Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
house competition, why, an injury is clone.
But as long as matters are represented as
they are, then nothing but good can come
from publicity. The public should know that
the cheapest, trashiest kind of instruments
are offered by the catalogue houses.
The Bartlett Music Co., of Los Angeles,
Cal., in a recent communication to The Re-
view state: "The Review has been a great
help to the trade in many directions and
deserves the support of the music trade." We
have received hundreds of letters from all
parts of the South and West endorsing the
attitude of The Review, and in no instance
have we learned that one argument made
in these columns has been used by the cata-
logue houses to advance their claims, be-
cause we have been careful not to place
any weapons which might be turned against
us in the hands of the enemy.
The Bartlett Music Co. state further in
reference to the catalogue house business:
"Our own opinion of this business is that
live people will always get all the trade they
can. Catalogue houses will sell pianos if
they can and if the dealers let them. It is
a business proposition and we can meet it,
by giving a better instrument and taking care
of all prospective customers before the cata-
logue house swindles them with their trash.
We wish you success in every war you wage
for the piano trade."
We have another communication from a
very prominent dealer in the Southwest,
praising the policy of The Review, who re-
quests his name withheld. He affirms that the
only way to successfully meet the catalogue
house competition is for the dealers to agree
not to purchase instruments from any man-
ufacturer who supplies ammunition to the
enemy; in other words, who sells to the cat-
alogue houses.
"This work you are doing is to be com-
mended; and I feel that any laws advo-
cated by the Piano Makers' Association,
that would restrict dealers and manufactur-
ers from misrepresenting their goods would
be the only remedy. I wish you much success
in your work."
THINGS TALKED ABOUT.
T T may interest the men
who are behind the
national piano dealers'
organization to know
that the retail furniture
dealers are now organizing associations in
every State in the Union. Circulars have
been sent out to all of the leading furniture
dealers asking their opinion as to the advis-
ability of organizing for the protection of the
retail trade. They affirm that cases mate-
rialize every day where such an organiza-
tion can be of great advantage. We have
seen much of the literature sent out by them,
and they believe that through these organ-
izations they can effectively kill catalogue
house competition.
Hardware d e a l e r s
organize Mean to
combat c a t a l o g u e
h o u s e competition —
Advertising as an in-
vestment—Labor and
capital — T r ad e im-
provement.
are some men who view adver-
tising purely in the light of a business
expense rather than that of a business invest-
ment. They are the ones whose business
is decreasing rather than expanding, for
squeezing "expenses" in advertising appro-
priations usually kill receipts. Economizing
in investments of this character usually turns
out to be the poorest kind of business econ-
omy.
/^\F
the economic questions that have
disturbed the public and private
minds during the past fifteen years, none
has been so important as that of labor.
To the manufacturers of all kinds, and to
those who employ labor to any great ex-
tent, it has been a perplexing and unsolved
It occurs to us that the dealers generally question. Tt has unsettled all values and
will take a somewhat similar view of this kept the public and employer in a chaotic
matter, and figure that they cannot patron- condition. If employers and employees hope
ize institutions which are helping to keep for a continuance of the good times—and
alive the most despicable kind of competi-
we presume they do—they will not permit
tion known to the army of piano merchants.
themselves to be worked into a state of ag-
It is by continued publicity in this direction
gravated hostility.
that men are brought to a keen realization
nTRADE during the past week has exhi-
of the danger which confronts them, and,
bited refreshing signs of activity, and
in our opinion, the regular dealers must de-
the belief exists in the business circles that
cide sooner or later that it is detrimental June will give a good account of itself in a
to their interests to purchase pianos of piano way, notwithstanding the fact that it
concerns who supply the catalogue houses
is usually lacking in activity. The long
It may be that we are wrong, but we shall drawn out rainy and wet season has had a
watch developments along these lines with depressing effect upon business, and many
keen interest.
prospective sales have been carried along;
George J. liirkel, Los Angeles, Cal.,writes: whether they will be made in June, or will
"The only remedy I can see is to have stringent be extended into the early fall rests largely
laws passed against dealers and manufac- upon the argumentative powers of the sales-
turers making misrepresentations that de- men. Good, bright, invigorating June wea-
ceive the innocent public—such laws as they ther is liable to have an invigorating effect
have in Germany.
_ . . . _ • upon trade.
TT HE numbers of the men who are con-
nected with our industry who spend
some time in Europe are growing annually,
and it is believed that there is more than
merely a vacation reason for this state of
affairs. The American is too practical to
spend two or three months without a busi-
ness purpose in view, and very soon he will
take up the subject of supplying Europe
with pianos in a more serious way than here-
tofore.
IS THERE ANY "LUCK?''
Lack of success too
often at rlbuted to ill
lutk—Plenty of hust-
le back of so-called
luck—Walling for op-
portunities.
1EN a man isn't
successful he usu-
ally attributes it to ill
luck, and that same man
will always designate a
W
successful man as being "a lucky fellow,"
overlooking the fact that back of this so-
called luck is plenty of persistent and un-
remitting toil, that hard work in all its
different degrees lies behind all success in
life. The most hopeless failures are those
who hold themselves blameless and who
never admit their own lack of ability and in-
dustry; who blame fate, conditions, luck,
everything but the real cause.
It is true that the most of us do not achieve
that degree of success to which we imagine
our abilities specially entitle us. It maybe that
we cannot secure the employment which we
believe ourselves specially fitted for, and then
again, the price to many looks insufficient
to sustain life. But more men drift into
slothful indolence through waiting for real
"business snaps"—in other words, for posi-
tions which they are not competent to fill—
than those who achieve distinguished suc-
cess. There are plenty of men who always
wish to play the leading parts in the great
drama of life when they have failed to dem-
onstrate that they have ability to play even
the minor ones. Then, these same men be-
lieve that they are shunted to a siding
through lack of appreciation of their merits
—in other words, it is ill luck that keeps them
down. A man's unconsciousness ojt the di-
rect or tributary causes of failure doesn't
make it any less a fact, but contributes la-
mentably to the hopelessness of his condition.
When he once gains a knowledge that in
himself lies success or failure, there is a pos-
sibility of success. The knowledge gives
him his chance to climb, and he begins in
no half-hearted way. It lies with him to
decide whether the apple of success is worth
climbing for. We can respect the man who
looks at the apple, sizes up the labor, and
decides it isn't worth the climbing; but the
man who thinks he deserves the apple and
waits for some one to come along and loan
him a ladder—well—he is waiting yet, and
invariably he is the man who is the mo*t
emphatic in his protestations against ill luck^