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Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
VOL. LXVH. No. 22
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Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., at 373'4th Ave., New York. Nov. 30, 1918
8to
«JS.& o gSr"
HE little story of the two frogs who fell in the can of milk, the one to lose courage after a short
struggle and to sink out of sight, the other to keep battling for life until his struggles had churned up a
small cake of butter upon which he rested securely until an opportunity came for escape, is not as foolish
from a business man's point of view just now as might appear at first glance.
There are many business men, who, during the war, faced with dropping off of business, curtailment of
output, shortage of labor and other war problems, let their work of years go by the board. There are many
others who continued churning right along persistently and energetically, in the face of difficulties, and who
now are sitting on top of the cake of butter ready to jump into the market with both feet when peace conditions
are finally settled. It has been simply a question of courage.
Courage in business is just as worthy of commendation as courage on the field of battle. Many a man who
has faced problems and conditions in normal times that would have plunged the ordinary man into the depths
of despair, and perhaps the bankruptcy courts, has hung on bravely and coolly and emerged safely from a
situation that promised to wreck his career. In doing this he has had to suffer mental wounds and mental shocks
comparable in some measure with the wounds and shocks of battle, but he had the courage to carry on. This
type of man is apparently predominating to-day.
There are, of course, those who have laid down before they felt a blow, who have seen clouds in the future
and surrendered, who have lacked the courage and energy to enter the fight in the face of odds, but by far the
great majority have been carrying on the war at home with the same efficiency and willingness that it was carried
on by the troops in the field. They have made the sacrifices demanded of them by existing conditions, and by
those in authority at Washington. They faced hardships from many directions—hardships that could not be
avoided—they stuck to the ship, keeping things going, doing the best they could with limited materials and
limited help, feeling that if they could hold on things would be better by and by, when the fight, together with
the victory it has brought, would prove to have been worth while.
The individual business man, be he manufacturer or dealer, may, of course, have felt at times that his efforts
to meet the situation were not getting satisfactory results, but at the present time there is hardly a field that
does not offer to the individual the courage that comes with numbers—the courage that can be developed .
through joining with others in presenting a united front, and in meeting problems as a unit, along lines looked
upon as best by the majority.
It is through association with his fellowmen that the efforts of the individual can be most effective in the
long run. But whether by himself or as a member of an industrial organization, the manufacturer or merchant
must realize that he cannot solve the problems, or win recognition for his rights and demands, by sitting still
and crying to himself. There has to be action—constant, concentrated action.
The war is over and we are facing another great struggle—a peaceful one this time—for the restoration
of trade. It may not be easy sailing for a great many, but if the members of the music trade industry work
together for the future advancement of the trade, both domestic and export, there is every surety of our coming
out on top and staying there.
But to gain a sure footing on the heights of success will necessitate avoiding carefully any tendency to
drop back into the somewhat easy-going methods which prevailed before the beginning of the war. Prices,
terms, manufacturing methods, retailing systems, advertising policies—all must be kept up to the highest
standard if the trade is to occupy the place which rightfully belongs to it.
This is no time for the pessimist or quitter in the musical instrument field. We want in this industry the
same spirit in the fight for trade that has won success for our armies abroad.