Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
EDWARD LY.MAN
Editor nnJ Proprietor
~
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY
3 East 14th St., New York
SUBSCRIPTION (including: postage), United States,
Mexico and Canada, $*joo per year; all other countries,
$3-oo.
ADVERTISEflFNTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per
insertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts a special dis-
count is allowed. Advertising J'ages $50.00, opposite read-
ing matter $75.00.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency form, should
be made payable to Edward Lyman Bill.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
NEW YORK, JUNE 11, 1898.
TELEPHONE NUMBER, 1745--EIOHTEENTH SIREET.
THE KEYNOTE.
The first week of each month, The Review will
contain a supplement embodying the literary
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 GATHERING IN BOSTON.
T H E event of the week in trade circles
was the Piano Manufacturers' Con-
vention held in Boston. Tuesday night a
banquet was given by the Boston Music
Trade Association, to the members of the
National organization. Wednesday the
real work began in the convention which
was held at Hotel Brunswick. The mem-
bers of the trade press were not present at
the Convention, therefore it should be
understood that the report given out by
the secretary, which is reproduced in an-
other portion of this paper is not The Re-
view's report of the Convention, but the
official one edited by members of the As-
sociation given to this and every other
paper.
A perusal of the report will be convinc-
ing that the Association has advanced in
point of concentrativeness. This year it
promulgates definite principles which af-
ford lucid explanation for its existence.
The invariable replies made by members
of the organization to whom we pro-
pounded queries were to the effect that
they were perfectly satisfied with the ad-
vance made by the organization, and it
had become an active force in this trade,
and that its permanency was assured.
Judging from the sentiments expressed
to us by the visiting delegates, there is a
cohesive power in the organization, the
magnet of which lies in the belief of the
members that the association will have
an influence to ameliorate, if not wholly
eradicate, existing trade evils.
In some of the resolutions passed there
are no ambiguous phrases which tend to
detract from the belief in the minds of the
reader that a real object is sought—an ob-
ject which is not vague, visionary or im-
possible.
If we must criticize the action of the
Convention as presented by the official re-
port we would say that it has included in
its scope too many of the trade evils.
Organizations, as a whole, accomplish
more by not attempting to include every-
thing at one sitting. It is far better to
take up one real evil, eradicate it wholly,
and when not a vestige of that remains,
attack another with such a force that it
means absolute expulsion, than it is to
waste one's energies in a complexity of
subjects which are oftentimes bewilder-
ing.
One, however, must form the opinion
that the members of the various commit-
tees have gone in a comprehensive man-
ner, into the matters which are of vital in-
terest to the trade. That they have de-
voted considerable time and much thought
to the consideration of these important
matters is evidenced by their report and
recommendations.
A further deduction which may be
drawn from the official report is that the
Piano Manufacturers' Association for the
first time in its history has gone before
the world with a direct, stated object in
view.
Manufacturers who have remained aloof
from joining the Association have affirmed
that up to this time no argument has been
advanced by its promoters other than the
sweeping expression that it embodied
general trade good. Previously, soft,
elastic, mouth-filling phrases pleasing to
the ear have been predominant in Associa-
tion reports, but now it seems as if the
organization has gotten down to real busi-
ness, and has announced, in no misleading"
terms, its definite object and what it hopes
to accomplish.
In the course of a decade and a half we
have attended a great many conventions,
sometimes in an official, sometimes in a
reportorial capacity, and at the gathering
in Boston, there was as complete an una-
nimity of opinion regarding the progress
made as at any organization that we have
ever witnessed.
Perhaps the speech of Chas. H. Parsons
at the banquet represented as completely
and comprehensively the real purpose of
the Association as any utterances made
either at the Convention or after it. It
occurred to us, while listening to Mr. Par-
sons' speech, that he was not only voicing
the sentiments of the Association, but he,
in his capacity as orator, was the true ex-
ponent of the organization. In fact, it
almost seemed that he had been selected
to be its especial mouthpiece.
Another point which was particularly
noticeable to us was that the sectional
lines were sharply defined at this gather-
ing, the great West being represented by
two members, Geo. P. Bent, of Chicago,
and C. A. Anderson, of Van Wert, O.
It has been stated that the increase
which has recently taken place in the As-
sociation membership was largely from
that list of manufacturers who are west of
the Appalachian chain, and it was further
stated that the West at this banquet would
be fairly represented. This was not so;
and we believe that it is owing largely to
the idea which has existed in certain quar-
ters that the organization in itself was
really a sectional organization; in other
words, th«.t it was a combination of East-
ern manufacturers against the West.
This idea, we believe, has kept out a
number of Western men who have af-
firmed that they were fully capable of
managing their own affairs without allying
themselves with any organization. Geo.
P. Bent himself stated no later than last
Wednesday night: "When I first joined
the Association, I perhaps had a faint idea
that in some respects it meant the East
against the West, but I concluded that if I
found such to be the case that it would be
an easy matter to drop my name from the
roll of membership. I have found that
it represented the best interests of the
manufacturers of the entire country,
therefore I believe in its future!"
It is extremely probable that the report
given out by this organization at its Con-
vention of Wednesday will influence to a
large degree, many who have hitherto re-
mained aloof from participation in Associ-
ation affairs.
JV/I USIC trade conventions make strange
yoke fellows. The logic of condi-
tions is stronger than the hot talk of com-
petition. No one could have foreseen
years ago, the fraternizing which took
place this week in Boston, in so trusting
and amicable a manner. The largest sig-
nificance of the suggested accomplish-
ments of the Association is in the convic-
tion dawning throughout the trade that
unity is worth fighting for; that the time
has come when a combination is good for
defense and offense. The time is coming
when there will be no more war of compe-
tition, nothing but friendly rivalry in the
arts of civilization and good will.
T H E miniature pianos which were served
with the banquet last Wednesday
night caused one man to remark facetious-