Music Trade Review

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THE
EDWARD LYMAN BILL,
EBITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
J. B. SPILLANEt, MANAGING EDITOR.
THOS. CAMPBELL-COPELAND
, EMILIE FRANCIS BAUER
Eiecutlre Staff: -< WALDO E. LADD
GEO. W. QUERIPEL
A. J. NICKLIN
PofalUMed ET«7 SitnrfliT at 3 East 14th street, New Yori*
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7VTVSIC TRMDE
a pleasant recreation. The world was never
fuller of work than now, getting ready for
the millennium rest perhaps.
Evolution, for it is keeping pace with life,
is making such rapid progress that it is very
difficult to foretell the future, and we are not
quite sure what will be considered greatness
in the future until this good time arrives.
In the meanwhile we shall continue to poach
upon the other fellow's territory, sell pianos
i trifle off from the one-price system, unload
surplus stocks at cut prices and indulge in
auction sales, now and then approach in our
announcements to that which borders on fake
advertising, and do a whole lot of other
things which it might be well to leave alone.
Y\l E learn that a good many of the piano
factories are well supplied with coal.
TELEPHONE NUMBBR. 1745-EIQHTBENTH STREET.
That is fortunate, for should the strike con-
THI
On the first Saturday of each month
tinue,
a coal famine, which would affect
ARTISTS'
The Review contains in its "Artists' De-
partment" all the current musical news.
DEPARTMENT This is effected without in any way tres- every industry, and in fact all power depend-
passing on the size or service of the trade
section of the paper. It has a special circulation, and
ent upon coal, would be upon the entire
therefore augments materially the value of The Review
to advertisers.
country.
DIRECTORY OF
The directory of piano manufac
The situation is not pleasing, and the great
PIANO
turlng
firms
and
corporations
found
MANUFACTURERS o n page 24 will be of great value as
a reference or dealers and others.
public is directly interested in this strike.
Of course, men are free to quit work if they
desire, but they have no right to prevent any
EDITORIAL
man who desires to make an honest dollar
from taking their places, or say that he has
TOPICS OF THE HOUR.
no
right to sell his labor on his own terms.
A LWAYS when times are prosperous, dis-
There should be no temporizing in matters
content is in evidence. It is a curious
of
this kind, and the employer's interest
tact that human nature cannot stand an ex-
cess of prosperity. The growing discontent should be protected even if it be necessary
can be fairly traced to our unprecedented to bring to bear a double row of bayonets.
prosperity. Given too much freedom, and a Strikers should be taught to respect the laws
tyrant seems necessary. But excesses furnish of the country, and not to interfere with the
specifics for their own cure. Labor is bur- freedom of the individual.
dened with discontent as a result of extreme
T™* H E R E is no industry in which associ-
wages which cannot bear the strain of such
ation work has been productive of as
success. Men who are receiving more than
much good as in the hardware trade. Prac-
they ever had before in their lives, grow rest-
tical results have' been achieved which have
less and demand more. They demand the
materially augmented association interests
right to dictate to employers, and they also
in all parts of America and to-day there is
arrogate unto themselves the right to in-
hardly a State that is not well covered by
terfere with any one else who desires to take
local hardware organizations.
their places.
Talking recently with a prominent hard-
Capital may grow arrogant, too, but the
ware man he said:
distribution of the penalty over all the people
"Prior to the last two years the association
emphasizes the fact that we are all links in
scheme had not accomplished much, with the
a continuous chain.
exception of the promotion of good feeling,
If nature can ever prevent the necessity for
ami a closer relationship of our members.
every new generation to learn by experience,
For a while nothing was attempted. Re-
it will be a great gain. Great depressions are
cently, however, we turned our attention to
said to be necessary to secure great religious
the business feature of the association and
revivals, and they ought to promote reviv-
our efforts have been instrumental in accom-
als of common-sense.
plishing a great deal of trade good."
~~
NEW YORK, JUNE 2\ f J902.
sociations were years in doing, that is, it has
promoted a better feeling and it has made
possible an interchange of valuable ideas to
the advancement and upbuilding of business
methods.
!t has endeavored to mould trade opinion
in the right direction.
It has placed the cost of membership with-
in its organization at so insignificant an
amount, that in consideration of the simple
interchange of ideas afforded, no retailer,
no matter how slight may be his business,
can afford to be without membership.
T* H E recent collapse of the Hardware
Trust before it was fairly born, fur-
nishes entertaining reading. The history
of this miscarriage of a great and ambitious
enterprise is worth recording.
The labor and effort that have been put
into it by some of the best hardware men
in the United States has been tremendous.
The scheme began to take shape in the
early days of 1901. There were gentle-
men who believed that a combination of a
large majority of hardware men of the coun-
try could be made and labored industriously
to persuade their fellow manufacturers that
they could profit by co-operation. The move-
ment spread, house after house gave its op-
tion. A prominent law firm of New York
took hold of the scheme and agreed to put
it through if possible. Men were pledged to
secure millions of capital if necessary. Those
who had before doubted began to feel that it
would be achieved in spite of the enormous
difficulties that stood in the wav.
'"T HE account of the option taking i.s inter-
esting.
First, the talk that a number of houses
were to sell out for cash and then later it
was understood that a large proportion of
payments must be made in stock. The ardor
of many who were going in began to cool.
I'liere were many who were willing to sell
out and quit, but did not care to hold
stock issued by some one else in place of
their own. The scheme did not event-
uate as rapidly as it was expected, and
options had to be extended. The details
of organization and management of the pro-
posed company were never authoritatively
announced, and there was a great deal of
vague mysterious work in connection with
the enterprise.
The gentlemen in charge of the movement
evidently believed the time had come to make
The Piano Dealers' National Association the matter public and published a list of the
P H I L O S O P H E R S tell us that all labor
will eventually be done for the joy of has been, we may say, in embryo shape for a houses that were to merge, and the public
doing it; that labor-saving machinery will year, and all the work that was accomplished was told that one hundred and twenty mil-
do the work under the direction of brain, re- during 1901 was done by a mere handful of
lion capitalization of the hardware trade was
workers.
The
organization
is
still
young,
lieving muscle to such an extent that the joy
imminent. Suddenly there was a halt. The
of exercising it will be a positive pleasure. and the scope of its influence cannot at the scheme could not be worked to a financial
There is no occasion to rush for a job in present time be fully estimated. It, however, success. The promoters and underwriters
anticipation of this, but the dream of it is has accomplished just what the hardware as- could get no further; they had reached the