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THE MUSIC TRADE
SEPTEMBER 18, 1920
REVIEW
51
NORTHWESTERN VOCALION DEALERS HOLD CONVENTION
EDISON'S WORK DURING THE WAR
First Gathering of Vocalion Retailers in That Section Under Auspices of Stone Piano Co. Proves
an Unqualified Success—A Program of Much Practical Value and Interest
Noted Inventor Responsible for Submarine
Detector and Other Valuable Devices
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., September 11.—Over one-
hundred dealers handling the Vocalion in this
section of the Northwest attended their first big
convention held in this city on Thursday and Fri-
day of this week under the auspices of the Stone
Piano Co., Vocalion distributors, and with the
co-operation of the Aeolian Co. The convention
sessions were held in the commodious audi-
lorium in the Stone Piano Co.'s building at
Nicollet and Ninth street, which proved ideal
for the purpose. The social headquarters of the
convention were at the Curtis Hotel.
The entire program was carefully prepared
and most interesting, and offered to the visiting
dealers information that should prove of great
value to them in conducting future campaigns
for the exploitation of Vocalion phonographs
and records. Particular interest was displayed
in the demonstrations of the Phonodeik, an ap-
paratus for photographing sound, for which
Prof. Miller, of the Case School of Applied
Sciences, Cleveland, O., is mainly responsible.
The demonstration of the Phonodeik was in
charge of T. P. Ratcliff, of the Vocalion Labora-
tories in New York.
Special interest was centered in the Pho-
nodeik demonstration, owing to the fact that the
apparatus has been and is being put to prac-
tical use for the purpose of testing and main-
taining the tone quality of Vocalion records. It
is the belief of the Vocalion officials that no mat-
ter how well trained the human ear may be in
the judging of musical sound it cannot be de-
pended upon to give an absolutely accurate test
of record quality.
The adoption of the
Phonodeik for the testing of Vocalion records,
therefore, does away with the human equation in
a large measure, and makes the judging of Vo-
calion record quality a matter of scientific ac-
curacy.
The convention was opened with an address
of welcome by C. R. Stone, of the Stone Piano '
Co., who told of the purpose of the convention.
Established 1864
Manufacturers and
Wholesale Distributors
WEYMANH
1108 Chestnut Street
.Philadelphia, Pa.
World famous
Weymann
"Keystone State"
String Instruments
and " W & S" brand
Musical ^Merchan-
dise.
*»'-'
outlined the program briefly, had something to
say in reference to general conditions and ex-
pressed his regret that owing to unforeseen
circumstances W. H. Alfring, manager of the
wholesale department of the Aeolian Co., New
York, was unable to be present as planned,
though there were several Aeolian Co. repre-
sentatives from New York in attendance.
During the course of the meeting W. H.
Bowen, of Grand Rapids, Mich., delivered an
interesting and practical talk on "Cabinet De-
sign and Construction"; T. W. Hindley, man-
ager of the Vocalion department of Mandel
Bros., Chicago, offered an inspiring retail sales
talk and Graduola demonstration; F. L. Gunyo,
of the New England Furniture Co., Minneapo-
lis, talked on "Study Your Customer's Taste
in Music, and Know Your Record Stock";
George H. (Jack) Bliss, general manager of the
Melodee Music Co., New York, gave a really
snappy talk on "Melodee Music Rolls and Mer-
chandising"; T. P. Ratcliff, of New York, fol-
lowing his demonstration of the Phonodeik, gave
a descriptive talk on "The Vocalion Record
From Recording to the Dealer," which was in
the nature of a record analysis, and H. G.
Stoehr, of Boston, Mass., delivered an address
on "Motor and Mechanical Features."
Following the various set addresses the deal-
ers indulged in lengthy discussions of the vari-
ous features brought to their attention, which
proved of practical value in bringing forth a
consensus of opinion on matters of interest.
Throughout the convention there was plenty
of music, mostly of the popular order, and the
luncheon held each' day at the Curtis Hotel
quickly developed into a pleasing social affair.
The convention ended with an informal ban-
quet at Curtis Court on Friday evening, at which
W. L. Harris was the principal speaker and
several of the' out-of-town visitors had some-
thing to say. The entertainment was provided
by a group of cabaret artists.
H. A. Weymann & Son, Inc.
*
FOR EXTRA
PROFITS
to the dealer we heartily
recommend a Musical In-
strument Department.
Success is practically
assured dealers who spe-
cialize in quality goods of
known merit for which a
demand has been created.
JVrite for catalogue
and trade discounts
A bit of the history of the World War that
is distinctly interesting at this late date has just
been made public in the report of the activities
of the Naval Consulting Board of the United
States, of which Thomas A. Edison was presi-
dent.
Although it was well known that the Naval
Consulting Board had done much to aid in the
successful prosecution of the war, much of its
work was of necessity kept secret, but it now
appears that Mr. Edison himself is credited
with having contributed largely to the numer-
ous achievements. When he was called for
service on the board he forsook his laboratories
and spent most of his time in Washington or
on deep sea cruises for the purpose of study,
at times maintaining his record of working
twenty-four hours a day.
Foremost among the inventions attributed to
Mr. Edison's genius was a listening device used
on ships to warn them of approaching danger
ir. the form of submarines. This contrivance
was in the form of an outrigger suspended from
the bowsprit of a vessel and containing an im-
mense phonograph diaphragm which recorded
the movements of other vessels as far as a mile
away. Mr. Edison followed this invention with
a device to permit of the quick turning of a
vessel when the detector indicated the approach
of a torpedo, and was also responsible for a
new set of strategic harbor maps to enable ves-
sels to traverse danger zones at night and thus
minimize the submarine danger.
To the music trade it is most interesting that
the principle upon which is based the phono-
graph was the same principle that made for the
safety of ' American vessels during the war
period.
NEW POWER PLANT FOR VICTOR CO.
Contract Let for the Erection of a New $400,000
Power House in Camden, N. J.
CAMDKN, N. J., September 13.—The Victor Talk-
ing Machine Co. has just awarded a contract to
the White Construction Co., Inc., for the erec-
tion of a power house at a total estimated cost
of $400,000. The building'will be of brick, steel
and concrete, 200x40 feet and 70 feet in height.
It will be one of the largest plants of its kind
in this section.
The Victor Co. incidentally has declared a
dividend of $15 on common stock, payable Oc-
tober 15, on stock of record September 30.
NEWS FROM THE CHENEY OFFICES
Burton Collver, of the Cheney Talking Ma-
chine Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., has been con-
tinuously on the job all Summer, too busy to take
a vacation, excepting on Saturdays and Sundays,
which days he spends on his fine estate at Moun-
tain Lake, N. J., located in the Kittatinny Range,
on a 1,000-foot elevation. Mr. Collver believes
it a waste of time to go to the Adirondacks
when the same picturesque advantages are avail-
able thirty miles from Manhattan.
Business at the local Cheney office, 1107
Broadway, is very satisfactory and orders for
immediate deliveries are constantly on the in-
crease from all sections of the East. A great
many new accounts have been opened and sev-
eral additions made to the Eastern sales force.
Professor Forest Cheney spent a portion of
July and August in New York and Charles S.
McCoy, president, and C. E. Swanson, general
manager, from the Chicago headquarters, were
recent visitors to the New York office.