Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
P
EDWARD LYMAN BILL, - Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SPILLANE, Managing Editor
Executive and Reportorlal Stall:
UDO. B. KJILLKB.
W. N. TYLER.
F. H. THOMPSON.
BMILIB FRANCIS BAUSB.
L. B. BOWERS. B. BRITTAIN WILSON, WM. B. WHITE. L. J. CHAMBBBLIM. A. J. NICKLIN.
BOSTON OFFICE:
\
CHICAGO OFFICE:
H>NKST L. WAITT, 278A Tremont St.
E. P. VAN HARLINOBN, 195-197 Wabasb Ave
TBL.BPHONB8 : Central 414 ; Automatic 8643
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL:
ST. LOUIS:
PHILADELPHIA:
R. W. KAUFFMAN.
A. W. SHAW.
CHAS. N. VAN BUBHN.
SAN FRANCISCO: S. II. GRAY, 2407 Sacramento St.
CINCINNATI. O.: NINA PUGH-SMITH.
BALTIMORE, MD.: PAUL T. LOCKWOOD.
LONDON, ENGLAND:
69 Basinghall St., E. C.
W. Lionel Sturdy, Manager.
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, $60.00; opposite
reading matter, $76.00.
REMITTANCES, In other than currency form, should be made payable to Bdward
Lyman Bill.
Directory ol Plaao
The directory of piano manufacturing firms and corporation
found on another page will be of great value, as a reference
for dealers and others.
IANO manufacturers and dealers have suffered with others
from the shortage of freight cars, and it must be admitted
as we view the railroad situation, that it has become more and more
critical The problem is the same whether its manifestation is the
bad service and excessive fare on the local transportation lines, the
various terrible accidents which have occurred on the trunk roads,
the failure of the Western roads to carry the farmer's grain, the
shortage of coal cars, or the favoritism to the great trusts.
Is not speculation really at the root of the railroad situation,
and have we not drifted from the ancient moorings to which origi-
nally the railroads were supposed to be anchored?
RAILROAD should be nothing but a public highway, equipped
A
with public machinery for the performance of its functions.
Like a highway, its sole purpose should be the economical and speedy
transportation of freight and passengers. It can have no other
object without injuring the purposes of its creation. What rail-
road, if any, in the United States is now managed or operated to
this end ? Originally, some of the old railroads were modified high-
ways. They were owned by the people of the communities through
which their lines ran. The convenience of the community was their
chief aim. The charges for transportation were proportionate to
the services rendered. On this theory many towns, counties and
states made appropriation of taxpayers' money for railroad con-
struction.
L
OCALITIES would issue bonds that they might receive tlr:
benefits of the' railroad. The United States gave bounties
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
and
land-grants
worth hundreds of millions of dollars in order that
Wand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1800
Silver Medal.Charleston Exposition, 1902
Diploma.Pan-American Exposition, 1901
Gold Medal..St. Louis Exposition, 1904
the transcontinental lines might be built. We recall personally
Gold Medat.Lewls-Clark Exposition, 1905
viewing the splendid land-grants given to the Northern Pacific
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE—NUMBER 1745 GRAMERCY
M
Railroad by the United States Government. These princely gifts
Cable a d d r e s s : ElbtU New York."
included every alternate section, and as we were over the early
NEW YORK, MARCH 2, 1907
railroad surveys, we noted that the choicest sections usually fell to
the railroad.
A half a dozen groups of men now control almost all of these
highways
which are valued at twenty billions of dollars. These
EDITORIAL
roads have become one vast machine—not for serving the purpose
of their creation, but for taxing the community for a numerically
small part of the population. The products of the great industrial
CCORDING to our special trade reports, business has shown
trusts
are transported at prices absurdly small when compared with
a decided improvement during the last half of February, and
the
high
rates charged the smaller producers all along the line which
March enters with splendid prospects. Better weather conditions
the
roads
operate. Issues of stock and bonds are made—not that
and the easing of the railroad blockades will help trade materially
the
public
convenience may be better served, but that the profits
in various sections. Better reports come to us from the Southwest
of
the
syndicaters
and high financiers may be advanced. Neces-
and from the Pacific coast, where the car congestion is less acute.
sarily
the
engineering
and traffic problems are neglected; that is
Advices from New England also show a material betterment in busi-
why
there
are
so
many
needless deaths and so many accidents.
ness conditions there. The roads there have been so blocked with
Railroads
are
a
necessity—and
safe transportation is an imperative
snow that it has been almost impossible to follow up the prospect?
necessity.
or even to deliver pianos in rural districts.
If a break comes in the present prosperity of the country, it
The leading industries throughout the country are still busily
will
be
brought about in our opinion by the failure of the railroads
employed. Money tends to ease off considerably as a whole; col-
to
perform
their duty, and by their constant solicitation of the public
lections while still irregular have improved of late. According to *
to
buy
their
highly watered stocks, which after a while must de-
all estimates the disposition to regard February distribution as fully
preciate,
and
then stand from under please.
equal to or in excess of last year is general, and while there may
have been some disappointed ones in the music trade and out of it,
WELL-KNOWN Western dealer writes: "I was much in-
on the whole, February has given a good account of itself. March
terested to read a suggestion made in last week's Review,
starts in with splendid prospects, and there is a general belief that
urging
dealers to unite in the several cities, and carry a regular
in point of business volume it will eclipse its predecessor.
card in the local papers headed, 'Caution to Piano Buyers,' and
that the advertisement should contain a brief argument stating why
HERE is, however, a widespread belief that we have reached
piano
buyers should insist upon having instruments bearing the
the highwater mark of our present prosperity. In this con-
maker's
name only; and to have the names of all the dealers who
nection, it may be well to recall that similar predictions have been
join
in
this
proposition to appear in connection with this advertise-
made for the past three years. We know of some prominent piano
ment.
I
believe
that this is a novel plan and would surely have a
manufacturers who were strong in their advocacy that the crest of
decided
effect
to
put the special brand pianos out of business in a
the wave was reached three years ago, and that the time to hedge
short
time."
had arrived, and still we kept on moving further up all the time.
There are many who believe that a small reduction in the volume of
E think the above suggestion is worth the trying, and if the
the country's general traffic would be of some advantage. It would
dealers would combine in one city, and follow up this plan
allow everybody to catch up, including the railroads, but this is not
for two or three months, in our opinion the returns would justify
according to the generally accepted belief in this country. Every
continuing advertisements of such a nature so that the public would
piano manufacturer desires to do a little better this year than last,
invariably turn towards the piano houses which believe in offering
and so on. Perfect satisfaction usually results in sliding back down
for sale only legitimate trade products. Tn a number of towns
the scale. We can never be satisfied, because when satisfaction is
reached, activity of various kinds is usually halted. The business throughout the country, we have local music trade associations
which are primarily founded for trade good, and we would re-
road lies ever ahead and we cannot see the end.
Manufacturers
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