Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1919 Vol. 68 N. 23

4
THE MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
JUNE 7Jl19
HERE is presented in the Supply Section of The Review this
T week a most valuable symposium of views on present conditions
PUBLISHED BY EDWARD LYMAN BILL, Inc.
. President and Treasurer, C. L. Bill, 373 Fourth Ave., New York; Vice·President,
J. B. Spillane l .373 Fourth An., New York; Second Vice·President, Raymond Bill, 373
Fourth AYe., New York; Assistant Treasurer, Wm. A. Low.
J. B. SPILLANE, Editor
RAYMOND BILL, B. B. WILSON, Associate Editors
Executive and Reportorial Stall:
CAR.LETON CHACE, L. M. ROBINSON, WILSON D. BUSH, V. D. WALSH, WK. BRAID WHIT.
(Technical Editor ), E. B. MUNCH, C. A. LEONARD, EDWARD LYMAN BILL,
A. J. NICKLIN, L. E. BoWERS
BOSTON OFFICE:
CHICAGO OFFICE:
JOHN H. WILSON, 324 Washington St.
E. P. VAN HARLTNGEN, Republic Building,
Telephone, Main 6950.
209 So. State 51. Telephone, Wabash 5774.
LONDON, ENGLAND: 1 Gresbam Building., Basinoghall St., D. C.
NEWS SERVICE IS SUPPLIED WEEKLY BY OUR CORRESPONDENTS
LOCATED IN THE LEADING CITIES THROUGHOUT AMERICA.
Published Every Saturday at 373 Fourth Avenue, New York
Enlered as second-class mailer Se"tembtr 10, 1892, 01 the "osl office
under Ihe Acl of Marcls 3, 1879.
01
New York, N. Y.,
.
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States and Mexico, $2.00 per year;
Canada, $3.50;- all other coun,tries, $5.00.
ADVERTISEIIIENTS. $4.50 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising pages, $130.
REl\IITTANCES, In oth« than currency forms, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill, lnc.
Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques·
tions of a tochnical nature relating to the tuning, .
regulating a!,d r"'\.laidng of pia!,os and player:pianos
are dealt WIth, WIll be found In anotbeT sectIon of
this paper. We also publish a number of reliable technical works, information concerning
which will he cheernully given upon request.
PI ayer- PI aDO an d
Technical Departments
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prix......... . Paris Exposition, 1900
Silver Medal ... • Charleston Exposition, 1902
Diploma.. '" Pan·American Expositiont.1901
Gold Medal •. ..•.. 51. Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold Medal- ewis-Clark Exposition: 1905
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES-NUIIIBERS 11982-15988 IIIADISON SQ.
Connecting all Department8
Cable address: "Elblll, New York"
Vol. LXVUI
NEW YORK, .JUNE 7, 1919
==EDITORIAL
No. 23
II
ELDOM, if ever, have the members of the National Piano Manu­
facturers' Association listened to a more comprehensive report
of the year's activities and of the future possibilities from a retiring
president than the report presented by Paul B. Klugh at the annual
convention on Tuesday of this week, and which is presented in fuJI
in connection with the convention report in The Review. Mr.
Klugh's administration, it must be admitted, has been one of the,
or rather the, most strenuous in the history of the organization, as
a result of external, rather than internal, conditions. He assumed
his duties as president just at the time the war was making itself
felt on Ameri<::an industry , and it is due largely to his skill as an
executive and the co-operation of the other officers of the Associa­
tion that the industry weathered the storm until the date of the
armistice so capably and well.
In his annual report Mr. Klugh has again exhibited his ability
to sum up succinctly the dominating points of the situation, and
present them clearly and logically. A gla·nce at his report brings
to light not only the activities of the Association during the past
year, but some valuable ideas regarding possible future activities.
It ranks high .among the documents of the trade.
S
recent passing of J. Frank Conover, who had been identi­
I N fied the with
The Cable Company interests for a considerable period,
and of Robert A. Gaily, widely recognized . as the builder of the
Baldwin Manualo, the music irraustry"loses two men of unusual
technical ability-men wh9have d0fi~ much for the development of
the American piano and .. piayer" alo-ng --2't : cntive and coristructive
lines. It is rather interes,t ing in a way: to observe that both these
men were not only skilled in ·the p~ J;B. - · +,,('1 of piano making,
but they were thoro\Jgh tnusiciant ' ,ID F'
t, .. . •
': ~l 'rlied under
capable masters: Mr. Gally was ~G;n£ ~,
'1: "
~ 'i i ;lUist, while
Mr. Conover could ~'sh6~ off:;;~ rlo·",., ;t· the skill 'of a virtuoso.
This musical equipment wa~ ~l).~by- ';; '., ~l ; · !lulus . in their con­
stant striving and effective labor.s t in the manufacturing field .
~..:.~:r
~
~
':\ \'Ii
. ."
as they affect the piano supply market, together with possibilities of
future changes in that market to the advantage of the manufac­
turer. The Review has taken occasion to interview men of standing
in the several branches of the supply trade, and has found them as
one in voicing the opinion that not only are prices of materials con­
siderably higher just now than they were at this time last year, but
that a still further advance must be expected before there can be
any perceptible downward trend. For the manufacturer who ha s
held back on his supply purchases in the hope of a break in the
market there is not much hope offered.
Accepting the opinions of the supply men at their face value,
however-and they are opinions that must be accepted in the proper
spirit beca\.lse they represen t results of actual experience-the piano
manufacturer has ample reason to watch · his own prices and so
regulate them that they may cover ad equately this extra cost of
doing business, and not only that, but offer a profit on the addi­
tional money tied up in production.
To all appearances the chief factor in keep ing supply prices up
is labor. Not only are wages going up steadily, as they must to
meet the high er living cost, but even at the higher prices skil1ed
labor is hard to obtain. This means that the supply manu'facturer
is not only not able to bring his prod uction up to normal, but has to
pay unusually high prices to obtain the output that is possible. It
is a situation that offers a wonderful opportunity for careful study
and discussion were not the conditions surrounding it so serious
for the industry itself.
Information and Education Service of the Department of
T HE
Labor, under the guidance of Roger W. Babson, is conducting
a campaign to let the American people know that they can create
business activity on a large scale if they "buy now-build now- ­
repair now-renew now--do something now," but ao it. In other
words, the aim is to boost this country from a period of uncer­
tainty into a period of prosperity, and Mr. Babson says that the
surest way to get the desired results is to tell the people about the
difficulties encountered due to the netessary readjustment of war­
time activities into peace-time industries. He poin-ts out that
"Labor and capital are muddled. Industry is marking time . The
manufacturer has not been purchasing his raw materials except as
he needs them from day to day. The merchant is operating with a
skeleton stock. The public is refraining from purchasing except
for its immediate necessities. Everyone is waiting for everyone
else."
How can business be energized? How can confidence be
restored throughout the country? How can labor be induced to
get back its desire to produce and capital to speed up the remobili­
zation of peace-time activities?
Mr. Babson believes that the desired results can be accom­
plished by administering the following stimulants to the country:
First, tell aLI progressive merchants and manufacturers-tel! all
who have anything to sell~to advert ise now and take ad vantage
of the great market which exists at this time.
Second, tell the public that now is the time to buy- th at they,
the people, in normal peace-times are the controllers of all produc­
tion and all distribution .
If the consumer buys the merchant sells and in turn is forced
to buy. The manufacturer and the producer of raw ma terials are
forced to buy and sell. Labor is put to work. The brakes put
upon industry are thus removeo and the machin ery of production
and distribution is set in motion.
OLLOWING an extensive trip throughout the W est, Director
F General
Hines of the Railroad A dministration has expressed
himself most enthusiastically regarding the favorable conditions
which prevail, and the outlook for future business broadly con sid­
ered. It is his belief that the recon struction process now under
way will create a big industrial revival, because of the arrested
demand for many produ~ts during the war, and the large buying
power of the public ~ue to high wages and high prices for record
foreigu crops. Unti:! t he industrial situation is clarified officials of
the Railroad Adn: hiistration do not expect to consider an increase
in freight rates t rl:. compensate for the increasing deficit arising from
reduced business a fter the armistice.
\
, .'-----.
/
"
JUNE
7, 1919
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
5
THE MARKET FOR AMERICAN PIANOS
[IN SOUTH AMERICAN COUNI RIES
Jose B. Matienzo, Vice-President, the Caldwell-Burnet Corp., Describes Opportunities
for Export Trade in Article Written Specially for The Review
The age-old proverb concerning " the ill wind
blowing" was never mO're to the point than in
reference to the foreign business of American
manufac turers of musical instruments.
Prior to the war there was a limi·ted number
of manufacturers who foresaw the possibilities
of their American-made products in the foreign
field, but found that European influ ence was too
strong to permit them to obtain from local
dea lers an opportunity to show their wares with
anything like a fair chance.
Mu sical Latin America, for ins.tance, was
prejudiced against American-made instruments.
It was contended that Americans did not possess
a musical so.ul, they were a strictly commercial
people, and co uld never produce any instrument
app ealing to the Latin American heart for musi­
cal art. Granted that the talking machine was
an American invention, it was nothing but a
mechanical product bo which a personal accom­
plishment was unnecessary, and comm ercialism
rather than art was responsible for it.
Reasons for Slow Progress
'With this moral antagonism it was next to im­
possible to obtain th e co-operation of dealers in
the importation of American products. The
manufac turers were loath to tackle the problem
without some assurance of dealer co-operation,
and, unfortunately, the Webb Bill did not then
exist to allow them to combine with other manu­
facturers or si milar products here in an effort to
obtain at least a share of the import business of
any particular country. It was a slow fight at
best; with no prospect or encouragement of bet­
ter business in the end.
The European "blast," to a large extent, was
beneficial in bringing an improvem ent of such
conditions. Stocks of Europ ean- made products
in warehouses and showrooms continued to be
sold with no facilities for replenishing them from
Old World sources. The tight shoe was o·n the
dealer's foot now, and there was nothing to do
but import the despised American products, or
close up shop.
.
Imp'ort they did to the great advanta ge of the
American manufacturer, for once tried, his prod­
uCt was found to be vastly superior in workman­
ship and toning to th eir European competitor.
vVe find, for instance, that between 1914 and
1918 Latin America increased their importations
of .American-made pianos almost · 500 per cent.,
of play er-pianos abo ut 450 per cent., the oth er
instruments varying between 400 and 500 per
c('nt. in increase. ;\nd a curious fact worth not­
ing is that the average price of each instrument,
notwithstanding the enormous increase of im­
ports, remained throughout that peri{)<1 about
the same. This was doubtless due to a large in­
crease in sales of lower priced products during
the latt er years.
The Manufacturers' Opportunity
Credit must be give n to those manufact urers
who, seeing the chance for whi ch they had long
strived sudd enly appear before them in the
brightest of the colors of success, promptly
realiz ed that in order to' take control · of the mar­
ket they must meet the particular needs of the
people. and b'y so doing advantageous'ly, they
are now in the defensive rather than against a
serious opposition. For it need not be tak en for
granted that European competition is a dead
issue; on the contrary it will become very in­
tense, with a mighty effort on the part of Eu­
rope to regain the trade lost through war con­
ditions.
As to the chances of holding on to ·the ad­
vantage gained and' the o'PPortunities for a fur- .
ther hold on the market through increased
sales, little fear should be entertain ed as to the
possible I{)ss of the trade as long as our manu­
facturers continue in their policies of catering
to the ne eds of th e people. The belief that Ger­
many controlled the South American business
in general because she could pro than we could is now known to have been a
delusion created by a propaganda, based on a
psychological knowledge of Latin Americans,
and promulgated to ~heir advantage so as to
keep our goods away from every port. Quality
COUlltS as everywhere else, and if you give this
price is a seconiJ:ary considerati on.
An increase in sales can only become a pos­
sibility If the manufacturers here take the mat­
ter under serious Clonsuderation and thoroughly
study every angl e of the proposition.
Deter­
mining the sex which the product is most likely
to affect, their buying poten tiality, their char­
acte ristics, customs, etc., a proper line of effort
ca n be directed tov:.ards gaining their good will,
which is the vital point of success with the
La tin Americans.
Gaining the Confidence of the Dealers
Dealer co-operation can also be obtained
through particular endeavors to gain their con­
fidence, for it is r eas onably sure that once you
have "sold" the dealer he stays so for as long
as he finds you.r treatment along th'O·rough,
truthful and acco mmodating ways.
Ad vertising your wares is no more of a prob­
lem than it is right here in our own country.
With the possible exception of musical trade
journals, of which , to my knowled'ge, there are
r.one published in Latin America, the media
offered to the manufacturer is correspondingly
the same as he has in the United States. And
once you have studied your prospective custom­
ers, it is an easy matter to determine how best
to appr·o ach them, whether through the daily
press or by way of the "revistas"-we ekly maga­
Zllles corresponding to our large monthly class.
By way of illustration, let us take a manufac­
turer of pianlos wi,th agents alr eady established
ill the city, say, of Buenos Aires in the Argen­
tin e. Assume that his product is of a high-priced
quality, and will only appeal to the wealthy class.
He would unquestionably place in his list of
media the "revistas" reaching such class of peo­
ple, magazines such as "Plus Ultra," "Caras y
Caretas" and "Atlantida"-and such da·ilies as
"La Nacion," " La Prensa" and "La Razon." If
his product should be medium or low priced and
appealing to the middle olass, his field of adver­
tising natural1y WIOuld be increased . There are
magazines such as "Mundo Argentino," "Fray
Mocho," . etc., with a cOllsiderable circulation
among the middle classes. Your farm ers, if a
farmer appeal is desi rable, can be reached
through the farm journals, such as "Gaceta
Rural," "Baskonia," etc. And as the' territory
is increased for selling purposes your advertis­
ing goes along into the many other cities of
Argenti na where the LOical press is by no means
to be overlooked in its influence. It is no
more of a problem than covering any territory
ill the United States, where you would have to
co nsider conditions affecting your market before
determining on an advertising appropriation.
Common Sense an Essential
There is no mystery to the export trade, no
problem harder ·than any ordinary commercial
common sense would solve. All in all, success
in export depends upon yourself and' the faith
with which you undertake the business. If you
are devoted to it, studious at it, and confident,
al1 you need is a good business head and you
can never fail to get at least your share of
th e increasing business.
LONG TIME CREDITS IN BRAZIL
would enable the importers to take delivery,
preventing a loss from storing in war ehou ses.
"American banks, manufacturers and ex port­
ers should be urged to co-operate on a prac­
tical plan to facilitate dispatch and delivery of
rejected merchandise to the Brazilian trade be­
fore delay causes depreciation and consequent
loss of money and prestige. It must not be in­
ferred that relaxation of allocation of tonnage
is advisable. Repo rts indicate that large quan­
tities of construction material, railroad supplies
and other articles are awaiting shipment to
Brazil."
American Exporters Must Be Generous in Ex­
tending Credits in This Field
]. E. Phillipi, United States commercial at­
tache at Rio JaneIro, said this week that Amer­
ica 11 exporters should extend the time for pay­
ment on shipments of goods to Brazil to avoid
cancelation of many contracts.
"The port is becoming congested wi~h mer­
chandise , much of which has been rejected b}'
the consignees," said Mr. Phillipi. "Some of the
dea lers have good grounds for their action,
w hil e others are me re ly taking advantage vf
technicalities. But the rejection of goods IS
largely due to the fear of talling prices and the
imposs ibility of paying immediately the duties
on accumulated shipments, which are greatly
i 11 excess of ordinary requirements.
"Many cancelations and rejections of orders
\\ o uld be avoided if an extension of time drafts
c(,uld be arranged . Representatives of American
firms are unable to protect their customers by
dispo s ing of rejected merchandise because they
lack the authority. The failure- to send docu­
ments on the same steamship with the merchan­
dise also is causing delay and difficulties in dis­
posing of shipments.
"The banks should extend time drafts already
discounted by the .exporters, who then could ex­
tend the same accommodation to the importers.
The importers, ~tho.ugh financially sound, .are
unable to pay immediately .for merchandise
shipped on accumulated orders which have been
dela'yed by the war. An additional six months
IMPORTS SHOULD BE INCREASED
Not Enough Gold Available to Pay What We
Are Owed by Other Countries-Cannot Do
All the Selling Unless We Also Buy Back
If the United States is to maintain its increas­
ing ' expor't traae, which is such an essential part
of national pr.o sperity, it will be necessary to
materially increase our imports of foreign goods,
both raw and -u~finished, was the opinion of the
Sixth National Foreign Trade Convention re­
cen tly held in Chicago. This coun try is now
facing a difficult situation: in 1918 we exported
$3,000,000,000 worth of goods more than we
imported; we are now to receive half a billion
dollars a year in _interest on· our war loans. The
gold does not '" e:>t;ist with which to pay such
suIrts; not is it' possibl~ to stimulate our invest­
mentsabroad to a point sufficient to offset such
'a balance. It is clear that if we are to main­
tain our expo,:ts we must increase our imports.
r
\
l;
r
I·
I
!
J
.-{
\.

Download Page 3: PDF File | Image

Download Page 4 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.