Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
BIRCH COMING JNTO ITS OWN.
Should Never Have Been Substituted for Ma-
,. hogany or Cherry—HE.S SO Many Merits Pe-
!j culiar to Itself—Some Pertinent Comments.
' Bircli should never have been substituted for
mahogany or cherry. It should have stood on its
own merit from the first. It is not a second-place
wood, not an apology for or a substitute for any-
thing. While it may be a compliment to birch that
it has passed as mahogany for a hundred years,
the time for compliments of that kind is now over,
and the day is not distant when no one will wish
to conceal real birch behind the false claim that it
is a tropical wood. Without detracting one iota
from the genuine worth of mahogany, it can be
stated that birch possesses certain qualities which
are superior to mahogany. It is stronger. It
stands strains which would snap the tropical wood.
It cannot be truthfully asserted that in beauty of
grain when properly finished birch goes ahead of
mahogany, because it does not—no wood does.
But in combining strength and beauty it ranks
above mahogany. It takes finishes which no ma-
hogany has ever yet received.
It is not necessary to claim for birch that it is
superior as a furniture and finish wood to all
others in America, says the Hardwood Record.
There are other extremely high grade cabinet
woods in this country, and all that need be claimed
for birch is that it ranks with the best of them.
It is strong, hard, stiff, takes fine polish, responds
remarkably well to the application of stains and
fillers, and if a figured wood is wanted, selected
birch supplies it. All of the qualities of a superb
cabinet material are here. It is no experiment. It
has held its place and gained ground from the
first, and it has reached a point where it is able
to stand on its own merits and against all comers,
either domestic or foreign. This claim extends to
lower as well as to the best grades of highly col-
ored and finely figured stock. Birch fills plebeian
as well as aristocratic places; it is the camp stool
as well as the rocker; the bed slat as well as the
carved legs of the grand piano. It is fit for nearly
every part and class of woodwork. It detracts
nothing from its long and honorable reputation to
know that excavations have shown that the ter-
41
rible war chariots of the Assyrians, with scythe
blades on the hubs and spears on the ends of the
poles, were made of birch—rims, hubs, spokes,
axles, poles and body. Then why hide the identity
of ibis splendid wood under aliases and disguises?
DUTY ON ALUMINUM.
All
in Form of Sheets or Strips Must Pay
20 Per Cent. According to New Order.
We're here to
do your bid-
ding and are
at your serv-
ice.
The Treasury Department,- with a view to uni-
formity in the assessment of aluminum products,
has notified Collector Malone that these products
should after the expiration of thirty days be re-
turned for duty under the present tariff at the rate
of ~!0 per cent, ad valorem as manufactures of
aluminum. Recently, when a mixed importation
arrived at this port and was classified, the depart-
ment decided to make x. construction applicable to
this line of imports.'
Summarizing the results of the investigation and
the authorities, Assistant Secretary Malburn says:
"In view of these decisions the department is of
the opinion that aluminum in the form of sheets
or strips, even though not cut to size, if in fact
T
foil, is subject to duty as manufacture of alumi-
num. I 1 or the puipose of such classification you
NEW YORK
will consider aluminum in the form of either
sheets of strips not more than .0015 of an inch and
not less than .0003 of an inch in thickness as foil,
SUBSTITUTE FOJTRUBBER TUBING.
and will assess duty on such merchandise imported
or withdrawn from warehouse thirty days from
Successful attempts have recently Ixen made to
date at the rate of 20 per cent, ad valorem as man- manufacture a substiute for rubber tubing out of
ufactures of aluminum undr Paragraph 1U7."
masses of solidified glue, says the Scientific Amer-
ican These tubes, whose trade name is Sonjatin,
are even better than those of rubber for certain
FIRE IN PIAN0_LEG PLANT.
purposes, since they arc more impervious to gases
(Special to The Review.)
WESTFIELD, MASS., August 2.—A fire in the piano and more resistant to heat. It is also claimed that
leg factory of Beckwith Bros, on Meadow street, they do not grow rotten so quickly as rubber and
last week caused a loss of several thousand dol- that when encased 111 a suitable envelope they will
lars in lumber and finished stock before it was withstand high pressure.
extinguished. The blaze is believed to have been
due to spontaneous combustion. The lumber
HELPING NEW YORK COMMERCE.
burned was all kiln dried and expensive.
Thanks to the prompt action of the Merchants'
Association, New York City's commerce will not
Raphael Fassett, for a number of years con- be forced to bear the added burden of advanced
rates by the railroads for lighterage and storage
nected with the piano trade in Chicago in various
charges.
The Interstate Commerce Commission
capacities and recently engaged in the manufacture
of art piano cases in that city until forced by ill has sustained in all important details the associa-
tion's protest against the new rates to go into
health to give up business, died last week at Point
Peasant, N. J., where he had gone for the benefit effect on November 1. It is estimated that the
saving to shippers and receivers of freight here
of his health.
will run into hundreds of thousands of dollars a
year.
REPORTS IMPROVING BUSINESS.
This is well. The commission ruled that a charge
Steadily improving business is the rej ort from
by the railroads of 1- cents a ton for loading or
the factory of the Staib-Abendschein Co., l.'Mth
unloading lighters at other than railroad piers or
street and Brook avenue, New York The demands
vessels would be gro sly unfair. Likewise it dis-
for the Mastertouch action from manufacturers is
approved the minimum charge of $•! for lightering
very large volume of business this fall.
less than carload lots, a fixed rate of .'? cents per
hundredweight being allowed. As the New York
Mail says, there were other similar rulings pre-
venting
unwarranted taxation of the traffic of this
The Census Bureau places the value of manu-
factured products in this country at $14,<>9:5,8 cramped dock facilities and the high cost of local
most gratifying, and they are looking forward tn a
business operation. It is time conditions were
"I am passionately fond of music," said the bore. remedied.
"In fact, music always carries me away."
The girl hastened to the piano and played several
popular airs; then she swung round on the piano
stool.
"You still here?" she queried. "1 thought you
said music carries you away."
"So I did—music !"—Transcript.
C.EG0EPEL*C0
137 E A S T I3 -? ST.
DEATH OF RAPHAEL FASSETT.
PRODUCTS OF THE FACTORIES.
The Ohio Veneer Co.
INVISIBLE
HINGES
"OUT OF SIGHT
EVER IN MIND"
CINCINNATI, O.
When you fail
to see an un-
sightly hinge
protruding
you know
SOSS is the
answer.
Importers a n d Manufacturers of
Figured Mahogany, Circassian Wal-
nut and Foreign Woods for high-
grade piano cases and cabinets.
New York Office and Sample Room
Grand Central Palace Building
Write to.day.
Lexington Ave. and 46th St.
G. H. VAUGHAN, Eastern Representative
4 3 5 Atlantic Ave.
BROOKLYN, N. Y.
SOSS MFG. O.