Presto

PRESTO
EXTENT OF SEEBURG
LINE AMAZES DEALERS
Musical and Structural Excellences of Array of
Automatic Pianos, Orchestrions and Organs
Impressed Visitors to Exhibit.
The extent, variety and excellence of the line of
automatic instruments exhibited by the J. P. Seeburg
Piano Co., Chicago, at the McAlpin during conven-
tion week, were separate features that impressed
dealers. It was an alluring display of Marshall
pianos and J. P. Seeburg coin-operated electric
pianos, orchestrions and theater organs, and plainly
suggested an effective manner of supplying the deal-
ers' wants in a big and growing field. It was a
•splendid opportunity for the ambitious dealer to see
the latest in automatic instruments and to learn about
the profit-possibilities in the field.
The great interest in this phase of the music busi-
ness was made clear by the continuous crowds of
music merchants who visited the display and tarried
to listen to N. Marshall Seeburg and Lee S. Jones
telling about the features that make the J. P. Seeburg
automatic instruments desirable. The beauty of case
of the pianos, orchestrions and organs was apparent
to all observers; the tone and musical qualities gen-
erally were demonstrated by the touching of a button,
but the important quality of reliability was one that
Mr. Marshall and Mr. Jones ably set forth and backed
up their words with the printed testimony of repre-
sentative dealers in all parts of the country.
Why the Seeburg dealer does not know dull times
when others complain provides an answer that im-
presses the inquiring dealer. The musical Seeburg
coin-operated instruments are reliable, never fail to
work and are always bringing in the money. The
enthusiastic Seeburg officials impressed dealers visit-
ing the exhibit with that most important feature of
the Seeburg instrument; they described the sales plan
and presented inquirers with the testimony of hun-
dreds of the most experienced dealers who are profit-
ably handling the line of automatic instruments of
the y. P. Seeburg Piano Co.
A PROBLEM FOR THE
OUTSIDE SALESMEN
Small-Town Chief of Police Thinks It Smart
to Treat Them as Offenders to Be
Stopped by Slander.
Is the hard-working house-to-house solicitor for
business a criminal? Can he by any stretch of in-
tolerance be classed with the petty offenders who
sneak into homes for purposes of dishonest kind?
If so, how long since the makers of law put him in
that category? The answer must have a very con-
siderable interest with the men whose business it is
to sell pianos.
From the first beginning of the piano trade, it has
been customary for solicitors to search for "pros-
pects" among the householders. Thousands of pianos
are helping to make homes happy because of the
energy of the outside salesmen, or house-to-house
canvassers. And yet one of the big New York news-
papers print an article, with approving comment, the
story of a small-town police chief who had a brilliant
scheme for ridding his community of the house-to-
house salesmen canvassers. The New York news-
paper article reads as follows:
"Many small town merchants find the house-to-
house canvasser an irritation and the cause of the loss
of quite a few sales, but in one town, according to a
story told here yesterday, the problem has been
solved in an odd way. The merchants there are on
very good terms with the Chief of Police and fre-
quently, when an unexplained theft or other misdeeds
are committed, the latter was wont to give out a
statement blaming the door-to-door canvasser. While
the placing of blame on the canvasser may not be
merited, the person relating the story said the action
of the police chief made the average woman con-
sumer in that section cautious about dealing with the
canvasser, to the advantage of the local merchants."
Of course, as always, there are "two sides to the
question." It is true that under certain circumstances
the house-to-house canvasser may interfere with local
trade. That applies to the canvasser from some
other locality than the one in which he does his can-
vassing. In the piano business such activities have
been known to work to the disadvantage of local
dealers. But, in the case of local solicitors "work-
ing" their home towns, the case is different. And
here the justification of the chief of police's view-
point may be in the supposition that the local can-
vasser is known to the people. But that is not true
in cities of considerable size. Nor is it necessarily
true in even the smallest towns, for often the sales-
men are new to the communities, and making their
first effort to interest trade.
It is certain that no roughly made rules of any
local police chief can work fairly, or be acceptable to
business men—certainly not to business, men whose
progress depends largely upon the outside activities
of solicitors.
The custom of what was once called "door bell
ringing" is not so common today in the piano busi-
ness as formerly. Still there is a good deal of it done,
and the New York item suggests that a better un-
derstanding is needed. In communities where all
outside solicitors or salesmen must be provided with
licenses there seems possible a double injustice in
the police chief's plan of suppressing energy and
shutting down local trade.
June 14, 1924.
MRS. CHARLES KOHLER
Personality of One of the Prominent Directors
in New York Piano Industry Sketched
by Editorial Pen.
From The Swallow, a daily newspaper of Hot
Springs, Va., and White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.,
the following interesting sketch of Mrs. Charles
Kohler, owner of the Kohler Industries, Inc., New
York, published during" her recent visit to* Hot
Springs, is taken:
"This evening, messieurs et mesdames of the
Homestead, we are having a very definite and very
different pleasure. Last night, as you may remem-
ber, we wrote of Mr. Cornelius F. Kelly and had
rather a flair in recognizing the captain of industry.
Well, the term is not ours, but how would you call a
woman, or what would you call a woman, who held
an analogous position to a captain of industry? In
fact was one. Is one.
Telephone Transaction Just as Binding as if Parties
"At all events those of us who have the pleasure
»of knowing Mrs. Charles Kohler will possibly say:
to It Stood Face to Face.
'Well, Mrs. Kohler is quite enough!' And so we'll
No matter whether the piano salesman's solicita- just say—Mrs. Kohler. Very much of a remarkable
tions and arguments be made personally direct to a woman is the head of the Kohler-Campbell Indus-
prospect or by absent treatment the deal may be tries. Not even president of it. Why be president
closed satisfactorily by telephone. Business trans- of oneself, which is .quite what any successful per-
acted by telephone, telegraph or the mails is just as son is? But not with a tinted title. The Kohler-
binding upon the individuals or firms involved as Campbell Industries comprise several companies and
though they had stood face to face, and signed con- each with its own president. The Welte-Mignon,
tracts or written orders, according to a decision re- by the way, is the special idea of the -organization.
• 'Rather interesting, too, to know that Mrs. Kohler
cently by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals,
is building a half-million dollar factory on Eleventh
at Washington.
The ruling applies even to cases in which the actual avenue at 51st street, Xew York. Rather interest-
identity of the person sending a letter or a telegram ing in these days of "bad business." It's really quite
interesting. A forceful, vigorous personality. A
or using the telephone could be established only with
great difficulty by the person receiving the telegram, charming and gracious woman. Frankly it is some-
thing different. Jades and lavendar and crimson.
the telephone call or the letter.
Not all at once, of course, but there. A kindly, con-
But to make things equal the person at the sending siderate nature and a genuinely charitable one, we
end of the transaction has a right, according to the should say that Mrs. Charles Kohler is one of the
court, to assume that the person receiving is actually most important and vital forces we have ever had the
the person desired to receive the call, the letter or the fortune of meeting."
telegram, provided that the subject matter, or the
desired action, is acted upon or brought about as a
W. T. Boulger, 231 Central street, Lowell, Mass.,
result of the call, telegram or letter.
moved recently to the street floor of 250 Central
The law is plain that if John Jones out at the edge street.
of the city calls the Smith Piano Co. down on Piano
Row on the telephone and talks to a person he be-
lieves to be Mr. Smith or somebody qualified to act
for him, and the result is that the Smith Piano Co.
does what Jones wants done, it is binding on all con-
cerned; especially so, the court holds, when a tele-
phone conversation is followed by confirmatory let-
ters or telegrams.
With regard to letters and telegrams, the court
holds that the sender has a right to assume that the
person for whom these communications are intended
actually received them if the desired action or non-
action follows their receipt. The receiver of these
communications also has the right, the court said, to
assume that they come from whfere they purport to
come and from whom they purport to come.
COURT DECISION HELD
ADVANTAGE TO TRADE
iffik Enduring'
THE
PROSPEROUS KENTUCKY FIRM.
The Scott Brothers Piano Co., Ashland, Ky., is
now located in its new home in the Scott Hotel
Building on Winchester avenue. The store interior
is very attractive. The woodwork, show cases and
instrument cases and demonstrating booths are done
in mahogany. The floor is made of Roman terrazzo
marble and will help in "making a pleasing situation
for the well selected stock of pianos and other in-
struments. Pianos will line the walls in front and
attractive lamps will be placed here and there.
Phonographs, record booths and instrument display
cases will be in the center part of the floor space.
The demonstrating booths are in the back. A com-
plete stock of sheet music and records is kept. The
music shop is in the new Scott Hotel Building.
is a complete line
It comprises a range of artisti-
cally worthy instruments to
please practically every purse:
The Hardman, official piano of
the Metropolitan Opera House;
the Harrington and the Hensel
Pianos in which is found that in-
builtdurabilitythatcharacterizes
all Hardman-made instruments;
the wonderful Hardman Repro-
ducing Piano; the Hardman
Autotone (the perfect player-
piano); and the popular Playo-
tone.
AMBITIOUS YOUNGSTOWN FIRM.
NEW WINSTON-SALEM BRANCH.
£jHardman
The 3hlardman dZine
The McMahon Piano Co., Youngstown, O., re-
cently moved to the Capital Theater Building at
East Federal and Champion streets, where extensive
remodeling plans provided many advantages for the
firm. The purpose of the company is to become a,
general music house in every sense of the phrase.
The McMahon Piano Co. was established fifteen
years ago and its success has been continuous since
that time.
The Bland Piano Co., Wmston-Salem, X. C , has
opened a branch store in the Huntley-Hill-Stockton
Co.'s building on West Fifth street. The lines car-
ried in the main store on North Main street are dupli-
cated in the new branch, which is an evidence of the
fast increasing volume of business of this progressive
company.
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