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THE
12
The Technical Department
(Continued
from
page
11)
ashamed to practice would be a big man. I have
known more than one dealer in such a case
absolutely refuse to bid, stating openly and in
public prints that he could not, and would not
if he could, offer to supply any piano he would
have the nerve to put on his floor at the price
known to be in the minds of the purchasing
committee. Unhappily most dealers are not
proof against temptation. They sell at little or
no margin. They obtain the contract by cutting
to the bone on the price of their cheapest goods,
and then, of course, they have, or think they
have, to skimp on service and scamp their guar-
antee; which fact indirectly answers the implica-
tions in paragraph six of Mr. Will's letter.
They are much to blame, and so are the man-
ufacturers who permit their own goods, no mat-
ter what their class, thus to be mishandled.
In the end, of course, everyone suffers from
conditions like these. The public institution is
morally swindled, the children are musically
swindled and the sellers swindle themselves.
Who gains? On the other hand, whose fault
is it exactly?
It is the fault of the trade's bad past, of public
miseducation years ago, of the general desire on
the part of people to get something for nothing.
Technical Transactions
3. Yes, I certainly think that all transactions
of any technical society should be published at
regular intervals and that popular journals,
whether musical or semi-scientific, should be
able to obtain these transactions for reference or
republication.
4. Certainly it is well to publish all one can
persuade an editor to print on the care of
the piano, on its construction and on its tone.
Unfortunately, however, we suffer greatly in the
piano industry from lack of an authority.
Editors have often been badly bitten by pub-
lishing a supposedly authoritative article and
then finding that it is all nonsense and is bitterly
attacked by musicians, tuners and almost everj
one—save the innocent readers for whom it was
originally intended.
Then, again, editors do not like to publish
articles written in a combative or controversial
tone. They will stand almost anything better
than that. Even misstatements may get past
them, but ill-temper or an assumption of supe-
riority will not. One must write good tem-
peredly, and above all one must not attack any-
one else.
The Curse of Competition
5. Do not blame the manufacturers all the
time for their attitude. They are usually cau-
tious only because they have learned through
bitter experience how quickly a frank and open
attitude is likely to be misapprehended and even
made the subject of attack by competitors. In
general it may be said, other things being equal,
that the level of amenity is high as among man-
ufacturers, who commonly respect each other
and whose attitude is more tolerant and friendly
among themselves than is the attitude of their
retail representatives. It is retail competition
based upon the wholly mistaken idea that price
alone affords a fair basis for selling which is
responsible for most of the matters of which Mr.
Will justly complains.
To-day, however, a new era is really dawning.
The technicians' society lately organized will not
be functioning strongly for perhaps some time
yet, but in due course it will be able to rid
us of the fog and the confusion which becloud
our doings and our attitude one to the other.
When there has been some free and frank dis-
cussion for a few seasons there will be a little
less of the present tendency to believe that
everything should be held secret, for it will
appear that the "secrets" are not worth keeping,
if indeed they ever were secrets in the true
sense of the word.
Education, as Mr. Will truly says, is the
great question, and in it the solution of all our
troubles is held. When and how to begin it is a
question; and one much controverted; but one
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
may be assured that it will never be rightly
answered save in a spirit of mutual helpfulness
and good will. For my part I resolutely refuse
to believe that the industry, in any of its
branches, is wilfully wicked or desirous of doing
ill.
Correspondence
is solicited and should be addressed to William
Braid White, care of The Music Trade Review,
Western Division, 209 South State street,
Chicago.
Brighter Prospects Mark
Twin City Conditions
Retail Music Merchants Generally Find a Better
Situation Than Has Been in the Past With
Tendency to Improvement
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, MINN., June 31.—
The "between grass and hay" season here is
featured by a bit brighter prospects, but fairly
quiet business, characteristic of the season. Com-
parison with last year's figures in many cases
shows that business is holding it own, or that
even this year has bettered last year in the
same period. George A. Mairs, manager of the
piano and Victrola departments at W. J. Dyer
& Bro., finds his departments' figures better than
last year.
The finishing of annual inventory shows that
the Metropolitan Music Co. is holding its own,
according to Edward R. Dyer. The volume of
sales, Mr. Dyer says, has not been so great, but
with conditions within the store adjusted to take
care of that the Metropolitan's business is very
gratifying. Conditions are looking more promis-
ing, Mr. Dyer says. Phonographs and records,
however, he finds very slow at present. Mr.
Dyer returned June 12 from New York after
attending the national music industries conven-
tion.
Business in the Raudenbush Duluth store is
better than in the Twin City branches, accord-
JULY 5, 1924
ing to Webb R. Raudenbush, of Raudenbush &
Sons. There, he finds, they are doing real busi-
ness, while results in St. Paul and Minneapolis
are very ordinary. Mr. Raudenbush returned
June 20 from a few days' trip to western Wis-
consin.
Arthur E. Monson, manager of the Stone
Piano Co., finds conditions a trifle better, al-
though fairly quiet. C. R. Stone, president,
moved Saturday to Detroit Lake, Detroit, Minn.,
where his family will spend the Summer and
be joined week-ends by Mr. Stone.
William S. Collins, vice-president of the Cable
Piano Co., has not recovered completely from
the automobile accident in which he was in-
jured some weeks ago, when he was struck
while crossing the street on foot. He is able
to spend part of the time at the store, but has
not resumed his usual office hours. The local
house reports business very fair and sees an
increase in the near future.
Knabe Piano Helps at
Democratic Convention
Instrument Furnishes Accompaniments for
Artists Singing Patriotic Numbers During Big
National Gathering in New York
The Knabe piano occupied several planks in
the platform at the Democratic Convention at
the Madison Square Garden, New York. When
the bands were not playing and the delegates
were not cheering it was the beautiful Knabe
that was heard accompanying the singers who
voiced the "Star Spangled Banner" and other
patriotic songs.
Incidentally it will be remembered that Gov-
ernor Al Smith of New York, one of the pop-
ular candidates for President, together with his
family, uses and enjoys an Ampico at the Ex-
ecutive Mansion in Albany.
Consult the Universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire positions.
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