Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
The Great Music Trade Congress Convenes
IN CHICAGO, AUGUST 17TH, I9OT
BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE BODY PRESIDENT MASON S
ADDRESS WHERE WILL THE NEXT CONGRESS BE HELD? IT LOOKS AS IF GEORGE
P. BENT WILL BE THE NEXT PRESIDING OFFICER THE STENCIL AND
THE SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLAR BOX ONLY A MEMORY
ANNUAL DINNER AT THE AUDITORIUM.
(Special to T H E MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.)
CHICAGO, Aug.
17th,
1901.
HE Fourth Annual Congress of the Na-
tional Piano Manufacturers' Associa-
tion of America, convened this morning in
this city. The Convention will last three
days. There is an unusually large attend-
ance of the trade. As I have attended the
three last annual affairs, I may state that
this meeting eclipses any of its prede-
cessors, both in point of attendance and in
interest.
In looking over the list of the names of
the delegates present, I find that every
piano and organ manufacturing concern in
America is represented at this Congress.
There is more enthusiasm of that genuine
Western sort than I observed last year in
Boston, and you know Boston outdid New
York.
Promptly at 9.30, President Edward P.
Mason called the Convention to order.
There then followed a reading of Secretary
W. H. Poole's report, and considerable dry
business routine before the body settled
down to interesting details. I may add the
treasurer's report was most gratifying in
that a satisfactory showing of finances was
revealed. The local branches in Boston,
New York and Chicago were complimented
upon in their work in establishing a relia-
ble credit system.
After the regular reports had been read
and passed upon, President Mason reviewed
in a clear, forceful way the work accom-
plished by the Association during the pres-
ent year. He particularly complimented
the "committee on freight discriminations"
upon the satisfactory results of their labors,
accomplishing, as they had, satisfactory
results. They had been able to effect a
special revision of freight tariffs on the
different rates as applied to pianos, tariffs
which had already been put in force and in
a beneficial way.
President Mason then touched briefly
upon the work of the Association and its in-
strumentality in passing the National bank-
ruptcy law. He said that now manufac-
turers could sell in Texas with the same
freedom that they could in Massachusetts.
Then warming up to the subject he dwelt
eloquently upon the reformation which the
Association had effected in the credit sys-
tem. Concluding, he paid a glowing trib-
ute to the work accomplished by the united
manufacturers. At the conclusion of his
remarks he was greeted with hearty ap-
plause.
Col. Gray, who followed, said he wished
particularly to say a word, and that as
spokesman for the Philadelphia manufac-
turers, he wished to extend an invitation
to the Association to hold its next annual
T
Congress in the "City of Brotherly Love,"
where, he said, possibly they could not
count as many citizens as Chicago had, or
rather claimed, but in point of enthusiasm
they could not be surpassed. He said that
Philadelphia had Independence Hall, and
she wanted the piano manufacturers' next
Congress there, and the keys of the city on
a velvet cushion would be tendered to the
Association. "You can take them," con-
tinued the gallant Colonel; "Philadelphia
capitulates to none but honorable con-
querors and she is yours."
Cincinnati was then heard from in the
person of Frank A. Lee, who suggested
that the metropolis of Ohio be considered
as the most feasible site for the next annual
Convention.
Will L. Bush then climbed into a chair
and said Chicago liked a good thing, knew
when she had it, and one more Convention
would be most acceptable to her.
Frank J. Wood bury interrupted Mr. Bush
by saying that Leominster, Mass., had un-
surpassed hotel facilities, aside from being
a temperance town.
Mr. Wood bury's flow of eloquence was
succeeded by Mr. Long, of San Francisco,
who said that the City by the Golden Gate
was the National Convention city. Besides
the visitors could see "Chinatown."
After several more invitations the whole
matter was referred by President Mason to
a committee who will make their report to-
morrow, recommending the most available
point. There is a belief that it lies between
Cincinnati and Philadelphia, with chances
in favor of Philadelphia.
It was reported that the status of the
stencil piano would be discussed at this
morning's session, but a member from New
York, whose name I failed to get, summed
up the situation by saying the stencil piano,
like Hancock's definition of the tariff, was
purely a local matter. Men could stencil
when they could sell pianos in no other
way, but as every manufacturer was inter-
ested in putting out all the pianos that he
could with his own trade mark on them,
and that, as manufacturers to-day controlled
the situation, he thought that the stencil
matter was hardly worth discussing,
that the action of the previous Association
had practically driven the stencil piano out
of serious consideration. He spoke of the
action of the Association killing the illegiti-
mate stencil and raising the entire tone of
the trade.
"How about the $75 box?" a Chicago
man asked at the close of the stencil talk.
Wm. F. Boothe at this point caught the
chairman's eye and said, "As I have been a
man who, in times past, have suffered con-
siderable abuse from my connection with
what was termed the cheap piano, I think
that a word from me may be apropos, and
serve to enlighten the gentleman as to the
question which he has asked. I do not
think the alleged $75 box ever existed to
»any great extent, save in the minds of
some imaginative newspaper men, and if
the gentleman from the West will investi-
gate, I think he will find that my statement
is correct when I say that for the past
five years the cheap piano has become
merged into what I may term the commer-
cial grade of instruments. The cheap
piano, that is the very cheap piano, became
obsolete in the close of '96, when the dawn
of better times first began. The cheap
piano was a creation of the cheap era,
and it vanished with the dawn of better
days—vanished for the simple reason that
manufacturers found there was no money
in the cheap piano and consequently raised
their prices."
John V. Steger had some most interest-
ing and entertaining remarks to make upon
the present trade conditions.
The secretary then read a special commu-
nication to the Association addressed by
the music publishers, asking that they
might join the National Piano Manufactur-
ers' Association, and that the Association
name be changed to the National Music
Trade Association.
This matter was discussed at length,
there being considerable opposition to
favorably entertaining the proposition.
One member from New York said that past
results had clearly demonstrated that the
objects of the Association were best con-
served by maintaining its membership ex-
clusively among piano and organ manufac-
turers. He said years ago that while the
trade was disorganized associations existed
in Chicago, Boston and New York where
dealers and salesmen were admitted to
membership. He said that the work ac-
complished by these associations in a busi-
ness sense was practically nothing. In
those days it was settled that if the sole ob-
ject of an association was to eat a good
dinner annually and to meet and pass post
mortem resolutions on members of the
trade, why it was all right to admit every
one, but the real fight of the Association
had been for centralization and exclusive-
ness when it was found impracticable to
consider seriously business problems with
a membership composed of diverging in-
terests.
He said the success of the National Piano
Manufacturers' 'Association had been in
holding an exclusive membership among
piano and organ manufacturing. He said
that piano and organ manufacturing alone
should constitute eligibility to membership
in the Association.
It was found, he said, years ago that it
was impossible, and impracticable as well,
to discuss credits while dealers were mem-
bers of local associations. He said : "Our
business is manufacturing and selling
pianos and organs, and that of music pub-
lishers is publishing and selling music, let
them organize as we have done."
Another member took the ground that the