Music Trade Review
Issue: 1913 Vol. 57 N. 15 - Page 7
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
WHY NOT MORE HIGH-GRADE PIANOS IN DETROIT?
DISTINGUISHEDJTRIO SNAPPED
Fact That Several Prominent Makes of Pianos Are Not Represented in City of 700,000 Puzzles
Local Piano Men—A Scarcity of Good Salesmen Reported in That Section.
While Visiting Switzerland's Famous Lakes—
Hermann
Irion,
Mme. Irion and Mme.
Bareiss Photographed Under the Trees.
"Scarcity of competent salesmen is one reason,"
said another dealer. "Why don't someone open a
exists in Detroit with respect to a number of high school for piano salesmen? Why don't some busi-
grade pianos. Though the city is now classed with ness college include piano selling in its curriculum.
the "large" ones, having, with its contiguous sub- The piano business pays better than a lot of other
urbs, nearly 700,000 people, many high grade pianos things that they teach in business colleges. It may
are not represented here at all. Almost every week sound ridiculous. Nobody ever heard of teaching
some traveling man representing a well known piano salesmanship. But no one ever heard of
manufacturer and having a line to place that would teaching journalism either until Pulitzer took it up.
be regarded as a prize in almost every other large That school is said to be a success. Why not other
professional schools? Piano salesmanship pays
city, comes to Detroit, makes a thorough canvass of
the situation, calling upon most if not all of the capable men enough to make it an attractive pro-
fession for almost any man to follow.
big houses, and goes away with his line unplaced.
"No piano store can get along without first class
"It is a good deal of a mystery to me," said Sec-
retary Frank J. Bayley, of the Detroit Music salesmen. If there are not enough salesmen in a
city to man new stores, of course they cannot be
Trades Association, in discussing the matter. "If
a committee of piano manufacturers could get their established. I understand there is a shortage of
heads together and iind out what is the matter it good salesmen in most or all of the large cities.
might be a good thing for the manufacturers. Perhaps the Detroit situation with regard to high
Detroit certainly ought to be large enough to give grade lines is paralleled in other cities. We have
all the high grade pianos at least a look-in. Even a all the high grade lines now that we can handle.
We could take on more, of course, but what good
number of lines bearing names that have been
classics in the piano trade for a half century or would it do. We could not push them. Our first
duty is to the houses we already represent. I be-
so are not in Detroit at all.
"One reason, perhaps, is because there are so lieve all the big houses in the city are in prac-
many branch stores in the city. Branch stores nat- tically the same condition."
It was scarcity of salesmen that took the Melville
urally cannot take on another line in competition
with their own—not another high grade line. But Clark Piano Co.'s branch out of Detroit. The com-
why were so many branch stores established here? pany was here about three years and in that time
developed a corps of good salesmen. They were so
In all probability because the manufacturers could
not get satisfactory representation with the deal- badly needed in the New York house that the
ers. And there you are back to the starting Detroit store was closed. But not until a satisfac-
tory representation for the Apollo was found.
point."
(Special to The Review.)
DETROIT, MICH., October 6.—A peculiar situation
CREDIT MEN, NOT LAW, AT FAULT
CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLEMENT.
In Regard to the Commercial Frauds Committed
by Individuals or Combinations Doing Busi-
ness Under Fictitious Names.
Cable P;ano Co., Denver, Col., Causes Arrest of
Representative in Cripple Creek for Alleged
Shortage of $1,000—Released on Bond.
Much has been said of late against the law which
facilitates commercial frauds by permitting individ-
uals or combinations of individuals to do business
under fictitious names 'by filing a certificate in the
County Clerk's office, upon payment of a small
fee. This week, however, one of the most promi-
nent credit men in the city took a stand in defense
of it.
"The law is as good as can be expected," he
said. "If we ask the lawmakers to shut the door
against frauds much more they may shut it so
tight that it will keep us on the outside, too. The
best remedy lies not in improving the law, but in
credit man taking more care with their work. The
big commercial agencies get immediate reports of
all registrations of this kind at the various county
clerk's offices, and these reports can be had from
them if desired. Credit men should not blame the
law when they lose simply because they did not
ask for a report on a firm they did not know.
These reports should always be sought on unknown
accounts, regardless of how they are rated. What
is badly needed in the way of legislation, however,
is a measure requiring all houses to indicate in
some way whether the firm is a partnership or a
corporation. The national and local Credit Men's
Associations are now working for the passage of
such a law. The lack of it has caused some bad
losses during recent years."
$ 1,000,000 _LOSS IN FIRE.
Barker Bros., prominent furniture and piano
dealers of Los Angeles, Cal., recently suffered a
loss of close to a million dollars through destruc-
tion by fire of their warehouses at 724-738 South
Broadway, that city. The company had a large
stock of Behr Bros., Krell, Stultz & Bauer and
Webster pianos on hand, as well as Krell Auto-
Grands and other player-pianos, the whole being
valued at $50,000.
CRIPPLE
(Special to The Review.)
CREEK, COU, October 4.—W.
38.754 PATENTS LAST YEAR.
Applications Were 67,986—Only Fewer Than
Those for 1912, a Banner Year.
(Special to The Review.)
WASHINGTON, D. C, October 0.—That the inven-
tive genius of the country is busy is indicated Isy
the annual report of the Commissioner of Patents,
made public recently. Applications for patents
during the year totaled 67,986, the largest on rec-
ord except for 1912, when there were 69,236.
During the year 38,754 patents were granted, and
5,166 trade-marks; 664 labels and 254 prints were
registered.
The receipts from all sources aggregated $2,082,-
490; expenditures, $1,924,459; the net revenue being
$158,030. The Patent Office has the distinction of
being one of the few bureaus of the Government
that is operated at a profit, the net surplus of the
office since its establishment toeing $7,290,103.
The retiring commissioner, Edward H. Moore,
who made the report, recommends an increase in
the salaries of Patent Office officials in order to
retain exceptionally well equipped men in the serv-
ice; and he urges strongly the erection of an ade-
quate building to insure the preservation of "the
priceless records and archives of the office."
Henry Undgren has sold his music store in Pax-
ton, 111., and moved to Chicago.
220 SOUTHERN BOULEVARD, N E W YORK
Mme. Irion, H. Irion, Mme. Bareiss.
singer. Mr. Irion was visiting Lake Luzerne,
Switzerland, when the accompanying photograph
was snapped. Lake Luzerne is one of the largest
and most beautiful lakes in that region in Switzer-
land, an] abounds with scenic charms that leave
a lasting impression on the minds of tourists.
BOOKING MANY ARTISTANO ORDERS.
Powell
Evans was arrested here last week by Sheritt Von
Phul, charged with embezzling $1,000 from the
Cable Piano Co., of Denver, whom he has been
representing for the last six months. He has been
leader of a choir in a local church since he came
to the district. He was released on bond. An
agent of the piano company who came here from
Denver caused his arrest.
WINTER & CO.
While abroad on his recent trip Herman Irion,
of Steinway & Sons, spent considerable of his time
visiting the world-famous lakes of Switzerland,
which are among the scenic marvels of Europe,
accompanied by Mme. Irion (who is Mme. Yolande
Mero, the prominent pianiste in professional life)
and Mme. Bareiss, a well-known Strauss lieder-
Manufacturers of
Warren C. Whitney Returning from Pacific
Coast Trip—Well Pleased with Outlook.
(Special to The Review.)
NORWALK, O., October 4.—Warren C. Whitney,
vice-president of the A. B. Chase Co., is returning
from an extensive trip along the Pacific Coast and
in the immediate territory. Judging from the
amount of orders that he received for the Artistano,
it is evident that the factories of the A. B. Chase
Co. will be very busy this fall. Mr. Whitney is
finding conditions on an average to be very g\)od.
TWO SUITS AGAINST PIANO HOUSE.
(Special to The Review.)
MOBILE, ALA., October 6.—A piano was the cause
of two suits, aggregating $500, being filed in the
Circuit Court with Isabel McGraw as complainant
and the E. E. Forbes Piano Co. as defendants in
both suits. Tn one suit the complainant seeks $200
damages on an assault and battery charge and in
the other she asks $.300 damages of the defendant
company for "wrongfully" taking the piano.
FEATURING THE DECKER & SON LINE.
S. A. Hawke & Co., well known piano dealers of
54 Ferry street, Maiden, Mass., are making a strong
feature of the Decker & Son pianos and player-
pianos. The company is using large space in the
local papers for the purpose of calling the attention
of the local public to the merits of the Decker &
Son instruments.
WAKEFIELD MUSIC CO. SOLD.
The Wakefield Music Co., 132 North First ave-
nue, Phoenix, Ariz., has been sold by William
Wakefield, the founder, to G. H. Lerg, who for
some time past has been general manager of the
concern.
Superior Pianos
and Player Pianos
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
WHY NOT MORE HIGH-GRADE PIANOS IN DETROIT?
DISTINGUISHEDJTRIO SNAPPED
Fact That Several Prominent Makes of Pianos Are Not Represented in City of 700,000 Puzzles
Local Piano Men—A Scarcity of Good Salesmen Reported in That Section.
While Visiting Switzerland's Famous Lakes—
Hermann
Irion,
Mme. Irion and Mme.
Bareiss Photographed Under the Trees.
"Scarcity of competent salesmen is one reason,"
said another dealer. "Why don't someone open a
exists in Detroit with respect to a number of high school for piano salesmen? Why don't some busi-
grade pianos. Though the city is now classed with ness college include piano selling in its curriculum.
the "large" ones, having, with its contiguous sub- The piano business pays better than a lot of other
urbs, nearly 700,000 people, many high grade pianos things that they teach in business colleges. It may
are not represented here at all. Almost every week sound ridiculous. Nobody ever heard of teaching
some traveling man representing a well known piano salesmanship. But no one ever heard of
manufacturer and having a line to place that would teaching journalism either until Pulitzer took it up.
be regarded as a prize in almost every other large That school is said to be a success. Why not other
professional schools? Piano salesmanship pays
city, comes to Detroit, makes a thorough canvass of
the situation, calling upon most if not all of the capable men enough to make it an attractive pro-
fession for almost any man to follow.
big houses, and goes away with his line unplaced.
"No piano store can get along without first class
"It is a good deal of a mystery to me," said Sec-
retary Frank J. Bayley, of the Detroit Music salesmen. If there are not enough salesmen in a
city to man new stores, of course they cannot be
Trades Association, in discussing the matter. "If
a committee of piano manufacturers could get their established. I understand there is a shortage of
heads together and iind out what is the matter it good salesmen in most or all of the large cities.
might be a good thing for the manufacturers. Perhaps the Detroit situation with regard to high
Detroit certainly ought to be large enough to give grade lines is paralleled in other cities. We have
all the high grade pianos at least a look-in. Even a all the high grade lines now that we can handle.
We could take on more, of course, but what good
number of lines bearing names that have been
classics in the piano trade for a half century or would it do. We could not push them. Our first
duty is to the houses we already represent. I be-
so are not in Detroit at all.
"One reason, perhaps, is because there are so lieve all the big houses in the city are in prac-
many branch stores in the city. Branch stores nat- tically the same condition."
It was scarcity of salesmen that took the Melville
urally cannot take on another line in competition
with their own—not another high grade line. But Clark Piano Co.'s branch out of Detroit. The com-
why were so many branch stores established here? pany was here about three years and in that time
developed a corps of good salesmen. They were so
In all probability because the manufacturers could
not get satisfactory representation with the deal- badly needed in the New York house that the
ers. And there you are back to the starting Detroit store was closed. But not until a satisfac-
tory representation for the Apollo was found.
point."
(Special to The Review.)
DETROIT, MICH., October 6.—A peculiar situation
CREDIT MEN, NOT LAW, AT FAULT
CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLEMENT.
In Regard to the Commercial Frauds Committed
by Individuals or Combinations Doing Busi-
ness Under Fictitious Names.
Cable P;ano Co., Denver, Col., Causes Arrest of
Representative in Cripple Creek for Alleged
Shortage of $1,000—Released on Bond.
Much has been said of late against the law which
facilitates commercial frauds by permitting individ-
uals or combinations of individuals to do business
under fictitious names 'by filing a certificate in the
County Clerk's office, upon payment of a small
fee. This week, however, one of the most promi-
nent credit men in the city took a stand in defense
of it.
"The law is as good as can be expected," he
said. "If we ask the lawmakers to shut the door
against frauds much more they may shut it so
tight that it will keep us on the outside, too. The
best remedy lies not in improving the law, but in
credit man taking more care with their work. The
big commercial agencies get immediate reports of
all registrations of this kind at the various county
clerk's offices, and these reports can be had from
them if desired. Credit men should not blame the
law when they lose simply because they did not
ask for a report on a firm they did not know.
These reports should always be sought on unknown
accounts, regardless of how they are rated. What
is badly needed in the way of legislation, however,
is a measure requiring all houses to indicate in
some way whether the firm is a partnership or a
corporation. The national and local Credit Men's
Associations are now working for the passage of
such a law. The lack of it has caused some bad
losses during recent years."
$ 1,000,000 _LOSS IN FIRE.
Barker Bros., prominent furniture and piano
dealers of Los Angeles, Cal., recently suffered a
loss of close to a million dollars through destruc-
tion by fire of their warehouses at 724-738 South
Broadway, that city. The company had a large
stock of Behr Bros., Krell, Stultz & Bauer and
Webster pianos on hand, as well as Krell Auto-
Grands and other player-pianos, the whole being
valued at $50,000.
CRIPPLE
(Special to The Review.)
CREEK, COU, October 4.—W.
38.754 PATENTS LAST YEAR.
Applications Were 67,986—Only Fewer Than
Those for 1912, a Banner Year.
(Special to The Review.)
WASHINGTON, D. C, October 0.—That the inven-
tive genius of the country is busy is indicated Isy
the annual report of the Commissioner of Patents,
made public recently. Applications for patents
during the year totaled 67,986, the largest on rec-
ord except for 1912, when there were 69,236.
During the year 38,754 patents were granted, and
5,166 trade-marks; 664 labels and 254 prints were
registered.
The receipts from all sources aggregated $2,082,-
490; expenditures, $1,924,459; the net revenue being
$158,030. The Patent Office has the distinction of
being one of the few bureaus of the Government
that is operated at a profit, the net surplus of the
office since its establishment toeing $7,290,103.
The retiring commissioner, Edward H. Moore,
who made the report, recommends an increase in
the salaries of Patent Office officials in order to
retain exceptionally well equipped men in the serv-
ice; and he urges strongly the erection of an ade-
quate building to insure the preservation of "the
priceless records and archives of the office."
Henry Undgren has sold his music store in Pax-
ton, 111., and moved to Chicago.
220 SOUTHERN BOULEVARD, N E W YORK
Mme. Irion, H. Irion, Mme. Bareiss.
singer. Mr. Irion was visiting Lake Luzerne,
Switzerland, when the accompanying photograph
was snapped. Lake Luzerne is one of the largest
and most beautiful lakes in that region in Switzer-
land, an] abounds with scenic charms that leave
a lasting impression on the minds of tourists.
BOOKING MANY ARTISTANO ORDERS.
Powell
Evans was arrested here last week by Sheritt Von
Phul, charged with embezzling $1,000 from the
Cable Piano Co., of Denver, whom he has been
representing for the last six months. He has been
leader of a choir in a local church since he came
to the district. He was released on bond. An
agent of the piano company who came here from
Denver caused his arrest.
WINTER & CO.
While abroad on his recent trip Herman Irion,
of Steinway & Sons, spent considerable of his time
visiting the world-famous lakes of Switzerland,
which are among the scenic marvels of Europe,
accompanied by Mme. Irion (who is Mme. Yolande
Mero, the prominent pianiste in professional life)
and Mme. Bareiss, a well-known Strauss lieder-
Manufacturers of
Warren C. Whitney Returning from Pacific
Coast Trip—Well Pleased with Outlook.
(Special to The Review.)
NORWALK, O., October 4.—Warren C. Whitney,
vice-president of the A. B. Chase Co., is returning
from an extensive trip along the Pacific Coast and
in the immediate territory. Judging from the
amount of orders that he received for the Artistano,
it is evident that the factories of the A. B. Chase
Co. will be very busy this fall. Mr. Whitney is
finding conditions on an average to be very g\)od.
TWO SUITS AGAINST PIANO HOUSE.
(Special to The Review.)
MOBILE, ALA., October 6.—A piano was the cause
of two suits, aggregating $500, being filed in the
Circuit Court with Isabel McGraw as complainant
and the E. E. Forbes Piano Co. as defendants in
both suits. Tn one suit the complainant seeks $200
damages on an assault and battery charge and in
the other she asks $.300 damages of the defendant
company for "wrongfully" taking the piano.
FEATURING THE DECKER & SON LINE.
S. A. Hawke & Co., well known piano dealers of
54 Ferry street, Maiden, Mass., are making a strong
feature of the Decker & Son pianos and player-
pianos. The company is using large space in the
local papers for the purpose of calling the attention
of the local public to the merits of the Decker &
Son instruments.
WAKEFIELD MUSIC CO. SOLD.
The Wakefield Music Co., 132 North First ave-
nue, Phoenix, Ariz., has been sold by William
Wakefield, the founder, to G. H. Lerg, who for
some time past has been general manager of the
concern.
Superior Pianos
and Player Pianos
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).