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14
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
JUNE 8, 1918
CONVENTION OF THE NATIONAL PIANO MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIATION—(Continued from page 13)
dent Wilson's justification for the action taken,
states:
"A great national necessity dictated the ac-
tion, and I was, therefore, not at liberty to ab-
stain from it."
Steadily rising costs of fuel, steel, equipment
and other necessities to the maintenance of the
properties, the demands of organized labor for
increased compensation, the difficulties of ob-
taining additional capital, the supreme require-
ments of our military and naval organizations,
and the legal barriers to the attainment of more
efficient operation, are among the abnormal con-
ditions, which combined to produce a situation
requiring radical treatment.
One of the first actions of the new adminis-
tration was the prohibition of shipments to New
York City, unaccompanied by a special permit,
issued by the freight traffic committee at that
port. This was dictated by the necessity of con-
trolling in some measure the enormous volume
of domestic and foreign freight destined to that
port, far in excess of the capacity of the ter-
minals, and blockading the rails of the trunk
lines for hundreds of miles into the interior; a
condition unrelieved by the practice of some
shippers delaying unloading cars consigned to
them.
To discourage this practice, the Di-
rector General on January 5, 1918, caused to be
issued Order No. 3, directing the cancellation
of existing demurrage tariffs, and the substitu-
tion of a demurrage charge of $3 for the first
day, $4 for the second day, and for each suc-
ceeding additional day the charge to be in-
creased $1 until a maximum charge of $10 per
car per day should be reached; that to be the
charge for the eighth day of detention, and every
day or fraction of a day thereafter. The contem-
poraneous cancellation of the average agree-
ment, and the abrogation of the bunching rule,
and weather tolerance, all combined to make the
new tariff so drastic as to cause a storm of pro-
tests, resulting in immediate reconsideration,
and the promulgation of the present modified
demurrage schedule.
Following this came the proposal to assess
a charge of $3 per car on all cars destined to
private or industrial sidings. Representations
promptly made to the Director General called
attention to the discriminatory nature of any
such assessment, and your committee believes
that upon mature consideration the unwisdom
of indulging in discrimination will become ap-
parent. It is, however, probable that in the dis-
tribution of equipment some measures will be
taken to discriminate against those shippers who
persistently utilize the present inadequate trans-
portation facilities for storage purposes, and
your traffic manager is now collecting data for
the purpose of demonstrating to the authorities
that our industry appreciates the situation, our
members exerting themselves to unload and re-
load, or release cars immediately upon receipt.
The action of the railroad administration in
placing orders for one hundred thousand addi-
tional freight cars, and over one thousand new
locomotives, was timely and has met with uni-
versal approval. It is hoped that a large part
of this new equipment will be available for serv-
ice next winter, although no assurance that it
will be has been given.
The Question of Rate Increases
In respect to classification and rates your
committee recognized the obvious necessities of
the carriers for higher traffic rates, and accord-
ingly adopted the policy for opposing only those
increases in rates and classification involving
discrimination against our products, and ac-
quiescing in such increases as were spread alike
upon all traffic, and in which our goods bear only
their proper proportion thereof.
Regarding the trans-continental readjustment,
of which you are advised, this is of a transi-
tory or temporary character, and will unques-
tionably have to be dealt with again in the near
future. But under the orders of the Interstate
Commerce Commission the carriers had no op-
tion but to break up the blanket system of rates
which they had maintained for so many years,
and desired to continue, and apply higher rates
at the Pacific Coast destinations than at the
intermediate points, and also extend the appli-
cation of this principle to points of origin. The
commission itself recognized the exceedingly
temporary character of this arrangement, but
felt that the law could bear no other interpreta-
tion, and they were, of course, bound to respect
it. Aside from this, no radical departures from
existing rates have been proposed, although your
committee have been represented at conferences
of the different rate committees.
There is, however, one matter of capital im-
portance, which we think it is essential to em-
E. S. Conway, Chairman, Freight Committee
phasize, and that is the order of the railroad
administration appointing a committee composed
of the chairmen of the several classification
committees, with instructions to wind up the
work upon which the uniform classification com-
mittee has been engaged for several years in the
past. This is doubtless with a view to reducing
the cost of maintaining these several commit-
tees, by the publication of a single classification
•for the entire country. The uniform commit-
tee has made wonderful progress in harmoniz-
ing the conflicting terms, rules and descriptions
carried in the three major classifications, but
after all, there were differences impossible of
reconciliation under the competitive regime
which the railroad administration, under a uni-
fied operation and management, would not recog-
nize.
A Square Deal for the Industry
It will be some weeks before this work is
completed, and until that time arrives it will
be impossible to say just how our interest will
be affected, or to what extent, but we have the
assurance that whatever conclusions are reached,
we will be afforded an opportunity to present
our views before final adoption is ordered. The
work of the consolidated committees is not ex-
pected to touch more than lightly the question
of ratings, although the adoption of a universal
classification of freight will promptly follow
the conclusion of the work now in hand. This
will be by far the most vital proceeding we have
participated in in recent years, because it will
take up not only the ratings applied to our fin-
ished products, but also the ratings on the va-
rious parts and stock obtained from supply
manufacturers, and used in the production of
pianos, upon which we, as consignees, bear the
freight charges. Your committee is now col-
lecting data in preparation for this event, which
will mark another epoch in transportation his-
tory. The forthcoming proceedings will be far
more determinative than any effort that has
heretofore been made to produce a universal
classification covering the entire country. But
we are content with the assurance that our rep-
resentations will be considered, confident that
we can justify the continuance for the future
of our present equitable and favorable ratings.
An appreciation of the situation may be gained
by examining the analysis of the three existing
classifications, which are as follows:
OFFICIAL
WKSTERN
SOUTHERN
Musical Inst. Parts— L.C.L. C.L. L.C.L. C.L. L.C.L. C.L.
Organ:
Hoards,
Sounding
with or without
reeds, boxes
2
1
1
Cases:
Finished:
S.U. in
boxes or crates.. D.I
3x1
D.I
K.D. flat, in cits, or
l!xs. :
1
1
1
In the white: S.U. in
bxs. or crates
l^i
D.I
\V 2
K.D. flat, bxs. or crts.
2
2
2
K.D. flat, bxs. or crts.
Min. wt. 24,000 lbs...
5
3
—
Keys, in bxs
1
1
1
Pipes, in bxs. or crts..
1
D.I
1
Reeds in bxs
1
2
1
Piano:
Actions:
in boxes
1
1
1
In
boxes, min.
12,000 lbs
2
(10,000 lbs.)
Bridges: in boxes
2
Case Backs in the
white: In bxs., bdls.
or crts
2
Loose or in pkgs.:
Min. wt. 24,000 lbs.
Cases:
Finished:
S.U. in
bxs. or crts
D.I
D.I
3x1
K.I), flat bxs. or crts.
1
1
1
In the white: S.U. in
bxs. or crts
1 J/
D.I
1 *
K.D. flat in bxs. or
crts
2
2
2
K.D. flat in bxs. or
crts
Min. wt. 24,000 lbs...
Piano:
Hammers in b x s . . . .
1
Keys in bxs
1
Keyboards in cases..
1
C.L. Min. 12,000 lbs.
Key frame pins in
bxs
3
Key leads in b x s . . . .
3
Legs, lyres, pilasters
or trusses: in the
white, in bxs or
crates
2
Finished, in b x s . . . .
1
Pedals, in bxs
3
Pedal
extensions,
Childs: in bxs. or
crts
1
Plates, iron or steel:
in bxs. or c r t s . . . .
3
Loose or in pks.:
Min. 30,000 lbs...
Sounding Boards:
In bxs. or crts
2
In pkgs., Min. 30,000
lbs
Strings: wound, bxs...
1
Strings:
N.O.S.
in
bxs.
1
D.I
Tuning pins in b x s . . . .
3
2
Springs:
Brass, in bbls. or
bxs
1
Iron or steel, in bbls.
or bxs
3
Strings, not otherwise
indexed by name, in
bxs
1
D.I
Musical Inst., parts,
not
otherwise in-
dexed by name, in
bxs
1
Musical Instruments:
Pianos, in boxes. . . .
1
Min. wt. 12,000 lbs.
Revenues Are Decreasing
Our present information is that the revenues
of the carriers for the first three months of
this year under Government management were
$100,000,000 less than the corresponding period
in 1917. It is perhaps obvious that the Govern-
ment will not long continue to sustain such an
enormous deficit, and further increases in traffic
rates are inevitable, and we should be prepared
to meet them when they come.
In view of the foregoing, representing changed
conditions brought about by the war, your com-
mittee feel in large measure satisfied with our
year's work. There are, however, as indicated,
WINTER & CO.
RUDOLF
PIANOS AND PLAYER-PIANOS
PIANOS AND PLAYER-PIANOS
22O SOUTHERN BOULEVARD, NEW YORK