Presto

MUSICAL
TIMES
PRESTO
Established
1884
Established
1881
AMERICAN MUSIC TRADE JOURNAL
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CHICAGO, ILL., JANUARY, 1931
Issued
Monthly—
Fifteenth of Eiicli
TILDEN g'OUHDATf
H
1932
L,
FURTHER COMMblNIS Al> D EXPRESSIONS ON TWO PARALLELS OF
WESTERN_BUSINESS
THE POSSIBLE NEW PIANO SHORTAGE
Following up the article in the Decemher number
of Presto-Times on "Shortage of New Pianos," in
which the averments of H. Edgar French, president
of the Jesse French & Sons Piano Co., New Castle,
Ind., have been generally concurred in, we are in
receipt of numerous letters and verbal information in
ratification of Mr. French's words of warning and
advice.
The difficulties described by Mr. French set out a
plight rather than a theory. Piano manufacturers,
if they do not receive the orders, are not going ahead
to manufacture a lot of pianos. Their reasons foi
this may be fear of deterioration of made-up stock
standing around in the way in the shipping depart-
ments, or there may be one hundred and one othei
reasons. For instance, they do not want to construct
a ready-to-ship supply at present higher costs ot
materials entering into the instruments. At least it
is up to the dealers—whose orders fix the delimitation
of piano output—to order more freely in order that
the manufacturers may know "where they are at," to
use an expression first heard north of Mason and
Dixon's line when it was used in a Chicago revival
meeting by the Rev. Sam Jones of Cartersville, Ga.
The main point brought out by Mr. French was the
present shortage of late models of new pianos. Mr.
French dwelt upon the average dealer's practice in
bending all his efforts on the sale of used pianos, and
.said that in the main such so-called new pianos as
were on hand were "old new" pianos, made years
ago and which stand on the floors unsold and are
even harder to sell than a used piano in fairly good
condition.
When it comes to buying a new piano, the cus-
tomer wants a new one—one of late vintage and not
one of eight years ago, which pianos generally are
much wood and little music.
In this connection Mr. French wants to know how
long the stock of old pianos is going to last, because
when they are sold out, there will be a scrimmage for
new pianos.
Belief Now Prevails That the Present Buyers' Market
Will Change Before Very Long to a
Sellers' Market.
This paper is not inclined to make exaggerated re-
ports of the difficulty, but as showing that others in
a position to know take the same view as Mr. French,
a letter came in some time ago from R. A. Burke,
secretary of the Story & Clark Piano Co.. in which
he says:
LETTER FROM R. A. BURKE
"Piano prices must increase. The desultory buying
program that has prevailed during the past year or
two in the piano industry has of necessity justified
manufacturers to a more limited production schedule
Some manufacturers have even felt themselves obliged
to entirely discontinue manufacturing.
"Close-outs to clear shelves of obsolete styles have
put most of the manufacturers into a position of
limited completed stock on hand. With even a small
increase in retail sales, the country will experience a
piano shortage of rather serious proportions—as bad
if not worse than was faced during the war.
"Increased overhead expenses rise with curtailed
production, and since factory costs are already out of
proportion to wholesale selling, present prices of
necessity fail to show a profit. Increased wholesale
selling prices nre inevitable.
"It is believed that the present buyers' market will
change, before very long, to a sellers' market—a mar-
ket which always rules in prosperous times. Even
the most pessimistic pessimist is about ready to admit
that the present depression has almost run its course,
and that the pendulum is due for a swing b;:ck in the
very near future.
"As a whole, the piano industry should take an in-
ventory of itself, just as each individual connected
with it should do, and the industry enter the coming
year with confidence, determination, and a realization
of the fact that as individuals and as an industry those
connected with the piano trade must either grow or
go."
Later on when 1 lie article in Presto-Times was
called to Mr. Bnrke's attention, he responded by
saying:
"I read Mr. French's article with a great deal of
interest (in the last issue of your publication) and
think it is splendid and that there ought to be more
of the manufacturers and trade papers combined in
their efforts to spread such prapaganda, for, sooner
or later, it is bound to bring good results."
A PIANO TRAVELER TAKES A JOUST AT
THE TOPIC
Among other letters approving the article referred
to is one from a traveling piano salesman—whose
knowledge of the condition is more than presumably
on the inside—written in such free-lance fashion that
he asks that his name be withheld as the author of it.
He says:
"If piano manufacturers would look more narrowly
to the terms of their contracts with dealers, they
could make it possible for both sides to be better
satisfied with the deals. Correspondence should be
so carefully worded that neither side should be left to
draw its own conclusions. In other words, slip-shod
methods, as practiced by some manufacturers, remind
me of the flap-doodle movies with waiters falling with
trays and scattering food and broken dishes over the
floor of the dining room.
"No country piano dealer likes to be called a moss-
back, but behold you, there are more moss-backs in
the big cities than in the small and medium-sized
towns. That's why I knew right off when I read
Sinclair Lewis' 'Main Street' a good many years ago
that he was describing New York's so-called Great
White Way just as accurately as Gopher Prairie.
Human nature is similar in its sillinesses in all men
and women.
"Mr. French has not overstated the danger, for no
manufacturer in times like these (meaning hand-to-
mouth times of production) can afford to be over-
magnanimous. The failures and foibles of men will
grind his business to powder if he acts too charitably
just now. Schools of piano playing are absolutely
essential as aids to future trade, but a school to show
the dealer his stand-by duty toward his friend, the
piano manufacturer is just as necessary but harder
to organize. Too difficult to effect, I should say.
"In my calls at many stores over a wide territory T
saw many second-hand pianos—in fact, some of the
stores w r ere filled up with them.
"When I talked of putting in a new stock of modern
instruments, some of the dealers seemed peeved and
cut me short by saying: 'I know your pianos are nice,
and nobody would like better to stock up with them
than I, but you'll have to give me time to dispose of
this mess of second-hand and old-style instruments
before I can give you an order.'
"In a few r instances I persuaded dealers to order
rather freely, but, as I said, I also met several ob-
durate fellows. Of course, most of them will see
their error later.
"PIANO TRAVELER."
A well-known representative of one of the largest
music houses in the Central West, in a letter to
Presto-Times, gave his written opinion that the prices
of pianos, made from now on, must cost the manufac-
turer more and consequently raise the price, accord-
ingly, to the dealer. He said that prices cannot go
back, and one of the reasons for this is that the costs
of every variety of material and of every piano part
entering into the construction of such an instrument
of music has been advanced—not arbitrarily but from
necessity.
In his letter he said in part: "Good pianos cost a
good deal of money to get them made right. It is the
same with every other good manufactured article.
Who would think of getting a mink coat for a lady
at a trivial price? Or a chinchilla coat for a man?
Or a fine suit of clothes? Who would expect to find
a Rolls-Royce car on the marked-down counter? Or
a watch suitable for the engineer who drives the
Twentieth Century Limited? Yet, due to foolish
advertising, many persons have been deceived into
thinking that pianos can be marked down to ridicu-
lously low prices without wiping the piano store off
the face of the earth and sending the dealer forth a
tramp."
(Continued on page 4)
Wherein Is Shown How the Sauce for the
Goose Is Not Usable with the Gander
in the Opinion of the
Goat.
By ALLAN J. LARK IN.
This is a story with a moral and that, for obvious
reasons, no names are mentioned, does not render
the lesson less likely to impress the readers. In this
town in the cattle country in which 1 have lived for
ten years, there is a general store kept by a man
with an in-growing conscience.
A music goods department is an important feature
of the business and in selling the pianos and other
commodities he has been defying the lightning of
the law for several years. He has been advertising
pianos as meritorious in every way and taking good
money for fake piano names and thumpboxes that ;ire
libels on the real piano.
This town is one considerably frequented by cat-
tlemen, sheepmen, miners and prospectors—the out-
of-door folk whose activities the moving picture films
so dramatically describe to the people of the trolley
car sections. These residents of the mountains and
breezy, level spaces are big buyers of the edibles
conveniently confined in cans, and it was that f;icl
that made the get-rich-quick-if-he-could general slore
keeper think he heard the tap-tap of opportunity.
Saw a Chance.
He was a delegate or alternate or booster or some-
thing to the Republican convention in Kansas Cily
in June, 1928. Who his particular preference was ;ts to
a candidate for the presidency does not matter. It
may be that his political motives were progressive.
I do not know. But I do know that he found 1 ime
while in Kansas City to acquire for cash a big ship-
ment of reactionary canned goods.
The goods were so cheap that he chuckled glee-
fully to himself in anticipation of the profits ahead.
At every additional swallow of convention scolllaw
red-eye he had visions of a bigger and fatter rake-off,
and he joyously returned home to gather in the gains.
Then he made the newspapers of the town tell of
the canned goods opportunities with big type and
comparative figures that carried conviction in every
statement.
They Bit Eagerly.
The out-of-door folk whose physical efficiency de-
pends so largely on canned foods arose to the ;i|>-
parent bargain chance. Miners came to town and
departed with burros laden with the tin-enclosed
edibles. Every hour saw the wheels creaking from
cowboy outfits depart with the wheels creaking from
heavy cargoes of the canned commodities the general!
store keeper had picked up cheap in Kansas Cily..
There was never such an output of grub in the townt
since the day years ago when Buck Allen found pay-
dirt on Bull Creek and the entire town population
scampered out there.
But a few days after the opening of the great
canned goods sale something happened to dissipate
the hopes of easy and quick riches. Miners and
other strenuous people who had paid real money for
the bargain canned goods returned to the town with
protests in their voices and loaded weapons in their
hands. They had discovered that the goods tlicy
had so trustingly bought were unedible. Nearly every
can was what is technically known as a "sweller," and
although the package had been freshly labeled, the
contents for the most part were dangerous for human
food.
The outraged purchasers did not shoot the store-
keeper as eac'i one purposed doing, for the reason
that the state has a specific statute bearing on just
such a contingency. Such was the heat of ill feeling,
however, the cause of their wrath considered it a
privilege to beat the sheriff to the calaboose 1o be
locked up
1 do not know what his punishment may be. The
case is yet to be heard, but T am satisfied the gcl-
rich-csuick general merchant will get his'n. The story
is told for purposes of comparison, and as such has ?
place in a piano trade paper.
Tn the same town made notorious by the unethical
general store keeper is a music dealer whose word is
as good as his bond and whose pianos are as good n«
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