Music Trade Review
Issue: 1906 Vol. 42 N. 23 - Page 6
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
6
THE
MUSIC TRADE
RENEW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL, - Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SPILLANE, Managing Editor
Executive and Reportorlal Stall:
UDO. B. KELLER.
W. N. TYLER.
F. H. THOMPSON.
BMILIE FBANCBS BAUER.
L. B. BOWERS. B. BRITTAIN WILSON, WM 1 . B. WHITE. L. J. CHAMBERLIN. A. J. NICKLIN.
BOSTON OFFICE:
CHICAGO OFFICE:
B. P. VAN HARLINQEN, 195-197 Wabaah Ave-
TELEPHONES : Central 414 ; Automatic 8643
PHILADELPHIA OFFICE: MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL: ST. LOUIS OFFICE
EBNEST L. WAITT, 278A Tremont St.
It. W. KAUFFMAN.
A. W. SHAW.
CHAS. N. VAN BUREN.
SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE: ALFRED METZGER, 425-427 Front S t
CINCINNATI, O.:
NINA PUQH-SMITH.
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madison Avenue, New York.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
SUBSCRIPTION,(Including postage). United States, Mexico, and Canada, $2.00 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 currencj form, should be made payable to Edward
Lymnn Bill.
Directory of Piano
..
. .
Manufacturers
The directory of piano manufacturing firms and corporations
found on another page will be of great value, as a reference
and others.
f o r dea l e rs
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Pria)
Paris Exposition, 1900 Silver AfedaZ.Charleston Expolstion, 1902
Diploma. Pan-American Exposition, 1901 Go Id Medal. .St. Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold Medal.Lewis-Clark Exposition, 1905
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE—NUMBER 1745 GRAMERCY
NEW
YORK,
JUNE
9, 1906
EDITORIAL
T
RADE during the past week has not exhibited great activity in
the retail lines, but there are no indications at present which
would cause one to believe that the summer will be duller than
usual. Of course there is a general relaxation of business during
the heated term, and when the automobile is playing first favorite,
the musical instruments do not occupy the center of the stage by
any means. The automobile and athletic games all detract from
the sales of pianos during the summer months. Reports, however,
from the smaller towns show that business is keeping up in rather
an unlooked-for manner. There are many manufacturers, too,
who are far behind in their orders. The summer from the present
outlook will compare favorably with the season of 1905.
/ ^ H A R L E S BOBZIN, who as general manager of the Ditson
v_^ Co., has made such a splendid record, is an enthusiast upon
the one price system, and while discussing this subject recently
with The Review he remarked that he was more than ever in favor
of its general adoption, in all branches of the trade. It had been
his experience that the one price plan had worked out satisfactorily
wherever it had been upheld.
Mr. Bobzin's opinions agree with other leading members of the
trade, and there is no mistaking the fact that the one price system
is steadily gaining ascendancy. Interest in this vital subject has
been accentuated by publicity through the trade press, but it has
also been further increased by the fact that one price to-day is
generally accepted as a sound business system by leading men in
all trades.
The Review has advocated persistently the establishment of
the retail prices by the manufacturer for his instruments, and that
belief is steadily growing. It means not only one price, but it
means that that price is the correct one.
A
LARGE Chicago piano manufacturer recently said: "It
would be impossible to conduct our business without a
thorough system in every department, and each day I am more and
more impressed with the importance of system. I do not see how
any man could run a business in 1906 without it."
There is no question but that the up-to-date business man
realizes the advantage of system, and it has become such an es-
REVIEW
sential in modern business life that its general use has given rise
to a class of professional experts known as "systematizers." Their
methods of work vary somewhat in detail, yet there are certain
lines of procedure which they follow, and which may be said to
constitute the science of systematizing. Sometimes the systematizer
is simply retained to make a critical examination of the business,
report its findings and recommendations. These reports are fre-
quently quite voluminous, and are in fact veritable books.
S
OME business men who have had experience with these pro-
fessional systematizers have not hesitated to say to The Re-
view that the good that came from their work was worth more
than the cost, because while it was not necessarily an adoption of
all their findings, yet sufficient good came out of a systematic in-
vestigation to cause a good deal of saving in expenses, that was
worth considerable, besides adding to the ease and comfort of con-
ducting a business.
In the opinion of more than one expert there are plenty of
poor accounting systems in the retail department of the piano trade.
This could be, in the opinion of many, materially systematized, and
the saving of much labor and annoyance ct>uld be accomplished.
W
HEN you get right down to the proposition, systematizing
to a business is what exercising is to the human system.
If the body is attenuated exercise will put on the adipose tissue. If
obese, it will reduce weight. The law of exercise is to produce
normality, so in business, if it has been conducted extravagantly,
systematizing will effect a great saving, but if the business has been
struggling along with inefficient and insufficient health, if its meth-
ods have been inadequate, if the business is sluggish from a sort of
fatty degeneration there may be slight increases in accounting ex-
penses, but resultant efficiency and satisfaction improve health much
more than compensating for the increase in operating expenses.
It tones a business up, and the growth of any enterprise, whether in
the music industry or out of it, must be due to improved and sys-
tematizing business methods. The bases of economies are not
effected by mere retrenchment, but by bold advancement on broad
and constructive lines.
Y
ES, a character asset is after all the most valuable kind and
no one knows it better than the man who stands before the
trade bar accused of a dishonorable act, and who lacks the char-
acter essential. What would he give to have a clean character, a
clean record, but in this world of ours we usually reap as we sow,
and if a man has passed his time and his talents by the abuse of
others, by the cowardly assaults upon individuals and firms, by low
methods and trickery, by deceit and falsehood, how can he expect
to clear himself when brought up with a round turn? What he
says will not stand against the man with the clean record and spot-
less life. What does the money of the one count against the great
character of the other? After all, character is the greatest asset,
and one never realizes it so much as when the time comes when its
strength alone would save him.
T
HE conditions which have existed in this industry can hardly
be appreciated by outsiders, who are unable to credit the
statement that for years the piano manufacturers have found it
necessary at their conventions to discuss and to condemn methods
adopted by a certain section of the trade press.
In no other industry do such relations toward the trade press
exist, and the more the subject is considered the more absurd the
whole situation becomes. How men, who have persistently sought
to abuse others, and to belittle their works could be endured in any
industry, and be permitted to pose as journalists, is beyond the
understanding of most of us. There has been too much of a con-
ciliating element from the start which was perhaps born through
fear manifested toward the destructive elements of the trade press.
Trade journalism should be treated just like any other business
proposition. There is but one way to conduct a trade newspaper
business, and that is on straightforward business principles, and
any man who adopts any other tactics in these days should be
thrust out, neck and crop.
AST Tuesday the editor of The Review left on the "Car-
mania" for Europe, where he will be absent some months.
It is his intention to visit the important trade centres in Europe,
journeying as far south as Milan and Genoa.
L
6
THE
MUSIC TRADE
RENEW
EDWARD LYMAN BILL, - Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SPILLANE, Managing Editor
Executive and Reportorlal Stall:
UDO. B. KELLER.
W. N. TYLER.
F. H. THOMPSON.
BMILIE FBANCBS BAUER.
L. B. BOWERS. B. BRITTAIN WILSON, WM 1 . B. WHITE. L. J. CHAMBERLIN. A. J. NICKLIN.
BOSTON OFFICE:
CHICAGO OFFICE:
B. P. VAN HARLINQEN, 195-197 Wabaah Ave-
TELEPHONES : Central 414 ; Automatic 8643
PHILADELPHIA OFFICE: MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL: ST. LOUIS OFFICE
EBNEST L. WAITT, 278A Tremont St.
It. W. KAUFFMAN.
A. W. SHAW.
CHAS. N. VAN BUREN.
SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE: ALFRED METZGER, 425-427 Front S t
CINCINNATI, O.:
NINA PUQH-SMITH.
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madison Avenue, New York.
Entered at the New York Post Office as Second Class Matter.
SUBSCRIPTION,(Including postage). United States, Mexico, and Canada, $2.00 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 currencj form, should be made payable to Edward
Lymnn Bill.
Directory of Piano
..
. .
Manufacturers
The directory of piano manufacturing firms and corporations
found on another page will be of great value, as a reference
and others.
f o r dea l e rs
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Pria)
Paris Exposition, 1900 Silver AfedaZ.Charleston Expolstion, 1902
Diploma. Pan-American Exposition, 1901 Go Id Medal. .St. Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold Medal.Lewis-Clark Exposition, 1905
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE—NUMBER 1745 GRAMERCY
NEW
YORK,
JUNE
9, 1906
EDITORIAL
T
RADE during the past week has not exhibited great activity in
the retail lines, but there are no indications at present which
would cause one to believe that the summer will be duller than
usual. Of course there is a general relaxation of business during
the heated term, and when the automobile is playing first favorite,
the musical instruments do not occupy the center of the stage by
any means. The automobile and athletic games all detract from
the sales of pianos during the summer months. Reports, however,
from the smaller towns show that business is keeping up in rather
an unlooked-for manner. There are many manufacturers, too,
who are far behind in their orders. The summer from the present
outlook will compare favorably with the season of 1905.
/ ^ H A R L E S BOBZIN, who as general manager of the Ditson
v_^ Co., has made such a splendid record, is an enthusiast upon
the one price system, and while discussing this subject recently
with The Review he remarked that he was more than ever in favor
of its general adoption, in all branches of the trade. It had been
his experience that the one price plan had worked out satisfactorily
wherever it had been upheld.
Mr. Bobzin's opinions agree with other leading members of the
trade, and there is no mistaking the fact that the one price system
is steadily gaining ascendancy. Interest in this vital subject has
been accentuated by publicity through the trade press, but it has
also been further increased by the fact that one price to-day is
generally accepted as a sound business system by leading men in
all trades.
The Review has advocated persistently the establishment of
the retail prices by the manufacturer for his instruments, and that
belief is steadily growing. It means not only one price, but it
means that that price is the correct one.
A
LARGE Chicago piano manufacturer recently said: "It
would be impossible to conduct our business without a
thorough system in every department, and each day I am more and
more impressed with the importance of system. I do not see how
any man could run a business in 1906 without it."
There is no question but that the up-to-date business man
realizes the advantage of system, and it has become such an es-
REVIEW
sential in modern business life that its general use has given rise
to a class of professional experts known as "systematizers." Their
methods of work vary somewhat in detail, yet there are certain
lines of procedure which they follow, and which may be said to
constitute the science of systematizing. Sometimes the systematizer
is simply retained to make a critical examination of the business,
report its findings and recommendations. These reports are fre-
quently quite voluminous, and are in fact veritable books.
S
OME business men who have had experience with these pro-
fessional systematizers have not hesitated to say to The Re-
view that the good that came from their work was worth more
than the cost, because while it was not necessarily an adoption of
all their findings, yet sufficient good came out of a systematic in-
vestigation to cause a good deal of saving in expenses, that was
worth considerable, besides adding to the ease and comfort of con-
ducting a business.
In the opinion of more than one expert there are plenty of
poor accounting systems in the retail department of the piano trade.
This could be, in the opinion of many, materially systematized, and
the saving of much labor and annoyance ct>uld be accomplished.
W
HEN you get right down to the proposition, systematizing
to a business is what exercising is to the human system.
If the body is attenuated exercise will put on the adipose tissue. If
obese, it will reduce weight. The law of exercise is to produce
normality, so in business, if it has been conducted extravagantly,
systematizing will effect a great saving, but if the business has been
struggling along with inefficient and insufficient health, if its meth-
ods have been inadequate, if the business is sluggish from a sort of
fatty degeneration there may be slight increases in accounting ex-
penses, but resultant efficiency and satisfaction improve health much
more than compensating for the increase in operating expenses.
It tones a business up, and the growth of any enterprise, whether in
the music industry or out of it, must be due to improved and sys-
tematizing business methods. The bases of economies are not
effected by mere retrenchment, but by bold advancement on broad
and constructive lines.
Y
ES, a character asset is after all the most valuable kind and
no one knows it better than the man who stands before the
trade bar accused of a dishonorable act, and who lacks the char-
acter essential. What would he give to have a clean character, a
clean record, but in this world of ours we usually reap as we sow,
and if a man has passed his time and his talents by the abuse of
others, by the cowardly assaults upon individuals and firms, by low
methods and trickery, by deceit and falsehood, how can he expect
to clear himself when brought up with a round turn? What he
says will not stand against the man with the clean record and spot-
less life. What does the money of the one count against the great
character of the other? After all, character is the greatest asset,
and one never realizes it so much as when the time comes when its
strength alone would save him.
T
HE conditions which have existed in this industry can hardly
be appreciated by outsiders, who are unable to credit the
statement that for years the piano manufacturers have found it
necessary at their conventions to discuss and to condemn methods
adopted by a certain section of the trade press.
In no other industry do such relations toward the trade press
exist, and the more the subject is considered the more absurd the
whole situation becomes. How men, who have persistently sought
to abuse others, and to belittle their works could be endured in any
industry, and be permitted to pose as journalists, is beyond the
understanding of most of us. There has been too much of a con-
ciliating element from the start which was perhaps born through
fear manifested toward the destructive elements of the trade press.
Trade journalism should be treated just like any other business
proposition. There is but one way to conduct a trade newspaper
business, and that is on straightforward business principles, and
any man who adopts any other tactics in these days should be
thrust out, neck and crop.
AST Tuesday the editor of The Review left on the "Car-
mania" for Europe, where he will be absent some months.
It is his intention to visit the important trade centres in Europe,
journeying as far south as Milan and Genoa.
L
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).