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MARCH 3, 1928
The Music Trade Review
New York Dealers Discuss
Ethics of Advertising
Principal Speakers at Meeting of New York Piano Merchants'
Association on February 28 Were Federal District
Attorney C. H. Tuttle and Hermann Irion
T
HE New York Piano Merchants' Association held its regular meeting at the Hotel Breslin,
Broadway at Twenty-ninth street, on Tuesday, February 28, at 6.30 o'clock. An attend-
ance of about sixty-five persons set a new record for the association, and an interesting
meeting followed the dinner. The invited speakers were Hon. Charles H. Tuttle, United States
District Attorney, and Hermann Trion, of Steinway & Sons, president of the Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Tuttle spoke on the assigned subject of
ments of six New York newspapers, including
"Business and the Law," and gave some inter- t l l e Times, Herald-Tribune, Sun, Post, Journal
esting views on the improved tone of business H n d Evening World, attended the meeting. Mr.
as part of the present evolution in industry. He
Burns, of the latter paper, answered Mr. Glynn's
stated that trade cannot be kept clean through remarks by saying that the leading newspapers
the medium of the law alone. The real forces have a censorship bureau to reject advertising
that create ethical standards of business are which is obviously "bait copy." He stated that
the national groups of organized industry, it was hardly up to the newspapers to enforce
which meet regularly to discuss common prob- ethical standards to any further extent, but
lems. Growing out of these organizations are rather up to the trade bodies themselves. Dur-
smaller groups or committees serving as inter- ing the course of the dinner Norman Joliffe,
nal police to check fraudulent practices within baritone soloist of the Marble Collegiate
Church, sang a number ..of pleasing selections.
any particular field of business.
These tendencies have formed a development The meeting adjourned about 10 o'clock.
of a sense of pride and fairness in most indus-
tries. The antiquated doctrine of "caveat
emptor" (let the buyer beware), which came
down from old Roman law, has been replaced
for the most part by the spirit of the "square
deal." Through the practices of trade ostra- With Gross Income Exceeding $55,000,000 the
cism, it now behooves the seller to beware.
Company Realizes a Net of $8,478,320 or
In the matter of curbing misleading adver-
Nearly Double That of 1926
tising, the law may assist legitimate business
through enforcement of the mail fraud statute.
The- report of the Radio Corp. of America
It is not necessary that rnisstatements appear for 1927 shows a gross income from operations
in the actual "copy" if it can be established of $65,082,074, the highest in the company's his-
that the scheme behind the advertising is one tory, and a net income transferred to surplus
to deceive the public. The press has taken in- of $8,478,320, also a high record, comparing with
dependent action in many instances to keep its $4,661,397 in 1926. In 1925 the figures were
advertising columns clean, not so much moti- $50,994,436 and $2,910,402 respectively.
vated by ethics as by the fact that it is good
The report says that the granting of licenses
business to do so. Mr. Tuttle commended under the tuned radio frequency patents of the
highly the work that is being done by the Na- Radio Corp. of America to twenty-five manu-
tional Better Business Bureau, the National facturers of radio receiving sets had done much
Association of Credit Men and other such to stabilize the radio industry and to put it on
organizations.
a sound and permanent basis. No licenses have
Mr. Irion stated that in his opinion the tone been granted under the superheterodyne pat-
of the piano industry had improved immeasur- ents, however, the corporation having retained
ably in recent years, and that he had optimistic exclusive rights to produce and sell this type
views regarding its future. The industry has of receiver.
made great strides in developing more scientific
The regulations of the Federal Radio Com-
methods of doing business. Due to the in- mission, in the opinion of the corporation, have
creasing interest in music on the part of the materially improved the reception of broad-
young people of the country, he prophesied casting in all sections of the country, and have
that the music industry will expand its influ- thereby stimulated the radio industry. A sub-
ence in direct proportion to the .growth of cul- stantial stock interest has been acquired in the
ture. He stated also that too few individuals F. B. O. Pictures Corp., the report says, in
in the music industries are aware of the lasting connection with the development of a system
good being done by the National Bureau for for the recording and reproduction of sound in
the Advancement of Music. These benefits he synchronization with motion pictures by the
characterized as both concrete-and abstract and corporation.
added that in many ways the abstract results
would prove more helpful than the concrete
attainments.
Following Mr. Irion's talk, President 1..
Schoenewald called on John J. Glynn, past-
president of the New York Piano Merchants' Three Programs Presented During Meeting in
Association, for some remarks on piano adver-
New York by Aeolian Artists—Aeolian Co.
tising. Mr. Glynn stated that he felt that
Hosts at Musical Tea
locally piano advertising had not improved in
recent years and during the past three months
Five hundred of the most prominent bankers
the advertising "copy" could be regarded as of the country listened to a program of Duo-
"disgraceful." . He said that the use of the Art music at the recsnt annual convention of
terminology, "was so much, is now so much the American Bankers' Association at the Hotel
less," was never good business, and if it be- Commodore, New York. The program was
comes prevalent, will harm the entire retail made possible by the Aeolian Co., New York,
piano trade.
which furnished a beautiful Steinway Duo-Art
Representatives of the advertising depart- in an Italian Renaissance case, one of the rare
Radio Corp. Earns Record
Net Income During 1927
Duo-Art Piano Entertains
at Bankers' Convention
creations of the Aeolian Department of custom
design. The instrument, placed on the stage of
the assembly room, was the center of attrac-
tion and made a charming picture, surrounded
by palms.
Three different programs were given on the
three days of the convention; one by Mrs.
Katherine Tift-Jones, diseuse, using the Duo-
Art, another by Elizabeth Hilliard, soprano,
accompanied by the Duo-Art, and a piano re-
cital by Robert Armbruster, playing comparison
selections with his own recordings on the Duo-
Art. One the last day of the convention the
Aeolian Co. acted as host to the bankers, their
wives and friends at a musical tea in the Little
Salon of Aeolian Hall. The three artists again
appeared with their specialties and a recital of
Audio-Graphic music was also given.
Starr Branch Moves
KANSAS CITY, MO., February 27.—The Starr
Piano Co. offices in Kansas City have been
moved from 1006 Oak to 202 la Salle Build-
ing, 8 P2ast Ninth street. B. G. Olsen is man-
ager of the Kansas City office of the company,
which serves Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas,
Missouri and Arkansas. The Starr Piano Co.
does not maintain a retail store here.
Resolution on Hospe Death
A motion was passed at the February 27
meeting of the Chicago Piano Club to have a
set of resolutions drawn up expressing deep
regret upon the loss of one of its members, A.
Hospe, Omaha, Nebr., who died Thursday,
February 23.
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