Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
DECEMBER 21, 1918
THE
9
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
KANSAS CITY PIANO DEALERSJJNDER MANY HANDICAPS
Influenza Epidemic, Street Car Strike and Unfavorable Weather Have Detrimental Effect on Holi-
day Trade—Conditions Improving, and Local Dealers Expect Good Future Business
KANSAS CITY, MO., December 16.—Various cir-
cumstances have combined to make this past
week one of the worst in its effect on business
ever experienced by the music trade. The in-
fluenza epidemic has had a serious effect for the
past two weeks and Christmas shopping has
been curtailed. On Wednesday morning, De-
cember 11, the employes of the Street Railways
Co. refused to take out cars, following the
court's action in refusing to return a decision
in favor of 8-cent fare, which would allow an
increase in the employes' wages. The public
were given no hint that such action would re-
sult. There were not nearly enough autos to
handle the crowds attempting to get to their
various places of business. However, by noon
Wednesday the motor cars were fairly well or-
ganized, and there was very little difficulty in
handling the crowds at night.
Business on
Wednesday was far better than anyone had an-
ticipated with such conditions prevailing.
Motor car owners seemed to take advantage of
the fact that people depending on street cars
for their transportation could not do much
shopping. Thus the stores catering to higher-
class trade found business very little affected.
On Thursday, the 12th, and Friday, the 13th,
a steady rain prevailed, making conditions even
worse. Many persons would not take out their
private cars in such weather conditions. Thus
even traffic was curtailed, and there was prac-
tically no shopping. Two consecutive rainy days
are always bad on business, but with unsatisfac-
tory transportation facilities there was no busi-
ness.
Nearly • every merchant has employed
extra help to handle the Christmas rush, conse-
quently they have much larger sales forces
than are needed at present. A few cars were
put on Friday, however, and more have been
promised. Saturday was near normal, but not
up to the usual standard of a week before Christ-
mas.
All the larger stores have been closing
from thirty minutes to an hour earlier during
the strike, to allow their employes time to get
home.
Mr. Guise, manager of the piano department
at the Jones Store Co., said: "Business is pro-
gressing, but not fast enough to notice. If
people do come downtown in these circum-
stances it is generally for something they can-
not get along without. They will seldom take
an extra trip for music, so our trade is hurt
more than many other lines. Some of our col-
lections are necessarily falling behind, but we
are working out a scheme to bring them up
again, if the present conditions should con-
tinue."
Mr. Guise has not been idle, even during the
dull time. The following advertisement ap-
peared in the papers of the 13th:
One such person was a customer of Harry Wun-
derlich's. She had made an engagement to visit
the store on Friday to select a piano. Thurs-
day night she recollected or was told about the
"unlucky" combination. She didn't dare risk
the selection on such a day. She called Mr.
Wunderlich's house; he was host to a box party
at the theatre.
Mr. Wunderlich was called
from the theatre, took the customer to the store
where the piano was selected and bought—a
Mason & Hamlin grand. "Friday the 13th" was
a dreary, cold, rainy day, few street cars run-
ning, the town full of "flu." That Mason &
Hamlin sale on this Friday would have banished
the jinx—but the jinx disappeared anyway, for
a Knabe Angelus at a thousand dollars, and two
other Mason & Hamlin grand sales were made
on that day at the Wunderlich store.
The J. W. Jenkins' Sons Music Co. has been
offering many Christmas suggestions and oppor-
tunities to its customers. The most popular of
these is the "gift certificate," which allows the
receiver to choose his own gift. The certificate
is in the form of a check, which may be made
out for any amount, large enough to buy a Stein-
way, small enough to buy a piece of sheet music
or a Victrola record.
Salesmen of music houses who had to make
personal calls were hampered by the absence of
street car service. They had to hire motor
cars—or somebody had to pay for the gasoline
used in cars owned by salesman or proprietor—
to make the visits. One dealer had a prospect
in a suburban town twenty miles from Kansas
City, which usually is easily reached in little
more than an hour by electric cars. He hired
a motor car, and paid for two and a half hours
of its use. He found the family—it was in a
farm house—afflicted with influenza, the chil-
dren coughing and sneezing, the mother har-
assed. The difficulties of his position must have
aroused his fighting spirit—for he sold them a
player and got a strong first payment. "You
don't catch me making a trip like that without
selling something to pay for it," he said.
THREE GREAT BUSINESS NEEDS
What the Restoration Period Demands of
American Business Set Forth by President
Wheeler, of U. S. Chamber of Commerce
In discussing the problem of business recon-
struction after the war President Harry A.
Wheeler, of the Chamber of Commerce of the
United States, at a recent meeting of the Mer-
chants' Association of New York, demanded the
creation of a central power through which
American industry could express its wishes re-
garding legislative and executive policies. He
said:
"The restoration of conditions and reconstruc-
DURING THE EMERGENCY
tion involves three things. It involves on the
if you wish to see our Christmas display
part of American industry, first, that it shall send
of KRELL-ROYAL Pianos and Player-
to Europe a Commission that shall be truly
Pianos—merely call our Piano Department
representative of all American industry, there
—we have placed our private auto service
to sit close at hand and subject to the call of
at your disposal and will be pleased to call
our representatives at the Peace Congress, in
for you and return you home—this service
order that we may be able to advise them wisely
will not obligate you.
with respect to the needs of American industry.
T H E JONES STORE CO.
"We have need for a central power, or central
control, here through which we shall all be
"Up to the last few days our music business able to speak the mind of American industry
had been above normal, even for the Christmas and through which legislation and executive
season," said Mr. Beatty, sales manager at the policy may be responsive when it comes time to
J. W. Jenkins' Sons Music Co. "But for the speak the mind of American business with re-
last three days there has been nothing doing spect to the projects that are necessary for our
in our line except our wholesale business, which, readjustment.
"Then it is necessary that we shall have world
though not up to normal, still has been fairly
good. However, with the present conditions vision. To-day we stand with the confidence
adjusted again, business wjll come with a rush." of the whole world, with ideals attributed to us
"Friday the 13th" was the subject of much that I hope we possess—ideals that have been
joking in Kansas City, but there were some peo- shown clearly in the days of conflict, but ideals
ple who really believed that a hoodoo of some that may not, unless we are agreed, lead us
kind attaches to such a combination of dates. through the days of readjustment into peace."
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Piano Company
209 S. State St
419 W. Erie St.