Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1920 Vol. 70 N. 2

Page 4 Text:

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
RMEW
PUBLISHED BY EDWARD LYMAN BILL, Inc.
President and Treasurer, C. L. Bill, 373 Fourth Ave., New York; Vice-President,
T. B. Spillane, 373 Fourth Ave., New York; Second Vice-President, Raymond Bill, 373
Fourth Ave., New York; Assistant Treasurer, Wm. A. Low.
J. B. SPILLANE, Editor
RAYMOND BILL, B. B. WILSON, Associate Editors
WILSON D. BUSH, Managing Editor
CARLETON CHACE, Business Manager
Executive and Reportorial Staff
V. D. WALSH, WM. BRAID WHITE (Technical Editor), E. B. MUNCH, L. M. ROBINSON,
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 HARLINGEN, Republic Building,
Telephone, Main 6950.
209 So. State St. Telephone, Wabash 5774.
LONDON, ENGLAND: 1 Gresham Buildings, Basinghall 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
Entered as second-class matter September 10, 1892, at the post office at Ne*» York, N. V.,
under the Act of March 3, 1879.
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REMITTANCES, in »*hcr""fnan currency forms, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill, I"C.
Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques-
Pi an A and
tions of a technical nature relating to the tuning,
regulating and repairing of pianos and player-pianos
p
are dealt with, will be found in another section of
this paper. We also publish a number of reliable technical works, information concerning
which will be cheerfully given upon request.
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900 Silver Medal.. .Charleston Exposition, 1902
Diploma.. ..Pan-American Exposition, 1901
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LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES—NUMBERS 5982—6983 MADISON SQ.
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Cable address: "Elbill, New York"
Vol. LXX
NEW YORK, JANUARY 10, 1920
R A P I D L Y INCREASING
No. 2
PRODUCTION
W
ORKERS arc coming back into the New York piano factories
in steadily increasing numbers, and, although the hundred
per cent mark has been reached only in isolated cases, there are
several plants operating with from eighty to ninety per cent of
their normal forces—normal so far as numbers go. This all leads
to the hope that production of the factories will increase steadily
until it will measure up in a fair way to demands, but to reach this
goal is not a matter of a few days, or even a few weeks. There
are new men to be trained, routines to be laid out, and things in
general adjusted on a basis that will result in old-time efficiency.
Piano merchants have suffered from the results of the strike
as much as, if not more than, the manufacturers, as was evident
during the holiday season. They have appreciated conditions, how-
ever, and have been patient, which leads to the belief that this
attitude of patience will continue during the readjustment period.
The manufacturing trade has lost momentum, and the effects of
three months of almost total inaction cannot be overcome in a few
weeks, all of which means that retailers cannot expect quantity
shipments immediately, or for some time to come.
The manufacturers are bending every effort to make up for
lost time, and in that endeavor are overcoming some unusual ob-
stacles. The continued support of their retail representatives will
serve to lighten the burden materially.
T H E N E E D F O R A C T I V E COMMISSIONERS
T
H E appeal sent out last week by E. Paul Hamilton, first vice-
president of the National Association of Music Merchants,
asking for music dealers in a number of States to act as State
Commissioners for the Association, should meet with a ready re-
sponse from men who appreciate what the National Association
has done and is planning to do for the trade as a whole, and who
are willing and in a position to lend their personal efforts in further-
ing this work.
No national association can make progress without a certain
amount of local interest in the work. The national body must have
REVIEW
JANUARY 10, 1920
direct connection with the individuals in the trade in every section
if its efforts are to be successful and national in scope. A body of
half a dozen or so officers located in one or another of the big
cities of the country cannot hope to reach the music dealers in
remote sections unless there is provided some sort of direct contact.
This contact the National Association of Music Merchants en-
deavors to bring about through the medium of State Commissioners,
and, assisting them, City Commissioners.
It is true that State and City Commissioners can be kept busy
with Association affairs right through the year, and particularly
during the period immediately preceding the annual conventions.
It may mean some personal sacrifice for the time being, but if by
that sacrifice the trade as a whole is genuinely benefited then the
Commissioners in their turn will realize a just share of this benefit.
There is so much work to be done for trade betterment through
the Better Business Bureau, the Bureau for the Advancement of
Music, and through other channels demanding the immediate sup-
port of the music trade as a body that there should, be no hesitancy
on the part of the individual dealer in putting his shoulder to the
wheel. The Association is no longer to be viewed as a passive
organization designed primarily to provide an excuse for a pleasing
outing once a year. It is a strong, aggressive factor that has already
accomplished much and plans to accomplish more, and the retailers
who have not realized this fact have been out of touch with their
industry. Let the response to the call for State and City Com-
missioners be prompt and cordial.
BUSINESS M E N A N D L E G I S L A T O R S
I
F for no other reason than that it afforded local piano men an
opportunity of hearing Senator Walker, of New York, tell of
what the business man owes to his Government, the Year-End
Luncheon of the New York piano trade was a function well worth
while. We are quick to condemn the members of legislatures for
introducing bills of various sorts calculated to add various burdens
to those already carried by business men, but we are not always so
quick to realize that in a great many instances the legislator has no
real appreciation of just how some measure, innocent in appear-
ance, may be calculated to cause loss of time or money to the
members of this or that industry.
Senator Walker declared emphatically that business men were
too inclined to leave the matter of legislation to their representa-
tives, or professional politicians, without seeing to it that those
representatives had a proper conception of what was wanted, or
what was not wanted, by their constituents. If representatives in
legislatures and in Congress were kept informed regarding the
actual views of business men as to what legislation was desirable
and what was to be condemned, they would, as a matter of political
expediency, if for no other reason, endeavor to follow the wishes as
outlined. It is probably a fact, as the Senator stated, that if legis-
lators were kept busy enacting laws desired by and of benefit to
the business men in their districts they would have little idle time
in which to frame legislation of doubtful character.
It is much easier to quash undesirable legislation before it is
introduced than to fight obnoxious bills after they have been read
into the records, just as it is easier to extinguish a spark than to
fight a full-grown blaze. The experience of various trade asso-
ciations who have maintained representatives at the State Capitols
has been that forehanded action heads off ninety per cent of con-
templated bills that otherwise would slip through and require time
and effort to fight.
There is no individual business more important than that of
the State or National Government, and if the business men take
the trouble to instruct their representatives regarding their wishes
in the matter of legislation they at least will not have to face the
plea of ignorance, and will be in a position to know absolutely how
their representatives stand.
P R E P A R E F O R MUSIC W E E K
Music Week in New York., with its National Music Show and
Festival and the annual conventions of the various trade asso-
ciations, is less than one month away and those members of the
industry, and they are a host, who are interested in the welfare of
music and the industry have cause to hurry their work of prepa-
ration. The time is short, and there is much to be clone to insure
success. DO I T N O W !

Page 5 Text:

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
JANUARY 10,
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
1920
SIGNS FOR ASSOCIATION MEMBERS
AN OPTIMISTIC VIEW OF THE NEW YEAR
Insignia for Store Display to Be Issued to Mem-
bers of National Association of Music Mer-
chants Upon Payment of Annual Dues
By MARK P. CAMPBELL, President, Brambach Piano Co.
I think next year is going to be the biggest
the piano industry has ever known, for several
reasons. The general prosperity of the coun-
tr3 T is as great as ever before. The labor trou-
bles are over for the present from all appear-
ances. Failures throughout the country were
of the huge demand are no fictitious stimulants
to trade. With thousands of people in want of
houses, other thousands are in need of pianos.
When there are no new houses, where do all
the new pianos go? The possessors cannot
surely lodge in them."
With such a condition in England, I am sure
that the United States will continue as in the
past, and 1920 will be a banner year.
SHERMAN, CLAY & CO.'S MAGAZINE
New Monthly House Organ by and for Em-
ployes of Company Makes Its Appearance
Mark P. Campbell
There has just been issued No. 1, Volume 1,
of a new monthly publication by and for the
employes of Sherman, Clay & Co., including
the headquarters in San Francisco and the vari-
ous branch establishments. The first issue com-
prises over four pages, full of interesting per-
sonal items from the various stores, a photo-
graph showing the employes gathered to lis-
ten to a Duo-Art piano recital, some live bits
of humor, and the announcements of several
prize contests of various sorts for the employes
of the company.
The first issue is nameless, and contains the
announcement that prizes will be given to the
employe submitting a name for the publication
that is judged to be most fitting.
A specially designed sign for store display
indicating membership in the National Associa-
tion of Music Merchants will be issued to all
members of the Association upon payment of
1920 dues, according to an announcement just
sent out by Secretary C. L. Dennis, of that
organization. The announcement reads as fol-
lows:
"It will be the earnest effort of your Associa-
tion officers to make 1920 the greatest year in
the history of the organized music trade. You
can do your share in this work by supporting
every local movement for the advancement of
music and co-operating for better business. Let
us enter the New Year with a bigger, broader
vision of our trade opportunities.
"January 1st, 1920, marks the opening of our
new fiscal year, as well as a new calendar year.
It has been the practice to send out bills for
membership dues just before convention time
each year. This plan will be continued. The
new convention dates—February 3 and 4—make
it necessary to collect 1920 dues from lanuary
1st.
"A membership emblem for store display will
be issued by the National Association of Music
Merchants to 1920 members upon payment of
dues. This will replace the old form of member-
ship certificate, and will be renewed from year
to year, representing the owner's continued sup
port of Association standards."
never so few as they are at present; and every-
thing within the United States reflects a con-
REGISTERING TRADE-MARKS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES
tinuance of prosperity.
It has been labor's ambition to eliminate sea- American Manufacturers Should Look After the Protection of Their Trade-mark Rights in For-
eign Countries—The Situation That Is Now Facing Many Automobile Manufacturers
sonal demands and to spread work over the en-
tire year. Formerly, it was necessary for
For years before the war, and in fact ever
it costs Carmo only $20 to procure the regis-
painters to work twelve and fourteen hours a
day through Fall and Spring, and do nothing since American manufacturers of trade-mark tration of each trade-mark at Berne after he
during the Winter and Summer months. A goods first began to seek export markets, they obtains registration in Portugal. The United
similar condition has been true in a great many were warned to take the necessary steps to States not being a party to the Berne Conven-
lines. By the shortening of the day, and in register their trade-marks in all countries in tion, it is necessary for manufacturers to pro-
some lines, the shortening of the week, they which they were doing business or contemplated cure registration separately in each country in
have been able to spread their energies and doing business. It was pointed out that the laws which they wish to do business.
The greatest previous example of the scoop-
income over the entire year. This, 1 think, every- of the various countries are peculiar in some re-
spects and give to the natives certain privi- ing of American commercial rights through a
one will admit has been a good tiling.
The activities of the rest of the world, and leges covering the registration of trade-marks process analogous to the jumping of mining
particularly England, have usually been reflected that constitute, in short, the right to seize from claims was that of Richard Mittler, an Austrian,
in the United States from a year to two years the lawful owner of the trade-mark the au- who in 1918 obtained registration, under the
later. If you will recall from your history, you thority to use it under certain conditions. The Berne Convention, of many of the best-known
will remember the Baring failure was reflected natives^of many countries are not required to American tires. Mr. Parker said the State De-
in the United States in the panic of 1893, and, manufacture the article upon which they have partment had made various efforts to obtain the
more recently, the great European war did not secured trade-mark registration, nor must they cancellation of Mittler's right to these trade-
be the authorized representatives of the manu- marks, but had failed so far. In Mittler's case
draw the United States in for two years.
I found an article in the London Daily Times, facturer. All that is required is that they pay the owners of the tires hope to have the Aus-
under the title of "Music and the Home," which the necessary fee and are first to apply for regis- trian's grab nullified under the Peace Treaty.
tration.
This redress, however, is not available against
reads as follows:
That this practice of promiscuous trade-mark Carmo, he being a bona-iide citizen of an Allied
"The industrial Midlands heard piano stories
during the war. The burden of them was that registration is calculated to work irreparable country.
It is quite evident that these trade-marks of
the prosperous munition-maker, in his zeal for harm to the rightful owners of the trade-marks
unaccustomed luxuries, bought as many pianos has again been emphasized in a special report automobiles have been registered and are being
as his money would run to: a piano for every published in the New York Times to the effect registered with attempt to defraud the manufac-
room in his house. Rased on fact, they were no that a native of Portugal (Carmo by name) has turers, or at least to force them to appoint the
doubt exaggerated. Now that the war is over, registered the names and trade-marks of two- Portuguese their direct representative in the
London has apparently inherited this craze for score or more of the leading automobiles in various countries at his own terms. While there
buying piancs. Adventures in the show-rooms various European and South American coun- are no records indicating that trade-mark names
of musical instrument makers are calculated to tries bound by the Berne Trade-Mark Conven- of pianos have been registered in foreign coun-
disturb quite seriously those few who appre- tion, of which the United States was not a party. tries by other than the rightful owners the expe-
ciate music when it is little and good. It will In the countries where the Portuguese has ob- rience of the automobile manufacturers should
certainly not be little, and can hardly be good, tained the trade-marks he is the only man enti- cause the piano men to ponder and to take steps
ii all the pianos that are being bought are des- tled to sell these cars or tractors. According to to protect their interests should they be engaged
tined to be played upon. The piano which at- Mr. Parker, he will have the legal right to have in export trade, or contemplate entering that
tracts but is not definitely chosen to-day is confiscated in his favor all cars bearing those field.
gone to-morrow. A seller, asked recently to trade-marks which are shipped to those coun-
let a^ purchase stand over till the next day, re- tries. He is thus in a position to force the man-
BUYS FULL INTEREST
plied that he could only grant an option till five ufacturers of these cars to make him their agent
o'clock of the same day. Stocks are cleared on his own terms or to stop doing business
Roy Marks, of Murphysboro, 111., lias bought
out sometimes in a few hours. The hard ex- there. He will also be able, if he chooses, to out the interest of E. J. Sisney, his partner, in
perience of would-be buyers shows that the buy second-hand or other cars and sell them the Royal Music Co., and now will have full
pianos do actually disappear, and that the tales under any of the trade-marks he possesses.
control of that company.
17/ie fresJcnu
rnwicaljiame
in tfie World.
PIANOS
ORGANS
ESTEY PIAND COMPANY NEW YDI1K CITY
^.Wpestprvnt
producer/artfte
dealer mtheTlmde.

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