handle
his goods if he does continue. Nevertheless, the line between
legality and illegality in such cases is so faint that it is always better
to keep as far to the safe side as possible.
Third—He is outside a certain territory to which let us say
an organization of jobbers wishes the manufacturer to confine him-
self. The plan, for illustration, is to preserve each territory for
the concerns that lie within it, and a manufacturer is made aware
that if he oversteps the line he will be punished. If the result of
this is to unduly hold up prices and to compel a buyer within a
given territory to buy to less advantage than he could buy if he
were free to go anywhere, there is a much stronger flavor of con-
spiracy and restraint of trade than any instance I have previously
mentioned. I have no doubt that the persons who engineered such
a plan would be violating the law, although in their defence it
could still be argued that they have constrained no manufacturer
to do what he hadn't a perfect right to do anyway. In this third
case, however, the defence would have much less weight than in
the others. The safest plan, I repeat, is to keep as far away from
all such schemes as possible. Certainly until the law becomes more
settled upon it.—Copyright, April, 1912, by Elton J. Buckley.

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