Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
REVIEW
PUBLISHED BY EDWARD LYMAN BILL, Inc.
President, C. L. Bill, 373 Fourth Ave., New York; Vice-President, J. B. Spillane,
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New York; Secretary and Treasurer, August J. Timpe, 373 Fourth Ave., New York.
J. B. SPILLANE, Editor
J. RAYMOND BILL, Associate Editor
AUGUST J. TIMPE
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Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques-
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I p i layer-I
lanu ana
tions of a technical nature relating to the tuning,
D p n a r f r n p n t i regulating and repairing of pianos and player-pianos
l e C O D l C a i l S e p a r i m e i H S a r e dealt with, will be found in another section of
this paper. We also publish a number of reliable technical works, information concern-
ing which will be cheerfully given upon request.
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NEW YORK,
JULY
6,1918
EDITORIAL=
interesting- figures appear elsewhere in The Review re-
S OME
garding the trade of the United States for the first fiscal year
as a participant in the great war which give a trade balance of
approximately three billion dollars. The showing as a whole is
regarded as gratifying by Government experts, and no uneasiness
. is felt because the trade balance declined $630,693,209 as compared
with 1917. It is expected that this loss will be retrieved the com-
ing year by a proper utilization of the available tonnage in for-
eign trade.
Owing to the needs of shipping for war purposes, our export
trade to South America was considerably diminished the past
year. With more shipping available we will soon be able to
reduce the shipments of gold, which has been made necessary by
the United States becoming a debtor nation of the other Pan-
American republics.
The products of Latin-American countries have been coming
in in great quantities, and we have not been shipping our manu-
factured products in sufficient quantities to off-set these imports
of raw materials. There is a great demand for pianos and other
musical instruments in South America, and there is no reason in
the world why we should not manufacture and sell more instru-
ments to the countries south of us.
This aspect of the situation was very interestingly presented
some time ago by Geo. W. Pound, general counsel of the Music
Industries Chamber of Commerce, in which he anticipated the
present conditions in the South and pointed out that we should
ship musical instruments rather than gold to the South American
Republics. That is one of the many reasons why the music
trade industry must be kept going. We have to create wealth
through manufactures, and we can best balance our trade rela-
tions with foreign countries, particularly South America, in this
way.
In this connection the remarks of Edward M. Hurley, chair-
man of the Shipping Board, before the Illinois Manufacturers'
JULY 6, 1918
Association are most timely. He pointed out that while vigorous
prosecution of the war was the paramount interest of the nation
now, it can not afford to wait until peace is declared before
beginning preparations for the wise employment of the enormous
new merchant marine which is being augmented at a rate of one
and two ships a day. He said that the country looks to the
manufacturers to find work for those ships after the war.
"The more vigorously we fight the war, the more tonnage we
shall have at our disposal when peace is declared," Mr. Hurley
said. "I believe that wise foresight now, in utilizing this tonnage
after the war to develop our own world trade and develop trade
and industry in other countries, particularly the smaller and
younger nations, will be a direct help to winning the war, not a
hindrance.
"The American manufacturer, banker and business man gen-
erally may well begin to-day to think in terms of world markets.
When peace comes we shall find ourselves with an enormous
mercantile marine on hand, as well as a ship manufacturing in-
dustry of magnitude unlike anything that has hitherto existed.
Success in employing that merchant marine hangs squarely upon
manufacturing efficiency."
slogan "Music Will Help Win the War" has been taken
T HE
up quite generally by the trade throughout the country, who
realize that the supporting of this doctrine is not going to do a
bit of harm where the interests of the trade at large are con-
cerned. The slogan was much in evidence at the recent music
show in various forms, and as was announced in The Review last
week, the Estey Piano Co. has ordered posters six feet long
and one foot high bearing the words "Music Will Help Win
the War" and plans to paste one of the posters on every piano
leaving the factory, no matter where its destination.
It has been suggested, and very properly, that it would be
an excellent move for the National Piano Manufacturer's Asso-
ciation to get up a poster of similar character and send a
supply to every manufacturer of pianos in the country, so that
the slogans will appear on every piano box in transit no matter
from Avhat factory shipped or what its destination might be.
Pianos in transit are much in the public eye. They are hauled
on open trucks to and from the railway freight stations, and the
slogan could thus be read by the public in the cities through
which the pianos are carted. Moreover, pianos and their cases
are frequently left on the sidewalk before the piano merchant's
store for some time awaiting unpacking, and the slogan again
has a chance of being observed by the passing crowds. It would
seem that the expense incurred would be infinitesimal in view of
the publicity that could be given the slogan by this suggested
move.
a means of arousing enthusiasm and interest in the great
A S patriotic
affairs of the day. the "Four Minute Men" have
been doing splendid work in theatres and other public places,
and particularly during the Liberty Loan, Red Cross and War
Savings Drives they helped in the great success achieved. In
the educational campaign conducted by these men, a number of
so-called "non-essentials" or luxuries are mentioned in the argu-
ments made for saving, which the public is urged not to patron-
ize, among which some uninformed person placed music and
music entertainment. These are classified with such other
"luxuries" as candy, tobacco, etc.
This assailment of musical instruments and music is not
official propaganda, but rather, shall we say, the views of the in-
dividual speaker who narrow-mindedly takes a parochial, rather
than a liberal view of things—a type of man who should not
speak in public on big, broad national issues, for people and their
habits in wartime cannot be remade in a few months. Any man
who speaks on public affairs should be at least tolerant, broad-
minded and sufficiently well informed to differentiate between
what are deemed luxuries and essentials.
It is beyond our comprehension why any speaker patriotically
inclined should assail music and musical instruments, for, as
was very properly pointed out by H. R. Langlie recently, "Music,
instead of being a luxury, although it is patronized most heavily
by the wealthy, is more properly an essential grace to human
life, and now, at this time of trial, is an absolute essential to the