Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
months of this year go to show that an ac-
centuated demand has prevailed for instru-
ments of a high grade.
It is evident that a reaction has set in,
and the days of the very cheap piario are
numbered. Many dealers have beetl com-
pelled to handle a cheap grade of goods
against their own good judgment in order to
satisfy the demand, but the demand for that
class is fast disappearing, and the purchas-
ing public is willing to pay a high price for
a good article.
"Out of evil cometh good." The so-
called cheap pianos will after all be of ben-
efit to the legitimate and high grade manu-
facturers. They have educated the public
to the fact that high grade pianos by
makers of established reputation, cannot
be purchased for a mere song, and whatever
price is paid for them, it is a gilt-edged in-
vestment.
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On Thursday last Messrs. Steinway &
Sons received a royal warrant announcing
that His Majesty, the King of Saxony,
had appointed them manufacturers to the
royal court of Saxony. This distinguished
honor was unexpected and unsought for,
hence this mark of appreciation of the
Steinway product is the more valued.
Steinway & Sons can now claim the es-
pecial privilege of being manufacturers to
almost every imperial and royal court in
Europe—truly a great honor to the great
house of Steinway & Sons, but a still
greater honor to American manufacturers,
and the American piano in particular.
——-iHr
It has been noticed, no doubt, that while
many of the trade papers have been indulg-
ing in absurd and sometimes malicious re-
ports about this, that and the other house,
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW has been mov-
ing straight ahead, publishing facts and
quietly ignoring sensational rumors. We
believe the business element to which we
cater enjoys reading a paper which is clean,
thorough and impartial. In fact, the suc-
cess of THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW as a
purely trade publication has demonstrated
that.
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commendable, and should meet with the
support of every business man.
Unless some such action as the foregoing
is taken, we are certain to witness periodic
disturbances in business circles year after
year, threatening the prosperity of all
branches of industry.
The industrial system is as fine a piece
of mechanism as the most complicated
watch; yet into those delicate adjustments
affecting the income and happiness of mil-
lions the great political parties propose to
hurl important questions, to be debated pro
and con, not from a business standpoint,
but purely from the politician's. And this
regardless of the consequences.
It seems to us that some legislation
should be enacted whereby the questions of
tariff and currency should be taken out of
politics and placed in the hands of a special
commission composed of men free from
political bias who will solve these perplex-
ing and annoying questions on their merits.
This would be a blessing to manufacturers
and business men at large. It would pre-
vent this bugbear coming regularly to the
surface to undermine the commercial pros-
perity and well-being of the Nation.
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We publish elsewhere in this paper a
contribution on the wool question by Mr.
L. Cavalli, a recognized authority on this
subject. His remarks illustrate the gen-
eral proposition of Protectionists, that
buying abroad instead of at home always
reduces home consumption. The purchas-
ing power of the wage-earners has been
weakened by the increase of foreign im-
portation and the decrease of domestic
production, resulting in a great loss to
manufacturers and wage-earners alike.
Mr. Cavalli's article will be found inter-
esting.
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Weber Piano Co.
PROBABLE REORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY.
LBERT Weber stated in substance to
the REVIEW representative yesterday,
that Mr. A. B. Fletcher, chairman of the
committee on Weber affairs, is making a
careful survey of affairs generally, with a
view to the speedy reorganization of the
company. In case of such reorganization
Albert Weber would become general mana-
It is not amiss at this early date to reflect ger of the factory and wholesale depart-
on the absurdity of making the currency or ments. Mr. Fletcher, who resides at the
the tariff" "live" questions in the coming Murray Hill Hotel, is understood to be very
Presidential campaign. They affect the strong financially, and he controls wide and
industrial system so keenly that they should important interests. The present out-
look, according to latest reports, indicates a
be treated wholly and entirely from ajbusi- speedy revival of the Weber affairs.
ness standpoint.
The steps taken by the National Associa-
RUDOLF DOLGE has been confined at
tion of Manufacturers in declaring in favor home with an attack of the grip for the
of taking these questions out of politics aie last week.
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The /Eolian Company.
W
ITH a view of ascertaining the latest
phase of the ^Eolian-Klaber contro-
versy the REVIEW man looked in at the ^ o l -
ian warerooms, Twenty-third street, and was
greeted cordially by Mr. Perkins, the gentle-
man in charge. " Do you propose to reply
to the rather trenchant remarks of Mr. Klaber
in a recent number of a contemporary?" was
asked. Mr. Perkins said that as far as he
knew no further attention would be paid to
the matter. "The fact is," said Mr. Per-
kins, " the whole thing is a tempest in a
teapot. Mr. Klaber is posing as a modern
' Ajax defying the lightning.' The Au-
tomaton music is a very small side show
with us, and we have all the business we
can attend to without writing replies to Mr.
Klaber's ridiculous statements."
" Has Mr. Klaber begun suit against you
yet?" was asked.
Mr. Perkins laughed. " He has not, and
what is more he has no intention of doing
so. It is only one of his usual bluffs. There
are suits now pending between the ^olian
Company and the Automaton Piano Com-
pany, but they are those brought by our
company."
"You are supplying the trnde and public
with music for Automaton Piano?"
"We are, and you would be interested
and amused if you could read some of the
letters we have received from different
members of the trade since we announced
the fact. The dealers, generally, appear
to have grown very tired of Mr. Klaber and
his methods. We are giving 50 per cent,
discount from the catalogue price of this
music, and we are filling all orders prompt-
ly. This latter is something that purchas-
ers of this music are not accustomed to."
Reform in Taxation.
N open letter has been sent to mem-
bersof the Legislature en the H Rule in Taxation bill by Seabury & John-
son, of No. 59 Maiden lane. The letter
says:
I beg leave to submit some reasons why,
from a manufacturer's standpoint, Senate
bill No. 781 should receive favorable action
at your hands in the interests of the city of
New York and the best interests of the
State in general.
For years we have been overtaxed, or
annoyed by being compelled to defend our
just rights before the Commissioners of
Taxes and Assessments. The counsel for
the board has stated that the law is very
defective and that it is difficult for a con-
scientious man to make a statement that
will satisfy himself or that will enable the
department to assess the expenses of main-
taining the government equitably.
This is undoubtedly due to the intrica-
cies of legislation which would be abolished
by the bill referred to, with the result of a
very close approach to a perfectly equitable
system of assessment.
The letter says that to escape the present
annoyance and injustice the firm had con-
templated moving their business to New
Jersey, and they predict an exodus of busi-
ness men unless the law is changed.
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