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THE
DINNER OF PHILADELPHIA TRADE
At the Bellevue-Stratford on Saturday Night an
Enjoyable Event—At Business Meeting Pre-
ceding Leopold Bellak Was Elected Presi-
dent—G. C. Ramsdell Presided as Toast-
master—No Set Speeches.
(Special to The Review.)
Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 13, 1912.
The Philadelphia Piano Trade Association held
its annual banquet at the Bellevue-Stratford on
Saturday evening last. The members of the asso-
ciation began assembling in one of the parlors of
che hotel shortly after 6 o'clock and they held a
business meeting at which the officers for the
coming year were elected as follows: President,
Leopold Bellak; vice-president, Albert C. Wey-
mann; secretary, G. Dunbar Shewell; treasurer,
Patrick J. Cunningham, and board of directors, G.
C. Ramsdell, A. Yon Bernuth and George Miller.
By 7 o'clock the guests began to assemble and
shortly afterwards they were ushered into the
handsome red room of the hotel, where the supper
was served at about a half dozen large tables. Not
very much formality was observed, and before the
dining began a photographer took a picture of the
party.
The menu was printed on the sounding board
of a piano and was a unique and very much ap-
preciated idea. It was as follows:
MENU.
Martini Cocktail
Cotuit Oysters Celery
Cream of Fresh Mushrooms
Salted Almonds
Relishes
Pecan Nuts
Liebfraumilch
Kingfish Saute Bellevue
Ruimart
Pere et Fils
Brut
Tenderloin of Beef au Madere
Sweet Potatoes Imperial
Spinach with Eggs
Cigarettes
White Mint Punch
Philadelphia Royal Squab
Romaine Salad
Camembert and Roquefort Cheese
Toasted Crackers
Burnt Almond Pudding
Cigars
Fancy Cakes
Coffee
President G. C. Ramsdell acted as toastmaster
and was seated at the table at the west end of the
room, with ex-Governor Hon. William Bunn, presi-
dent of the Philadelphia Clover Club, to his left,
and next to Governor Bunn was James G. Rams-
dell. To his right sat G. Washington Logue. J.
H. Estey, president of the National Association ot
Piano Manufacturers, was to have been present,
but he telegraphed his regrets. Hon. D. Clarence
Gibboney, the noted Philadelphia reformer, who
was also down for a speech, was also unavoidably
absent.
The following firms and their guests were rep-
resented : James Bellak's Sons, Charles Bellak,
Leopold Bellak and E. S. Workman ; F. A. North
& Co., George Miller, G. Lawrence Miller, Henry
Miller, John Miller, H. P. Riedel and O. R. Trefs;
Estey Piano Co., D. F. Woolley, H. C. Schoeppy,
F. Nevin Wiest, Eldorus Hurff, W. H. Wilson, W.
H. Parker., L. J. Parker, R. E. Watrous and C. S.
Woolley; Cunningham Piano Co., P. J. Cunning-
ham, Charles Moss, Herman Cotter, John Heaton,
Joseph C. Cox and William Henry Wilson; Henry
F. Miller Co., G. Dunbar Shewell, Harry N. Mc-
Dade, and Mr. Shewell had as his guest F. J.
Heppe; N. Stetson & Co., A. Von Bermuth,
Chauncey de Long, Luke H. Moore and John C.
Schreiber; Painter & Ewing was represented by
L. K. Ewing; Blasius & Sons, by Oscar Blasius;
H. A. W T eymann & Sons, by A. C. and H. W.
Weymann; Myers F. Hall, by M. F. Hall and
Alonzo P. Ackley; Jameson-Allen Co., by H. A.
Jameson; Thomas A. Patten Piano Co., by Wil-
liam A. Patten; Rudolph Wurlitzer Co., by Henry
von Steinert, and the other guests were the repre-
sentatives of the various trade papers in Philadel-
phia.
A very entertaining musical program was given
at intervals during the dinner, consisting of solos,
quartets, imitations and 'cello solos.
At the conclusion of the dinner Toastmaster
Ramsdell introduced as the first speaker his father,
James G. Ramsdell, ex-candidate for Congress and
a brilliant Philadelphia dinner wit, as well as the
dean of the Philadelphia piano trade at present.
There were no specified subjects upon which the
speakers were to touch, and the speakers gen-
• erally resorted rather to delightful repartee than
MUSIC TRADE
0
REVIEW
to anything pertaining to the trade. The glories of
our country, the divine goddess of music, the
American flag upon which the sun—nor the moon
either, for that matter—never sets, all came in for
their full share of attention.
Mr, Ramsdell was followed by Mr. Bunn. He
gave a most flowery speech such as had never be-
fore been heard at a piano banquet. His delivery
is eloquent. He knows how to do it, for he is
acknowledged to be the best in Philadelphia in that
line. For a considerable part of it he held his
hand gently on the top of his friend Ramsdell's
head, who sat beside him, and if there is anything
in thought transmission this must have been an in-
spiration, for one mind, however great, could
hardly have evolved all the eloquence that the
Governor cast to his attentive listeners for about
fifteen minutes.
George Washington Logue provided another
brilliant oratorical effort. He dallied with prac-
tically every patriotic sentiment that could be
conceived. He has a commanding voice and forces
his eloquence right from the shoulder and with
telling effect. F. J. Heppe spoke briefly, as did also
John Schreiber, M. F. Hall, G. D. Shewell, P. J.
Cunningham, D. E. Woolley and L. M. Ide, who
had come over from New York to attend the ban-
quet.
Not any of the speeches developed anything that
would be of particular interest to piano men at
large. Mr. Cunningham was in his happiest vein
and not only told many things worth telling, and
told them well, but introduced his usual little story
with good effect.
Mr. Woolley, who was the last speaker, noted
that this was the fifteenth annual banquet and that
he had been present at all of them, and he thought
he was justified in saying that this was the most
enjoyable of any banquet that the association had
yet given.
MAY BE FINED $1,500,000.
Corporations Who Failed to File Reports Are
Subject to That Penalty.
Complaints against Io3 corporations of Brooklyn
and Long Island for failing to send the'r annual
reports for the year 1910 to the Internal Revenue
Collector were filed Monday in the United States
District Court, Brooklyn. The corporations had
until March 1, 1011, to file these reports, which the
government needs in order to determine the federal
corporation tax.
The offending corporations have twenty days to
file answers. If they are convicted the corpora-
tions are liable to fines ranging from $1,000 to
$10,000. In these cases the government might col-
lect penalties approximating $1,500,000.
The cases will be tried before Judges Veeder
and Chatfield at the end of this month.
NEW COTE PURCHASE.
Fall River Industry Adds Gilbert Piano Co. to
Properties Already Controlled.
(Special to The Review.)
Fall River, Mass., Feb. 13, 1912.
Edmond Cote, head of the Cote Piano Manu-
facturing Co., has just completed arrangements for
the purchase of the entire business of the Gilbert
Piano Co., of this city, which includes machinery,
stock in process of construction and good will, al!
of an estimated value of $40,000. It is stated that
the policy of the Gilbert Piano Co. will not bo
changed and that the heads of the various depart-
ments will be retained under the Cote manage-
ment. The new deal is the fourth of a similar
character that Mr. Cote has put over within a
little over a year, the previous purchases being the
business of the Corl Piano Co., the Henderson-
Bowen Co. and the manufacturing rights of the
Prescott Piano Co.
NO.
SEVEN.
Worth
Thinking
Over!
It is easy to make certain state-
ments concerning any piano.
Of course it is, but the next thing
is to live up to those statements and
you can rest assured that every state-
ment made concerning the Bjur Bros,
piano can be demonstrated beyond
power of argument.
Jn truth it has earned all of the
good things which have been said con-
cerning it.
It is surprising how it has grown
in popularity with the small dealers.
We say small dealers. We do not
nean by that that the larger ones look
upon it with dislike.
Not that; but it is known that
among the small dealers are many
who are thoroughly practical—who
do their own tuning—who do their
own selling—who know a piano from
the ground up, and to such men the
Bjur Bros, piano appeals with force-
fulness and directness.
Why ?
Because it has been made by piano
makers—iren who have devoted a
lifetime to piano building.
They are not retailers—they are
just manufacturers and they have
stuck to this side of the business so
that it may be said they are in truth
experts and when you place a Bjur
Bros, piano before a practical man
who knows what piano work is in
every particular you will find that in-
variably he will say: "That is a piano
—it is not a makeshift—it is a perfect
instrument."
Now, these are facts worth think-
ing over.
PIANO DEALER BANKRUPT.
John D. Wilde, a piano dealer of Ripon, Wis.,
has filed a petition of bankruptcy, giving his liabil-
ities as $2,789.59 and assets as $1,625.
2572-2574 Park Avenue, New York.
ESTABLISHED 1887.