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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
REVIEW
PUBLISHED BY THE ESTATE OF EDWARD LYMAN BILL
(C. L. BILL, Executrix.)
J. B. SPILLANE, Editor
J. RAYMOND BILL, Associate Editor
AUGUST J. TIMPE
Business Manager
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A. J. NICKI.IN,
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Player-Piano and
Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques-
tions of a technical nature relating to the tuning, regu-
lating and repairing of pianos and player-pianos are
dealt with, will be found in another section of this
paper.
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which will be cheerfully given upon request.
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NEW Y O R K , F E B R U A R Y
19, 1916.
EDITORIAL
O
NE of the indications of the existence of prosperity through-
out the country generally is the presence in New York of a
greater number of buyers than has ever been noted before. These
men. coming from all parts of the United States, tell a uniformly
encouraging story of substantial improvement in business condi-
tions in each locality represented. There are a few sections where
business, after a long period of depression, has not yet returned
to normal, but even in these instances conditions are growing better
all the time.
Buyers do not "buy" for their houses, unless they are assured
that there will be an outlet for the stock they purchase. The great
army of buyers at present busily engaged in purchasing stock of
every conceivable sort for the coming spring and summer trade are
assured that the purchasing power of the community served by
their store will be higher than it was last year, otherwise the enor-
mous supplies being laid in now would mean serious financial em-
barrassment, if not bankruptcy.
While the purchasing power of the dollar has decreased during
the past few years, to-day the great mass of citizens in the United
States have more dollars with which to purchase than they have
had for some time. The piano industry is entitled to its just share
of the increased purchasing which will mark the present year. The
, live dealer, awake to the possibilities of his field, can greatly in-
| crease his trade by giving a little more intelligent effort to the task
of securing new business. The manufacturer stands ready to sup-
ply the increased demand which will necessarily come from the
> dealer—provided orders are placed in a reasonable time. If the
question of advanced prices is speedily and satisfactorily settled,
without cutting down any of the standards of quality, the music
| trade industry may expect a business during 1916 which will far
; exceed all previously established records.
T
H E name inventor appeals to different persons in various ways.
Some venerate and envy the inventor: others dream of some
day having the inventor's fame, and not a few men with splendid
creative designing ability abhor the word and all it implies. Is this
contempt on the one hand and admiration on the other explained
by the old saying, "Familiarity breeds contempt." or is there some
other reason? In answer, may not the mistaken idea be the rea-
son—that inventing is supposed to be the work of a genius instead
of a job that a man can do successfully if he is properly trained
for it?
If inventing can be considered a prosaic science instead
of an attribute of genius, this stigma will at once be removed, and
there will be the accompanying advantage of a firm foundation
upon which to build up yet greater achievements for industry and
human comfort. From the dreams and deceptions of alchemy
came out the modern science of chemistry. As a writer in the
American aptly puts it: Cannot a science of inventing come out
of the present chaotic conditions, with their inefficiency and wasted
effort? We would not expect anyone to solve a problem in higher
mathematics without a previous knowledge of mathematical
science. We require a chemist to be a man with a knowledge of
the fundamentals of the science that he uses.
Invention, successful invention, is thought. Goethe gives us
this sentence: "What is invention ? It is the end of seeking."
Yet by our actions and sayings we imply that anyone at any time
can take up this creative work and carry it on successfully. Thou-
sands of worthless inventions, hundreds of wasted lives and
millions of misspent money show the fallacy of our assumption.
Must this continue? Cannot we conserve our inventive resources
as well as our physical resources? Can we not have a science of
inventing based upon fundamental axiomatic principles of mechan-
ism? Can we not lay down a synthetic method of procedure
whereby a designer can easily and surely build up a mechanism to
meet the conditions of his problem? We believe all this is entirely
possible.
It is not an easy science to investigate and put into words, for a
painstaking analysis must be made of the thought process by which
an invention is evolved. The advantages from the use of such a
science do not need to be detailed. But instead of lessening the
interest of the inventor in his work it will increase it, for he will be
sure of all of the steps of his reasoning and of his final result. He
will make fewer mistakes and fewer false moves. His superior
method of attack will permit the solving of problems now con-
sidered impossible.
IANO manufacturers who have been giving intelligent atten-
tion to the development of their export trade report a steadily
expanding business. This is a field that cannot be entered lightly,
for, if we are to meet successfully the trade competition to which
our manufacturers will be subjected when peace is restored in
Europe, it will be necessary to adopt the most efficient methods.
As Dr. E. E. Pratt, Chief of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic
Commerce pointed out the other day, the information received at
headquarters in Washington from representatives stationed in Eng-
land, Germany and France was to the effect that these countries
were going ahead with plans for foreign trade despite the great
war. In order that American business men interested in the export
trade may meet this international competition, Dr. Pratt insisted
that they must discard antiquated methods, whether in manufacture
or selling, and make efficiency the keynote of their campaign.
In urging efficiency in the American export trade, Dr. Pratt
is taking into full consideration the practically inevitable rise in the
cost of production by the leading industrial nations of the old world.
On this point he said:
\
"I do not agree with those who are predicting that we are about
to enter upon a period of ferocious competition on the part of the
industrial countries of Europe which will sweep away from the
American manufacturers their gains made since the outbreak of the
war. On the contrary, I hold that in all probability manufacturing
costs in Europe will be higher than they have been in the past and
that, except for certain lines where the strength of the European
manufacturers has been overwhelming and where 'dumping' may
be possible, our foreign competitors will not be in a position to wage
a cut-throat competition. There can be little doubt, however, that
at the end of the war we shall enter upon a period of spirited com-
petition for world trade.
"In view of these facts it certainly behooves American manu-
facturers to support and co-operate with the Government in every
P