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APRIL 2,
THE MUSIC TRADE
1921
REVIEW
EASTER BRINGS BETTER BUSINESS TO ST. LOUIS TRADE
Gradual Improvement in Retail Demand Rewards Local Dealers for Aggressive Work—Stocks
Becoming Normal and Orders Are Being Placed With Manufacturers—Association Meets
ST. LOUIS, MO., March 29.—Business picked up
a little the last week in Lent and most of the
piano houses reported a rather nice run of
sales. The improvement, however, was not of
such an emphatic nature as to give anybody
the idea that it is likely to continue of its own
momentum. All ,the sales represented effort
and everybody knows that the price of con-
tinued improvement is continued effort.
Piano stocks in St. Louis are getting down
to something like normal. For several months
the houses have been overstocked with instru-
ments that were bought at peak prices and the
problem presented, as in other cities, was to
sell the high-cost instruments in the face of a
buyers' strike and falling prices in other lines,
without cutting the prices. The piano men
stood firm, however, and the crisis passed with
not enough cutting to stampede the trade.
Stock is so near normal at the Scruggs, Van-
dervoort & Barney piano department that Man-
ager Russell Elam says he is about ready to
begin buying again. Not long ago he had twice
as many pianos as he needed. They have been
sold without lowering the prices. Manager Elam
does not believe that they would have been
sold as well if the prices had been cut. He
believes that if cutting had been begun the
people would have waited for more cutting and
would have kept on waiting. It will be pos-
sible to make new prices on the instruments
bought from now on, but Elam does not intend
to advertise lower prices or call attention to
them.
Talking machine terms were the principal
subject of discussion at the meeting of the
Music Merchants' Association of St. Louis at
the American Annex hotel Thursday night.
The speakers were C. F. Jackson, manager of
the department of accounts of the Famous &
Barr Co., and Sigmund Wolfert, credit manager
of the Stix, Baer & Fuller Co. Mr. Jackson
suggested this schedule: On a $75 machine, $8
down and $5 a month; $100, $10 down and $6.SO
a month; $150, $15 down and $10 a month;
$200, $25 down and $12.50 a month; $250, $35
down and $15 a month; $300, $40 down and
$17.50 a month; $350, $50 down and $20 a
month; $400, $50 down and $25 a month.
Mr. Wolfert favored liberality in terms, both
for the purpose of getting business and as a
matter of fairness to the customer. He advo-
cated taking a chance, saying that few credit
accounts turned out badly. However, he fav-
ored fairly good first payments in the belief that
the greater the amount paid down the safer
would the account be.
There was a long and earnest discussion,
some of the members favoring more liberal
terms to meet changed conditions and others
insisting that dealers should stand pat on terms.
The whole question was referred to a commit-
tee composed of Mark Silverstone, Edison dis-
tributor; W. P. Chrisler, Vocalion; E. C. Rauth,
Victor, and C. F. Jackson, Brunswick, who will
draw up a schedule and submit it at the next
meeting of the association. In the absence of
President Lehman, Mr. Silverstone, who is the
vice-president, presided.
A resolution was
adopted in favor of daylight saving, as pro-
posed in a bill pending before the Board of
Aldermen.
11
Last week's musical festival at Vandervoort's
auditorium was a complete success in every
way. The afternoon concerts were crowded,
sales were made and prospects obtained. The
"Crucifixion" concert was so well received that
it was repeated.
The seventy-first anniversary sale of the
Scruggs, Vandervoort & Barney Co. is on this
week. In the piano department shopworn and
used pianos are being offered at reduced prices
in three groups, $75, $145 and $195, and eighty-
eight-note player-pianos in three groups, $345,
$395 and $495. Sohmers in St. Louis homes are
to be the subject of a series of Monday adver-
tisements of a conservative and character-build-
ing nature.
C. C. Westervelt, for the past three years with
the Vocalion department of the AecJian Co.,
has been appointed manager of the Victrola de-
partment of the Wurlitzer Co., assuming his
new duties to-day.
Ted Seguin, sales manager of the Imperial
Player Roll Co., Chicago, was in St. Louis part
of last week looking into the desirability of
opening a branch here, and was well pleased
with the general outlook.
OPEN ALL-YEAR ROUTE FROM CINCINNATI TO COAST
Five Carloads of Starr Pianos and Big Shipment of Talking Machines Sent to San Francisco by
Freighter—R. E. Wells Holds Conference of Steinway Branch Managers—Other News
CINCINNATI, O., March 28.—An event of last
week that was of unusual interest to the musical
instrument trade was the first all-water ship-
ment from Cincinnati to the Pacific Coast. For
the first time in history pianos and phonographs
were sent from this city to San Francisco by
water. The "Queen City" left here on Monday
for New Orleans and from there her cargo was
transferred to ocean-going vessels for the rest
of the trip through the Panama Canal. The
Starr Piano Co. sent down five carloads of
pianos and 150 talking machines in their im-
mense trucks and these were loaded on the
boat at the Cincinnati wharf, some for San Fran-
cisco and others for Havana. Keen interest has
been shown by other musical instrument con-
cerns in this shipment, for they say if this serv-
ice is permanently established it will enable
them to ship their goods to the Pacific Coast at
a very much less cost than is now possible by
shipping by rail. That the service is sure to
continue is almost a certainty, for the "Queen
City's" two trips to New Orleans have proven
decidedly successful. On this trip she not only
Quality's the Best Policy
Another way of saying "Honesty's the Best Policy." Our experience
has taught us that honesty and quality mean the same thing in making
pianos.
Our dealers, too, recognize the honest quality of the Ludwig line—that's
why they sell them year after year. Do you want to handle the Ludwig?
Ludwig & Co.
Willow Ave. and 136th St.
New York
carried big freight shipments from Pittsburgh
and Cincinnati, but picked up more at Louis-
ville and other points down the river. She had
one hundred passengers when she left Cairo.
Clarence Gennett, treasurer of the Starr Co.,
stopped over in the city for a brief conference
with Manager Pauling. He was on his way
back to Richmond after a trip through the
South. He reported conditions rather quiet
through the South, but expects soon to see them
picking up again.
R. E. Wells, of Steinway & Sons, is back
after a five weeks' absence, during which time
he was over the territory. He reports that there
are signs of more life in the piano trade and
believes there is every reason to hope for better
times in the near future. On Saturday he held
a conference with the various branch managers
to talk over plans and problems of the future.
Those who were in for the conference were:
S. B. Holmes, of Charleston, W. Va.; T. B.
Newberne, of Huntington, W. Va.; Edgar T.
Daab, of Indianapolis; R. L. Manwarring, of
Louisville; William Frickman, of Columbus;
Leslie H. Davidson, of Dayton, O.; J. A. Rob-
ertson, traveling man for Kentucky, and R.
Tapp, of Cincinnati. Mr. Wells states that these
men are all optimistic and are ready to get out
and hustle for business.
Oscar Condon, who has been representing
the Baldwin Co. in St. Louis, was in town last
week for a conference with the Baldwin people
before going on to New York, where he will
take charge of the artists and of the Baldwin
Co., succeeding Arnold Somlyo, who will go
abroad to live. Horace Williamson, advertis-
ing manager of the Baldwin Co., has just re-
turned from a trip through the central part of
Ohio, and he says he found conditions very
much better than he had expected. Business,
he states, is beginning to show signs of starting
on the up-grade and he believes the worst is
over, and from now on prospects will con-
tinue to grow brighter. Just as soon as the
crops begin to break through' the ground, he
says, the farmers in this section will begin to
look at things in a more cheerful light and
business will pick up. Many of their agents
in this territory reported better sales in March
than they had in February. E. E. Roberts, of
the Cincinnati branch, states that the past week
was very encouraging.
F. G. Smith and T. E. Mason, of the Wilcox
& White Co., were in town during the week in
the interest of their firm.
W. F. Jenkins, of Chicago, was down for a
business conference at the Church Co.