PRESTO
January 22, 1920.
THE
TALKING MACHINE
News of the Week in the Phonograph Field
PHONOGRAPH STOCK
Last week this paper published the first an-
nouncement of a new issue of phonograph
stock which a New York broker has placed
upon the market. The public will again be per-
mitted to have some share in the profits of a
business which, in the words of a recent writer,
"has gone crazy" in the phenomenal expansion
of its activities. But this doesn't apply to the
particular industry to which the New York
Wall street house has drawn public attention.
That industry is the Pathe Freres Phonograph
Company, a concern already strong in the field,
and already an established fact in the history
of the industry and trade.
It is not long since another great phono-
graph industry made public its statement for
the last month of the past year. And that
statement showed that the Columbia Grapho-
phone Company had made net earnings of
over $100,000,000 during December, the
month's sales averaging $263,000 a day. The
figures are almost inconceivable. They make
a new record in the lines of trade associated
with musical instruments. And they suggest
the possibilities of investment for the public,
even if necessarily speculative in its nature.
The phonograph business is now about a
quarter century old. Until about ten or twelve
years back it was, however, very different in
both methods and production from the present
day aspects. For the phonograph of twenty-
five years ago was a small affair, in which the
old-style cylinder records were used, and the
machine was more a toy than an instrument of
beauty. But it was, nevertheless, a large busi-
ness, even if not at all comparable with the
results of today.
There have been other industries that have
shown great and phenomenal development.
First of these is the automobile industry,
which in volume is, of course, comparatively
large in proportion to the size of the individual
unit of production. But we do not know of any
industry that can show such a margin of profits
as the talking machine, as made and marketed
by some of the larger manufacturers. More
than that, the phonograph industry is even
yet in its opening days. The statement has
been made that there is a waiting demand for
nearly 20,000,000 talking machines. While we
believe that to be an exaggeration, there is no
question about there being a great waiting list,
and an impatient lot of talking machine deal-
ers throughout the world.
The new offering of the Pathe Phonograph
Company seems to be an attractive one. The
name itself is a magnet. The Pathe has won
a good name and a fine place in the talking
machine world. It is a machine of individual-
ity. It possesses some pulling points not pos-
sible to its competitors.
The Pathe stock will find a ready market.
And, together with the latest Columbia show-
ing, it seems to suggest a field of industry and
trade constantly widening and steadily solidi-
fying.
SELL ONLY THE "VICTOR."
Cincinnati, Ohio, Jan. 12, 1920.
Editor Presto: On one other occasion we took
the liberty of asking where you received the infor-
mation that The Werner Industries Co. of 719 Race
street was carrying five different kinds of talking
machines, as per your item in the Presto. The
item is untrue, as we are loyal Victor dealers and
don't care to have any misunderstanding with the
public at large.
Very truly yours,
THE WERNER INDUSTRIES CO.,
By T. C. SHILLITO.
THE ELLIS
Made to Fit Any Phonograph
TALKING MACHINE MEN, INC
Important Meeting at Hotel Pennsylvania,
New York, Listens to Recital of'List of
Evils" and Discusses Same.
The regular meeting of the Talking Machine Men,
Inc., the association composed of the trade of the
states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut,
was held at the Hotel Pennsylvania on Wednesday,
January 21st, at 2 p. m. sharp.
The Reflexo Products Company and the Viking
Sign Company demonstrated their products at this
meeting. The Membership Committee reported fa-
vorably on the following applications: Rowe's Lyn-
brook Pharmacy, Inc., Lynbrook, L. I.; Harold
Sugarman, 316 Washington street, Hoboken, N. J.
At the last meeting, held on November 19, Messrs.
Kurtz and Davin changed places on the Service
Committee. Mr. Davin is now chairman.
The following letter from a member, Theodore
Arison, Arison's Music Store, 52 West 116th street,
New York, came up for action:
January 15, 1920.
Mr. E. G. Brown,
Secretary Talking Machine Men,
Bayonne, N. J.
Dear Mr. Brown: Some time ago I submitted to
Mr. Davin a "List of Evils" attendant upon our busi-
ness. Chief among them was the "Long Hours of
Business." As nothing has been done in the way of
eliminating or alleviating these evils, I wish to lay
the proposition formally before the Association in
order to ascertain once for all its attitude towards
tha mooted question.
The majority of talking machine dealers in this
city keep their stores open seven days in the week,
in many instances from early morning till midnight.
With the present high cost of service it is almost
impossible to secure a good salesman who will work
two weeks in one. His usual answer is, "Let George
do it" and "George," the proprietor, is doing it with
a vengeance. The present tendency to reduce the
hours of labor in every industry does not seem to
affect our dealers. Their greed for a few extra dol-
lars is so great that they willingly sacrifice for it
health, comfort and ease, being perfect strangers
to that form of spiritual enjoyment which only
leasure can give.
It is interesting to note that most of the dealers
interviewed by me on this subject asserted that they
would be glad to have a little respite, but owing to
the cupidity of nearby competitors they are obliged
to submit to this health-wrecking practice.
Is this form of slavery the only means of attain-
ing prosperity? I think not.
New York is probably the only city where such
conditions prevail. Not only is the "seven-day week"
unknown in other cities, but in most of them the
dealers enjoy their evenings at home. In Boston,
I am told, the dealers made an interesting experi-
ment; they decided to close their stores at noon on
Saturday. In the course of a year they found that
they sustained no loss through that innovation, as
the public soon learned to adjust itself to the new
conditions.
It is obvious that similar results can be accom-
plished here. We should start with Sunday closing.
If the majority of the dealers decide in favor of a
six-day week, the dissenting minority could easily
be persuaded to follow suit. A good argument can
be made of the fact that there is a "Sabbath-breaking
law." As there is a handful of dealers in our midst
who do not and will not see the benefits of a day's
rest, I would suggest that the secretary of the Asso-
ciation send a copy of the resolution to the mayor,
requesting him to see that the law is enforced.
I keep closed on Sundays. I confess, though, that
I am chagrined to see a part of my trade diverted
to the "seven day" fellows, and I fear that the time
may come when I shall have to meet them on their
own ground. I sincerely hope, however, that the
Association will take this question up and see it
through. Then I'll go a step further and strike for
one evening a week, a proposition which would, be-
yond doubt, fill our meeting rooms.
Sincerely yours,
THEO. ARISON.
In producing a Musical Instru-
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purpose, great care must be ex-
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The Ellis will transform
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Ellis Reproducer Co.
Powers Bldg.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
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Prices attractive
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TIPTON, IND.
NEW INCORPORATION.
Phono Development and Research Corp., Man-
hattan, phonographs, $10,000; A. Taber, D. Wolf,
N. Kurman, 145 West 45th street.
Remington Phonograph Corporation, Philadel-
phia; $1,000,000.
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