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FEBRUARY 3,
1923
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVES MEET IN CHICAGO—(Continued from page 5)
new members between now and June, one prize
going to the travelers, one to the merchants,
one to the manufacturers, one to the tuners, etc.
The meeting was called upon to consider the
protest of the Southern California Music Mer-
chants' Association over the continuance of the
war tax on musical instruments plated with gold
and silver or inset with semi-precious stones
and metals. The matter was referred to the
legal committee of the Association, which in
turn will bring it to the attention of the Cham-
ber of Commerce.
Resolutions were passed by the Association
in memory of B. W. Gratigny, of Dallas, Tex.;
Arthur Krausgill, of Louisville, Ky.; William
T. Miller, Boston, Mass., and Dan C. Voorhis,
of Los Angeles. Those who attended the meet-
ing included J. Edwin Butler, president; Matt
J. Kennedy, secretary; Robert N. Watkin, sec-
ond vice-president; W. W. Smith and Alex Mc-
Donald, of the executive committee, and M. V.
DeForeest, Edmund Gram, E. Paul Hamilton
and C. A. Grinnell, of the Advisory Board.
MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIATION
The mid-Winter meeting of the executive
committee of the National Piano Manufacturers'
Association, which was held at the Drake Hotel,
brought out a very satisfactory attendance. The
session lasted practically the entire day, with
luncheon served in the meeting room. The
manufacturers had the convention program out-
lined for their benefit and approval and there
was no official action taken on the question of
exhibits.
In order that there might be some free time
during convention week for private entertain-
ments without interfering with the official ban-
quet or rather large affairs, the manufacturers
decided to eliminate the annual Association din-
ner this year for the first time in the history
of the Association.
It is reported at the meeting that considerable
progress had been made in the work of
standardizing piano parts and Max J. DeRoche-
mont was appointed chairman of a committee
to carry on that work during the coming
months.
The Association went on record as approving
the purpose of Senate bill No. 4,303 to provide
changes in the present quotas set for immigra-
tion from various countries at the discretion of
the Secretary of Labor when proper proof was
presented of the requirements of American in-
dustry. The Association further announced its
support of all measures calculated to lift the
bars against desirable immigration with a view
to relieving the labor shortage in this country.
At the meeting several other matters were
discussed briefly, preliminary to bringing them
up before the annual convention in June for
action by the Association as a body.
The committee selected June 5 and 6 as the
dates for the annual convention, the place to
be the Hotel Drake, Chicago.
Those who.attended the manufacturers' meet-
ing included C. C. Chickering, president; R. W.
Lawrence, Herman Irion, Paul B. Klugh,
Charles Jacob, E. R. Jacobson, Chris Steger,
George J. Dowling, Max J. DeRochemont, Ken-
neth Curtis, J. F. Murphy, Otto Schulz, Fred
F. Bassett, D. D. Luxton, Thomas J. Mercer,
James T. Bristol, Herbert W. Hill and Alfred
L. Smith.
SUPPLY ASSOCIATION
The executive committee of the Musical Sup-
ply Association held its mid-Winter meeting at
the Hotel Drake, in this city, and devoted
the time largely to a discussion of routine
matters. It was reported that the Credit Bu-
reau of the Association was functioning very
satisfactorily and that the uniform contract
blank had been adopted by a very substantial
portion of the Association membership.
Memorial resolutions were passed on the
deaths of Oliver S. Kelly and George Holz,
who had passed away since the last convention
of the Association. The meeting was attended
by James Rose, of the Cornwall & Patterson
Co., president; Arthur L. Wessell, of Wessell,
Nickel & Gross; John C. Wickham, of the
Wickham Piano Plate Co.; Joseph Reed, of the
Paragon Foundries; A. W. Johnston, of the
Standard Pneumatic Action Co.; Charles
Platte, of the Standard Felt Co., and Alfred L.
Smith, secretary.
CHICAGO P. & 0. BANQUET
The hospitality which is characteristic of the
Chicago trade was again exemplified on Thurs-
day evening when the officers and executive
committee members of the Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce and the various unit
Associations were the guests of the Chicago
Piano and Organ Association at a most pleasant
dinner given at the Palmer House with over
100 trade members gracing the festive board.
The dinner served to prove two things—first,
that Adam Schneider, who made the arrange-
ments, has not lost any of his ability in that
work, and, secondly, that W. E. Guylee, presi-
dent of the local Association, is a toastmaster
par excellence. After Mr. Guylee's performance
some of those of the trade who have held rep-
utations as after-dinner orators will need to
look to their laurels.
Being a meeting of men who distribute mu-
sical instruments it was deemed fitting that the
program open with singing, under the direction
of Frederick W. Carberry, president of the Mil-
waukee Music Industries, who managed to get
some real singing out of the gathering. He was
very frank in commenting on the energies and
abilities of the diners and the result was that,
before he closed his section of the program,
men who had not dared raise their voice in
song for years were joining lustily in the
choruses of such classics as "A Long, Long
Trail," "Three o'Clock in the Morning" and
"Ham and Eggs," sung to the tune of "Tam-
many."
Before introducing the speakers of the eve-
ning, Charles E. Byrne, secretary of the Asso-
ciation, read a number of messages from those
who were invited to attend the gathering, but
who for one reason or another could not be
present. They came from Ralph L. Freeman,
of the Victor Talking Machine Co.; R. O. Fos-
ter, of Minneapolis; Mark P. Campbell, of New
York; Col. F. B. T. Hollenberg, of Little Rock,
Ark.; C. D. Greenleaf, of Elkhart, Ind.; Carle
C. Conway, of Boston; J. A. Turner, of Tampa,
Fla.; William C. Hamilton, of Pittsburgh; E.
H. Droop, of Washington; P. E. Conroy, of
St. Louis, and H. C. Dickinson, of Chicago.
Mr. Byrne also read a letter from George W.
Pound, general counsel of the Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce, commenting on the gen-
eral business situation and the effect of inter-
national developments on the industries of this
country.
The first speaker was Clifford C. Chickering,
president of the National Piano Manufacturers'
Association, who read a rather lengthy address
in which he laid some emphasis upon plans for
raising the bars against immigration to per-
mit the bringing into this country of trained
workers from Europe to offset in some measure
the labor shortage here. He also commented
at length upon the necessity of manufacturers
who use wood in the construction of their prod-
ucts taking an active interest in the conserva-
tion of the forests of the country.
Next came J. Edwin Butler, president of the
National Association of Music Merchants, who
spoke briefly of the growing strength of that
body, as indicated by the increase in member-
ship, and who, in closing, pledged to Richard
W. Lawrence, president of the Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce, the support of the Mu-
sic Merchants' Association to the Chamber's
activities.
Paul B. Klugh, introduced as the father of
the Chamber of Commerce, in the course of his
address, sounded a note of optimism regarding
business conditions and prospects, offering some
interesting facts and figures indicative of the
country's prosperity. Mr. Klugh referred to his
experience in the trade and incidentally made
the interesting statement that he had first be-
come a subscriber to The Review thirty years
ago while a fledging salesman in Detroit and
had been a subscriber to this paper ever since,
emphasizing the results that had come to him
through reading its pages.
The final speaker was Richard W. Lawrence,
president of the Music Industries Chamber of
Commerce. After a review of general business
conditions, in which he emphasized the extent
of the building program throughout the coun-
try and the oversold condition of the basic in-
dustries such as steel, Mr. Lawrence devoted
himself to a discussion of the various activities
of the Chamber of Commerce, such as the credit
service and the work of the National Bureau
for Advancement of Music in supporting music
w r eek celebrations, music memory contests,
Christmas caroling, etc. He particularly brought
to the attention of the executives of the allied
Associations the fact that through collective
work, as in the Chamber, there were things
to be accomplished that would be impossible
on the part of an individual association.
Taking it all in all the gathering was an un-
qualified success and in every sense was national
in character. Those who graced the speaker's
table included A. L. Wessell, E. R. Jacobson,
Frederick W. Carberry, W. E. Guylee, R. W.
Lawrence, C. C. Chickering, J. Edwin Butler,
E. Paul Hamilton, Charles Jacob and James
Rose. There were also some guests in the spirit
rather than in flesh who were most welcome.
INDIANAPOLIS DEALERS SATISFIED
Practically All Find January, 1923, Considerably
Ahead of Same Month Last Year—Rural De-
mand Showing Steady Increase
INDIANAPOLIS, INR, January 29.—January closed
for the piano dealers in this city with an en-
couraging balance on the profit side of the
ledgers. Nothing has featured the trade of the
month. No extraordinary sales have been re-
ported and no business changes have been an-
nounced. A marked tendency in the last two
weeks of the month toward steady, consistent
buying in both medium-priced and costly in-
struments was seen.
Reports from dealers in the smaller cities of
the State show that conditions in the agricul-
tural districts are improving steadily. Farmers
are on the market for pianos to a larger extent
than they have been in many months. An ex-
ceptionally mild Winter has proved a boon not
only in the agricultural districts, but likewise
in the cities. Labor conditions in Indianapolis
are considered to be quite as favorable as any-
where in the country. The consequence is that
dealers are experiencing little difficulty with
their instalment customers.
J. H. Tregoe, secretary-treasurer of the Na-
tional Association of Credit Men, in an address
at a conference of credit men here, asserted
that a tendency throughout the country to in-
crease prices is a dangerous one and that unless
it is controlled it may have a reaction. "We
are stronger than we were twelve months ago,"
he said, "and credit is in a very comfortable
situation, but we are not out of our difficulties
by any means. At present there is a good
movement of trade, except in some of the agri-
cultural districts. The decreased buying power
of the farmer is one of our great problems. The
confused condition in Europe is another."
Practically every piano dealer reports his Jan-
uary business to be considerably increased over
that of January, 1922. Everything points to a
normal increase for the year, they say.
Pep is wasted energy unless it is directed
along effective lines.