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THE
MUSIC
TRADE
RMFW
PUBLISHED BY EDWARD LYMAN BILL, Inc
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Spillane, 373 Fourth Ave., New York; Second Vice-President, J. Raymond Bill, 373
Fourth Ave., New York; Assistant Treasurer, Wm. A. Low.
J, B. SPILLANE, Editor
J. RAYMOND BILL, Associate Editor
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Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques-
PiQnA and
tions of a technical nature relating to the tuning,
regulating and repairing of pianos and player-pianos
f
a r e dealt with, will be found in another section of
this paper. We also publish a number of reliable technical works, information concern-
ing which will be cheerfully given upon request.
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NEW Y O R K , S E P T E M B E R
1 4 , 1918
EDITORIAL=
HE new War Revenue bill is progressing on its way, and,
T
barring accidents, or unusual delays, should be enacted into
law somewhat earlier than originally expected.
With eight billions in revenue to be raised—the largest
amount ever covered by a single revenue bill in the history of
the world, it is claimed—there must be more or less drastic taxa-
tion, and although the new bill is bound to tread on somebody's
toes, it is hoped that in the final analysis it will equalize the
burden and not place an unfair share on any one class or
industry.
In the draft of the bill, as presented to the House, pianos
and pipe organs are included for the first time, in addition to
piano players, and are subjected to a 10 per cent, tax on the
manufacturer's price. Tt is very probable that before the bill has
passed through the hands of the Senate Finance Committee
some radical changes will be made, and it is hoped that the
trade will be as successful this time as it was in the handling
of the last revenue bill in having the burden lightened. Mean-
while, the trade can rest assured that its representative in Wash-
ington is not resting, but watching out for every opportunity to
see that the arguments in favor of the industry are presented
at the proper time and in the proper form.
REVIEW
SEPTEMBER 14,
1918
With the organ builders lined up with the Music Indus-
tries Chamber of Commerce, there are left outside of the fold
only the talking machine trade and the music publishers*. In
the case of the latter their problems are in a sense hardly the
problems of the manufacturers of musical instruments, although
naturally for performance purposes music and musical instru-
ments go together.
With all of the branches of the industry co-ordinated, pool-
ing their interests, as it were, there can be presented to Wash-
ington facts regarding the size and scope of the music indus-
try that must have an effect on the minds of those engaged in
guiding the country during the time of war. The Organ Build-
ers' Association helps to make the title, "The Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce," thoroughly descriptive of the scope of
that central body.
J
UDGING from reports received from various parts of the
country as to the attitude taken by local draft boards regard-
ing the status of men employed in piano warerooms and fac-
tories, it would seem that the new draft bill, making- liable
for military service or employment in war work all men from
eighteen to forty-five years of age, will serve to increase the
seriousness of the labor problem in the industry. No matter
how lenient may be the rulings under the "work or fight" clause
of the draft bill, the fact remains that a considerable per-
centage of those employed in the trade will be taken by the
Government for military service, particularly those in good
physical shape and without family ties. This will mean a seri-
ous drain. Should a good proportion of those exempt from
military service be placed in what are termed "more essential"
occupations, employers in the trade will have still more occa-
sion to worry. It will all lead to a further and more earnest
consideration of the adaptability of women for employment in
all departments of the music trade. Women, of course, are
now being used in factories and warerooms, and it may be that
upon their more general employment will depend the mainte-
nance of the organizations in the trade.
The problem is complicated by the fact that it is not confined
to the music trade alone, but involves every industry not en-
gaged in making munitions or articles of military necessity.
This fact makes the competition for labor that much stronger,
and leads to the belief that the competition for female labor
may possibly develop unexpected strength. With tliis thought
in mind it will be well to prepare now for what the future may
bring forth.
having made a record in the Third Liberty Loan that
A FTER
surprised even those who worked so energetically to make
a showing for the music industry, plans are now under way
in the local trade to secure subscriptions for the Fourth Loan to
be floated beginning September 28 that will put the previous
figures in the shade.
With Mark P. Campbell as chairman and J. Newcomb
Blackmail as vice-chairman of the Allied Music Committee,
the trade can look for action and plenty of it. Meanwhile, rep-
resentative men are being selected for the executive committee
and they in turn will choose captains to look after the details
of the campaign.
Let all branches of the music trade industry rally to the
call and set up a new record for Liberty Loan subscriptions
that will prove that the industry is a most essential one in lend-
ing substantial support to the Government.
another link has been forged in the chain making up
HE ordinary sheet of music is but of little value unless
S TILL
the Music Industries Chamber of Commerce, through the T there is a piano upon which to play it, and, therefore, the
organization last week in Chicago of the Organ Builders' Asso-
ciation of America. The formation of the new organization, the
first of its kind in the organ field, is largely due to the existing
conditions and problems that are now facing organ builders in
common with the makers of musical instruments of all sorts.
The organ men saw the wisdom of joining with the other
members of the music industry as a whole and presenting a
united front, particularly during the war, and when the call
for an organization meeting was sent out the response was
immediate.
sale of sheet music may be considered to be limited approxi-
mately to the number of pianos in actual use.
A piano sells for several hundred dollars, and many hun-
dred copies of sheet music must be sold to represent the price
of one piano. The ordinary piano can be kept in the factory,
or wareroom, for several years and after a little polishing or
tuning be made as salable as the day it left the hands of the
finisher. On the other hand, the life of a popular song may be
limited to three, six or nine months, and after that time it is
absolutely valueless, except as waste paper. Then, too, even