Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Garritson on Interesting Topics.
THE INFLUENCE OF THE WAR ON BUSINESS—SEES SOME DANGER AHEAD IN THE PRESENT
SITUATION—OPPOSED TO " BOOMING" AND THINKS CAUTION NECESSARY IN TRADE
DURING 19OO BIG IMPROVEMENTS IN KROEGER PLANT.
President Chris. Garritson, of the Kroe-
ger Co., told The Review on Wednes-
day, in answer to a question as to the
probability of "good times " in the piano
industry continuing" through 1900, that
from his point of view, very much depends
on the success of the English troops in
South Africa and the rapidity with which
the Filipinos are pacified.
"The prosperity of any civilized country
in these days," said he, "depends largely
on the non-interruption of commercial re-
lations with other countries, near and dis-
tant. To-day the two greatest commercial
nations in the world—the United States
and England—have vexatious wars on their
hands, and big armies are engaged under
each flag endeavoring to maintain a nation's
prestige. Nothing affects the people of
any nation, savage or civilized, so seriously
as a loss of military prestige. It upsets
the national equilibrium and plays havoc
with a thousand otherwise flourishing in-
dustries
"Well, what do we observe each day
concerning our own and Britain's military
prestige? Aguinaldo continues to escape,
and sixty odd thousands of our best men—
if I don't mistake the number—continue to
pursue him over marshes and swamps and
through jungles. The only reliable reports
that come from the front with any reason-
able degree of regularity are death reports.
Mind you, I am no anti-expansionist, but
merely take facts as I find them.
" Then how about Britain's prestige? A
good many people seem to think that it
has moved down several notches within
the past two or three months. The long
and the short of it is that Uncle Sam
doesn't seem to be able to wipe the floor so
promptly with the barbarians around
Manila, as he calculated to do a while ago,
and John Bull finds the Transvaal farmers
and their sons a trifle too tough a meal for
him to bite and swallow at a single gulp.
In each case the solution.of the problem
is only a question of time, but what is hap-
pening meanwhile ?
"Not one of the natives of continental
Europe has any particular affection for the
Anglo-Saxon race. Outwardly they are all
civil at present, because they are still
afraid, but they are watching the course of
events very carefully, and some of the
most disreputab'e, but at the same time
most popular of their daity newspapers,
are egging the people on to mischief in
one form or another.
"Spain is indulging in a lot of quiet
humor just now at our expense. The
Spainards are tickled to death at our em-
barrassing situation in Asia, where an army
of Anglo-Saxons is kept at bay by a schem-
ing, dusky-skinned son of a gun who, like
some of our own malcontents, had no par-
ticular talent for anything except stirring
up a seditious spirit among a lot of people
who haven't the mental ability to compre-
hend the real situation. We know the at-
titude of France and other European
powers toward England at this crisis. All
the talk we have indulged in since May
1898 about the Anglo-Saxon race licking
the whole world is being thrown back at
us—and small wonder.
"In my opinion, if the Anglo-Saxon race
doesn't hurry up and do something to re-
trieve the prestige it has lost lately in war-
fare with 'small fry,' so to speak—you know
we never shall get any credit from Europe
for licking Spain—complications are pretty
sure to arise. The big nations on the con-
tinent will get saucy and then impudent.
They will give us a slap in the face when-
ever they conveniently can. Then, as the
politicians say, 'What are we going to do
about it?'
"History is being made very rapidly at
this end of the nineteenth century. Mar-
velous changes are wrought with great sud-
denness. Nearly every new issue of the
dailies—even the conservative ones—con-
tains some real sensation. I certainly don't
wish for anything of the sort, but judging
from events in Africa, as they have passed
before our eyes since the Boer war begun,
is another great British repulse unlikely—
followed perhaps by another? The news
in such a case will spread like wildfire.
Then will come disaffection throughout the
British Colony.
"Taking probabilities only into conside-
ration, this might be followed by an insult
to our consul at Pretoria. Like a flash we
should be called upon to choose sides. And
what then? In almost less time than it
takes to tell it, the world would be on fire
and we would, willy-nilly, be in the midst
of it. The people of the United States
have strong feelings on the Boer question.
Many think Krtiger and his men are right.
No matter which way the President might
decide, the fat would be in the fire just the
same, and then would come a panic and
old Harry to pay all around.
" So you see, the man who undertakes to
promise that 1900 will be a brilliant com-
mercial success, from the piano manu-
facturer's standpoint is godfather to a large-
sized and awkward proposition. My tem-
perament on things generally is optimistic
rather than otherwise, but if I were a gam-
bler, I should hate to stake any sum worth
mentioning on the smoothness of the trade
surface during this coming year.
"My only object in saying all this is to
impress those who are interested with the
necessity for caution. I do not anticipate
disaster or calamity in the trade, and to il-
lustrate my exact attitude will merely say
that we have just completed arrangements
to spend several thousands of dollars in
new machinery for certain branches of our
work. We have also bought a large quan-
tity of desirable lumber for piano-making
purposes. Every preparation is being
made to do a good business, but on a con-
servative basis.
" Manufacturers have a right to make
all the instruments they can sell at a fair
and reasonable profit, but not to make so
many that they are eventually willing to
sell practically below cost and on any terms
to get rid of excess stock. That means an
actual injury to legitimate trade. The
same with dealers. They have a right to
order according to the actual demand, but
not to stock up and crowd their warerooms
with pianos for customers whom they have
been led to expect by ' boomers ' who have
their own axe to grind. That is an in-
justice to the manufacturer. We must all
move cautiously and then if an emergency
arises we shall be better prepared for it."
Levassor Co. Affairs.
[Special to The Review.]
Cincinnati, O., Dec. 26, 1899.
Regarding the assignment made by the
Levassor Piano Co. through their secretary
to Attorney D. D. Woodmansee, for the
benefit of the creditors, I learn that the
company has assets valued at $27,000 and
liabilities estimated at $22,500. The sales
lately have been small, while the expenses
were too heavy to justify a continuance
of business under such conditions. It is
expected that all claims will be paid dol-
lar for dollar. Louis E. Levassor is presi-
dent of the company and T. A. O'Meara
secretary. The company has been in exis-
tence about eight years and survived the
extreme hard times, without vitality
enough left, however, to reach a safe har-
bor. There was talk of an assignment by
the company a year ago, but it held on,
hoping still to pull through. Louis E. Le-
vassor is one of the oldest piano men now
in the business in Cincinnati, and many
years ago was with D. H. Baldwin & Co.
A Vose Year.
Now that the smoke of the 1899 battle
field is well cleared away, we can easily
scan the victorious forces now in the sad-
dle. There is the famous old house of
Vose for whom the dying year marks a red
letter history. Victorious in every part of
the union, the Vose forces can look back
upon '99 as a memorable year of accom-
plishments, for at no point in the long his-
tory of this distinguished concern, has
their product stood as high in the estima-
tion of the public and trade, as at present.
The secret of Vose success lies largely in
loyalty and progressiveness—loyalty to
their dealers, whose interests are carefully
considered by every move of the house.
Progressiveness in every point of the man-
ufacturing department, which is so well
emphasized in the architectural and musi-
cal advance of their product.
Always looking for betterment, there is
every reason why the Vose concern should
enjoy a happy and prosperous new year.
A Record Breaker.
Latest reports from the Strauch action
and piano key factory indicate that 1899
has been a record-breaker in the matter of
output. Thus the prophecy of Peter D.
Strauch at the end of 1898 has come true.
His trade prognostications for rgoo are
equally as cheering as those for the year
now rapidly drawing to a close.