Music Trade Review
Issue: 1893 Vol. 18 N. 16 - Page 1
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HE 9RGAN O R
VOL. XVIII. No. 16.
published Every Saturday.
*
THE WEEK'S
STATEMENT,
SUMMARY
RICHARD RANFT'S
/T\r.
at
WHAT HE SAID REGARDING MR. DOLGE — " THE
M'KINLEY TARIFF "—NATIONAL LEAGUE
OF MUSICIANS ASK A REDUCTION.
FOUND IN THIS NUMBER.
Hardxnan, Peck & Co.'s Affairs.
Wheeler Opens a New Store.
Logan Piano Case Co. Purchase Land.
[FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.]
WASHINGTON, D. C , November i, 1893.
The long looked for '' Tariff Hearings'' before
the Committee on Ways and Means, First
Session, Fifty-third Congress, was published
to-day. There is in it much of general im-
portance, perhaps, but of immediate interest
to the music trade the following extracts are
taken bodily from its pages. The Committee
is engaged, or supposed to be engaged, in for-
mulating a bill intended to supersede the law
commonly spoken of as " the McKinley Tariff,''
but will not be prepared to present it prior to
the assembling of the Representatives, in regu-
lar session of the National Legislature, in
December next.
I find on page 995 of the volume above re-
ferred to this:
PIANO FELTS.
Friday, September 15, 1893.
STATEMENT OF MR. RICHARD RANFT, OF NEW
YORK, IMPORTER OF PIANOFORTE FELTS.
J4.00 PER YEAR.
SINGLE COPIES, 10 CENTS.
Yoi% f/ouember 11.1893.
A Holland Order for Dunham.
Braumuller's Assignment.
New Store in Augusta.
Hart's Business will Continue.
Hedges' New Factory.
Muehlfeld's New Styles.
Behning in the West.
Calenberg & Vaupel's Proceedings-
Travelers' Yarns.
The Music Trade Review Complimented.
National Conservatory of Music.
Be cent Legal Decisions.
Carter Harrison's Speech.
New Store in Geneva.
Strom & Snedeker Dissolve.
Rohrdantz has Pled.
Mr. Chairman, I represent a firm which has
Increase of Stock for Q-riswold.
been established 35 or 40 years in New York
City, importing piano felts. There are two or
Kazoo Column.
three qualities of these goods which we import
Larrison Succeeds.
for use in the manufacture of pianos. We sup-
Weeks Dead.
ply the trade, more or less, with European felts.
We have always kept them. We have to-day to
Smith Purchases.
import the same goods as before the McKinley
Flames Find Floyd.
bill was passed. We had these goods in wool-
ens, but they were not satisfactory. The classi-
Baumer's Improvements.
fication compelled them to be entered and paid
Eanft at Washington.
as woolens not otherwise specified, paying an
average of 7% per cent. In 1890 we found that
Amsden's Pianos.
our goods were specifically mentioned, for the
Autoharps at San Francisco.
first time, and brought in under paragraph 396,
Sohmer in Philadelphia.
which has been spoken of, for the first time, this
morning. They now come under ready-made
Tariff on Musical Instruments.
clothing and India rubber goods—felts not
George P. Bent.
woven or otherwise specified.
Under this new paragraph, 396, schedule K,
Bacon Assaulted.
the average duty is advanced from 7 ^ to 114
Shoninger in the West.
per cent. The lowest rate is 100 per cent, on
Here and There.
under-felt, which is 30 per cent, ad valorem, as
against a former duty of 90 cents, TJ cents, and
69.7 cents. Under this duty we find the average have, under this duty of 78 per cent., in twelve
to be 78 per cent. This was found to be profit- or fifteen years, made a million and a half dol-
able enough to start a manufacture of these lars ; and they began with nothing.
goods in this country. One concern, in New
MR. GEAR. That is Mr. Dolge ?
York, is making these goods, and there is only
MR. RANFT. That is Alfred Dolge.
one firm which has succeeded in making them.
MR. GEAR. He makes other goods besides ?
That firm has increased very largely. They
MR. RANFT.
I do not want to convey a
wrong impression. These goods now pay an
average of 114 per cent, against a former
average of 7 8 ^ . All we ask, gentlemen, is for
you to do something fair, and to give us such
an amount of duty as we charge to the piano-
forte makers. These goods have all to be
partly manufactured, cut up and made into
hammers. Some makers make the hammers in
their own shops, and others procure these ham-
mers from the trade. We would respectfully
petition that this is not feasible. We want to
get our goods out of the schedule of ready-made
clothing and India rubber goods. They have
nothing to do with that schedule, and ought to
be placed back under woolens. We will then
pay the same rate that woolens are paying. We
are perfectly willing to pay the American man-
ufacturer a protection of 40 or 50 per cent.,
enough to enable him to make up the difference
against the wages of European labor, and to
allow a fair amount for his investment; but we
think when it comes to paying as high as 130
per cent, on goods sold to the American trade,
we are justified in asking a reduction.
MR. GEAR.
Are these goods sold by the
pound ?
MR. RANFT.
MR. GEAR.
Yes, sir.
Have they not largely declined
in price since the passage of the McKinley bill ?
MR. RANFT.
MR. GEAR.
MR. RANFT.
NO, sir.
Have they gone up in price ?
NO, sir ; they sold for the same
price.
MR. PAYNE. This ad valorem rate of duty is
how much on the pound ?
x
MR. RANFT. It is 49 / z cents a pound.
MR. PAYNE. It is a compensatory duty on
wool ?
MR. RANFT.
MR. PAYNE.
Yes, sir.
IS it not
true that there were
\sic\ a very small amount of this kind of goods
made in this country up to 1890 ?
MR. RANFT. I do not know as to that.
MR. PAYNE. Mr. Dolge claims that he has
supplied three-fourths of the trade up to 1890.
He gave that impression to us. He claimed to
be making these goods up to 1890.
MR. RANFT. His working men have spoken
to me about it.
MR. PAYNE. He divides his profits with his
working men ?
MR. RANFT. He claims to.
MR. PAYNE. It is run on
the co-operative
plan ?
That is what he claims.
Whether or not he has made all
his money out of manufacturing, you do not
know?
Mr. RANFT. He must have made it out of
manufacturing.
MR. PAYNE. That is all you know about it ?
MR. RANFT.
MR. PAYNE.
MR. RANFT.
MR. PAYNE.
Yes, sir.
Does not the Government get
the whole duty since 1890 out of these goods ?
{Continued
on page 6.)
HE 9RGAN O R
VOL. XVIII. No. 16.
published Every Saturday.
*
THE WEEK'S
STATEMENT,
SUMMARY
RICHARD RANFT'S
/T\r.
at
WHAT HE SAID REGARDING MR. DOLGE — " THE
M'KINLEY TARIFF "—NATIONAL LEAGUE
OF MUSICIANS ASK A REDUCTION.
FOUND IN THIS NUMBER.
Hardxnan, Peck & Co.'s Affairs.
Wheeler Opens a New Store.
Logan Piano Case Co. Purchase Land.
[FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.]
WASHINGTON, D. C , November i, 1893.
The long looked for '' Tariff Hearings'' before
the Committee on Ways and Means, First
Session, Fifty-third Congress, was published
to-day. There is in it much of general im-
portance, perhaps, but of immediate interest
to the music trade the following extracts are
taken bodily from its pages. The Committee
is engaged, or supposed to be engaged, in for-
mulating a bill intended to supersede the law
commonly spoken of as " the McKinley Tariff,''
but will not be prepared to present it prior to
the assembling of the Representatives, in regu-
lar session of the National Legislature, in
December next.
I find on page 995 of the volume above re-
ferred to this:
PIANO FELTS.
Friday, September 15, 1893.
STATEMENT OF MR. RICHARD RANFT, OF NEW
YORK, IMPORTER OF PIANOFORTE FELTS.
J4.00 PER YEAR.
SINGLE COPIES, 10 CENTS.
Yoi% f/ouember 11.1893.
A Holland Order for Dunham.
Braumuller's Assignment.
New Store in Augusta.
Hart's Business will Continue.
Hedges' New Factory.
Muehlfeld's New Styles.
Behning in the West.
Calenberg & Vaupel's Proceedings-
Travelers' Yarns.
The Music Trade Review Complimented.
National Conservatory of Music.
Be cent Legal Decisions.
Carter Harrison's Speech.
New Store in Geneva.
Strom & Snedeker Dissolve.
Rohrdantz has Pled.
Mr. Chairman, I represent a firm which has
Increase of Stock for Q-riswold.
been established 35 or 40 years in New York
City, importing piano felts. There are two or
Kazoo Column.
three qualities of these goods which we import
Larrison Succeeds.
for use in the manufacture of pianos. We sup-
Weeks Dead.
ply the trade, more or less, with European felts.
We have always kept them. We have to-day to
Smith Purchases.
import the same goods as before the McKinley
Flames Find Floyd.
bill was passed. We had these goods in wool-
ens, but they were not satisfactory. The classi-
Baumer's Improvements.
fication compelled them to be entered and paid
Eanft at Washington.
as woolens not otherwise specified, paying an
average of 7% per cent. In 1890 we found that
Amsden's Pianos.
our goods were specifically mentioned, for the
Autoharps at San Francisco.
first time, and brought in under paragraph 396,
Sohmer in Philadelphia.
which has been spoken of, for the first time, this
morning. They now come under ready-made
Tariff on Musical Instruments.
clothing and India rubber goods—felts not
George P. Bent.
woven or otherwise specified.
Under this new paragraph, 396, schedule K,
Bacon Assaulted.
the average duty is advanced from 7 ^ to 114
Shoninger in the West.
per cent. The lowest rate is 100 per cent, on
Here and There.
under-felt, which is 30 per cent, ad valorem, as
against a former duty of 90 cents, TJ cents, and
69.7 cents. Under this duty we find the average have, under this duty of 78 per cent., in twelve
to be 78 per cent. This was found to be profit- or fifteen years, made a million and a half dol-
able enough to start a manufacture of these lars ; and they began with nothing.
goods in this country. One concern, in New
MR. GEAR. That is Mr. Dolge ?
York, is making these goods, and there is only
MR. RANFT. That is Alfred Dolge.
one firm which has succeeded in making them.
MR. GEAR. He makes other goods besides ?
That firm has increased very largely. They
MR. RANFT.
I do not want to convey a
wrong impression. These goods now pay an
average of 114 per cent, against a former
average of 7 8 ^ . All we ask, gentlemen, is for
you to do something fair, and to give us such
an amount of duty as we charge to the piano-
forte makers. These goods have all to be
partly manufactured, cut up and made into
hammers. Some makers make the hammers in
their own shops, and others procure these ham-
mers from the trade. We would respectfully
petition that this is not feasible. We want to
get our goods out of the schedule of ready-made
clothing and India rubber goods. They have
nothing to do with that schedule, and ought to
be placed back under woolens. We will then
pay the same rate that woolens are paying. We
are perfectly willing to pay the American man-
ufacturer a protection of 40 or 50 per cent.,
enough to enable him to make up the difference
against the wages of European labor, and to
allow a fair amount for his investment; but we
think when it comes to paying as high as 130
per cent, on goods sold to the American trade,
we are justified in asking a reduction.
MR. GEAR.
Are these goods sold by the
pound ?
MR. RANFT.
MR. GEAR.
Yes, sir.
Have they not largely declined
in price since the passage of the McKinley bill ?
MR. RANFT.
MR. GEAR.
MR. RANFT.
NO, sir.
Have they gone up in price ?
NO, sir ; they sold for the same
price.
MR. PAYNE. This ad valorem rate of duty is
how much on the pound ?
x
MR. RANFT. It is 49 / z cents a pound.
MR. PAYNE. It is a compensatory duty on
wool ?
MR. RANFT.
MR. PAYNE.
Yes, sir.
IS it not
true that there were
\sic\ a very small amount of this kind of goods
made in this country up to 1890 ?
MR. RANFT. I do not know as to that.
MR. PAYNE. Mr. Dolge claims that he has
supplied three-fourths of the trade up to 1890.
He gave that impression to us. He claimed to
be making these goods up to 1890.
MR. RANFT. His working men have spoken
to me about it.
MR. PAYNE. He divides his profits with his
working men ?
MR. RANFT. He claims to.
MR. PAYNE. It is run on
the co-operative
plan ?
That is what he claims.
Whether or not he has made all
his money out of manufacturing, you do not
know?
Mr. RANFT. He must have made it out of
manufacturing.
MR. PAYNE. That is all you know about it ?
MR. RANFT.
MR. PAYNE.
MR. RANFT.
MR. PAYNE.
Yes, sir.
Does not the Government get
the whole duty since 1890 out of these goods ?
{Continued
on page 6.)
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