Music Trade Review
Issue: 1912 Vol. 54 N. 14 - Page 7
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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Shavings From the Workbench
M
ANUFACTURERS of player-pianos and merchants handling
them would do well to study the remarkable campaign which
is now being carried on by the Victor Talking" Machine Co. in the
public schools throughout the country. The work of exploitation
is in the hands of Mrs. Frances Clark, a former school superintend-
ent of Milwaukee, Wis., who is delivering lectures and talks to school
boards and teachers regarding the use of this instrument in the
school and its varied uses and value. In this connection special
records have been prepared for all phases of school work both for
educational and entertainment purposes. Now, what the Victor
Talking Machine Co. has done in this line could be duplicated with
just as much success by player-piano manufacturers in the way
of placing player-pianos in the public schools. It is true that at
the present time a large number of Pianolas are being used in the
musical departments of many of our universities, where they are
employed for recital and demonstration work with splendid suc-
cess in connection with lectures on musical subjects. Rut little has
been done outside of this toward bringing the use of the player-
piano in the schools to the attention of the educational authorities
of the country. Of course, this should be largely the work of the
local piano merchants, who could approach the school boards and
present the merits of the player-piano in a proper light, but their
work should be directed and supported by the manufacturers, just
as is being done by the Victor Talking Machine Co. in its respective
field. At the present time pianos in the public schools are played by
teachers, many of them with limited musical knowledge, and a
very poor idea of music is conveyed to the pupil. How much better
would it be were player-pianos used in which music rolls of stand-
ard compositions could be employed and the pupils thus educated
authoritatively to a proper knowledge and appreciation of good
music. Then consider its value as an accompanist in musical
affairs, whether instrumental or vocal, in connection with school
festivities. This opens up a wide field for thought which is cer-
tainly worthy of consideration by all concerned. When one con-
siders the number of schools in the United States and the educa-
tional value to be derived by the use of the player-piano in these
institutions one can realize that it not only stimulates a keener
appreciation of the best in music, but it educates the pupils to an
understanding of the mission of the player-piano, and the knowl-
edge thus gained will undoubtedly result in a greater demand for
the player-piano in the home as time goes on.
* * *
T is an old question for debate among employers and employes
as to the actual worth of a man—that is, his earning capacity.
It now appears that a man who earns $1,000 a year may be capi-
talized on a four per cent, basis as worth $25,000. The president
of the Rock Island Railway has sent out circulars to his employes
appraising them according to their earning capacity. He calcu-
lates the man earning $19.23 a week is worth about the cost of a
locomotive. "Only," he adds, "you can make yourselves worth
more, while a locomotive can't. It rests with you to raise your
own capitalization to $50,000, $100,000 or even to $500,000. There-
fore be careful about your food, treat your body decently, and, above
all, feed your mind.'' A neat way of bringing home stimulating
facts. To the ambitious $1,000 man that circular will suggest ways
and means of pushing his capitalized value up to six figures. The
shiftless $1,000 man will eagerly*start to figure how he can pawn
himself right away.
I
*
T
*
*
HE problem of convincing piano purchasers that it is to their
advantage to pay cash and thereby decrease the number of
installment accounts on the books with increased security to the
business, has been one that has puzzled the great majority of piano
men who desire quality as well as quantity business. Where the
one-price system has been adopted it has been the practice to quote
the net cash price and then announce that interest at a certain rate,
from six per cent, up, would be charged on time purchases. To a
certain class of trade the privilege of spreading the payments for
the instrument over several years has outweighed the interest con-
sideration, for the interest did not seem to represent a really im-
portant factor. The manager of a piano department not far from
New York, C. B. Noon, manager of the piano department of Hahne
& Co., Newark, N. J., to be exact, after studying the problem for
some time, decided upon a course of action which has proven very
successful in increasing the proportion of cash sales. In the Hahne
warerooms the salesman quotes the prospective purchaser a price
which is figured to include interest and other charges connected
with a time sale. The customer is then informed that a ten "per
cent, discount is allowed for cash. As the discount generally
amounts to from $30 to $60 and more in hard cash, it proves a
decided inducement to the purchaser and one that he is generally
anxious to take advantage of. It is a case where it is not the
proposition but the manner in which it is put that wins the day.
Other dealers might try the plan to their advantage.
•6
T
i t •&
HE value of association and club life is perhaps nowhere so
pleasingly displayed as in the music trade field to-day. Just
consider the conditions not so many years ago when piano manu-
facturers and dealers rarely met, or knew each other, and seemed
to consider each other not merely as competitors, but as enemies.
All this has largely disappeared, thanks to the broader spirit of
fraternity and closer association and knowledge of each other,
brought about, first and foremost, through the local and national
associations of piano men throughout the country, and which has
been augmented by the formation of the Piano Club of New York.
At this club competitors meet in the friendliest way; all rivalries
are shelved, thus reviving the old guild days which did so much
for the advancement of the crafts throughout Europe. The Piano
Club of New York is doing effective missionary work, thanks to
its officers. Its success is leading the piano men of London to
take this club as an example, and to organize one somewhat similar
in character. The formation of associations or clubs in industries
tends to wear away the rough edges of animosity and misunder-
standing and inculcate a broad spirit of manliness and fair play
through acquaintance and close knowledge of the various per-
sonalities making up the industry. It is a spirit to be encouraged
with enthusiasm, for it kills that narrow, insular feeling that hinders
progress both mentally and industrially.
it H it
T is a recognized fact that when the daily papers attempt to
treat of technical and trade matters they invariably make
mistakes to such an extent that at times they appear ridiculous, for
they must depend for information upon contributors whose famili-
arity with the subject is a matter of question, or upon the doubtful
knowledge of their well-meaning staff writers who are often liable
to let their desire to fill space overcome their desire to present real
facts. In view of the above conditions which have prevailed for
years and which have been remarked at various times by the piano
trade, it is refreshing to note that lately the New York Sun has
been publishing some information regarding pianos and their care
which makes interesting reading. The articles betoken a more
intimate knowledge of the mechanical side of the piano than is
u^fal with the layman and very probably were written by some-
one connected directly with the trade. Articles upon tuning and
other matters connected with the preservation of the piano are,
owing to the number of pianos in the homes of this country, of
general interest, and are undoubtedly read and digested. When
the information offered is accurate it proves beneficial to both the
readers and the piano trade as a whole. It is another step in the
growing appreciation of the standing of the piano by the daily
press, and the public as a whole. Let the good work go on.
I
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Shavings From the Workbench
M
ANUFACTURERS of player-pianos and merchants handling
them would do well to study the remarkable campaign which
is now being carried on by the Victor Talking" Machine Co. in the
public schools throughout the country. The work of exploitation
is in the hands of Mrs. Frances Clark, a former school superintend-
ent of Milwaukee, Wis., who is delivering lectures and talks to school
boards and teachers regarding the use of this instrument in the
school and its varied uses and value. In this connection special
records have been prepared for all phases of school work both for
educational and entertainment purposes. Now, what the Victor
Talking Machine Co. has done in this line could be duplicated with
just as much success by player-piano manufacturers in the way
of placing player-pianos in the public schools. It is true that at
the present time a large number of Pianolas are being used in the
musical departments of many of our universities, where they are
employed for recital and demonstration work with splendid suc-
cess in connection with lectures on musical subjects. Rut little has
been done outside of this toward bringing the use of the player-
piano in the schools to the attention of the educational authorities
of the country. Of course, this should be largely the work of the
local piano merchants, who could approach the school boards and
present the merits of the player-piano in a proper light, but their
work should be directed and supported by the manufacturers, just
as is being done by the Victor Talking Machine Co. in its respective
field. At the present time pianos in the public schools are played by
teachers, many of them with limited musical knowledge, and a
very poor idea of music is conveyed to the pupil. How much better
would it be were player-pianos used in which music rolls of stand-
ard compositions could be employed and the pupils thus educated
authoritatively to a proper knowledge and appreciation of good
music. Then consider its value as an accompanist in musical
affairs, whether instrumental or vocal, in connection with school
festivities. This opens up a wide field for thought which is cer-
tainly worthy of consideration by all concerned. When one con-
siders the number of schools in the United States and the educa-
tional value to be derived by the use of the player-piano in these
institutions one can realize that it not only stimulates a keener
appreciation of the best in music, but it educates the pupils to an
understanding of the mission of the player-piano, and the knowl-
edge thus gained will undoubtedly result in a greater demand for
the player-piano in the home as time goes on.
* * *
T is an old question for debate among employers and employes
as to the actual worth of a man—that is, his earning capacity.
It now appears that a man who earns $1,000 a year may be capi-
talized on a four per cent, basis as worth $25,000. The president
of the Rock Island Railway has sent out circulars to his employes
appraising them according to their earning capacity. He calcu-
lates the man earning $19.23 a week is worth about the cost of a
locomotive. "Only," he adds, "you can make yourselves worth
more, while a locomotive can't. It rests with you to raise your
own capitalization to $50,000, $100,000 or even to $500,000. There-
fore be careful about your food, treat your body decently, and, above
all, feed your mind.'' A neat way of bringing home stimulating
facts. To the ambitious $1,000 man that circular will suggest ways
and means of pushing his capitalized value up to six figures. The
shiftless $1,000 man will eagerly*start to figure how he can pawn
himself right away.
I
*
T
*
*
HE problem of convincing piano purchasers that it is to their
advantage to pay cash and thereby decrease the number of
installment accounts on the books with increased security to the
business, has been one that has puzzled the great majority of piano
men who desire quality as well as quantity business. Where the
one-price system has been adopted it has been the practice to quote
the net cash price and then announce that interest at a certain rate,
from six per cent, up, would be charged on time purchases. To a
certain class of trade the privilege of spreading the payments for
the instrument over several years has outweighed the interest con-
sideration, for the interest did not seem to represent a really im-
portant factor. The manager of a piano department not far from
New York, C. B. Noon, manager of the piano department of Hahne
& Co., Newark, N. J., to be exact, after studying the problem for
some time, decided upon a course of action which has proven very
successful in increasing the proportion of cash sales. In the Hahne
warerooms the salesman quotes the prospective purchaser a price
which is figured to include interest and other charges connected
with a time sale. The customer is then informed that a ten "per
cent, discount is allowed for cash. As the discount generally
amounts to from $30 to $60 and more in hard cash, it proves a
decided inducement to the purchaser and one that he is generally
anxious to take advantage of. It is a case where it is not the
proposition but the manner in which it is put that wins the day.
Other dealers might try the plan to their advantage.
•6
T
i t •&
HE value of association and club life is perhaps nowhere so
pleasingly displayed as in the music trade field to-day. Just
consider the conditions not so many years ago when piano manu-
facturers and dealers rarely met, or knew each other, and seemed
to consider each other not merely as competitors, but as enemies.
All this has largely disappeared, thanks to the broader spirit of
fraternity and closer association and knowledge of each other,
brought about, first and foremost, through the local and national
associations of piano men throughout the country, and which has
been augmented by the formation of the Piano Club of New York.
At this club competitors meet in the friendliest way; all rivalries
are shelved, thus reviving the old guild days which did so much
for the advancement of the crafts throughout Europe. The Piano
Club of New York is doing effective missionary work, thanks to
its officers. Its success is leading the piano men of London to
take this club as an example, and to organize one somewhat similar
in character. The formation of associations or clubs in industries
tends to wear away the rough edges of animosity and misunder-
standing and inculcate a broad spirit of manliness and fair play
through acquaintance and close knowledge of the various per-
sonalities making up the industry. It is a spirit to be encouraged
with enthusiasm, for it kills that narrow, insular feeling that hinders
progress both mentally and industrially.
it H it
T is a recognized fact that when the daily papers attempt to
treat of technical and trade matters they invariably make
mistakes to such an extent that at times they appear ridiculous, for
they must depend for information upon contributors whose famili-
arity with the subject is a matter of question, or upon the doubtful
knowledge of their well-meaning staff writers who are often liable
to let their desire to fill space overcome their desire to present real
facts. In view of the above conditions which have prevailed for
years and which have been remarked at various times by the piano
trade, it is refreshing to note that lately the New York Sun has
been publishing some information regarding pianos and their care
which makes interesting reading. The articles betoken a more
intimate knowledge of the mechanical side of the piano than is
u^fal with the layman and very probably were written by some-
one connected directly with the trade. Articles upon tuning and
other matters connected with the preservation of the piano are,
owing to the number of pianos in the homes of this country, of
general interest, and are undoubtedly read and digested. When
the information offered is accurate it proves beneficial to both the
readers and the piano trade as a whole. It is another step in the
growing appreciation of the standing of the piano by the daily
press, and the public as a whole. Let the good work go on.
I
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