Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
editors" will be cautious as to how they follow the said, for the reason that during his entire business ca-
foolish example of Brother Fox, who has succeeded, reer he had always occupied an independent directorial
after all his arithmetical calculations, in proving that position, and never one in which he had received a sal-
his Indicator contains less than half the amount of trade ary or had been amenable to dictation. At his time of
reading matter contained in this paper, and that his ad- life he should hardly propose to work for a salary.
vertisements cover less space than ours by 265 square Further, he informed the emissaries of the syndicate
inches.
that he did not believe they could successfully operate
In conclusion, a word to our friend with the vulpine such a business as they evidently knew nothing of piano-
cognomen. If he will measure the advertisements in making and he was extremely doubtful if they ever
would. On the other hand the members of the Stein-
the present issue of THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, he
will find that they cover a greater number of square way firm had been identified with the business from
inches than when he previously flourished his measur- their births and they knew every detail of procedure.
ing-tape; and if he will measure those appearing in our Not only that, but in Charles F. Tretbar and Nahum
next issue, he will be ocularly convinced of a still fur- Stetson the house commanded the services of two gen-
ther increase; and so on. And he will do well to con- tlemen who had been intimately associated with them
sider that this very agreeable and commendable state for many years, who had lately become interested
of affairs has not been brought about by the publication in the concern, and who were so well and thor-
of " tabulated statements," but by hard work, just deal- oughly versed in all that appertained to it as together
ing, impartiality, and unflinching adherence to truth, with the four young Steinways to be able to conduct it
and by an absolute ostracism of fear, favor, and undue long after the senior members of the Steinway family
affection. Thus have we, during a decade, continued to should, in all probability, have ceased to take active
gain strength and influence. The character and stand- part in its direction and management.
ing of our hosts of patrons cannot be assailed. That
It is, therefore, abundantly clear that the house of Stein-
character and standing give to us a reputation of which way & Sons is not in imminent danger of disintegration
we are proud, and one that has never been sullied by or fundamental change. This is matter of congratula-
just accusations of blackmail, by suspicious-looking in- tion, both in regard to the trade and the public; for
solvencies, or by base and lying editorial attacks. They nothing is more easily demonstrable than the fact that
have also secured to us an increasing prosperity that if the grand old concern cannot be run by its present
must be self-evident even to the authors of "tabulated officers, it cannot be managed at all.
statements," and that encourages us to reiterate an as-
*
* *
sertion many times made by us, and now once again
MOMENTOUS D E V E L O P M E N T S .
boldly thrown as a challenge in the teeth of all whom it
may concern, that to-day T H E MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
WHEN in Boston last week we obtained authentic in-
is, par excellence, the ONLY publication representative of formation in regard to certain important movements on
the music trades of these United States.
the part of the New England Piano Co. These transac-
tions, when consummated in detail, will prove to have
*
* *
been the most momentous ones occurring in the trade
NOT MUCH.
for very many years, if, indeed, they were ever parallel-
THE statement published in a recent issue of a trade ed in weightiness. The information alluded to was
paper, to the effect that the Steinway firm had received privately confided to us, and cannot be divulged to our
an offer of $3,000,000 from would-be purchasers of their readers in the present issue of THE MUSIC TRADE RE-
gigantic business, is in part true. The whole of the VIEW. In our next issue we shall be at liberty to enter
facts in the case, however, were not given by our con- into particulars, and our friends—and others—will then
temporary. The following is a correct account of the be able to judge of the enormous magnitude of the
operations at which we have hinted.
circumstances attending the attempted negotiations.
Meantime we must not omit to express our opinion
First of all, Mr. Win. Steinway was approached by a
shrewd Yankee broker, who, well knowing the value of the false and unjust suggestions and insinuations
of the Steinway plant, thought he might succeed in ex- appearing in The Musical Courier of Wednesday last,
tracting a little money for himself out of any bargain anent certain employes of this house. Following is the
that might be consummated. This individual asked Mr. article to which we refer:
" The large branch house of the New England Piano
William Steinway if his business was for sale. Nat-
urally enough, Mr. Steinway replied by inquiring whom Company in this city certainly stimulated the opening
the inquisitive one represented. " That," remarked the of retail warerooms on Fifth avenue. Mr. Scanlan is
one of the great leaders in the piano industry of this
latter " is private business," to which Mr. Steinway country, and is gifted with the attribute of prevision in
answered, " and my affairs are my private business. I business. He foresaw the tendency in the trade in the
have no further time to waste in pursuing this conver- direction of branch houses, and his two branches, to-
sation." Whereupon the stranger did the only sensible gether with his interest in the new Kansas City corpor-
ation, and a working out of t. at system.
thing possible under the circumstances, viz., retired.
It seems odd that the trade papers, outside of 7he
Not long afterward Mr. Steinway was visited on Musical Courier, have attributed Mr. Scanlan's success
separate occasions by the accredited representatives of to some of his subordinates. If there ever was a case
two separate English syndicates, each of which com- in which the power of an individual brain or mind was
manded capital, and each of which, moreover, made a at the bottom of an enterprise, and controlled and con-
ducted it in all its minutiae, as well as in the operation
bona fide offer of $3,000,000 for the business. Mr.
of the whole elaborate system from its inception to the
Steinway in each case expressed his firm conviction present hour, that case is Mr. Thomas F. Scanlan's.
that such a scheme would not be successful. True, it And as he is a man who never would make such a claim,
was weil known throughout the world that the Steinway because of his inherent modesty, The Musical Courier
concern was a wealthy and valuable one, but its value proposes to make the statement, while at the same time
it accords to all of Mr. Scanlan's employes the full tri-
would undoubtedly deteriorate were it denuded of the
bute their labors and fidelity deserve. But it is rather
name of Steinway, and deprived of the co-operation of tiresome to see the music trade press nearly unanim-
members of the Steinway family.
ously assume the position that certain employes did it
Nothing daunted by this check, the seeker after wealth all. The fact is Mr. Scanlan would have done exactly
and the Steinway business offered Mr. Steinway an ad- what he has done with any set of men he would have
selected.
ditional million dollars, to be paid in annual instalments
Everybody should remember that there is no place in
of $100,000, for the use of his services as managing di- the employment of any business institution, beginning
rector for a period of ten years. This advance was also with the Presidency of the United States, that cannot
promptly met and repelled, if only, as Mr. Steinway be filled in case of a temporary or permanent vacation
on the part of the incumbent. People with ' swelled'
heads don't know this, but it is nevertheless true."
It will be perfectly clear to any person fairly well
versed in music trade matters in this city that the above-
quoted remarks are directed against Mr. W. A. Kim-
berly. For some time past, we believe, the relations
between Mr. Kimberly and Mr. Blumenberg have been
marked by a considerable degree of coolness. Possibly
the reason for this coolness may be found in the reduc-
ed amount of advertising space occupied in the Courier
by the New England Co. since the establishment of
their New York house with Mr. Kimberly as manager.
Such an underhanded method of "getting even" is
characteristic of Mr. Blumenberg.
We have carefully noted the growth and progress of
the New York branch of The New England Piano Co.
under the most able management of Mr. Kimberly, and
desire to proclaim upon the house-tops that the present
magnitude and importance of that company in this city
ara due, in a very large measure indeed, to the assiduity,
the energy, the intelligence, and the tact brought to
bear by him. He has proved to demonstration that, es-
pecially for a man of his years, he is possessed of rare
and signal business ability. Further, his high business
and personal connections have enabled him to enhance
the success of the # branch to a degree that could have
been reached by but few if any men in this city. It
has been our pleasant duty to publish from time to
time evidence of the growing success of this branch of
the New England Piano Company, and to give the
credit for such results to those to whom it of right be-
longed ; and we will not now submit to have an able,
reputable, and conscientious gentleman ignored and
abused by a malicious scribbler whose sense of right ap-
pears to have vanished from his personality.
In conclusion, we will inform Mr. Blumenberg and The
Musical Courier that, so soon as the arrangements al-
luded to in the opening sentences of this article have
been completed, Mr. Kimberly will be identified more
closely than ever before with The New England Piano
Co. Moreover, that in order to properly comprehend the
true greatness of that company, and the relations in
which it and Mr. Kimberly stand to each other, Mr.
Blumenberg's head will require to be considerably
" swelled," and to be very much better furnished than it
now is.
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WHETHER IS THE L A W OR THE JUDGE
TO BLAME?
A RECENT decision of Judge King, of the Civil Dis-
trict Court of New Orleans, La., is of considerable
interest to the music traders of that State. One St. Ar-
mand leased from the well-known firm of Louis Grune-
wald & Co., a large upright Gabler piano, paying $10
down. On the following day he sold the instrument to
Brignoni & Blakely, auctioneers, for $150. These last-
named gentlemen appear to have acted in the most
confiding and charitable manner, for it does not trans-
pire that they made any inquiry as to St Armand, where
he purchased the piano, or on what terms and condi-
tions, Hearing of this extraordinary transaction, and
failing to obtain satisfaction at the hands of the eccentric
auctioneers, Mr. Grunewald naturally sought the aid of
the Louisiana law. His case was that he leased the
piano to C. C. St. Armand on the terms that when the
monthly rental—$10—had been paid to the extent o*
the purchase money agreed upon, viz.: $450, it should
become the property of St. Armand. Defendants claim-
ed that no cause of action existed. This view was ac-
quiesced in by Judge King, who held that the
lease was merely a sale upon conditions, and that the
sale made by St. Armand to the defendants gave them
absolute title to the piano. Consequently, the suit was
dismissed with costs against the plaintiff.
[Continued on page 284).