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WESTERN COMMENT
Dealers and Manufacturers
REVIEW OFFICE, CHICAGO, I I I . , AUGUST 20,
tity of labor and all the other factors involved. But the delivery
of the scale drawings only begins the work. There must then fol-
low expensive construction of wood patterns for the plate foundry.
The latter must then make preliminary castings, adjust these, cor-
rect them, perhaps obtain some changes in the design; and al-
together use up several weeks at least of continuous labor by a
group of experts. Nor is this all. To the cost of the scale plus
the cost of the first plate must be added the very large cost of new
rim presses, built by high-class experts. Each press at the most
can glue the plywood for not more than two rims at a time, and
each costs from one thousand dollars upwards. Actions and keys
must be manufactured according to the arrangements of the new
scale, a new pattern for bass strings must be made and executed,
and new hammers must be designed and produced. All of this
skilled work consumes months of time, at a cost which may very
easily run well beyond $10,000 all before a single piano of the new
style can be placed on the market. And then the whole investment
must be hazarded upon the enthusiasm, the merchandising ability
and the interest of merchants and salesmen who know little about
the improvements which may have been effected and much less
about the elaborate and long-drawn-out works of design and execu-
tion.
1928
comment upon the position and the prospects of the
piano industry has been centered very largely upon the faults and
the sin, of omission as well as of commission, at-
About
tributed to the manufacturers. Some commenta-
tors, to be sure, and I hope I may be numbered
c . .
among them, have not failed to lay their critical
fingers upon the equally obvious sins which have been committed
by the retail members of the industry. On the whole, however,
the manufacturers have had to take most of the blame. 'Now
it is not unfair to say that the task of apportioning blame is
neither pleasant nor easy. A trade paper depends for its own pros-
perity upon the prosperity of the industry it serves. It must do
all in its power to make its criticisms constructive, basing them
upon the experience and the knowledge possessed by its editors and
contributors. When therefore a trade paper undertakes to ap-
portion blame for any disasters which have occurred, or which
appear to be likely to occur, to an industry, the judicious reader will
understand that the criticism may be foolish but is almost sure to
be honest and well intentioned. Now a trade paper which is fool-
ish though honest is of very little use to an industry, especially
to an industry which is having troubles of its own. The trade
paper in which these words appear does believe that it is useful to
the piano industry and so, a fortiori, that it is not foolish. It
bases its criticism and its comment upon the pretty extensive ex-
perience and the hardly gained knowledge of men who have lived
in the industry in almost every imaginable sort of practical capacity
and who write therefore whereof they know. Now, if this paper
has been rather conspicuous among its fellows in its insistence
upon the recognition by merchants of the paramount importance of
correct merchandising, and if it has said (as it has) that manu-
facturers are ready to do more than their share in creating better
selling conditions, this is only another piece of evidence in favor
of The Review's claim to correctness of views. For it can be
shown conclusively, not only that manufacturers are ready to take
their part in creating better conditions, but that actually they are
at this very time spending money . . . cash . . . at a time when cash
is none too plentiful, in a fair and honest attempt to march in step
with the merchants towards stability and prosperity. This, I say,
can be demonstrated, and demonstrated it shall be forthwith.
RECENT
external changes in case or in decoration involve great ex-
penditures and a long work of preparation. It is not possible
to change from an established system of finish
Rabbits
such as varnish, to lacquer or to colored decor,
From
either
suddenly or easily. A change in the height
Hats
of an upright piano may involve six months' work
and all the profit on ten carloads. A change in decoration may
be as serious. The piano manufacturer cannot produce changes to
suit the often hasty criticisms of merchants as a magician produces
rabbits out of a hat. If he could, indeed, the pianos would prob-
ably be as phony as the magic. Piano manufacturing involves, not
what is so often and thoughtlessly called "mass-production"; for
mass production has no meaning for the piano industry . . . but
rather the individual production, on standardized patterns, of very
highly organized pieces of mechanism intended to stand and com-
monly subjected to highly mechanical types of abuse. Piano manu-
facturing cannot be changed over in the course of a night at the
whirrh of any dealer who thinks that it would be nice to have a
change of some sort. Yet, despite every temptation to refuse obsti-
nately any change, piano manufacturers are bravely spending time,
skill, thought and cash to bring their ideas and their works up to
date. '
EVEN
A MERCHANT can drop pianos and go into phonographs or radio
exclusively, without necessarily losing anything save the good-will
accumulated during a greater or lesser period of
Merchant
selling pianos at retail. This good-will may be
and
worth much, or it may be worth nothing; but in
Manufacturer
any case, it and it alone represents the merchant's
loss in case of his changing completely the nature of the articles
displayed for sale in his store. With a manufacturer the situation
is very different. Not only does the equipment for the manufac-
ture of any type of instrument involve a large investment, but also
any change in the thing produced, may and usually does involve
great expense. For a piano manufacturer to cease outright the
building of pianos means in most cases complete liquidation at
serious loss. To make a change, even if it be demanded by public
taste, is always a serious matter. Consider what is involved in the
development of a new size of grand piano, for instance. In the
first place, the new scale must be drafted. If the work be done
inside the factory the time of the best technician is occupied for
several weeks. If an outside engineer is engaged to furnish a de-
sign, his time, too, must be paid for, and at a cost running as high
as perhaps two thousand dollars for a single design, which is not
at all unreasonable considering the very high skill, the great quan-
CONSIDER the remarkable display of small upright pianos in a
dozen styles and colors of decor, recently made by the Cable Com-
pany. That display represented the outlay of
Their
many thousands of dollars and the employment
Practical
of very high skill, much patience and consider-
Faith
able faith. Consider, to take a single example
just to hand, the new Howard grand announced last week by the
Baldwin interests. All I have said above about scale drafting ap-
plies to such an instrument as this. Look back over the files of
this paper for the year and note how many other scales, types and
ideas have been put forth by manufacturers. Now the manufac-
turer cannot go out of business overnight. He must stay in the
piano business; and when he spends time, labor and very hard-
earned cash liberally to make changes and improvements, he is
showing his faith in the piano industry, plainly and without equi-
vocation. It costs money to show faith in the piano industry when
one is a manufacturer.
W. B. W.
10