Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
PLAYER SECTON
NEW
YORK, JULY
26, 1919
Being the Impertinencies and So On of The Reviews Tame and Corn-fed
Philosopher, to wit, the Editor of This Player Section, Serving Up Original,
Even if Not Extremely Humorous, Comment on Matters Grave and Gay
"The Ghost That Will Not Down"
When Richard Lawrence brought up before
the Music Industries Chamber of Commerce the
matter of re-manning the skilled labor reserve
of our industry he was opening up a subject
which has a good deal more in it than meets
the eye. There is no sense at all in persistently
closing our eyes to the fact that our reserve of
skilled workers is exhausted and that we «ire
actually at this moment suffering because we
have not enough skilled men to turn out the
work we have need for. We can talk all we
like about shortage in supplies, and all that sort
of thing, but we cannot get away from the fact
that output is lagging much more on account
of the shortage in men. It is pretty late to talk
about that now, of course, when the pinch is on;
but if we simply neglect the matter we shall be
still worse off. Rightly or wrongly, whether
we like it or not, the situation of the trade is
becoming desperate; and desperate conditions
call for remedies which, if they are not des-
perate, at least must be sharp and immediate.
We must have skilled workers in the piano
trade. Just as much we must have skilled re-
pairmen in the player trade. The Danquard
School does its fine best on the second of these
two propositions; yet it cannot do everything
or even a large part of what ought to be done,
while as for the general supply of skilled labor,
.it has to be trained, slowly and painfully, with
much waste and friction in factories singularly
ill-adapted for the purpose of teaching every-
thing, no matter how well they may be adapted
to the task of producing. The trade's technical
school must come, sooner or later. Will the
industry wait till it faces a crisis graver than
any it has ever had to face as yet? Surely there
is better wisdom amongst us than that!
Another of Our Bogies
Speaking of education, does any one realize
how much the coming of the reproducing piano
has complicated that matter? The ordinary
tuner who understands the ordinary player-
piano is worried about the reproducer and does
not know what on earth to do with it. Now, of
course, every one who knows anything at all
about it knows that the reproducer action pre-
sents no difficulties to the man who is well
schooled in the principles of player construc-
tion. Hut this is something the men themselves
do not seem to know. The Danquard School
reports that a course of special work in repro-
ducer action is being put on as a sort of addi-
tional or post-graduate work for those who have
already passed through the school in the ordinary
work, lint that again is not enough. One insti-
tution simply cannot till all these needs. The
reproducer action, as has been said, need present
no technical difficulties to the player man. But
it is new and it is different. Being different and
being new, it frightens. The sale of reproduc-
ing pianos, take note, will be held back as long
as that state of affairs continues to exist. What
can be done about it, says someone? Well,
has it occurred to the retailers that if they
would show a disposition to co-operate with
the manufacturers, something in the nature of
a traveling school service might be worked out,
intended to instruct repairmen everywhere in
the care of these instruments. It is not that
the reproducer has any mystery. Not at all. It
is simply that the reproducer is new. That and
that alone is the answer. The reproducer is a
player action with roll-controlled instead of
manually controlled expression. In essence, it
is this only. There is no mystery; but there is
even less information. Let the information be
spread abroad and everybody will be happy.
Lucus a Non Lucendo
We can get along without almost everything,
but we cannot get along without light. We can
get along without booze and the girls apparent-
ly can get along without clothes; or at least
without much thereof. But light we simply have
to have and when we cannot get it from the
sun we must get it artificially. That much every-
one will admit. Well, what about it, says one?
Just this: that a good many factories where
machinery is crowded together are too dark
and dismal altogether. When managers talk
about "labor unrest" how often do they realize
that working conditions have an awful lot to do
with the outlook and feelings of their workers?
The writer has worked in a factory; in several
factories for that matter. He knows what the
worker thinks about. He believes and he cer-
tainly knows that he responds to his environ-
ment. If that environment be dark, dismal and
unpleasant, your worker will very likely be dis-
mal too. A light factory is one of the best in-
vestments a manufacturer can make; and it is
gratifying to know that the new buildings are,
wherever possible, being built on the daylight
plan. But in the great cities are still many
buildings which exclude the sun in corners and
throughout large spaces on every floor. No
system of artificial lighting can compete with
sunlight; but when direct sunlight is not present
it is always possible to assist by judicious paint-
ing. I saw some time ago a really wonderful
trans-formation brought about by the simple de-
vice of painting white the entire machinery,
walls, ceiling, posts, benches and entire equip-
ment on a floor otherwise dark and dismal. The
iirst result was to make possible the use of in-
direct lighting where before it had been neces-
sary to use direct high-power lamps over each
machine. The indirect light saves nerves, and
lessens fatigue. We must have light, but many
factories ought to describe lighting systems as
"lucus a non lucendo."
"The Unsubstantial Figment"
Running along the liquid banks of Lake Erie,
lapped in the liquidly flowing motion of the
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway,
or words to that effect anyway, traveling be-
tween Chicago and New York in a Pullman car,
the writer dreamed a dream. It appeared that
he was stationed at the corner of a busy street
named Piano Row armed with a large husky
club and having in his pocket a license as Pub-
lic Fool-Killer to the piano trade. A man came
along. He saw not the club, but he saw the
Killer. Said he, "Young sir, I deal in pianos.
I don't know anything about pianos, nor do I
care whether player-pianos work by hot or
cold air. In a word, 1 sell but T do not know."
The club descended, the dome cracked and the
attendants withdrew the corpse. Another
stranger approached. "Friend," quoth
he,
"why dost read that copy of The Review so
earnestly? Surely no one reads trade papers?"
"Mon ami," the Killer answered, "1 beg thee to
turn thy handsome head and look around to the
light." He obeyed; the club fell, and the re-
mains were expeditiously removed. Another
hove in sight. Said he. "My father and my
grandfather tuned pianos. In their day were
none of these new-fangled players. Therefore
I ignore them." "Sad," answered the Killer,
"that I cannot ignore thee, sweet friend, but
duty must be done." The club fell, and at once
rolled to the ground in two pieces. The solid
ivory was too much for it. When the Killer
looked around, the blithe one was far away.
Then the dreamer waked up! But what a love-
Iv dream it was after all!
A NEW GEORGIA INCORPORATION
The Nicholls Music Co., Macon, Ga., has made
application for a charter under the laws of that
State. The incorporators are Mrs. Beth B.
Nicholls, O. E. Nicholls and S. L. Orr.