Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
LVMAN BILL
Editor and Proprietor.
PUBLISHED
EVERY
SATURDAY
3 East 14th St.. New York
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage) United States and
Canada, I3.00 per year; Foreign Countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per
Insertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts a special dis-
count i* allowed.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency form, should
%• made payable to Edward Lyman BilL
Bnttrtd at ths Nnu York Post Offict as Second-Class Mmtitr.
NEW YORK, MAY 22, 1897.
TELEPHONE NUMBER 1745. — EIGHTEENTH STREET.
THE KEYNOTE.
The first week of each month, The Review
will contain a supplement embodying the liter-
ary and musical features which have heretofore
appeared in The Keynote. This amalgamation
will be effected without in any way trespassing
on our regular news service. The Review will
continue to remain, as before, essentially a trade
paper.
THE TRADE DIRECTORY.
The Trade Directory, which is a feature of
The Review each month, is complete. In it ap-
pears the names and addresses of all firms en-
gaged in the manufacture of musical Instruments
and the allied trades. The Review is sent to
the United States Consulates throughout the
world, and is on file in the reading rooms of the
principal hotels in America.
A POLITICAL PARADOX.
HAT a great legislative body can be ab-
normally sensitive to the welfare of
the people of other countries thousands of
miles away, and at the same time utterly
indifferent and insensitive to the interests
of the people of their own country, is one of
the curious paradoxes of politics.
When it comes to an indulgence in
"glittering generalities" and rhodomon-
tade anent international affairs, when the
"lion's tail" is given an extra twist, or
Cuba—which The Review has hearty sym-
pathy with—is considered, our legislators
are in their element. When the business
up for consideration, however, is of a char-
acter that vitally concerns the commercial
welfare of the country, such as national
bankruptcy or tariff legislation, studied ef-
forts are successfully made to harass, to de-
lay, to place selfish and sectional interests
above those of public good.
Not a pleasant picture truly.
That rebuke uttered by John Wanamaker
in his speech in Philadelphia last week was
well merited. Coming from an ex-cabinet
official, and a man in hearty sympathy with
the business element, his views have
created somewhat of a sensation.
The indifference of legislators to the best
interests of the people has already gone too
far, and as Mr. Wanamaker said, "there
T
will most assuredly come a day when there
will be a mighty revolt and resistance re-
sulting in a revolution."
This "revolution" means that business
questions will be taken out of the politi-
cal arena and considered as "business
questions " pure and simple. As Senator
Cullom recently said, such matters as tariff
and other measures affecting the business
interests of the nation, should be consid-
ered by a commission free to act irrespec-
tive of party and for the common good.
This has been our idea right along.
The last four years it has seemed as if
no sooner had one question been set at rest
than another, equally vexing took its place.
A couple of months ago we were under the
impression that all of that had ended, but
the delay or hold-up of the tariff measure
shows that we are by no means out of the
woods yet.
In spite of the situation the country is
mending, the depression is steadily giving
place to activity. But there are porten-
tous signs on the horizon which indicate
that the business men of this country are
not going to allow themselves to be made
the scape-goats of political parties in the
future. Our merchants should, and can if
they will, be able to conduct business with-
out encountering commercial earthquakes
periodically. In the meantime we have
much to learn from Europe in this matter.
There are indications on the journalistic
horizon which indicate a summer of unusu-
al luridity. Wordy pyrotechnics are illu-
minating the sombre skies, and in their
train follows a line of sparks which eclipses
the dazzling lustre of a comet, and here we
are just on the verge of summer precipita-
ted at once into journalistic torridity.
It seems as if we are unable to escape
from the zone in which these conditions
exist, therefore we must endure them, and
in the meanwhile, it might be well to pro-
vide palm leaf fans and lay in a stock of
disinfectants as well, because the atmos-
phere is liable to be pretty thoroughly im-
pregnated with poisonous vapors before
the bloodless war shall have ceased. We
say bloodless, because we rather hold to
the opinion that a scalp will dangle at
neither girdle during the present cam-
paign.
Personally we believe that our constitu-
ency cares little what our opinion may be
anent this or that man engaged in vending
similar wares to ourselves. We are pur-
veyors of news—of publicity, and rather
seek to avoid delving into those matters
which savor of abusive personality. We
are lending our energies to that necessary
adjunct of modern commercial life—trade
journalism, and finding that demands are
exacting, we have no time to bother our-
selves with the affairs of our competitors.
They have as much right to be engaged in
the business as ourselves, and we do be-
lieve, however, that one can give better
service, make a stronger newspaper insti-
tution by devoting one's sole energies to
the development of journalism and not
departing into those side paths which lead
to the unfathomable mines of billingsgate.
+
+
The formation of a national piano manu-
facturers' association seems now possible of
realization judging from the many letters
received favorable to the proposed meeting
and banquet.
The good which such an organization
could accomplish if conducted on the right
lines is incalculable, and many of the direc-
tions in which its beneficial influence would
radiate will readily occur to our readers.
There are numberless evils detrimental
to good business ethics in the trade to-day
which call for remedial action—evils which
can never be cured by spasmodic or scat-
tered efforts of individuals or sets of indi-
viduals.
Men who are wide-wake enough to see
that combination for a necessary purpose
has its legitimate place, and are enlight-
ened and progressive enough to take action
for a common end, will realize the import-
ance of the proposed national organization.
It means the greatest good to the greatest
number.
We have dwelt on this subject so often
that our views are too well known to need
reiteration, meanwhile our extended jour-
neyingshave more than ever convinced us
that a national association is needed to
promulgate and carry to a successful issue
such measures as trade conditions demand.
Its existence would work a benefit to deal-
ers as well as manufacturers in every sec-
tion of the land. It would have a salu-
tary influence and would dignify the indus-
try and elevate it in the opinion of the com-
mercial world.
Again, manufacturers could achieve
many reforms were they organized in a
national body, particularly in the matter of
freight rates, bank accommodations, dating
ahead, in fact the entire matter of credits
need readjustment, while professional
schemers who seem to abound and succeed
occasionally could be obliterated by an in-
telligent and unanimous course of proce-
dure.
Many of the most important industries
of this country are organized on a national
basis, and the result has been entirely
beneficial. Why not the piano trade ?