PRESTO
September 8, 1923
CHRISTMAN
Grand
AS A MONOPOLY IT
SPELLS MILLIONS
The Only Little Thing in the Way Is the
Atmosphere and the Difficulty of Fencing
in the Space Between Earth
and Sky.
RANKIN'S RADIO SCHEME
It's Fiction, but Possibly It May Illustrate Troubles
to Be Beaten Before Several Species of
"Statics" Can Be Overcome.
when embodied with
These Famous Instruments
Challenge Comparison in
Everything that Commands
the Admiration of Critical
Buyers. Musical Prospects
Rave Over Them.
DEALERS WHO SELL
FINE PIANOS
Never fail to Commend these
Pianos and. Players after they
have Tried their Selling Power
and Permanent Strength.
CHRISTMAN
Studio Grand
A WONDERFUL SMALL GRAND
only five feet long which embodies all
the advantages of the larger grands
and possessing a tone volume and
range of expression surprisingly broad.
Musicians quickly recognize the
characteristic tone qualities of the
CHRISTMAN GRAND
SEEING IS BELIEVING
"The First Touch Tells"
Reg. U. S. Pat. Off.
Christman Piano Co.
597 East 137th St.
New York
An entertaining letter from Manager N. A. Fegen,
former piano man now associated with the radio
business, tells Presto that a "real opportunity" awaits
this paper. "Open the first radio department of any
music trade publication," he exclaims, "and invite the
trade to get its information on the new product
through Presto."
Mr. Fegen is not observing, or he would have
known that the department was opened in good style
and closed again with enthusiasm for reasons which
could scarcely be better "put" than in a little drama
which appeared in J. P. McEvoy's "The Potter"
series, in the Chicago Tribune (copyrighted), a
thrilling and very lifelike extract from which follows
—by special permission:
Potter Interested.
Pa, on his way to the street car, is almost run
down by a long, expensive automobile in one end of
which sits a sneerful chauffeur, while in the luxurious
gloom of the other end rides none other than Thomas
C. Rankin himself! Rankin condescends to give Pa
a lift downtown. . . .
Pa (regarding Rankin with awe, now that he is
wealthy): Well, well, how does it feel to be rich?
Rankin: It isn't painful.
Pa (virtuously): Well, there's one thing money
won't buy.
Rankin: Well, I can't think what it is. Can you?
Pa (sadly): No. Not offhand.
Rankin (after a pause, during which Pa eyes ele-
gant interior of limousine wistfully): How are you
coming these days?
Pa: I'm not.
Rankin: What's wrong?
Pa: What isn't?
Rankin (after another pause, slowly) : You know,
I put you wise to that oil stock first, and you wouldn't
believe me, and you sold out too soon. I wonder if
. . but no, I guess you wouldn't.
Pa (eagerly): Wouldn't what?
Rankin (slowly): I was going to say, I wonder,
if I put you wise to something ! else, if you would go
in; but I suppose you wouldn t.
Pa (with dawning hope): You mean . . . ?
Rankin: Exactly!
Pa: Ohhhh!
The Opportunity.
Rankin (mysteriously): My associates and I are
organizing a new proposition which will . . . but,
say, you wouldn't be interested . . .
Pa (with pathetic eagerness): Who? Me? Not
interested? Say, if there's a chance to make some
money . . .
Rankin (scornfully): Make some money? Don't
make me laugh!
Say, do you know how much
money Ford made out of his idea? And the fellows
who went in with Ford at the beginning?
And
Rockefeller—have you any idea what he's made off
his first investment? And why? Because they
started at the beginning of something which was new
but had tremendous possibilities. Isn't that so?
Pa: Yes, yes. Sure.
Rankin (solemnly): What's the newest big thing
in the world today?
Pa: I give it up.
Rankin (intoning the magic word, with a caress
for each syllable): Ra-di-o!
Pa (dubiously) : Ye—e—es, that's right.
Rankin: Don't you see it? Radio. In its in-
fancy. Floundering around. Waiting for somebody
to come along with vision and money and organize
it, promote it, capitalize it, consolidate it, control it.
Do you get me? Control it!
Pa (bewildered):
But—but . . . how you
gonna control it? It's—er—er—wild, isn't it? Wan-
dering around in the air all the time?
The Secret Divulged.
Rankin (confidentially): Listen. That's our se-
cret. We have patents on plants and processes that
will insure us a monopoly on all the radio in the
world. All of it. Nobody will be able to send wire-
less messages without paying us a royalty. Nobody
will be able to receive a wireless message until he
pays us first. How and where and when it's to be
done . . . that's our secret.
Pa (aghast): Gosh!
Rankin (triumphantly): You may well say gosh.
Imagine the possibilities! Control of all the busi-
ness now being done by all the telephone, telegraph
and cable companies in the world. A monopoly on
all radio rights! Tremendous? Absolutely incal-
culable! Listen. Engineers will tell you it can't be
done. Absurd! Three months ago they were saying
things couldn't be done which rank amateurs are
doing today. The engineers don't know any more
about it than you do. Over night, discoveries are
being made that revolutionize all their theories. And
that's what we've got. Something new. Something
none of them has even dreamed of. Something that
will startle the world when we announce it. But
we're not going to . . .
yet.
Pa (reeling): What are you gonna do?
Rankin: Go along quietly and organize. Take in
a few of our best friends on the ground floor.
Finance and build our control stations, and then
. . . ahhhh!
Pa (groggy): Then . . . what?
A Dazzling Vision.
Rankin: Then we will announce to the world that
the Cosmic Radio Corporation is ready for business;
that we have all radio rights for sale, and the line
forms to the right, orders filled in rotation as received,
certified checks must accompany mail orders, don't
crowd, don't shove.
Pa (savoring the luscious mouthful): The Cosmic
Radio Corporation?
Rankin (blissfully): Yes, that's it. Wait . . .
you'll see.
Pa (cautiously): You sure of all this?
Rankin (solemnly): I'm putting all my money
into it. That's how sure I am.
Pa (dazzled by the vision of sudden wealth): Oooh!
All the radio in the world! Think of it! Suppose I
invested in it; how much would 1 make?
Rankin (with tremendous earnestness): Listen.
Every man who conies into this now with as little as
a thousand dollars, say, will be a millionaire inside
of two years. Yes, sir. I mean it. A millionaire!
(Car comes to smooth, silent stop.) Well, here's my
office. (To chauffeur.) William, take Mr. Potter to
his office and return for instructions. (To Pa.)
Well, glad to have seen you again. S'long.
Pa (leaping out excitedly): No, no . . .
I'm
coming up to your office with you. I'm . . . I'm
. . . I'm interested in this Comic . . .
I mean
Cosmic Radio Corporation.
Rankin (heartily): All right, come on. (A chord
in G, please. That's right, professor. Now, will the
congregation kindly rise and sing Number Twenty-
three?—
" 'Will you walk into my parlor?'
Said the spider to the fly;
' I've the prettiest little parlor
That ever you did spy.' " . . .)
SOME VERY LATE OPENINGS
IN THE RETAIL MUSIC TRADE
A Few of the New Ventures in the Best Business in
the World.
Arno Naigatter, the Oconto Falls, Wis., dealer,
is planning to open a branch in Oconto, Wis.
The Cortwright Music Shop was opened with at-
tractive features in Greencastle, Ind., last week.
A new music department has been added by Her-
man White, a Williamsburg, Ky., department store
owner.
E. Seidel has opened a music store at 644 Indiana
avenue, Tndianapolis, Ind., which will be known as
the Indiana Avenue Blues Shop.
The Audubon Music Co., Audubon, la., is expand-
ing its business by the enlargement of its lines.
Mrs. R. T. Rounds will open a music shop this
week in Rockport, Ind.
The Clark Music Store, Rockwell City, la., has
moved its quarters to a new location in the Brower
building, one door north of the old store.
The
change in location was made to provide more room,
the new quarters being considerably larger.
MEHLIN FOR RECORDING.
Two Mehlin & Sons grand pianos have been in-
stalled in the Edison recording plant at East Orange,
N. J. Charles Mehliu, superintendent of Paul G.
Mehlin & Sons' factory, West New York, N. J., is
the possessor of a large Edison phonograph and a
cabinet of records which he received recently from
Thomas Edison as a personal tribute for certain
technical suggestions given by Mr. Mehlin earlier in
the year. When searching for the type of piano best
suited to phonograph recordings last spring, Mr. Edi-
son, accompanied by his secretary, made a visit to
the Mehlin plant and spent several hours in consulta-
tion with Charles Mehlin. As a result of the inter-
view two Mehlin grands are said to have been in-
stalled in the Edison recording plant in East
Orange, N. J.
A PARIS WEDDING.
A -dispatch from Paris last Saturday told of the
marriage of Miss Grace Healy, daughter of Ray
Healy and granddaughter of the late P. J. Healy, to
Fred W. Woodruff, president of the First National
Bank of Joliet, 111. The ceremony was performed by
the mayor of the sixteenth arrondissement in the
fashionable Henri Martin district of Paris.
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