Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Fighting Harmful Legislation at Albany
F
OR the second time within a year the piano men of New
York, through the Xew York Piano Manufacturers' Asso-
ciation, have been called upon to go to Albany, at a considerable
expense of money and valuable time, to add their protest to that
of other organizations, whose members do business on the instal-
ment plant, in protesting against a bill that is designed to change
the provisions of the Personal Property Law as they are now set
forth, and which, it has been proven in court, are considered
fair to both the seller and the purchaser of goods on time, and
if anything a shade in favor of the latter.
It is confidently expected in business circles that the bill will
be defeated when the business men file their protest before the
State Assembly and state their reasons for opposing the measure;
but the fact remains that the effort has been made twice in one
year to tamper with the Personal Property Law, and one is
moved to inquire just how many more attempts are to be made
in that direction if the latest bill meets with defeat.
In outlining the provisions of the new bill introduced by
Assemblyman Sufrin, Max J. Bernheimer, an able attorney and
counsel for Hardman, Peck & Co., and who is working in con-
junction with the New York Piano Manufacturers' Association to
defeat the bill, states that the measure, if enacted into a law,
would practically confine the sale of pianos on the instalment plan
to those who have financial responsibility, as the sellers could no
longer look to the piano itself as security for any unpaid balance
of purchase price, and if the sellers at any time would retake the
piano, either by process of law or voluntarily, they would be com-
pelled, under the terms of the proposed bill, to repay to the pur-
chaser 80 per cent, of the total amount which he had paid on his
contract, and irrespective of the time that he may have had the
use of the piano.
In other States, notably Pennsylvania,* the piano men have
been called upon to oppose bills inimical to their interests, but
which, once defeated, rose like a Phoenix at more or less regular
intervals, and was only to be forced down again when the piano
men interested, and sometimes those in other lines who were
equally interested, gathered together a suitable fund to provide
an opposition lobby. Always the money, and frequently the
lobby, were never heard from again, and the same process was
repeated when the members of the Legislature thought the time
was ripe. It is sincerely to be hoped that the New York piano
men will not find themselves in the position of fighting legisla-
tion that reappears at intervals.
Organization, strongly emphasized, is the weapon to be used
against such measures as the proposed bill, and a strong associa-
tion of piano dealers throughout the Empire State would soon
be in a position to stop such legislation before it started. The
Connecticut Piano Dealers' Association maintains an attorney at
the State Capitol constantly, and so well known is its fighting
ability at the present time that a hint that the organization will
oppose a bill is frequently sufficient to stop it. Why should not
the piano men of the Empire State adopt a similar plan?
Need for Closer Credit Supervision
OME recent failures in the piano industry emphasize afresh
the absolute necessity of a credit or protective association
among manufacturers of supplies. The testimony given at the
hearings in connection with a couple of apparently inconsequen-
tial failures in the piano manufacturing field in the east recently
revealed some extraordinary conditions.
In one instance credit was given so lavishly that one manu-
facturer did not see the necessity of selling pianos at a profit,
but rather sold them from fifteen to twenty dollars below the
manufacturing cost, and openly admitted that he had indulged
in this practice for over a year.
. In so acting he was either profoundly ignorant of what it
Cost him to make pianos, or else he knowingly aimed, with the aid
of the very elastic credit system of the supply manufacturers, to
waste their money and to undermine his competitors and demor-
alize business generally.
He is only one, unfortunately, of a number of men who
are indulging in this practice, which must be curbed, if the music
trade is to be conducted on a sound and successful basis.
There is the greatest need of co-operation—of an exchange
of confidence—among the supply manufacturers so that this type
of man shall be eliminated for all time.
S
At various periods The Review has discussed this topic and
pointed out how this lack of supervision in giving credit tends
to demoralize business, and works a distinct injury to the indus-
try as a whole.
The key to the entire situation rests with the supply manu-
facturers. There must be a closer scrutiny of credits.
A duty also devolves upon piano manufacturers. They
should keep in touch, through their dealers and traveling men,
with trade movements, so that they may possess knowledge of
such concerns as are underselling the market—in other words,
those concerns that are selling below cost of manufacture.
Another rather remarkable happening in connection with the
bankruptcy hearings just referred to was the absence of many
creditors or their representatives at the meetings. In fact, it
would appear as if the creditors expected to lose money, and
were rather indifferent whether they did or not.
There should be an active personal interest in matters of
this kind. Bankrupts should be made feel that wasting other
people's money is a mighty serious matter, and where it has
been done illegally there should be such action as would teach
a lesson that might be effective in preventing others from under-
mining the confidence placed in them by reputable houses.
The Tendency Toward Conservatism
N
F
ROM various sections of the country, and especially from
the Pacific Coast, comes word that piano merchants are
displaying a tendency toward conservatism in business, and are
somewhat cautious in discounting the future. The attitude of the
piano men is not that of the pessimist, but rather the attitude of
the optimist who is careful not to place any more obligations on
the future than it can rightfully be expected to meet under normal
conditions. Strict attention to business and energetic piano sell-
ing are the proper means to business development, but the prac-
tice of forced selling, of doing business under a condition of
constantly expanding pressure, all too frequently leads the piano
man into danger, and retrenchment to the safety point is only
accomplished at a sacrifice of solidly-earned profits.
Piano dealers for the most part are beginning to realize .that
it is the quality and not the quantity of sales that should receive
the first consideration in the building of a business, for the quality
trade is the sort that will bear up under any unusual condition,
whether created by bad crops or by the disturbance of the money
market. A concentrated business may not appear so large and
prosperous as that of the dealer who believes that progress means
the opening of many branches and the selling of vast quantities
of instruments at any sort of prices. When the final summing
up takes place, however, the concentrated business will not have
a lot of loose strings hanging to it, the pulling of any one of
which may wreck the foundation of the entire structure. With
crop and industrial prospects really excellent, and with careful
management the piano dealers of the country should be in a most
satisfying condition at the end of IO < T 4-