Presto

PRESTO-TIMES
are about as the rate of alcohol in Volstead's drinks,
Yi to 1%; so if that is a failure I am willing to go
down with other failures, like Benedict Arnold whose
bravery secured the recognition of France and the
surrender of Corhwallis at Yorktown, Napoleon who
made France one of the great nations of the world,
Strong Sense Behind Bits of Floating Non- Bryan who took away from the buying public the
necessity of signing notes "Payable iii gold coin";
sense in Dealer's Letter Shows How
Wilson who, with Taft, championed the League of
Trade Is Coached and Held.
Nations to secure an everlasting covenant among the
The following letter from D. Ernest Hall, Minot, world-powers to live at peace with all men; Lee,
N. D., is so well written and enlightening that it is whose love for the homeland and justice in equal
representation in Congress was crowned by a sur-
reproduced here with pleasure:
render to Grant. When I think of great industries
Minot, N. Dak., June 7, 1929.
they are simply built by successful men on the wrecks
Editor of Presto-Times.
of failures who have never SOLD themselves to a
Dear Sir:
handsome salary, so have been pushed aside.
On page 14 of the June 1st issue of your valuable
May Take to Radios for a While.
trade paper appears an article by Marshall Breeden
Some
years
ago I stood on the bank of the Mis-
under the caption, "Strong Jim the Piano Man," and
it was so rotten with inconsistencies that it was not souri river and saw two deer cut off by a current
even good fiction, for my more than 30 years' experi- of the river. To escape they jumped on a cake of ice
ence would go to show that NO piano salesman and floated away; so it is possible that the piano
would ever do anything like "Jim" did—for, though business will have to take to radios for a while, like
Jim might have been big enough to throw a full the deer to ice that was only temporary, until they
sized Durham, I doubt if there ever was a big man can float down to the firmer land necessary to their
with so small a brain. For any salesman I ever met success. Now I have hundreds of live prospects, just
would follow the line of least resistance and sell what temporarily holding off, who will all return to pianos
as the best means of developing the musical talent
the customer wanted to buy—Not even a Jew of
which the story is credited to Al Jolson in his White and refinement of the children.
Mr. Breeden may have written his article to "Get a
House breakfast visit when he asked President Cool-
idge why Ford didn't like a Jew when the president rise" and to fill your valuable paper with replies.
replied—"I never gave it a thought so don't know. Well, I "fell" for it, and am
Yours very truly,
Why?" When Jolson replied—"Because a Jew can
D. ERNEST HALL.
get more for a second-hand car than Ford can get
Thank you for my copy of the Piano Buyers' Guide
for a new one."
which I aim to have each year.
Were Breeden to call on me with that question
I would take him back to my trade-in department and
MAHOGANY AND WALNUT.
show him a player I had taken back from an Indian
Sawn mahogany exports in 1928 totaled 16,010 M
woman and if he showed even ordinary intelligence
(though his article would call that into question) I feet and were destined for 20 countries, only 2 of
would strike one key and ask if he could detect any- which purchased outstanding quantities. The United
thing wrong when he would likely turn a lack-luster Kingdom and Canada took 12,308 M feet (a decrease
eye to me and say, "That sounds all right to me"— of 2.127 M feet) and 2,416 M feet (an increase of 847
then I would strike a few keys in a chord and ask M feet), respectively. Denmark (337 M feet) and
again and he might say, "That's not just right," and Germany (310 M feet) were the next markets in
I would take him back to the original key and offer relative importance. The total mahogany exports
the explanation: "Producing a sound requires strik- for the year under review show a decrease of 1,033
ing a key which trips the 'kicker' and causes the M feet, when compared with 1927. Walnut to the
hammer to strike the unison, of which there are three amount of 13,019 M feet was purchased by 20 coun-
strings. Two of the strings may be in perfect har- tries only two of which are of outstanding importance
mony and the third not, so the piano is out of tune —Canada (7,590 M feet) and the United Kingdom
(3,553 M feet). In both instances increases are
and as a musical instrument is worthless."
shown, when compared with the prior year, of 1,241
The Piano Not Yet Sold.
M feet and 903 M feet, respectively.
The strings represent the manufacturers, the sales-
man and the customer. The manufacturer may have
JESSE FRENCH FIRE CHECKED.
invested a vast fortune to perfect a scale, build a big
factory from the dry kiln and foundry to the storage
What threatened to become a big fire and might
room, secured the endorsement of great internationally have been a big one but did not amount to anything
known musicians, highest awards wherever exhibited, in a financial way, had it not been for the quickness
endorsements of Catholic Sisters' Schools and con- of the men in the factory, was the recent blaze at the
servatories, perfected a financing plan that had en- big plant of Jesse French & Sons, New Castle, Ind.
abled more than a million homes to own their instru- It was really a good thing for the company, as it
ments, yet the piano is not sold.
demonstrated the admirable functioning of its volun-
The salesman may have given three decades to a teer fire department. The men got two lines of hose
careful and critical study of comparative piano values, on the blaze before the city fire department reached
become convinced that he is giving the greatest there. President H. Edgar French said: "It prom-
musical value for the price, have sold a thousand ised to be a real good fire, but our boys were too
pianos without knowing of one dissatisfied customer, quick for it."
never having lost a piano or an account, feeling the
confidence that he has "made customers of his friends GRAND OPENING AT MAYFIELD, KY.
and friends of his customers" and past record might
The George M. Rock Music Company held a grand
be everything that any customer could wish for, and opening of its store at 114 West Broadway, Mayfield,
yet the piano is not sold. The prospect may be Ky., on June 22. Dallas Caudle and his Carolina
finicky, want something just a little different; his wife Rhythm Kings were the musicians on the program—
might discover a fault in the shading, a daughter may nine men playing 20 instruments, with singing and
know a man who has a daughter who goes to the novelty entertainers to boot. George M. Rock is the
same class, has a music teacher who has a piano of
owner and manager. Louise Rogers the credit man-
another make. Then there may be the music teacher, ager, L. R. Porter publicity manager; Adelaide
the piano tuner, the drayman and several others look- Jackson, Odessa Boaz and Annie Key members of
ing for a commission, thinking that some other dealer the sales personnel; A. W. Wheeler piano salesman
will promise, whether he gives it or not, more for and tuner and Owen Tulley, pipe organ salesman and
the prospect, and yet the sale is not closed.
tuner.
Like the piano having several octaves and several
unisons to get out of tune, so a piano signed up for
SET DATES FOR RADIO EXHIBITS.
is only half sold, the customer must be K E P T satis-
New York dealers and the public will see the new
fied and paying, any little attention the piano requires radio styles all assembled under one roof during the
whether real or imaginary must be cared for and the w T eek of Sept. 23, when the sixth annual Radio
customer made to feel as though he is one of a great World's Fair will be held at Madison Square Gar-
big family.
den. The San Francisco show for the public is
Gave Away a Fortune.
scheduled for Aug. 17-24; Indianapolis, Ind., Aug. 31-
Personally, though Dun or Bradstreet wouldn't Sept. 7; Los Angeles, Sept. 1-7; St. Louis, Sept. 16-
give me a rating to warrant the credit of the pur- 21; Minneapolis, Sept. 24-28; Pittsburgh, Sept. 30-
chase of a Jew's harp, I have given away a fortune Oct. 5; Boston, Oct. 7-12; Detroit, Oct. 21-26; Chi-
and a workable capital to dependents, and MADE cago, Oct. 21-27.
IT ALL OUT OF T H E PIANO BUSINESS, and
FOREIGN LANGUAGE SHEET MUSIC.
sell the hardest way imaginable. First locating a
Just now there is a very interesting international
party who should have a piano, forming an acquaint-
ance, securing confidence, meeting competition and display of sheet music in a street window at Lyon
securing his order from a picture of a piano; deliver- & Healy's, Chicago. The window is unique in that
ing it into the home, making good every promise I it carries all popular melodies in the native languages
ever made to hold the customer's friendship. And of the leading European nationalities. The Lyon &
going all the way to perfect the picture I have drawn Healy store in Chicago is the only store in America
of a piano, a musical daughter and a source of educa- where complete selections of all foreign releases are
tion and refinement; and my rates of repossessions carried in stock.
D. ERNEST HALL ANSWERS
QUIBBLES OF STRONG JIM
July IS, 1929
WELTE=MIGNON CORP. ORGAN
BUSINESS SOLD FOR $79,000
Purchaser Says He'll Organize Corporation to Build
Automatic and Manual Organs.
Federal Judge Mack acted as auctioneer in New
York on July 3 in the sale of the organ department
of the Welte-Mignon Corporation, 297 East 133d
Street, New York, which has been managed by Wolf-
gang Schwabacher, a Broadway lawyer, as equity
receiver, since Feb. 4.
Donald F. Tripp, financier, of 67 Wall Street, New
York, purchased the department for $79,000. He
told the receiver that he intended to organize a cor-
poration to build automatic and manual organs. Be-
cause the estate will not have to pay an auctioneer,
it is the richer by about $1,600.
Mr. Schwabacher said he contemplated separate
sales of the piano plant of the corporation and of its
real estate. If these sales are successful, it was said,
creditors may be paid in full.
TUNERS EXPECT BIG CONVENTION.
Grand action regulating classes will be a feature
of the coming national convention of piano tuners
at the Sherman Hotel, Chicago, on August 19 to 22
inclusive. Many piano tuners lack knowledge of regu-
lating actions in grand pianos, so they will appre-
ciate this opportunity to learn. Hotel reservations are
coming in, the membership is increasing and at least
1,000 are expected to attend the convention, as 700
attended last year in Cleveland. Tfie national head-
quarters have been moved from 22 Quincy street to
suite 519 Monadnock block, 23 West Jackson boule-
vard, Chicago, where President Nels C. Boe and
Secretary Miss Mary C. Gubbins have very nice
offices. This year is the best in the history of the
association, Miss Gubbins says.
GERMAN PIANO INDUSTRY.
German piano factories suffered from overproduc-
tion and competition from small manufacturers as
well as from the tendency of the publ ; c to buy radios
and phonographs. Nevertheless, 1928 showed an in-
crease in turnover. Exports to South America and
South Africa were satisfactory, but those to England
and Australia were strongly reduced by high customs
duties. In organ building, conditions grew slowly
worse during the year, both in domestic and foreign
business. Exports of musical instruments from the
Stuttgart district to the United States, consisting
chiefly of mouth organs and accordions, amounted to
$925,164 in 1928, as compared with $951,182 in 1927.
CHARGED WITH INFRINGING COPYRIGHT.
An indictment making the unusual charge of "will-
ful infringement of copyright for, profit" was filed
with Federal Judge Caffey in New York on July 1.
The charge is directed against Nathaniel Shilkret, a
composer, who is accused by Ira B. Arnstein, also a
composer, of having infringed the copyright of a
musical composition, "Light My Life With Love," in
a composition entitled "Lady Divine." The offense
charged is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum pen-
alty of a year's imprisonment and $1,000 fine.
DAMPNESS ENEMY OF PIANO.
Don't subject your piano to extraordinary humidity,
for dampness is one of its worst enemies. No matter
how well materials are seasoned or how well the
instrument is constructed, swelling or warping of
parts, rusting of the strings and other metal parts, or
checking of the varnish work, cannot always be
guarded against under a damp condition of the atmos-
phere. Humidity will bring about a cloudy appear-
ance of the varnish work. This, however, can readily
be removed with a chamois-skin or sponge wrung
nearly dry of luke-warm water.
RETAIL RADIO SALES COMPLETED.
Approximately $132,000,000 worth of radio appara-
tus was sold at retail prices in this country during
the first three months of 1929, according to the radio
division of the National Electrical Manufacturers'
Association, which conducted a survey in co-opera-
tion with the Department of Commerce, The aver-
age business done by dealers in the first quarter of
this year was $3,370; 139,347 electric sets and 15,623
battery operated sets were sold during this period,
the average selling price per set being $165, as com-
pared to $158 per set sold in the three previous
months; 59 per cent of the radio business was done
in the Eastern part of the country.
The Charles A. Deutschmann, Jr., aged 17 years,
who died suddenly last week, is not the son of Charles
Deutschmann of Chicago, ex-president of the Na-
tional Tuners' Association, as so many who read the
death notice in the dailies of Chicago feared. Mr.
Deutschmann had no sons.
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