Music Trade Review

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AUGUST 5,
1922
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
DEATH OF CHASJF. GROBMANN
JULIAN T. MAYE^EXCLUSIVE AGENT
Veteran Piano Traveler Passes Away at Home in
Milwaukee After Long Period of 111 Health—
Had Just Retired From Active Business
Well-known Piano Man to Represent the Otto
Higel Co., With Headquarters at 417 West
Twenty-eighth Street, New York
MILWAUKEE, WIS., July 31.—Charles F. Grob-
mann, seventy-five years old, one of the pioneers
of Washington County, Wis., and a veteran of the
Announcement was made this week of the
appointment of Julian T. Mayer as exclusive
sales representative of the Otto Higel Co., New-
York. Mr. Mayer, who is a member of J. & C.
Fischer, Inc., will have the exclusive selling
rights for the Higel player action in this and
other countries and will make his headquarters
at 417 West Twenty-eighth street under the
name of Julian T. Mayer, agent.
The Higel player action plant is one of the
finest in the country and is located at Two Hun-
dred and Thirty-eighth street and Bronx Boule-
vard, New York.
STORY & CLARK_SUMMER CAMPAIGN
Branch Stores in Small Towns Bring Business
to Eastern Division of Story & Clark Co.
C. F. Grobmann
piano business in Wisconsin, died at his honR
here, following an illness of four months.
Mr. Grobmann was born in Germany, com-
ing to this country with his parents when he was
two years old. They settled on a farm near Hart-
ford, Wis., and were among the first settlers in
that section of the Stqte. Mr. Grobmann en-
gaged in the piano business and was connected
with the Cottage Organ Co., Chicago, traveling
for that concern over the United States and
Canada for several years. He resigned about
twenty-two years ago and took the State agency
for the Poole Piano Co., Boston. His poor health
was the cause of his giving up that business this
year.
Mr. Grobmann is survived by his widow, one
daughter, one sister, living on the homestead near
Hartford, Wis., and two sons. Funeral services
were held Monday afternoon; burial in Wan-
derer's Rest Cemetery.
Only last week the announcement was made
in The Review of Mr. Grobmann's retirement
from active business and news of his death, so
closely following that announcement, proved a
distinct shock to his many friends.
TO BUILD WORUVSJ.ARGEST ORGAN
WASHINGTON, D. C, August 1.—Plans are under
way here for the raising of a fund for the con-
struction of the largest organ in the world as a
memorial to future generations. The organ will
be installed in the national auditorium, which
will be erected at New York avenue and Twen-
tieth street. The various organizations of the
city of a civic character are planning to launch a
campaign for the purpose of building the organ as
their part of the work of constructing the audi-
torium.
CONSTRUCTING ATTRACTIVE STORE
A Summer sales campaign, which has been very
successful, is being closed by L. Schoenwald,
general manager of the Eastern retail interests of
the Story & Clark Piano Co. The plan consisted
oi opening branch stores in small towns in the
Eastern territory and inaugurating intensive sales
campaigns. Branch stores were opened in Hunt-
ington, Glen Cove and Patchogue, Long Island.
The two former stores have been discontinued
and the latter will be closed as soon as several
pending sales have been concluded.
ANENT LOWER EXPRESS RATES
Interstate Commerce Commission Expected to
Let Matters Rest Pending Settlement of Strikes
WASHINGTON, D. C, August 1.—It is not likely
that the Interstate Commerce Commission will
make an extended investigation into express
rates until the coal and railroad strikes are set-
tled. Some days ago the investigation was about
to be undertaken at the request of numerous ship-
pers in various industries who had pointed out to
the Commission that while freight rates were
reduced 10 per cent last month express charges
were still as high as they had been at any time
during and after the war. It was intended to
make a very full investigation of the matter
similar to the investigation of freight rates made
last Winter. The rates for coal and the wages
which must be paid the railroad men now on
strike will have considerable to do with the ques-
tion of the rates at which the railroads will be
able to handle freight in the future, and the
Interstate Commerce Commission is desirous of
awaiting a settlement of those questions before
taking up the question of express rates.
SPECIAL STOREFOR USED PIANOS
Arthur Jordan Piano Co. Opens Establishment
for Sale of "Trade-ins"
WASHINGTON, D. C, August 1.—A special store
known as "The Piano Shop" has been opened by
the Arthur Jordan Piano Co., of this city. This
establishment, located at 227 Pennsylvania ave-
nue, S. E., is conducted independently of the main
store and is used for the sale of used instruments.
The management, however, co-operates with the
main store to the extent of suggesting to custom-
ers the value of purchasing a new instrument.
HANOVKR, PA., August 1.—An attractive establish-
ment is under course of construction by Fred C.
P>itner, proprietor of the Bitner Music Shop, on
Baltimore street, this city. When completed this
store will be one of the finest devoted to the
selling of musical instruments in southern Penn-
sylvania. The building is expected to be ready
for occupancy by November 1.
William Frank, formerly connected with the
Tonk Bros. Co. and the house of Carl Fischer in
Chicago, is now associated with William Louis &
Son, of Chicago, manufacturers and importers of
violins, violas and 'cellos.
A recent visitor to the warerooms of Steinway
& Sons was W. P. Chrisler, manager of the
St. Louis, Mo., branch of the Aeolian Co.
Jacques B. Schlosser, vice-president and treas-
urer of Kranich & Bach, is enjoying a vacation
in the White Mountains.
NEW POST FOR_WILLIAM FRANK
USE SAND SOAP
= # ITsSCOURSDEEP # =
Use a Mental Yard Stick
BY MARSHALL BREEDEN
LDSANCELES
Man in the magazine ads, with a pair of
arms as big as my legs, strong chest, pow-
erful back. He has ability in a purely phys-
ical sense. Another man in the same mag-
azine claims that, in three or four short
lessons, he so developed his brain that he,
right away, secured a million-dollar job.
Boy, where am that job? Anyway, this
second man has ability as a liar. Neither
of these samples is exactly germane to this
article, but then, just for fun, ask yourself
why the other fellow seems to be the
leader—why some of us make a dime, and
some of us make a quarter or even a dollar?
What Is Ability?
We have all read various tracts on ability
and what it is. Yet how many of us know
just what it is? Ability is nothing more nor
less than the power to do the right thing
occasionally. Note: It is not necessary to
do the right thing every time. If you hit
the nail on the head occasionally you have
ability. You have much more ability if you
never make the same mistake three times.
Twice for the same error is permissible,
likewise passable, but three times, never,
never!
Piano men, therefore, who have ability
get business frequently. But that ability
is not necessarily good ability. This writer
knows one piano salesman who sells "lots
of pianos, but he also has a big proportion
of reverts. He has the ability to persuade
the prospect to sign the line, but usually
only after he has made a verbal concession.
Of course, later on the verbal concession is
forgotten and then back comes the piano.
There is another man (and fortunately there
are a great many more like him) who makes
comparatively few sales, but his sales stick.
He lacks the ability to blarney, but he has
the ability to convince a customer and
make that customer stay convinced. His is,
of course, the better ability.
This Perseverance Stuff
Some fellow at his typewriter (like me,
for instance) will write that a man, to be
a successful salesman, must stick to his
prospect, look- him straight in the eye and
thus dominate him completely. Gosh! How
awful is the man who tries that little stunt!
You have yourself encountered the man
who fixes you with a cold and stony stare,
and then tries to bulldoze you into doing
something. Perish his kind! But to be
persistent is essential. The best way is to
be more or less careless about it, and de-
pend rather upon the spoken word than the
stony eye.
The very best retail piano man I know
is persistent to a marked degree, yet he
never becomes offensively so. His method
is to repeat over and over again the phrase
which goes something like this, "This re-
markable piano costs only $498." He says
that at the end of every descriptive sentence
in his conversation, until by and by the
customer knows only that it is a remark-
able buy and a good piano for the money.
Give this a trial.
Landay Bros., who operate a chain of music
stores in New York City and the surrounding
communities, have secured a long lease on an
attractive four-story building at 1194 Main street,
Bridgeport, Conn.