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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
LEAVE ON EXTENDED TRIP.
Wm. R. Gratz, Off for the West, May Be Accom-
panied by Karl Fuchs.
William R. Gratz, president of the William R.
Gratz Import Co., 35 West Thirty-first street,
New York, will leave to-day for an extended trip
through the West. He will probably be accom-
panied on this trip by Karl Fuchs, of the promi-
nent band instrument house of Bohland & Fuchs,
Graslitz, Austria, whose products the William K.
Gratz Import Co. represents exclusively in this
country and Canada. Mr. Fuchs will return to
New York about the middle of next month, re-
turning to Europe shortly afterward.
"Business keeps up very well for this time of
the year," said Joseph Mock, secretary of the com-
pany. "All our lines, from harmonicas to band
instruments, are sharing in the general trade, and
the country as a whole seems to bo in an opti-
mistic mood. In the near future we expect to an-
nounce several additions to our various lines that
we are certain will meet with a ready sale through-
out the country, as they represent certain dis-
tinctive designs and innovations that the trade can
present to excellent advantage."
the use of the institution, concededly entitled to
the benefit of the law, and are not for sale. The
protest is therefore sustained.
CH. WEISS FORCES CELEBRATE
Thirtieth Anniversary of Taking Charge as
Head of the Prominent German Harmonica
House—Gifts of Gold for Employes.
Recent accounts in German magazines and news-
papers give details of the celebration that took
place at the W r eiss factories in Trossingen, Ger-
many, last week to commemorate the thirtieth an-
niversary of Ch. Weiss as head of the time-hon-
ored harmonica institution that bears his name.
Judging from all these accounts, the celebration
was a noteworthy one, and in every way befitting
the character and ability of the man in whose
honor it was given-.
A feature of the general celebration was the
gift by Ch. Weiss of a substantial sum in gold to
every man in the employ of the house for ten
years or more. One hundred and eight employes
participated in this distribution.
Hermann Weiss, manager of the American
The requirement in the new tariff law, which ap-
pears for the first time, that protests against classi-
fications of merchandise imposed by collectors of
customs, will only be forwarded to the Board of
United States General Appraisers for review, when
accompanied by a fee of $1 for each protest, is. it
was said this week, responsible for much confusion
and extra bookkeeping among merchants transact-
ing their Custom House business through brokers
or attorneys. The latter also make similar com-
plaints.
The larger firms of brokers and lawyers, after
preparing the appeals, notify their clients to for-
ward to them the amounts of the stated fees. An
attorney said yesterday that it happens frequently
that the importers dekty so long in making re-
mittance that protests are being rendered null and
void by not being filed within the thirty days al-
lowed by the law. It is estimated this week lhat
importers have already lost under the new law,
considerable sums in possible refunds h:*d tie i-s.ies
reached the lower tribunal. The validity of the im-
position of the protest fee will come up shortly
before the Court of Customs Appeals.
Ringing
PATENT REED CLAMP.
( Special to The Review.)
WASHINGTON, 1). C, February 8.—A reed clamp
for musical instruments is the invention of
George S. Ilershey, Spokane, Wash., patent No.
1,085,684 was granted him last week, and which
has for its primary object to provide advantageous
characteristics in that the pressure will ibe evenly
distributed over the reed, whereby the same
will be prevented from warping, in that the reed
will not come in contact with the metal of the
device, whereby the tone of the instrument will
not be impaired, but made truer and softer, in that
it need not be removed from the mouthpiece to
remove or replace the reed and in that the read
can be adjusted with facility on the mouthpiece
and very readily removed and replaced.
THe Genuine World Renowned
S. S. Stewart Banjos
Daily for thirty-five years, right up to the
present moment, orders for Stewart Banj OS
from all over America, from England, from Aus-
tralia, and many other countries, have been filled,
and enthusiastic satisfaction has been won in every
instance.
W e have said little of this of late, but is a
fact, nevertheless* and now we want to tell you
more about it.
The new Stewart factory is much larger—
more modern, and everything possible is being
done to insure perfection in every detail.
THe Stewart Quality is
as Honest as Ever
PEAL BELLSJCOME IN FREE.
Appraisers Call Change
Branch of Music.
branch, at 393 Broadway, New York, and a
son of Ch. Weiss, is at present away on an ex-
tended trip to the Coast. He reports generally
satisfactory business conditions, and has secured
substantial orders for the Weiss harmonicas and
Fluta all along the line.
EVER THE SAME
WHAT A DOLLAR DOES.
Failure to Remit It the Cause of Many Losses
to Importers.
General
51
a
The Perkins Institution and Massachusetts
School for the Blind won a victory over the cus-
toms authorities at Boston Monday, when the
Board of United States General Appraisers in this
city decided that peal bells imported by the insti-
tution for the instruction of its pupils in change
ringing are co have free entry under the tariff act
of 1909 as ''scientific apparatus."
The collector at Boston returned the bells as
"manufactures of metal," and exacted duty at the
rate of 45 per cent, ad valorem under the metal
schedule of the law. At the hearing in the case it
was conceded by Assitant Attorney General
Wemple, representing the Government, that the
school in question is one entitled to the benefit of
free entry for its apparatus. The Government's
objection was that instruction in bell ringing was
not an "encouragement of the fine arts" as speci-
fied in the law. Judge Hay in his decision said:
"The testimony shows that the eight tower bells
are to be used in this instiution for the blind for
the instruction of certain pupils in the art or
science of change ringing. We think from the
testimony and the literature upon the subject that
change ringing of bells, while not as universal, is
as much an art as any branch of music. They are,
therefore, useful and appropriate in teaching a
branch of the sciences and are intended to be used
as such. They were imported in good faith for
Stewart
"Thoroughbred"
No. 50.
The Stewart name is the standard of reference
among the musical public to-day. What does it
mean? Simply this—that the Stewart Banjo has
proved its quality so overwhelmingly, and for so
long, that it is now an undying word in the
music trade. If you do not at present stock the
Stewart, you will eventually. The Stewart is
the real, correct Banjo, and cannot be improved
upon. One may as well try to improve on the
Violin. For instance, the glorious old "Stewart
Thoroughbred," the greatest and most famous
Banjo made. The Banjo is becoming more
popular every day, and by stocking the Stewart
line you have one that everybody knows—one
that sells itself.
We have added many new specialties in the String line which will
be to your advantage to hear about.
Write for our catalog to-day
THE S. S. STEWART CO.
4 6 East 13th Street
New YorK City