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FEBRUARY 15,
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
1919
HEED LESSONS TAUGHT BY WAR
PAUL G. MEHLIN & SONS TO CLOSE RETAIL WAREROOMS
Piano Men Should Resolve Never to Go Back to
Old Long-Time Credits, Says George W. Git-
tins in Second Appeal to Industry
Present Headquarters, With Exception of Fourth Floor, Have Been Leased to Outside Interests
—Gimbel Bros, to Retain New York Agency—Will Concentrate on Wholesale Business
The second "Never Go Back" talk by George
W. Gktins, in the series which was exclusively
announced in The Review last week, was mailed
to the trade this week. The attractiveness of the
display may be seen in the accompanying illus-
tration, while the text, conforming to the general
uplifting principles which were embodied in the
first one, has been carefully written to conform
; Never go Back I
The history of the music industry has been one ol great invention and achievefntnt.
Muttc. and thr instruments by which it is produced, in my opinion. has kept veil in ad
nance of other means of culture and refinement. In the past one hundred ycin, muiic
has written a larger accomplishment than any other of the fine a m .
Trie inventive genius apd progrenive methods of the music industry has given millions of
families a knowledge of music «uch as was vouchsafed only the wealthy families up to i
generation ago.
h has been only in the conduct M its business affairs that the industry has be«n Ux and
negligent. The musk trade has been "easy 1 ' in credits, to say the least. The manufac-
turer has been " c a i i " with the dealer, and the dealer, in consequence, has becV'easy" with
the customer; and this is a very mild impeachment.
For a period before the war. there seemed to be i good-natural rivalry, in the trade, in
seeing who could buy and sell on the longest terms.
But the war compelled a hak. If the wir brought a blessing to any set 01 men. it was to
piano men. k taught us a Irwon we otherwise might never have learned. It taught us
that pianos can be sold on much snorter terms dian we thought possible, and taught us in
such a wjy th it we ill m ide m3ney. while we were (ccring our lesson.
Therefore, let us one and all open our ere* (o the fact that we have been taught a lesson of
incsiimiblc val«e and resolve chit never, never "while reason holds." witl we go back to the
tong-drawit term* which ted UJ into ninety per cent of all our tribulation*.
G. W. Gittins' Second Trade Message
with the display portraying the olden days when
the spinet and the clavichord were the popular
musical instruments.
"Who," says Mr. Gittins, "in this fascinating
game, would go back to the old days of the
spinet or clavichord?
"The history of the music industry has been
one of great invention and achievement. Music,
and the instruments by which it is produced, in
my opinion, has kept well in advance of other
means of culture and refinement. In the past
one hundred years music has written a larger
accomplishment than any other of the fine arts.
"The inventive genius and progressive meth-
ods of the music industry have given millions of
families a knowledge of music such as was
vouchsafed only the wealthy families up to a
generation ago.
"It has been only in the conduct of its busi-
ness affairs that the industry has been lax and
negligent. The music trade has been 'easy' in
credits, to say the least. The manufacturer has
been 'easy' with the dealer, and the dealer, in
consequence, has been 'easy' with the customer;
and this is a very mild impeachment.
"For a period before the war there seemed to
be a good-natured rivalry in the trade in seeing
who could buy and sell on the longest terms.
"But the war compelled a halt. If the war
brought a blessing to any set of men, it was to
piano men, It taught us a lesson we otherwise
might never have learned. It taught us that
pianos can be sold on much shorter terms than
we thought possible, and taught us in such a
way that we all made money while we were
getting our lesson.
"Therefore, let us one and all open our eyes
to the fact that we have been taught a lesson
of inestimable value and resolve that never,
never 'while reason holds,' will we go back, to
the long-drawn terms which led us into 90 per
cent, of all our tribulations."
Announcement was made this week by H.
Paul Mehlin, of Paul G. Mehlin & Sons, that
they have leased the Mehlin Building at 4 East
Forty-third street, for other than piano pur-
poses, with the exception of the fourth floor,
which they will retain as the general head-
quarters for the firm. The leasing of the build-
ing, which was taken over by the house of
Mehlin a few years ago, has meant a consider-
able financial advantage to the house.
In connection with this the house has de-
cided to withdraw from the retail field, and will
henceforth concentrate all its efforts on the
wholesale business. The discontinuance of the
Mehlin retail department has been contem-
plated for some time, owing to the tremendous
increase in the volume of both domestic and
foreign business.
During the last six months orders have been
received for Mehlin & Sons pianos and player-
pianos from various foreign countries, as well
as from the' domestic dealers. According to
Mr. Mehlin the business in this country has in-
creased remarkably, and since the war Mehlin
instruments have been sold to the leading piano
dealers in foreign countries in place of the best
German makes, such as Bluthner and Boch-
stein.
The agency for the Mehlin pianos, which was
recently secured by Gimbel Brothers, New
York, will be continued, and will be the only
metropolitan retail agency.
The new offices of the concern will be located
on the fourth floor of the building which has
been known as Mehlin Hall for the last few
years. Alterations are now under way and the
offices will be considerably larger than they have
been heretofore. C. C. Clark, manager of the
retail wareroom, will remain with the house in a
wholesale capacity.
CHASE-HACKLEY CO. PREPARING FOR YEAR OF EXPANSION
Increased Demand for Chase-Hackley Instruments Necessitates Enlarging Factory at Muskegon,
Mich., in Order to Provide Greater Production—H. D. Bradley Sees Great Prosperity Ahead
MUSKEGON, MICH., February 9.—The year 1919
has opened up remarkably well with the Chase-
Hackley Piano Co. General Manager H. D.
Bradley remarked to-day that the orders which
are being received right now would indicate
one of the best years in the business and would
indicate a confidence in the stability of prices
and in the future of the business on the part of
the dealers. That is truly encouraging. The
company is making arrangements for a far
greater increased production this year and fur-
thermore the greater preparation of it is planned
on the Chase Bros, line, the company's high-
grade product which now, by the way, forms a
greater proportion of the company's business
than ever before in its history. The demand for
high-grade goods has increased wonderfully,
and the increased business in the Chase Bros,
instruments with this regular trade and the open-
ing up of new accounts with the highest class
of dealers has made the provision of greater
facilities absolutely necessary.
The addition
now being built to the factory will provide for
an additional dry kiln, cooling rooms and an
extension to the machine room. A large number
ot new machines have been installed, and the
new machines as -they are added are all elec-
trically driven. The appearance of the entire
plant is being vastly increased by the additions
and improvements and will, in Mr. Bradley's
opinion, enable them to increase their output
fully 100 per cent., as the labor situation, which
is rapidly improving, becomes fully normal.
The company's policy of necessary restric-
tion of credits the past year has been absolutely
maintained and will be in the future. Mr. Brad-
ley's belief that the retail trade should get down
to a two-year basis, that is, that no leases should
be made on a longer than twenty-four-month
payment period, has been accepted by their
trade generally and few indeed would care to
go back to the old condition of affairs. The
piano business as a whole is in the strongest
condition it has ever been, and by the co-opera-
tion of manufacturers and supply men this de-
sirable state of affairs can be maintained with
an incalculable benefit, of course, to the retail
dealer.
The trade has taken most kindly to the va-
rious new styles of the Chase-Hackley line,
which have been introduced in the past year or
STRAUCH
PIANO
ACTION
ACT ™ OF
so and which have given the famous instru-
ments so long distinguished for their tonal and
constructional qualities a dress fully in accord
with their high musical merit and harmonizing
with the prevailing styles in fine furniture.
It
is going to be a remarkable year for grands
from the present outlook.
The orders for
grands in January were larger than any month
last year. The Chase Bros, player grand, by
the way, is in every way one of the most per-
fect pieces of workmanship that have ever is-
sued from the Chase Bros, factory.
Various
minor changes in case design have been made
since its first appearance and as a piano, a player
and an artistic piece of furniture it is a superb
creation. Visitors to the factory greatly ad-
mire these beautiful instruments in brown ma-
hogany finish.
The player output of the factory is now about
60 per cent, of the total production.
What
promises to be a phenomenal seller is the new
Chase Bros. Style 20 player. It is only four
feet six inches in height, of decidedly symmet-
rical and attractive design and has met with the
quick and enthusiastic approval of dealers ex-
periencing a demand for a player suitable for
small apartments.
BLACK MUSIC CO. ELECT OFFICERS
The annual meeting of the stockholders of the
J. Ed. Black Music Co., Springfield, Mo., was
held in that city recently, the following officers
being elected for the coming year: J. Ed. Black,
president; A. D. Allen, vice-president; C. C.
Lederer, secretary; and V. M. Brown, treasurer.
The officers, together with R. I. Pate, consti-
tute the board of directors.
NEW PIANO STORE IN WASHINGTON
The Gem Music Co., Inc., has opened a new
piano and talking machine store at 1327 G street,
Washington, D. C, in the store formerly occu-
pied by Helbig Bros. The officers of the con-
cern are Geo. M. Jackson, Jr., president; C. H.
Doing, vice-president, and W. C. Bitting, sec-
retary and treasurer. The new concern will
handle a high-grade line of pianos and players
as well as talking machines, and reports excel-
lent prospects for the spring.
QUALITY and MERIT
STRAUCH BROS., Inc.
20-30 Tenth Avenue
New York