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SEPTEMBER 13, 1919
45
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
PULLMAN PALACE CAR CO. TO MAKE EDISON CABINETS
HEARING IN VICTOR STARR CASE
Entire Facilities of Great Woodworking Plant Required for Big Contract Just Placed—Thos. A.
Edison, Inc., Establishing Assembling Plant in Pullman, 111.
Attorneys to File Additional Briefs in Connec-
tion With Application for Injunction for Al-
leged Record Patent Infringement
One of the most important announcements
to be made in the phonograph trade for many
moons is that which came from Thomas A.
Kdison Co. last week to the effect that a con-
tract for the making of Edison phonograph cabi-
nets had been placed with the Pullman Palace
Car Co., Pullman, 111., rated as among the
world's largest workers in fine woods, the con-
tract being of such a size as will command all
the facilities of the Pullman woodworking plant
in its fulfillment. The first cabinets from the
Pullman factory are expected to be ready for
delivery late this month.
Following the placing of the cabinet con-
tract, the Kdison phonograph works have be-
gun the establishment of a phonograph as-
sembling plant immediately adjacent to the
Pullman Palace Car Co.'s factory. To this
plant will be delivered* the cabinets from tho
lullman Co., the Edison cabinet plant in Wis-
consin and cabinet . factory in Indiana for as-
sembling, packing and shipping.
All the phonograph parts and mechanism will
be built at the Edison laboratories in Orange,
N. J., and will be thoroughly inspected before
being shipped West. Upon their arrival at the
assembling plant in Pullman they will be again
subjected to exhaustive inspections and tests
based on factory standards.
The new assembling plant will be under the
direction of D. Lawson, as superintendent. Mr.
Lawson was formerly assistant superintendent
and night superintendent of the Edison fac-
tory in Orange, and is well known to the Edi-
son jobbers and dealers throughout the coun-
try as one of the original traveling mechanical
instructors for the Edison. The establishment
of the assembling plant, with the multitude
of details surrounding its layout, is under the
personal supervision of Charles Luhr, works
manager of the Edison phonograph works, and
M. E. Wolf, construction engineer of Thomas
A. Edison, Inc., whose ability in their respective
lines is widely recognized.
NEW HOMES FOR COLUMBIA BRANCH
Mr. Maxwell, who was accompanied by J. W.
Robinson, secretary of Thomas A. Edison, Inc.,
went direct to Chicago, and after a few days
spent there and in other Illinois cities left for
Omaha and Denver, arrangements having been
made for him to meet members of the local
Edison trade at those several points.
After a short vacation spent in California,
Mr. Maxwell will return by way of Ogden,
Utah, where on October 2 and 3 he will attend
the Dealers' Convention under the auspices of
Robert Proudfit, the Edison jobber in Ogden.
Dealers will be there from Colorado, Wyoming,
Nevada and Idaho, as well as Utah. After the
meeting in Ogden, Mr. Maxwell will return
to the Edison Laboratories.
Several Wholesale Branches of the Columbia
Co. to Be Housed in New Quarters, While
Others Enlarge Present Stores—Will Facili-
tate Giving of Efficient Service
Geo. W. Hopkins, general sales manager of
the Columbia Graphophone Co., New York,
announced this week the consummation of a
number of important deals whereby several of
the Columbia wholesale branches in different
parts of the country will either be located in
new buildings or secure additional space in the
buildings where they are now established. Co-
lumbia sales have increased so rapidly during
the past year that the wholesale branches in
many of the large cities have found themselves
handicapped by a lack of sufficient room and the
general sales department is providing the
branch managers with additional space in order
that they may give enhanced co-operation and
service to Columbia dealers in their respec-
tive territories.
A lease has just been closed whereby a new
building will be erected for the Columbia Co.'s
branch in Kansas City, Mo. This building will
be located on Walnut street, between Fifteenth
and Sixteenth streets.
The Boston branch will also occupy a new
home at 1000 Washington street, where two
floors have been leased in the United Drug
Co.'s building, which is one of the finest com-
mercial buildings in Boston. Additional space
in buildings that they are now occupying has
been secured for the Seattle, San Francisco and
New Haven branches and arrangements have
been completed for greatly increased space in
Atlanta.
WM. MAXWELL ON WESTERN TRIP
Vice-President of Thos. A. Edison, Inc., Leaves
on a Tour That Will Carry Him to the Pa-
cific Coast—To Call on Edison Dealers
William Maxwell, vice-president of Thomas
A. Edison, Inc., started on a long-deferred bus-
iness trip through the West last week. The
fact that the contract made with the Pullman
Co. for phonograph cabinets, together with other
foresighted arrangements, has insured a sat-
isfactory output of Edison products for the
holiday trade made it possible for Mr. Max-
well to absent himself from his desk at this
time.
PROSPERITY AND THE NEW EDISON
President of Harger & Blish, Edison Jobbers,
Tells How Prosperity and Great Interest in
Music Boom Sales of Edison Machines
"Our orders for Edison phonographs, to be
delivered before the end of this year, are already
three times greater than the entire sales of last
year," said H. H. Blish, Sr., president of Harger
& Blish, Edison jobbers at Des Moines and
Sioux City, la. Mr. Blish conferred with execu-
tives at the Edison Laboratories last week.
"Our big sales this year are due to the pros-
perity of our' farmers and the fact that they
are becoming thoroughly educated to the value
of music and musical instruments. The whole
crop situation in Iowa has never been so en-
couraging as at the present time. According to
the latest reports, the returns from the corn
crop alone will amount to one hundred and fifty
million dollars more than those of last year.
We find that one of the biggest factors in the
making of successful sales is the tone-test. We
have booked 350 tone-tests for this year in Iowa
and South Dakota.
"We jobbers who have been in the phono-
graph business for many years feel that to-day,
in the estimation of the average man, the Edison
phonographs never stood so high. I am talking
from the viewpoint of one who should know by
decades of experience."
John Button, who has been manager of the
Columbia
Graphophone
Co.'s
Dictaphone
branch in New York for the past few years, has
resigned from this position. Mr. Button has
not announced his plans for the future, and his
successor has not yet been appointed.
A hearing on the application of the Victor
Talking Machine Co. for a temporary injunc-
tion against the Starr Piano Co., of Richmond,
Ind., for alleged infringement of Johnson Patent
No. 896,059, covering the manufacture of lateral-
cut records, was held before Judge Mayer in
the U. S. District Court, Southern District, of
New York, on September 3. The court heard
the arguments of opposing counsel and granted
time for the filing of additional briefs. Another
hearing of the case was scheduled for Septem-
ber 11.
HICKMAN'S ORCHESTRA DINED
Columbia Co. Officials Attend Informal Recep-
tion Tendered to Famous Hotel Orchestra—
To Record for Columbia Library
A number of the executives of the Columbia
Graphophone Co., New York, were the guests
of Louis Bernstein, of the well-known music
publishing firm of Shapiro & Bernstein, at a
dinner -given recently at the Hotel Biltmore.
This dinner constituted an informal reception to
Hickman's Orchestra, which is filling a two
weeks' engagement at the Biltmore at the pres-
ent time.
This orchestra, which furnishes the music and
entertainment for the guests of the St. Francis
Hotel in San Francisco, visited New York for the
sole purpose of making a series of records for
the Columbia Graphophone Co. Hickman's Or-
chestra is recognized as one of the greatest ex-
ponents of modern dance music and the an-
nouncement by the Columbia Co. that the or-
chestra will record for the Columbia library ex-
clusively has been the subject of enthusiastic
commendation by the company's dealers every-
where.
Among the Columbia executives who attend-
ed this dinner were Francis S. Whitten, presi-
dent of the Columbia Co.; H. L. Willson, vice-
president and general manager; E. N. Burns,
vice-presiuent; Geo. W. Hopkins, general sales
manager; G. C. Jell, Theodore Bauer, A. E.
Donovan and A. R. Harris.
SYRACUSE EDISON DEALERS MEET
Hold Interesting Gathering as Guests of Frank
Bolway at the Onondaga Hotel
SYRACUSE, N. Y., September 8.—More than one
hundred Edison phonograph dealers in Syracuse
and central New York were guests last week of
Frank E. Bolway, president of the Bolway Co.,
Inc., at a dinner in the Onondaga. The affair
was in connection with the local company's
school of instruction and machine salesmanship.
The school began Tuesday.
One of the features of the program was a tone-
test made by George Wilton Ballard. As the
soloist and the machine entertained the test went
to prove that listeners could not distinguish be-
tween the human voice and that recorded on
discs.
Among the speakers were H. R. Skelton, fac-
tory supervisor at the East Orange, N. J., Edi-
son laboratory; I. C. Pullin, manager of the
record service department; John F. Fay, sales
manager of the local company, and George J.
Brown, sales manager of the Bolway Edison
division.
Sales talks by factory representatives and
technical demonstrations were included in Fri-
day's program in the Hiawatha room of the
hotel.