Music Trade Review
Issue: 1913 Vol. 57 N. 8 - Page 7
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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
FARRAND CO. FACTORY STILL IN OPERATION
REPAIR A WATER SOAKED PIANO.
Under the Direction of Receiver—Inventory Now Being Taken for Purpose of Determining As-
sets of the Company and Its Liabilities—Official of Detroit Trust Co. Discusses Case.
Secretary Beall, of the John Church Co., Proves
That First Class Pianos Can Be Repaired
After Flood Damage if Allowed to Dry
Properly Before Handling.
(Special to The Review.)
DETROIT, MICH., August 19.—"Nothing definite
were paid in full and there was enough left for the
stockholders to form a basis for a substantial re-
can be given out regarding the condition of the organization. It is likely that Mr. Bower will fol-
Farrand Co. in less than two weeks," said J. A. ks w the same policies in the affairs of the Farrand
Bower, assistant secretary of the Detroit Trust Co., Co. that he did in the Clough & Warren settle-
receiver for the failed piano manufacturers, when ment. Whether similar results are obtained de-
a?ked by The Review for details of the assets and pends upon whether the Farrand affairs prove to be
liabilities. "We are working on the books and the in as good condition.
inventory, but it is a big job, and until it is com-
The Clough & Warren Co. was in receivership
pleted anything I might say would be largely in for nearly two years. The settlement of its affairs
the dark."
was made comparatively easy by the fact that the
Questioned on some pertinent points, Mr. Bower stockholders were eager to resume and in reor-
expressed the opinion, however, that the manu- ganizing were able to take over all the old Clough
facturing plant was only a small part of the assets & Warren piano contracts which were outstanding.
of the company. He stated that the piano contracts This large portion of the company's assets were
alone would amount to a good many hundred therefore much more valuable than would have
thousand dollars. In regard to the liabilities, how- been the case had it been necessary to sell the con-
tracts, as any purchaser would had to have a suf-
ever, he could give no information.
"The factory has resumed operations," said Mr. ficient discount to afford him a handsome profit for
Bower, "and will continue indefinitely. The work the work of handling them, and carrying them sev-
immediately in hand is the finishing up of the stock eral years to maturity. Unless some other capital-
now in the plant. There are about 1,300 instruments ists step in and do what the Farrand stockholders
going through. Ninety per cent, of these are say the will not do, the work of closing up the com-
players, the best selling part of the product. pany's affairs is likely to be a long and tedious task,
Whether the plant continues in operation after and the estimated valuation of the assets is likely
these are finished depends upon the stockholders, to undergo a substantial shrinkage.
or upon whether there is a reorganization. The
The report that the issue of $200,000 of preferred
present stockholders are not inclined to reorganize stock made two years ago constitutes a first lien
and resume business. But we believe that the af- on the asset of the company is erroneous, accord-
fairs of the company are in condition sufficiently ing to Mr. Bower. Preferred stock takes prece-
good to make possible a reorganization under other dence only over common stock. Labor claims are
auspices."
the only ones which would affect the dividends of
Mr. Bower, is the official of the Detroit Trust the creditors, and there are no labor claims against
Co. who had charge of the affairs of the Clough the Farrand Co. The company, running full force,
& Warren Piano Co. when it was in receivership. employed about 700 men, but it is understood that
He handled the concern so ably that the creditors i.i its last days only about a hundred were at work.
DEATH OF EDMUNDJIRAM'S FATHER.
Was Formerly One of the Leading Lutheran
Ministers of Wisconsin—Gram Store and
Factory'Closed During Funeral.
(Special to The Review.)
MILWAUKEE, WIS., August 19.—Edmund Gram,
head of the Edmund Gram Music House, received
the sympathy of the trade last week because of the
death of his father, the Rev. Charles Gram, who
passed away at his residence, 2412%' Cold Spring
avenue, on August 13, aged eighty years.
The Rev. Mr. Gram was formerly one of the
leading Lutheran ministers in Wisconsin and for
more than thirty-four years had been pastor at
St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Seventh and Galena
streets. He retired six years ago.
The Rev. Mr. Gram was born in Magdeburg,
Prussia, May 22, 1833, and came to the United
States with his parents in 1839. He was a gradu-
ate from the German Martin Luther College in
Buffalo in 1858, and was ordained to the ministry
the same year.
The Rev. Mr. Gram is survived by his widow
and two children, Edmund Gram, and a daughter,
Miss Winnie Gram. The Edmund Gram Music
House and the factory of the Gram-Richtsteig
Piano Co. were closed on the afternoon of the
funeral, on August 16.
TO OPEN QUARTERSJN ROCKFORD, ILL
(Special to The Review.)
ROCKFORD, I I I . , August 16.—John R. Truax, of this
city, is arranging to enter the local field as a dealer.
He was formerly manager for Darius E. Patterson,
prior to the latter's discontinuing business several
months age, and with his wide acquaintance feels
that he will get his share of the piano and player
sales in Rockford and vicinity.
Mr. Truax is a cousin of David A. Truax, whom
old-timers will recall as Cincinnati representative
for the Hallet & Davis Co., during the civil war,
and later in Chicago with the Mason & Hamlin Co.
Harold Bauer, who returns to this country next
season, will play, as usual, the Mason & Hamlin
piano, regarding the musical qualities of which he
is most enthusiastic. His manager expects him to
surpass his last record here, when he played seventy
times. Already he has been booked by all the lead-
ing orchestras.
(Specia.. to The Review.)
CINCINNATI, O., August 19.—Secretary Augustus
Beall and the workmen in the repair shop of the
John Church Co. have demonstrated that a soaked
piano, if of good material in the first place, can
be restored to its original condition. The first of
a number of pianos sent by owners from the Day-
ton flood has been restored to normal condition and
is now on exhibition in the wareroom of the
Church-Beinkamp Co.
The piano was recovered from thirteen feet of
water. It is an Everett upright, and as the owner
paid close to $600 for the instruments he did not
cherish the idea of making a bonfire of the piano.
Part of it had fallen apart when it reached Cincin-
nati. The piano was never sent to the factory. It was
kept right in the repair room at Fourth and Elm
streets. A new sounding board, action and pin
'board were put into it. All glue joints were broken
and renewed. The varnish was scraped clean and
replaced. Now the John Church Co. invites all of
a doubting nature to visit the wareroom and try
their fingers on th'e keys. The cost of repairs to-
taled slightly over $200. More costly pianos were
destroyed by flames after the Dayton flood than
the one just repaired, according to Mr. Beall. He
insisted at the time the trade was engaged in a
controversy about the effects of water on a piano
tl'at if repair men gave the wood time to dry the
instrument could be repaired.
WANT UNIFORMjNILEAGE BOOK.
Travelers' Protective Association Starts Cam-
paign to That End.
The Travelers' Protective Association has named
a railroad committee, with instructions to cam-
paign for a uniform mileage book, good on all rail-
roads in the United States. At present about forty
mileage books are required by traveling men who
liLve business in all sections of the country. Some
railroads favor the project, while others oppose it
vigorously. The association hopes to have the uni-
form books established in the eastern part of the
countVy within the next two years.
CROP PROSPECTS HOLDING UP WELL IN NORTHWEST.
Good Reports Coming from Wisconsin Farming Districts—Numerous Sales of Kimball Organs in
Milwaukee—Fire Menaces Gram Music House—Milwaukee Population Growing.
(Special to The Review.)
MILWAUKEE, WIS., August 19.—If the general
tone of the Wisconsin crop report for August, just
issued by James C. MacKenzie, secretary of the
State Board of Agriculture, is any criterion, gen-
eral business ought to be good this fall. When
crops in the Northwest are good it is a pretty safe
guess that the piano business will be satisfactory.
The various county correspondents of the State
Board of Agriculture seem to be unanimous in say-
ing that crops are above the average.
Kimball organ sales in Wisconsin and Upper
Michigan territory have been showing steady in-
ct eases of late, according to J. K. Fagan, organ
representative of the W. W. Kimball Co., of Chi-
cago, who is now making his headquarters at the
Milwaukee branch store of the Kimball concern. An
especially interesting sale was made recently by Mr.
Fagan, when he disposed of a $5,000 Kimball organ,
equipped with chimes, to the Imperial Theater in
Milwaukee. Some good sales of Kimball pianos
and players are reported by N. W. Mason, manager
of the Milwaukee store.
Frederick D. D. Holmes, general manager of the
Milwaukee and Wisconsin branch stores of the F.
WINTER & CO.
220 SOUTHERN BOULEVARD, NEW YORK
Manufacturers of
G Smith Piano Co., is back on the job again after
enjoying a vacation with his family at Beaver Lake,
Wis. Mr. Holmes is confident that the piano busi-
ness will be exceptionally good this fall.
Blanche G. Goodell, the wife of A. E. Goodell,
sales manager of the Edmund Gram Music House,
died on August 7 at the age of thirty-six years.
Death was caused by peritonitis and pleurisy. Be-
sides her husband, Mrs. Goodell is survived by two
children, a son, aged nine years, and a daughter,
aged seven. Burial was in Oshkosh, Wis., the
former home of Mr. and Mrs. Goodell.
A fire in the Edmund Gram Music House last
week, caused by oily rags in the finishing room on
the second floor, was extinguished without dam-
age.
C. H. Jackson, a member of the Gram force, has
returned from a two weeks' vacation spent at Lake
Mills, Wis.
The new 1913 city directory, just issued, shows
that Milwaukee has a population of 401,124, an in-
crease of nearly 0,000 over the figures of the pre-
vious year. Piano men believe that this ought to
mean an increase of business in all lines of ac-
tivity.
Superior Pianos
and Player Pianos
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
FARRAND CO. FACTORY STILL IN OPERATION
REPAIR A WATER SOAKED PIANO.
Under the Direction of Receiver—Inventory Now Being Taken for Purpose of Determining As-
sets of the Company and Its Liabilities—Official of Detroit Trust Co. Discusses Case.
Secretary Beall, of the John Church Co., Proves
That First Class Pianos Can Be Repaired
After Flood Damage if Allowed to Dry
Properly Before Handling.
(Special to The Review.)
DETROIT, MICH., August 19.—"Nothing definite
were paid in full and there was enough left for the
stockholders to form a basis for a substantial re-
can be given out regarding the condition of the organization. It is likely that Mr. Bower will fol-
Farrand Co. in less than two weeks," said J. A. ks w the same policies in the affairs of the Farrand
Bower, assistant secretary of the Detroit Trust Co., Co. that he did in the Clough & Warren settle-
receiver for the failed piano manufacturers, when ment. Whether similar results are obtained de-
a?ked by The Review for details of the assets and pends upon whether the Farrand affairs prove to be
liabilities. "We are working on the books and the in as good condition.
inventory, but it is a big job, and until it is com-
The Clough & Warren Co. was in receivership
pleted anything I might say would be largely in for nearly two years. The settlement of its affairs
the dark."
was made comparatively easy by the fact that the
Questioned on some pertinent points, Mr. Bower stockholders were eager to resume and in reor-
expressed the opinion, however, that the manu- ganizing were able to take over all the old Clough
facturing plant was only a small part of the assets & Warren piano contracts which were outstanding.
of the company. He stated that the piano contracts This large portion of the company's assets were
alone would amount to a good many hundred therefore much more valuable than would have
thousand dollars. In regard to the liabilities, how- been the case had it been necessary to sell the con-
tracts, as any purchaser would had to have a suf-
ever, he could give no information.
"The factory has resumed operations," said Mr. ficient discount to afford him a handsome profit for
Bower, "and will continue indefinitely. The work the work of handling them, and carrying them sev-
immediately in hand is the finishing up of the stock eral years to maturity. Unless some other capital-
now in the plant. There are about 1,300 instruments ists step in and do what the Farrand stockholders
going through. Ninety per cent, of these are say the will not do, the work of closing up the com-
players, the best selling part of the product. pany's affairs is likely to be a long and tedious task,
Whether the plant continues in operation after and the estimated valuation of the assets is likely
these are finished depends upon the stockholders, to undergo a substantial shrinkage.
or upon whether there is a reorganization. The
The report that the issue of $200,000 of preferred
present stockholders are not inclined to reorganize stock made two years ago constitutes a first lien
and resume business. But we believe that the af- on the asset of the company is erroneous, accord-
fairs of the company are in condition sufficiently ing to Mr. Bower. Preferred stock takes prece-
good to make possible a reorganization under other dence only over common stock. Labor claims are
auspices."
the only ones which would affect the dividends of
Mr. Bower, is the official of the Detroit Trust the creditors, and there are no labor claims against
Co. who had charge of the affairs of the Clough the Farrand Co. The company, running full force,
& Warren Piano Co. when it was in receivership. employed about 700 men, but it is understood that
He handled the concern so ably that the creditors i.i its last days only about a hundred were at work.
DEATH OF EDMUNDJIRAM'S FATHER.
Was Formerly One of the Leading Lutheran
Ministers of Wisconsin—Gram Store and
Factory'Closed During Funeral.
(Special to The Review.)
MILWAUKEE, WIS., August 19.—Edmund Gram,
head of the Edmund Gram Music House, received
the sympathy of the trade last week because of the
death of his father, the Rev. Charles Gram, who
passed away at his residence, 2412%' Cold Spring
avenue, on August 13, aged eighty years.
The Rev. Mr. Gram was formerly one of the
leading Lutheran ministers in Wisconsin and for
more than thirty-four years had been pastor at
St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Seventh and Galena
streets. He retired six years ago.
The Rev. Mr. Gram was born in Magdeburg,
Prussia, May 22, 1833, and came to the United
States with his parents in 1839. He was a gradu-
ate from the German Martin Luther College in
Buffalo in 1858, and was ordained to the ministry
the same year.
The Rev. Mr. Gram is survived by his widow
and two children, Edmund Gram, and a daughter,
Miss Winnie Gram. The Edmund Gram Music
House and the factory of the Gram-Richtsteig
Piano Co. were closed on the afternoon of the
funeral, on August 16.
TO OPEN QUARTERSJN ROCKFORD, ILL
(Special to The Review.)
ROCKFORD, I I I . , August 16.—John R. Truax, of this
city, is arranging to enter the local field as a dealer.
He was formerly manager for Darius E. Patterson,
prior to the latter's discontinuing business several
months age, and with his wide acquaintance feels
that he will get his share of the piano and player
sales in Rockford and vicinity.
Mr. Truax is a cousin of David A. Truax, whom
old-timers will recall as Cincinnati representative
for the Hallet & Davis Co., during the civil war,
and later in Chicago with the Mason & Hamlin Co.
Harold Bauer, who returns to this country next
season, will play, as usual, the Mason & Hamlin
piano, regarding the musical qualities of which he
is most enthusiastic. His manager expects him to
surpass his last record here, when he played seventy
times. Already he has been booked by all the lead-
ing orchestras.
(Specia.. to The Review.)
CINCINNATI, O., August 19.—Secretary Augustus
Beall and the workmen in the repair shop of the
John Church Co. have demonstrated that a soaked
piano, if of good material in the first place, can
be restored to its original condition. The first of
a number of pianos sent by owners from the Day-
ton flood has been restored to normal condition and
is now on exhibition in the wareroom of the
Church-Beinkamp Co.
The piano was recovered from thirteen feet of
water. It is an Everett upright, and as the owner
paid close to $600 for the instruments he did not
cherish the idea of making a bonfire of the piano.
Part of it had fallen apart when it reached Cincin-
nati. The piano was never sent to the factory. It was
kept right in the repair room at Fourth and Elm
streets. A new sounding board, action and pin
'board were put into it. All glue joints were broken
and renewed. The varnish was scraped clean and
replaced. Now the John Church Co. invites all of
a doubting nature to visit the wareroom and try
their fingers on th'e keys. The cost of repairs to-
taled slightly over $200. More costly pianos were
destroyed by flames after the Dayton flood than
the one just repaired, according to Mr. Beall. He
insisted at the time the trade was engaged in a
controversy about the effects of water on a piano
tl'at if repair men gave the wood time to dry the
instrument could be repaired.
WANT UNIFORMjNILEAGE BOOK.
Travelers' Protective Association Starts Cam-
paign to That End.
The Travelers' Protective Association has named
a railroad committee, with instructions to cam-
paign for a uniform mileage book, good on all rail-
roads in the United States. At present about forty
mileage books are required by traveling men who
liLve business in all sections of the country. Some
railroads favor the project, while others oppose it
vigorously. The association hopes to have the uni-
form books established in the eastern part of the
countVy within the next two years.
CROP PROSPECTS HOLDING UP WELL IN NORTHWEST.
Good Reports Coming from Wisconsin Farming Districts—Numerous Sales of Kimball Organs in
Milwaukee—Fire Menaces Gram Music House—Milwaukee Population Growing.
(Special to The Review.)
MILWAUKEE, WIS., August 19.—If the general
tone of the Wisconsin crop report for August, just
issued by James C. MacKenzie, secretary of the
State Board of Agriculture, is any criterion, gen-
eral business ought to be good this fall. When
crops in the Northwest are good it is a pretty safe
guess that the piano business will be satisfactory.
The various county correspondents of the State
Board of Agriculture seem to be unanimous in say-
ing that crops are above the average.
Kimball organ sales in Wisconsin and Upper
Michigan territory have been showing steady in-
ct eases of late, according to J. K. Fagan, organ
representative of the W. W. Kimball Co., of Chi-
cago, who is now making his headquarters at the
Milwaukee branch store of the Kimball concern. An
especially interesting sale was made recently by Mr.
Fagan, when he disposed of a $5,000 Kimball organ,
equipped with chimes, to the Imperial Theater in
Milwaukee. Some good sales of Kimball pianos
and players are reported by N. W. Mason, manager
of the Milwaukee store.
Frederick D. D. Holmes, general manager of the
Milwaukee and Wisconsin branch stores of the F.
WINTER & CO.
220 SOUTHERN BOULEVARD, NEW YORK
Manufacturers of
G Smith Piano Co., is back on the job again after
enjoying a vacation with his family at Beaver Lake,
Wis. Mr. Holmes is confident that the piano busi-
ness will be exceptionally good this fall.
Blanche G. Goodell, the wife of A. E. Goodell,
sales manager of the Edmund Gram Music House,
died on August 7 at the age of thirty-six years.
Death was caused by peritonitis and pleurisy. Be-
sides her husband, Mrs. Goodell is survived by two
children, a son, aged nine years, and a daughter,
aged seven. Burial was in Oshkosh, Wis., the
former home of Mr. and Mrs. Goodell.
A fire in the Edmund Gram Music House last
week, caused by oily rags in the finishing room on
the second floor, was extinguished without dam-
age.
C. H. Jackson, a member of the Gram force, has
returned from a two weeks' vacation spent at Lake
Mills, Wis.
The new 1913 city directory, just issued, shows
that Milwaukee has a population of 401,124, an in-
crease of nearly 0,000 over the figures of the pre-
vious year. Piano men believe that this ought to
mean an increase of business in all lines of ac-
tivity.
Superior Pianos
and Player Pianos
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).