Music Trade Review
Issue: 1913 Vol. 57 N. 23 - Page 5
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MIWIC THADE
V O L . L V I I . N o . 23
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill at 373 Fourth Ave., New York, Dec. 6,1913
SINCr F COPIKS 10 CENTS
$2.00 PER YEAR.
Some Christmas and Business Thoughts.
TTHE Yuletide season, with its pulsing activity, is rapidly drawing near. Throughout
•*- the length and breadth of the land men in the various departments of I lie music
trade industry, to whom The Music Trade Review directly appeals, are interested in
increasing their Christmas trade, and where thousands of people energize along special
lines quite naturally such concentration must tell visibly in results, for il will help to
aid the holiday demand for musical instruments in every part of the country.
And trade; how is it?
While complaints regarding business conditions have been frequent, yet 1913 is not going to
make a bad showing in a trade sense after all.
It is true that some enterprises will show a material shrinkage. It is also true lhat others
will show a fair advance, and the business of the men who have exhibited energy and ability in
the conduct of their affairs will show substantial increase.
The ginger man will win the Christmas trade, no doubt of it.
No man can stay off the firing line and hope to win Hie trade battle. The men who accom-
plish real success are those who have confidence in the business conditions of the country, and
during the holiday season there will be a hard tussle for trade, because every wide-awake merchant
desires to make as good a record for the year as possible and to keep his assets up to the highest
possible figure.
Conditions are not so bad in any line as some of the pessimistic ones are prone to allege, for
an analysis of the fundamentals will prove interesting.
Just a few concrete facts:
We have all read in the papers of the shortage of the corn crop for the present year.
It has been said that the corn crop for 1913 will only be two billion, three hundred million
bushels, as against three billion, one hundred and twenty-four million bushels for 1912.
That is true so far as it goes, but it does not go far enough, for it does not relate all of the
interesting facts.
The newspapers might state that the farmers got forty-nine cents per bushel for their corn
last year, while this year they will receive seventy cents or more per bushel.
These same newspapers do not relate that the money paid the farmers lasl year for the entire
corn crop was one billion, five hundred and thirty millions of dollars, while this year for the same
crop they will be paid one billion, six hundred and ten millions of dollars.
While there is a shortage of bushels there is an increase of dollars.
I might go on further; suppose I do:
The money which the farmers received for their decreased crops has other advantages—the
labor bill and expense for harvesting and marketing this year's crop was considerably lessened.
Then there is a decrease of about fifty million tons in the weight of the eight staple crops
produced this year.
This enables the railroads to move the crops of 1913 without the demoralization of the entire
transportation system which occurred some years ago.
Summing up, I may say that five thousand millions of dollars will be paid to the farmers of the
United States for their eight staple crops produced this year, and last year the farmers received for
the same crops four billion, seven hundred and thirty one million, and yet the total weight of these
crops for 1913 will only be one hundred and eighty million tons, compared with two hundred and
thirty million tons for the same crops last year.
(Continued
on page •">.)
THE
MIWIC THADE
V O L . L V I I . N o . 23
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill at 373 Fourth Ave., New York, Dec. 6,1913
SINCr F COPIKS 10 CENTS
$2.00 PER YEAR.
Some Christmas and Business Thoughts.
TTHE Yuletide season, with its pulsing activity, is rapidly drawing near. Throughout
•*- the length and breadth of the land men in the various departments of I lie music
trade industry, to whom The Music Trade Review directly appeals, are interested in
increasing their Christmas trade, and where thousands of people energize along special
lines quite naturally such concentration must tell visibly in results, for il will help to
aid the holiday demand for musical instruments in every part of the country.
And trade; how is it?
While complaints regarding business conditions have been frequent, yet 1913 is not going to
make a bad showing in a trade sense after all.
It is true that some enterprises will show a material shrinkage. It is also true lhat others
will show a fair advance, and the business of the men who have exhibited energy and ability in
the conduct of their affairs will show substantial increase.
The ginger man will win the Christmas trade, no doubt of it.
No man can stay off the firing line and hope to win Hie trade battle. The men who accom-
plish real success are those who have confidence in the business conditions of the country, and
during the holiday season there will be a hard tussle for trade, because every wide-awake merchant
desires to make as good a record for the year as possible and to keep his assets up to the highest
possible figure.
Conditions are not so bad in any line as some of the pessimistic ones are prone to allege, for
an analysis of the fundamentals will prove interesting.
Just a few concrete facts:
We have all read in the papers of the shortage of the corn crop for the present year.
It has been said that the corn crop for 1913 will only be two billion, three hundred million
bushels, as against three billion, one hundred and twenty-four million bushels for 1912.
That is true so far as it goes, but it does not go far enough, for it does not relate all of the
interesting facts.
The newspapers might state that the farmers got forty-nine cents per bushel for their corn
last year, while this year they will receive seventy cents or more per bushel.
These same newspapers do not relate that the money paid the farmers lasl year for the entire
corn crop was one billion, five hundred and thirty millions of dollars, while this year for the same
crop they will be paid one billion, six hundred and ten millions of dollars.
While there is a shortage of bushels there is an increase of dollars.
I might go on further; suppose I do:
The money which the farmers received for their decreased crops has other advantages—the
labor bill and expense for harvesting and marketing this year's crop was considerably lessened.
Then there is a decrease of about fifty million tons in the weight of the eight staple crops
produced this year.
This enables the railroads to move the crops of 1913 without the demoralization of the entire
transportation system which occurred some years ago.
Summing up, I may say that five thousand millions of dollars will be paid to the farmers of the
United States for their eight staple crops produced this year, and last year the farmers received for
the same crops four billion, seven hundred and thirty one million, and yet the total weight of these
crops for 1913 will only be one hundred and eighty million tons, compared with two hundred and
thirty million tons for the same crops last year.
(Continued
on page •">.)
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