Music Trade Review

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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Hot Weather Interferes With Business—Philadelphians Glutted With Bargain Sales and Tired of
Them—Reasons for Dissatisfaction—Death of E. E. Keely—Sanford Joins Heppe Forces—
Vacations Now in Order—Stoll Chats of Chaminade's Tour—Estey Organs for Leading
Churches—Interest in New System of Paynent of Salaries and Commissions to Salesmen.
(Special to The Keviow.)
Philadelphia, Pa., Ju.y 21, 1908.
For considerably more than a month Phila-
delphia has been suffering under weather condi-
tions that tend to make everything in the way
of business suffer, and consequently July is any-
thing but a month of roses to the piano men.
Sales of various character have been tried to
force business, but it would not force worth a
cent. The piano movers—the men behind the
guns—assert that they have never seen less trade
activity than at present, and that in spite of the
heavy advertising on the part of some of the
firms, their business has not been much more
than normal. Recently a local house tried a
"clearing sale" in a near-by city, and 1 am told
that although the first day of the advertising
there was some results, on the whole the sale
was anything but satisfactory.
Philadelphians have been glutted with bargain
sales, and I doubt whether such sales will
amount to much here for a long time. Promised
bargains and misrepresentations do not tend to
put the piano purchaser in the best of humor,
and it would seem but the part of wisdom to give
Philadelphia—in this respect—a little rest for a
while. A gentleman connected with one of the
large department stores that had been running
such a sale told me that although they had got-
ten rid of considerable stock, already there were
evidences of dissatisfaction, and that it was quite
apt to grow as time wore on, for they certainly
sold instruments which they had very much
over-rated to their customers.
While the retail business in Philadelphia has
been exceedingly slow, it has not been the same
case with the wholesale end of the trade. True,
there has not been the average summer business,
but the percentage of wholesale business that is
being done here is considerably above the per-
centage of retail business.
Elmer E. Keely, well known as a Philadelphia
organ man, a teacher and a promoter, died the
end of last week and was buried on Monday of
this week. He was well known by the trade
here, and although a young man he had had con-
siderable experience, particularly in organ sell-
"DISTINCTIVELY
HIGH GRADE"
She CHKISTMAN
STUDIO GRAND
is the greatest success of the day.
It possesses a scale of rare even-
ness, a tone of remarkable sonority
and richness, with a quality that
is highly orchestral. Our latest
styles of Grands and Uprights
mark a decided advance in the art
of piano-making. We court inves-
tigation Some territory still open.
CHRISTNAN SONS, Manufacturer.
FACTORY AND
"VTARKROOM8-
33 W«st 14th St.
S49-I73 Ewt 157th St.
NEW YORK
$1,250 a month; to get $20, $1,700; $25, $2,000;
$30, $2,400; $35, $2,750; and $40, $3,000. One of
the big department stores here pays a salary of
10 per cent, on the sales, and the salesman ha?
an opportunity to increase his drawing capaciT/
as to the amount of business he does.
T. G. BAKER WTTH^LUDWIG & CO.
ing. The last firm with whom he was connected
was the Estey Co., but he left their employ late Appointed Superintendent of the New Ludwig
last fall, and opened a musical conservatory, and
Factory and Takes Charge on August 1st.
tried to establish a combination of the various
organ interests throughout the country, with a
Thomas G. Baker, who recently resigned as
view of less competition, better prices, and at superintendent of the great piano plant of Soh-
less expense. He got many of the leading organ mer & Co. in Astoria, L. I., has consummated
people in the country interested in his scheme, arrangements whereby he will assume the super-
but it seems never to have become fully organ- intendency of the new factory of Ludwig & Co.,
ized, principally, no doubt, on account of the New York, on August 1. Mr. Baker is a man of
hard times that struck the business. His death experience and marked ability, and he is certain
was due to an operation for appendicitis. Mr. to make a satisfactory showing in his new sphere
Keely was married within a year.
of activity.
C. J. Heppe & Son have secured the services,
as an inside salesman, of F. A. Sanford, who
SOLD 61 KIMBAUJMPE ORGANS.
has had considerable experience in that line.
R. M. Sultz, of the same house, left on his vaca- The Great Record of the Eilers Piano House on
tion last Friday morning, and Arthur Guyer is
the Pacific Coast.
at present away. F. J. Heppe will leave Philadel-
phia about the 25th of the month and will go to
The Eilers Piano House, of Spokane, Wash.;
the Lake Placid Club, Lake Placid, with his. in a recent advertisement gave a list of pipe
family to remain until the first of September. organs sold on the Pacific Coast by their estab-
Miss Clara V. Gleason, of the same house, is lishment; for instance, fifteen have been sold in
away on vacation at present, and Frank Holl- Washington, twenty in Oregon, five in Idaho,
man is with the troops this week at the encamp- sixteen in California, four in Salt Lake City (in-
ment at Gettysburg. Alden March Collins, of cluding the famous organ at the Mormon Taber-
the Heppe talking machine department, is also nacle), and one in Nevada, the total numbering
away on vacation.
sixty-one. This does not include eight now being
Eldorus Hurff, of the Estey house, has gone for installed by the Kimball Co. for the Eilers con-
two weeks to his former home at Williamstown, cern.
N. J., and Miss Edith Harrison, of the same
house, is spending her vacation at Asbury Park.
TO STOP BILL OF LADING FRAUDS.
There is a report in Philadelphia, and it is
given for what it is worth, as it is impossible Commercial Bodies Will Ask Congress to
to find anyone willing to talk on the subject,
Remedy Present Evils by Law—Meeting to
that the recently formed American Piano Co.
be Held at Seattle, Wash., on August 20.
expect before long to enter the piano business of
their own accord in Philadelphia.
When the Commissioners on Uniform Laws
Thomas Stoll reports a satisfactory business meet at Seattle, Wash., on August 20, they will
with the Everett and Harvard pianos at the be waited upon by committees representing the
Musical Echo Co., and believes that both instru- great commercial bodies of New York and other
ments will find a ready sale here as soon as cities and urged to draft a bill of lading to put
business picks up. Chaminade, the celebrated an end to what the shippers term the gross
pianiste, who will come to America next season, frauds which they declare have made these bills
to play the Everett en tour, will appear here an unsafe instrument of credit.
with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston
- It is the present plan to have the new bill
Symphony, and will give one or more piano re- which is expected to be drafted by the Commis-
citals. This, Mr. Stoll believes, will bring the sioners on Uniform Laws introduced at the next
Everett into good prominence, for the reason session of Congress. A decision of the Inter-
that Chaminade will no doubt be a great draw- state Commerce Commission announced early
ing card. He has not decided what pianos he this week, contained recommendations embodied
will add to his stock, but will surely keep the in the demands of the shippers, but the commis-
Everett and the Harvard as the leaders, and sion decided that it lacked the power to enforce
will get several cheaper makes to add variety to these recommendations.
his stock.
The tremendous volume of business transacted
Ambassador Clarke, of the Kroeger Piano Co., on bills of lading is apparent from figures of the
was here this week.
year 1907, which show that goods valued at
The Estey Co. are building a fine pipe organ seventeen billions of dollars were shipped on
for the new Belmont Avenue Baptist Church, the bills in that year alone. The commercial
which will be completed in time for the dedi- interests have been trying for the past three
cation of the church in November. They have years to compel the carriers to issue two sepa-
also secured a contract for the building of a rate bill of lading forms in order to differentiate
pipe organ in the Central Baptist Church.
between the ordinary receipt and the more im-
There is considerable interest manifested in portant "order" bill which is used as a basis of
Philadelphia in the new systems of payment of credit in the transportation of the country's
salaries and commissions to salesmen that are crops, particularly the cotton and grain crops of
being worked out by several of the houses. One the South and West, and manufactured prod-
firm, for instance, has reduced salaries one-third, ucts. The shippers have demanded also that the
and has arranged a commission on sales of less railroads compel the surrender of the instru-
than $25 down and $10 a month; for sales of ment upon delivery of the property to the con-
$25 down and $10 a month and over, a commis- signee, several extensive swindles having been
sion of 1 per cent., and for cash sales a commis- perpetrated against lenders by means of bills of
sion of I 1 /; per cent. In order for the man, for lading that were not so surrendered.
instance, who had been drawing $45 a week, and
is now getting $30, to make up his regular salary
BOGART PIANO FOR LIBRARY OPENING.
on the commission basis, he would have to do
from $70,000 to $75,000 a year, and it is gener-
The firm of E. B. Bogart & Co. was selected to
ally understood that the best salesmen in Phila- furnish a piano for the formal opening of the
delphia are not able to do that much business. Carnegie Library at High Bridge, Wednesday
Another firm in Philadelphia for a long time evening. The instrument is style 9 and one of
has had a sliding scale of wages to correspond the concern's largest pianos. E. B. Bogart re
with the amount of business they have been ports business fair, and orders come in daily to
doing, as follows: To draw $15, you must do keep things moving.