Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1912 Vol. 54 N. 3

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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL - Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SPILLANE, Managing Editor
Executive and Reportorlal Stall:
GLAD. HENDBKSON, EUGENE C. MAYER, H. E. JAMASON, B. BKITTAIN WILSON, W. H. DYKES,
A. J. NICKLIN,
AUGUST J. TIMPE,
WM. B. WHITE,
L. E. BOWERS.
BOSTON OFFICE:
JOHM H. WILSON, 824 Washington St.
Telephone, Main 6950.
PHILADELPHIA:
R. W. KAUFFMAN.
CHICAGO OFFICE:
E. P. VAN HAKLINGEN, 37 South Wabash Ave.
Telephone, Central 414.
Room 806.
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL:
ST. LOUIS:
ADOLF EDSTEN.
CLYDE JKNNINGS
SAN FRANCISCO: S. H. GRAY, 88 First Street.
CINCINNATI, O.: JACOB W. WALTERS.
BALTIMORE. MD.: A. ROBERT FRENCH.
LONDON, ENGLAND: 1 Gresham Buildings, Basinghall St., E. C.
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madison Avenue, New York
Enttted at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
SUBSCRIPTION, (including postage), United States and Mexico, $2.00 per year; Can-
ada, $8.60; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $2.50 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising Pages, $76.00.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency forms, should be made payable to Edward
Lvroan Bill.
Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques-
tions of a technical nature relating to the tuning, reg-
ulating and repairing of pianos and player-pianos are
dealt with, will be found in another section of this
paper. We also publish a number of reliable technical works, information concerning
which will be cheerfully given upon request.
REVIEW
shame, openly attack in their publicity the fair name and fame
of our industry and would drag it down in the mire of fraud
and deception, to satisfy purely selfish aims. Of course, we are
not responsible for the methods of these merchants, but we are
responsible if we continue to retain them as members of the
National Association of Piano Merchants of America. Our
association has attained its majority and it is now time to act.
Have no fear, for 'truth is mighty and must prevail.' For every
offending member expelled from our association there will be
two new ones ready to join, ready to espouse and abet our
stand for the right."
Mr. Foster's remarks, which appear elsewhere, arc worthy
the closest and most serious consideration. They are the utter-
ances of a close student of trade conditions and of a sincere man
who has the interests of the industry at heart. He believes
that the objects of the association, which shall be "the promo-
tion and elevation of trade interests and the uniting for mutual
protection against trade abuses," shall not be an empty statement,
but be practiced by all members. People differ as to plans and
policies; each man has a right to conduct his business as he pleases,
but there must be a line of demarcation between wrong and
right in the industry, and it is a mockery to have an association
with members who do not believe in it.
E
XECUTIVE heads of two thousand corporations capitalized
at $1,000,000 or more arc to meet in New York early in
February to organize the Society for Promoting Efficiency. The
Player-Piano and
society is to be national. James G. Cannon, president of the Fourth
Technical Departments.
National Bank, is chairman of a provisional committee of one hun-
dred that has tentatively drafted a constitution describing the so-
ciety's object as "promoting efficiency in commercial and industrial
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
enterprises of all kinds." "Efficiency," as the society will use it,
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900
Silver Medal... Charleston Exposition, 1802
Diploma. ...Pan-American Exposition, 1901 Gold Medal
St. Louis Exposition, 1904
is merely another name for "scientific management." "Last sum-
Gold Medal
Lewis-Clark Exposition, 1905
mer," Mr. Cannon said, "a little group of men, students of the
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES-NUMBERS 4677 and 4678 GRAMERCY
Connecting all Departments.
growth of industrial plants from the small factory, with its hundred
Cable address - "Elblll. N e w York."
employes, to the trust with its thousands, were talking over the
causes for the unsettled state of affairs. They concluded that it
NEW YORK, JANUARY 20, 1912.
might be a good idea to get together the elements which enter into
industry, compare notes, cancel out the processes and methods and
systems which have not been satisfactory, and introduce in their
EDITORIAL
place more modern schemes of organization and management. We
want results not only satisfactory to owners, but results satisfactory
as
well to the working people, who, after all, are the element upon
TRONG and timely words were those uttered by President
which
success depends."
Foster, of the National Association of Piano Merchants
of America, at the meeting of the executive board held in New
According- to the preliminary announcement of the coming
York on Monday last in regard to the danger that threatens the
meeting, sent out by Mr. Cannon's committee, a great many men in
very integrity of the industry through what he terms "mislead-
various lines of business and in the business professions have come
ing, deceptive, and, in some cases, even criminal, methods of
to realize the necessity of formulating and standardizing systems
distribution."
of organizations and methods and principles of management.
Through the activities of private firms, of universities, of publica-
The conditions which Mr. Foster is combating are those
tions, and of various local associations much of this work has
which The Review has been vigorously fighting for many long
already been accomplished. "These efforts," says the committee,
years. It is true, as Mr. Foster says, that "a crisis is fast ap-
"have gone far enough to convince everyone who is familiar with
proaching in the affairs of our industry. The battle is between
them of the immense benefits that can be effected through the
honest and dishonest methods of distribution. The credit, dig-
application of order, system, and common sense to the investigation
nity, the very integrity of our noble trade, is at stake. There
and adoption of modern methods which, properly introduced, have
are many sides, many angles, many conditions to this complex
problem. Towering high above all other conditions, and the repeatedly demonstrated their efficiency and value."
only condition that I shall consider at this time, is that of mis-
leading, pernicious, fraudulent, and, in some instances, criminal
NE of the principal things that bankers and others interested
advertising. It is a waste of time to enter into any description
in the establishment of a modern system of financial business
of the many forms of these deceptive propositions; they are
in this country hope to get is something that Congress has set its
familiar to all; the misleading contest; the advertising of the face against for time out of mind—bank acceptances. As it stands,
old-time makes—the very life-savers of our trade—at injuriously
banks are forbidden to rediscount paper, though in every other
low prices, and not one word said about their having been used;
civilized country the rediscounting system is the bulwark of busi-
new pianos for $52.50 and even less, and a host of other schemes
ness. The Aldrich plan, if adopted, will permit banks to discount
to mislead the public, thereby throwing great discredit on our proper commercial paper, and then* instead of keeping their money
entire trade."
locked up in these securities, to take the paper to some other bank
In this connection Mr. Foster stated that members of the and borrow on it in turn. In this way the commercial banks will
association are to-day advertising along the lines above de-
be able, with no additional risk, to utilize their credit, supplying
scribed, and urges that in future such questionable advertisers, facilities over and over again, instead of only once, and business
after a fair warning has been given, be immediately expelled
will have a sound credit foundation on which to expand. When
from the organization. He says further: "There is really no
business is bad this additional credit will automatically contract,
other course to follow in order to retain our integrity. Under
since merchants will not increase their stocks of goods in the face
our new constitution it is impossible for us to harbor merchants
of depression, nor, by implication, their obligations. And the con-
who, actuated only by a sordid thirst for gain, without fear or
verse when business is good,
S
O
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
5
When Letters Sent to Debtors Become Libelous.
Some Points of Interest For Collection Departments of Piano Concerns—Wording of Letters Sent
Debtors of Exceeding Importance—The Vital Question is Whether Such Letters Have Been
"Published" in the Legal Sense, That Is, Dictated to a Stenographer, or Issued in Regular
Printed Form—If the Credit Man Writes With Pen or Typewriter a Letter Himself It Is Not
Libelous—Trouble Centers in the Communication Being Made Public—The Law Points
Involved Are of General Interest to the Members of the Piano Trade.
I
N one of the earliest articles in this series, and also in a much
later one, the law of libel and the misuse of the mails as it
applied to such business conditions as the use of collection let-
ters, the sending- of defamatory matter through the mails, and
so on; were discussed. The precise point covered by the fol-
lowing letter, was not, however, touched upon, and because it
reaches business men of all classes it is made the subject of this
article :
"We have been threatened with a lawsuit by a customer to
whom we recently wrote a sharp letter demanding payment of
an overdue account. It occurs to us to ask your judgment on
the point, which will also doubtless interest other business firms
whose hotheadedness may also run beyond the line of safety.
In our case the customer in question has been exceedingly
troublesome, and we have had to carry him ever since he first
opened an account with us. Recently he has been insolent and
at times abusive in his responses to our demands, and we have
a credit man who finds it hard to stand that from customers
whose accounts are delinquent nearly four months. He there-
fore wrote him a letter in which he made some very rash state-
ments concerning the customer's honesty, and expressed in plain
language the belief that the customer was getting ready to fail
and leave his creditors in the lurch, and that we did not propose
to be given any such treatment. It is this letter which the cus-
tomer, who has employed a lawyer, claims is libelous, and is
threatening to sue us about. We should be greatly interested
in having your opinion in the matter as to how we stand under
the law. The writer would say that our credit man is in the
habit of writing similar letters, which have in the past brought
in slow accounts, and he rather prides himself on his ability to
'get the money.' Since this experience, however, we are of
the opinion that we had better have some knowledge as to
'where we are at' before we follow that plan any further."
Whether the contents of this letter amounted to libel de-
pends on two factors: First, were the charges true? I need
only repeat what I said in former articles that if the charges
could be proven true, or it could be shown that the writer of
the letter was justified in making them and in believing them
true, no action will lie, because the truth of the charge is a com-
plete defense in actions in damages for libel.
The second factor is the mairt one in the case cited above.
It is this-—if the charges were not true, was the letter published
in the legal sense? There is, of course, no libel unless there has
been publication; in -fact, it is the publication of defamatory
statements to others that constitutes the libel, for A can write B
or tell him to his face the most outrageous falsehoods about his
character, and there will be no libel unless somebody read what
was written or heard what was said.
Now, was the credit man's letter published? If it followed
the usual course of business letters, and was dictated to a
stenographer, it was published under the great weight of au-
thority. If the credit man wrote it himself, either with pen or
typewriter, there was no publication, because nobody saw the
letter except the man who wrote it or the man who received it.
This is subject to a qualification, which will be explained
farther on.
If only one person beside the sender and receiver sees a
libelous letter, there is publication, under practically all cases
but one. The one exception is in New York State, but as this
correspondent is not located there, this case will hardly do him
much good. The New York case is interesting. The manager
of a corporation dictated to a stenographer a libelous letter upon
some matter of firm business. The corporation was sued for
libel, and the defense was that mere dictation to a stenographer
was not publication. And the court upheld this view, deciding
that where the person responsible for the libel, and the person
to whom the libel is said to have been published, were em-
ployes of a common master, and were engaged in performing
duties which their respective positions required, a stenographer
could not be considered a third person, therefore there was rio
publication.
This seems the more reasonable view, but it is not generally
held. The gist of an action in damages for libel is that the
publication of a libel among other persons, necessarily damaged
the injured party's reputation with them. The New York de-
cision was probably based on the theory that where a stenog-
rapher takes a letter about a man she may neither have seen
nor heard of, the chance of damage to his reputation with her,
is extremely remote, as she probably never gave the matter a
second thought.
Nevertheless, most courts hold that dictating a letter to a
stenographer is publication. I feel quite sure, if this letter was
first dictated to a stenographer, then went through the hands of
clerks or copyists, all of whom could read it or were obliged, in
the course of their duties to read it, that the letter was published
in a legal sense and that damages could be recovered on that
ground, providing again that the charges it contained were un-
true.
!
There may also have been publication on the other end for
which the sender of this letter would be held responsible. It is
well established that when a man sends a libelous letter out into
the world, even though it is directed solely to the person libeled,
he is liable—because he put it into circulation—for any damages
arising from other persons seeing it, provided their seeing it is
the natural consequence of the original act of sending it. If,
however, the recipient of the letter needlessly shows it to other
persons the original sender is not responsible.
Let me illustrate the difference between these two contin-
gencies, for it is important. Suppose a case in which A is
trading under his own name as a retail dealer. B is his silent
partner, and has provided practically all the money in the busi-
ness. C sends a libelous letter to A regarding A's honesty and
good faith, addressing it to A personally. B is in the office
after the letter is received, sees it lying on the desk with other
firm mail and reads it. He at once withdraws his support from
A and A fails. Here C is undoubtedly responsible for all of the
damages done by the publication of his letter to B, for B's see-
ing it was a natural and probable consequence.
Take another case, however. C sends the libelous letter to
A, and A, beside himself with rage, shows it without the slight-
est reason, to a number of outsiders. He later sues C and
attempts to claim damages by reason of publication to these
persons. The courts would inevitably hold here that C was
not responsible for A's showing of the letter, because it was not
a natural consequence of the original sending of the letter.—r
l
Copyright, January, 1912, by Elton J. Buckley.

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