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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Shavings From the Workbench
T
HE campaign for piano prospects which is now being pur-
sued in Brooklyn by a Chicago piano manufacturer, with a
retail adjunct in New York, is certainly a strenuous one. Re-
cently women have been invited to call at a certain address in
Brooklyn in response to an advertisement which sets forth that
ladies having time at their disposal can make money "at a light,
pleasant occupation." This "occupation," as revealed on inquiry,
is to Call upon people at their residences in Brooklyn and offer
them a chance of winning free tuition by participating in a prize
for a three months' course of instruction on the pianoforte at a
certain school of music in Brooklyn which is controlled by the
piano house. Women are selected for the different localities ac-
cording to their appearance and intelligence. This offer, however,
while correct as far as it goes, is only a "blind," to use the ver-
nacular, the object of the call being to find out whether or not the
lady of the house has, or has not, a piano, and whether it is an old
one. The results of the call are entered in a book—but only after
the solicitor leaves the house—and conveyed to headquarters each
evening. From one or two of those who tried this work The
Review has learned that this means of getting information about
"prospects" is proving fairly satisfactory, and judging from the
large number of women who are visiting the trade in Brooklyn
the old puzzle contest scheme will be soon eclipsed as a means of
stimulating interest in the line of pianos offered by the institution
back of the scheme. It is evidently hard to get away from the
"prize" idea!
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N the book trade recently an active agitation has been under
way with the object of spreading the publishing business over
the entire year instead of having "seasons" as at present. As a
matter of fact the idea of ''seasons" in the book trade or in the
piano trade is largely a superstition. For the last few years the
piano trade has been steadily getting away from this idea of "sea-
sons" and the old plan of waiting and working for a big fall or
Christmas trade has been dissipated, for nowadays as large a
business is done after the holidays as before. In other words, busi-
ness is spreading well over the entire year instead of being concen-
trated as in past years, and as it is to-day in the book trade, in
certain months, or a limited period. For the past two summers
many large retail piano concerns have relegated the fetish of sea-
sons to oblivion, and have put out an active force of men soliciting
trade, and the results were surprisingly good. It is noticeable that
the Aeolian Co. never ceases its efforts for trade. This is evident
in its publicity, which continues uninterruptedly summer and win-
ter. This policy would not be pursued unless it were profitable,
and it only emphasizes the feeling which is now steadily growing
that business is to be had at all times of the year if it is properly
followed up.
it * H
HERE are some men for whom the impossible is a finality.
There are others to whom it is merely an opportunity.
There are men who are remarkably prolific in their demonstrations
that certain desirable things cannot be done. There are other men
who go straight forward and do them. There is no good thing
which cannot be proved impossible. If one is to reckon with mere
probabilities he will easily content himself with mediocrity. The
fine achievements of the world have been wrought out by those
who have despised the proof of the impossible. In this connection
William E. Barton gives the following illustrations: "A trusted
general was facing a Congressional committee in Washington and
telling them why he had not been able to capture Fort Fisher. It
was General Benjamin F. Butler; and on this January day, 1865,
he was demonstrating by means of charts and other documentary
evidence that Fort Fisher could not be taken by assault. Most of
his hearers doubtless were thoroughly convinced; General Butler
had tried it and failed; General Butler said it could not be done;
General Butler had proved the impossibility of capturing the fort
I
T
by assault. But when a few moments later these very men passed
out into the rotunda of the Capitol they encountered a newspaper
boy with an extra edition of the daily newspapers. Fort Fisher
had been captured. It had been captured by assault. The thing
which General Butler had proved impossible another general went
to work and did. When Stephenson outlined his plan for the loco-
motive an eminent scientific man proved, so he thought, by a mathe-
matical demonstration that no locomotive could ever round a curve
at greater speed than four miles an hour. But Stephenson went
straight ahead with his locomotive—and there are railroads which
are not perfectly straight and the locomotives do not always fly
the track in rounding the curves. When it was proposed to
send a steamship across the Atlantic a scientific man demon-
strated to an old British society that the power required lor the
propelling of any possible craft through 3,000 miles of water would
require a coal capacity greater than that of the entire tonnage of
the ship. But while he was working out his demonstration a steam-
ship actually crossed the ocean and tied up at the docks, with some
of its coal still in her bunkers and a good deal of a cargo besides."
. * * *
HE traveling men, or, to give them their full title, ambassa-
dors of trade, are now figuring in a national way like our
popular ex-President, Col. Roosevelt. A, little while ago they
issued a pronunciamento against tipping in hotels; they then took
up the weighty subject of bed sheets, claiming that they should be
much longer than those now in general use, which suggestion will
doubtless receive distinguished consideration. And now with a view
of being in line for the coming Presidential campaign the travel-
ing man is not desirous of figuring as one of the disfranchised.
One of the fraternity puts the case as follows: "Thousands of
commercial traveling men, who are property owners, taxpayers,
and in every sense of the word eligible to cast a ballot, but duty-
bound, are hundreds of miles away from home on election day, are
barred from the polls. Some plan might be devised whereby these
worthy and intelligent American citizens could cast their votes,
particularly on National issues, and it looks reasonable to presume
that, through legislation, credentials could be furnished them by
the authorities in the home town and precinct, to be surrendered at
the polls on election day anywhere on American soil." This sug-
gestion is along the right lines and there is no reason in the world
why the interests of the men whose business it is to make trade
should not be safeguarded around election time.
T
•t
it it
N idea of the business growth of the United States may be
gleaned from the fact that the Government Bureau of En-
graving and Printing delivered 10,131,069,000 perfect postage
stamps during the last fiscal year. The paper required for this
work amounted to 1,000,000 pounds, and to make this paper 4,000
large pine trees were ground to a pulp. Had these trees been con-
verted into lumber, 75 well appointed bungalows could have been
built. The paper itself would make an edition of 3,000,000 twelve-
page seven-column newspaper. As the stamps were printed from
intaglio-engraved plates in which the entire surface is covered with
ink and wiped with a cloth that leaves the ink only in the engraved
lines, the amount of ink required was 387,500 pounds. But only
10 per cent, of this was actually applied to the stamps, the balance
being wiped off. The gum on the back of the stamps is made by
scientifically roasting the highest grade of tapioca starch such as
is used for making pudding, and as 325,000 pounds were used, all
of the inhabitants of a large city would have been given their fill
of tapioca pudding for one meal with the material used. The
sheets of 100 stamps each, as sent to the post offices, piled upon
each other, would make a shaft over 6 miles high, and placed end
to end would make a strip 15,000 miles long; and as there are ten
rows of stamps in each sheet, a strip of single stamps would be
150,000 miles long, and would girdle the earth six times, with
something over.
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