Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TftADE REVIEW
mm
TWENTY-SECOND YEAR.
EDWARD LYMAN BILL,
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
J . B. S P I L L A N E . MANAGING EDITOR,
EMILIE
Executive Staff
:
FRANCES
BAUER,
THOS. CAMPBELL-COPELAND
WALDO E. LADD
GEO. W. QUERIPEL
A. J. NICKLIN
PnmuHfll Ererj Sitmday at 3 East 14th street, New Yort
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage). United States, Mexico
and Canada.ia.oo per year ; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per
insertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts a special discount
is allowed. Advertising Pages $50.00, opposite reading matter
$75.00.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency form, should be
Bade payable to Edward Lvman Bill.
Entered at tki Nrw York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
NEW YORK, HARCH 23, 1901.
TELEPHONE NUMBER, 1745-EIOHTEENTH STREET.
On the first Saturday of each month The
Review oontains In its ' Artists Department"
all the our rent musical news. This is effected
without in any way trespassing on the size or
service of the trade section of the paper. It has
a special circulation, and therefore augments
materially the value of The Review to adver-
tiser^
EPITOME OF TRADE.
*"r RADE for the past week, both in retail
and wholesale departments, has exhi-
bited a decided improvement over the two
previous weeks, and indications now point
to a renewed activity all along the line. Jan-
uary and February and the first part of
March have been somewhat disappointing to
many, but now that we will soon feel the
cheering effects of spring warmth, indica-
tions surely point to a very excellent trade
in those lines to which The Review directly
appeals. The statement of business failures
shows a satisfying decrease in numbers for
the first half of March over that of March a
year ago. Factories in every section are feel-
ing the inspiration of spring, and in several
instances they are working overtime and, of
course, every industry is more or less inter-
ested by the conditions which exist in others.
Western trade has been somewhat more
buoyant than in New England. Our own
advices from different parts of the West and
South show that trade there is moving along
satisfactory lines, and New England trade
has exhibited signs of material betterment
during the past week.
NEED OF A DEALERS' ASSOCIATION.
A DEALER from the West writes that
he is somewhat interested in the prop-
osition of forming a dealers' association, and
believes the move a good one, but fails to see
just how the inceptive move should be taken.
All such moves require a leader, and if
some dealer takes it upon himself to get to-
gether a few men in his own city who are
interested in the scheme, they could easily in-
fluence outside dealers and so continue the
expansion theory until their forces are per-
fected.
The great trouble with all organization ly of the same character, at least for the
work is that too much is expected at the laudable purpose of assuring to the dealer
beginning, and instead of getting into com- the margin of profit to which he is justly en-
pact working shape, the main idea seems to titled and relieve him of certain fraudulent
be to get in members, no matter whether or and dishonorable competition which has
not they take any interest in organization made his business life rather thorny for the
work. Now, a few members who are good past few years.
workers are worth infinitely more to an or- The multitudinous benefits to be derived
ganization than those who take merely a pass- from a closer friendship among piano mer-
ive interest and blame those who do all the chants will readily occur to earnest, think-
work for not accomplishing more.
ing- men.
After discussing the benefits of organiza-
ALONG CORRECT LINES.
tion with a number of dealers, the belief is "TOGETHER with his princely gift of
deduced that they have many interests in
five million' dollars to his old em-
common, and that an organization can be ployees of Pittsburg, Andrew Carnegie sent
perfected which would include retail a communication in which he severely lashed
piano men all over the country. Were such a the man who attempts to foment trouble be-
trade body properly handled, it may be of tween employer and employee.
incalculable value to its members.
Happily, in this industry we have only had
In New York the local organization has rare instances where men have sought
carried on effective work at Albany, by which to profit by the fomentation of trouble be-
all music dealers within our city have been tween the factory owners and the workmen.
benefited. In Boston, the local association
It is true that labor has been dissatisfied
has. labored successfully in securing the con- with the conditions in the industrial world,
viction of a dealer who was engaged in ille- but in our own industry when piano manu-
gal work. This conviction has had a won- facturers have been met in a fair spirit by
derful deterring influence upon other men their men, they have always been willing to
who have been working along similar lines listen to the arguments brought by the other
in different parts of the country. Philadel- side.
phia, too, has an association which has been
They have been unwilling, however, to
engaged in doing excellent work.
bend the knee to such men as Dold. Dicta-
There is more than one method of cor- tion they never will brook.
recting trade abuses, but, on the whole, the
With the vast increase of industries de-
best medium is through trade organization, voted to all lines of manufacture, the rapid
where the contending forces meet in a fair and wonderful growth of these enterprises
and friendly spirit with the single aim of has almost entirely absorbed the entire at-
benefiting the conditions of all by abandon- tention of the employers, and to within a
ing the obnoxious practices which some men recent period the employee has received very
are prone to fall into. Much could be accom- little consideration in a general way. The
plished that would be remedial and whole- employers, for the past half century—a pe-
some—the dealers' association could work riod of time marking the world's greatest
in perfect harmony with the Manufacturers' industrial triumphs—have been seeking how
National Association, and together they they could best outwit their competitors.
would form a large influence for the good They have been naturally antagonistic, al-
of the entire trade.
though friendly to all outward appearances.
Were such organizations perfected, they This, in the past, has created a feeling of
would concentrate the purchasing power of distrust and resentment that prevented any
the dealers in such a way that they would possibility of an organization of manufac-
form then no mean power to offset the en- turers having for its purpose a unity of ac-
croachment of the catalogue houses upon tion along well defined lines for mutual pro-
their particular domain—an encroachment tection.
which must steadily gain increased force if
During all these fifty years, while the man-
it is not diverted in some way or other. A ufacturers were drifting further and further
concentration of the legitimate distributive apart, their employees have been gradually
energy of the trade would be of obvious ad- perfecting various organizations to protect
vantage. This is the age of combinations, themselves and for mutual benefit. Their
not only of vast capital, but all other ele- ideas of organization were, no doubt, those
ments as well.
entertained by the patriot who wrote "In
Combinations have been brought about in Union there is Strength," believing that
recent years controlling, to a large extent, their combined interests would best • serve
the manufacture of certain lines of product, to improve their condition.
and sooner or later must combinations of
The student of human nature will, no
dealers of the same product seek to conserve doubt, have discovered long before this that
their interests by associations, if not precise- there has been just cause for this assump-