Music Trade Review
Issue: 1918 Vol. 67 N. 9 - Page 5
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE
AUGUST 31, 1918
REVIEW
TWJWJt^WJW'LWJLWJWJLW^^
$ jysikai&ai&aii^iiSaMfca&ai^^
Being the Results of the Month's Thinking as Done By a Plain Thinker, to
wit, the Editor of This Player Section, Whose Cerebrations Have Remained
Optimistic Despite the Weather, the War, the Hun, and All Other Irritants
The Trade Disease
A medical doctor by the name of Saleeby once
wrote a book, and published it in London, called
"Worry, the Disease of the Age." I guess it
is a good book, but the best thing about it, I
have always thought, is the title. Worry is in-
deed the disease of the age; but it would be
still more apt to call it the disease of the piano
trade. Xow, that would be something like a
title for you; "Worry, the Disease of the Piano
Trade!" The manufacturer worries over the
shortages in labor, material and cars.
The
dealer worries over whether he can get enough
player-pianos to meet his demand. The tuner
worries over the mysterious loss of breath which
bothers him (in the player-piano, not in the
tuner) while the owner stands around and looks
on suspiciously, with one eye on the disjecta
membra of the pneumatic action lying around
the parlor floor and the other on the silver in
the dining room. ( If you think it can't be done
you have never lived in a flat.) Yes, we all
worry; and how much good does it do? Just
think what a proposition the player-piano really
is! What better proposition could one have if
one could choose? Let wars come and go, let
famine and pestilence sweep over the land and
the people will still want music. There you
have it; music is a staple commodity and the
people must and will have that commodity. Yet,
since music is a commodity which requires
skilled human agency to gi v r e it life, and since
precious few people possess the necessary skill,
it seems plain enough that the player-piano in
taking the place of the human skill becomes
very much of a staple commodity itself. Per-
haps somebody will pick flaws in my argument,
but considering that the wail of the dealers at
the present moment is not in the least that they
cannot sell goods, but solely that they cannot
get enough to sell, it would seem that there
must be some soundness to the reasoning after
all.
Worry does indeed seem to be the disease of
the piano trade, but why anyone should worry
over a market like the present market, except
on the general principle that nothing is half as
good as it might be, is something 1, for one, can-
not understand.
Why Tuners Are Essential
On the whole, and speaking as one of the
tribe, I think I may say that tuners are neces-
sary.
In fact, I am not sure that they are
not the only quite necessary animiles in the
whole musical industry, bar the manufacturers
and The Music Trade Review. I may seem to
be prejudiced, but list to my woes and you shall
judge for yourselves. For surely it is doing
no injustice to others to repeat the ofttold tale
that the tuner is precisely the one person con-
nected with the sale of a piano who can, with
equally slight trouble, do the maximum amount
of good and the maximum amount of harm to
it. Tuners are sensitive and ofttimes touchy
persons; but they are not exactly lacking in
human feeling, nor are they unresponsive to
those occasional doses of the milk of human
kindness, the administration of which should be
part of the duty of every business man. When,
however, as is rather too often the case, the
tuner is treated as a sort of necessary evil, on
the principle as the ancient philosopher said of
women, "we cannot live with them and we can-
not live without them," why should we be sur-
prised if he appears surly and indifferent? In
point of fact, the tuners themselves have a way
of referring to their work as that which "makes
the sales stick"; and certainly the phrase is
plausible enough. For, after all, can any one
imagine what would happen to the player-piano,
for instance, if the tuner were abolished; or even
if he were, collectively, to forget all he knows—
A Word to the Wise
Just think a minute.
Do you recall the
trouble you had last
winter in getting your
goods ? You waited
until the last minute
before ordering and
the other fellow who
was stocked up got
the business. Owing
to the shortage of
both material and
labor this year the
situation is going to
be worse. Now is
the lime to prepare.
Fill your warerooms
with a full line of
Sailer cabinets, the
quality cabinets,while
you have the oppor-
tunity. Indications
point to a greater
demand for player-
pianos this Fall than
ever before. Don't
overlook the one best
bet during the rush—
a Salter quality cab-
inet. There is a Sal-
ter quality cabinet
m a d e for e v e r y
player-piano, no mat-
ter what wood is
used. Profit by hav-
ing them in stock.
SALTER MFG. CO., 339 N. Oakley Blvd., CHICAGO
which is usually none too much—about player
repairing? The truth is that we have neglected
the tuner and some day we shall be sorry.
Reconstruction
The war is not going to last forever. I think
I have made this illuminating statement once
or twice before, but for the benefit of those
who may suppose to the contrary I make it
again. The movement of military events at
the moment when these words are written is so
rapid that by the time this paper is in the hands
of its readers almost anything within reason
may have happened.
It is, therefore, quite
safe to say that we are beginning to approach
the last phase of the great struggle which has
racked the world for four long years of agony.
When the unconditional surrender, which con-
stitutes the only peace terms the (irand Al-
liance will accept, has finally been offered by
the enemy he will have to restore, as far as
is possible and at his own expense, the ravaged
and desecrated lands which have endured his
bestiality and frightfulness to something like
the condition in which they existed before
August, 1914.
This task of reconstruction, which will be un-
dertaken at the charge of the enemy, will be
tremendous, greater than any industrial or en-
gineering work which has ever occupied the at-
tention of the ancient or modern worlds. In
consequence it may be well to expect that the
present shortage of labor will continue for
quite some time after peace has been attained.
For, in the first place, it is quite probable that
a very large number of those who are at pres-
ent in the military service and whose civil oc-
cupations are of a nature valuable to such work,
will remain in Europe for the purpose of direct-
ing and devising the reconstruction of Belgium,
France, Serbia and Rumania.
Furthermore,
there will be for some years to come without
a doubt almost no immigration into this coun-
try. The male population of our Allies will
be required at home. The male population of
the Central empires, or what is left of them, will
be kept at home. We are likely to face a labor
shortage for years to come. Should this upset
our trade? Should this cause us to worry about
the future of the piano industry? Not a bit of
it. We are technically a backward industry.
We are, from an engineering standpoint, a
backward industry.
We are, as a matter of
organization, a backward industry.
We are
slow in adopting new mechanical ideas. We
have not yet begun to exploit the possibilities
of machinery in our manufacturing, and it is
the opinion of all engineers and industrial or-
ganizers that an enormously wide future opens
up for us when we have brought the technical
side of our industry upon a level with some
others which might be named.
Right here, then, is at least a partial solution
of our labor question for the future. Mark this
and remember it.
The world is going to need more music after
the war than even it has needed during the war.
In heaven's name do not waste time worrying
about the future. Our whole attention should
now be devoted to getting ourselves in readiness
fur the huge industrial, economic and political
reconstruction which is even now looming up in
front of us.
No quarter for the foe, but many quarters for
Thrift Stamps. Buy some to-day.
THE MUSIC TRADE
AUGUST 31, 1918
REVIEW
TWJWJt^WJW'LWJLWJWJLW^^
$ jysikai&ai&aii^iiSaMfca&ai^^
Being the Results of the Month's Thinking as Done By a Plain Thinker, to
wit, the Editor of This Player Section, Whose Cerebrations Have Remained
Optimistic Despite the Weather, the War, the Hun, and All Other Irritants
The Trade Disease
A medical doctor by the name of Saleeby once
wrote a book, and published it in London, called
"Worry, the Disease of the Age." I guess it
is a good book, but the best thing about it, I
have always thought, is the title. Worry is in-
deed the disease of the age; but it would be
still more apt to call it the disease of the piano
trade. Xow, that would be something like a
title for you; "Worry, the Disease of the Piano
Trade!" The manufacturer worries over the
shortages in labor, material and cars.
The
dealer worries over whether he can get enough
player-pianos to meet his demand. The tuner
worries over the mysterious loss of breath which
bothers him (in the player-piano, not in the
tuner) while the owner stands around and looks
on suspiciously, with one eye on the disjecta
membra of the pneumatic action lying around
the parlor floor and the other on the silver in
the dining room. ( If you think it can't be done
you have never lived in a flat.) Yes, we all
worry; and how much good does it do? Just
think what a proposition the player-piano really
is! What better proposition could one have if
one could choose? Let wars come and go, let
famine and pestilence sweep over the land and
the people will still want music. There you
have it; music is a staple commodity and the
people must and will have that commodity. Yet,
since music is a commodity which requires
skilled human agency to gi v r e it life, and since
precious few people possess the necessary skill,
it seems plain enough that the player-piano in
taking the place of the human skill becomes
very much of a staple commodity itself. Per-
haps somebody will pick flaws in my argument,
but considering that the wail of the dealers at
the present moment is not in the least that they
cannot sell goods, but solely that they cannot
get enough to sell, it would seem that there
must be some soundness to the reasoning after
all.
Worry does indeed seem to be the disease of
the piano trade, but why anyone should worry
over a market like the present market, except
on the general principle that nothing is half as
good as it might be, is something 1, for one, can-
not understand.
Why Tuners Are Essential
On the whole, and speaking as one of the
tribe, I think I may say that tuners are neces-
sary.
In fact, I am not sure that they are
not the only quite necessary animiles in the
whole musical industry, bar the manufacturers
and The Music Trade Review. I may seem to
be prejudiced, but list to my woes and you shall
judge for yourselves. For surely it is doing
no injustice to others to repeat the ofttold tale
that the tuner is precisely the one person con-
nected with the sale of a piano who can, with
equally slight trouble, do the maximum amount
of good and the maximum amount of harm to
it. Tuners are sensitive and ofttimes touchy
persons; but they are not exactly lacking in
human feeling, nor are they unresponsive to
those occasional doses of the milk of human
kindness, the administration of which should be
part of the duty of every business man. When,
however, as is rather too often the case, the
tuner is treated as a sort of necessary evil, on
the principle as the ancient philosopher said of
women, "we cannot live with them and we can-
not live without them," why should we be sur-
prised if he appears surly and indifferent? In
point of fact, the tuners themselves have a way
of referring to their work as that which "makes
the sales stick"; and certainly the phrase is
plausible enough. For, after all, can any one
imagine what would happen to the player-piano,
for instance, if the tuner were abolished; or even
if he were, collectively, to forget all he knows—
A Word to the Wise
Just think a minute.
Do you recall the
trouble you had last
winter in getting your
goods ? You waited
until the last minute
before ordering and
the other fellow who
was stocked up got
the business. Owing
to the shortage of
both material and
labor this year the
situation is going to
be worse. Now is
the lime to prepare.
Fill your warerooms
with a full line of
Sailer cabinets, the
quality cabinets,while
you have the oppor-
tunity. Indications
point to a greater
demand for player-
pianos this Fall than
ever before. Don't
overlook the one best
bet during the rush—
a Salter quality cab-
inet. There is a Sal-
ter quality cabinet
m a d e for e v e r y
player-piano, no mat-
ter what wood is
used. Profit by hav-
ing them in stock.
SALTER MFG. CO., 339 N. Oakley Blvd., CHICAGO
which is usually none too much—about player
repairing? The truth is that we have neglected
the tuner and some day we shall be sorry.
Reconstruction
The war is not going to last forever. I think
I have made this illuminating statement once
or twice before, but for the benefit of those
who may suppose to the contrary I make it
again. The movement of military events at
the moment when these words are written is so
rapid that by the time this paper is in the hands
of its readers almost anything within reason
may have happened.
It is, therefore, quite
safe to say that we are beginning to approach
the last phase of the great struggle which has
racked the world for four long years of agony.
When the unconditional surrender, which con-
stitutes the only peace terms the (irand Al-
liance will accept, has finally been offered by
the enemy he will have to restore, as far as
is possible and at his own expense, the ravaged
and desecrated lands which have endured his
bestiality and frightfulness to something like
the condition in which they existed before
August, 1914.
This task of reconstruction, which will be un-
dertaken at the charge of the enemy, will be
tremendous, greater than any industrial or en-
gineering work which has ever occupied the at-
tention of the ancient or modern worlds. In
consequence it may be well to expect that the
present shortage of labor will continue for
quite some time after peace has been attained.
For, in the first place, it is quite probable that
a very large number of those who are at pres-
ent in the military service and whose civil oc-
cupations are of a nature valuable to such work,
will remain in Europe for the purpose of direct-
ing and devising the reconstruction of Belgium,
France, Serbia and Rumania.
Furthermore,
there will be for some years to come without
a doubt almost no immigration into this coun-
try. The male population of our Allies will
be required at home. The male population of
the Central empires, or what is left of them, will
be kept at home. We are likely to face a labor
shortage for years to come. Should this upset
our trade? Should this cause us to worry about
the future of the piano industry? Not a bit of
it. We are technically a backward industry.
We are, from an engineering standpoint, a
backward industry.
We are, as a matter of
organization, a backward industry.
We are
slow in adopting new mechanical ideas. We
have not yet begun to exploit the possibilities
of machinery in our manufacturing, and it is
the opinion of all engineers and industrial or-
ganizers that an enormously wide future opens
up for us when we have brought the technical
side of our industry upon a level with some
others which might be named.
Right here, then, is at least a partial solution
of our labor question for the future. Mark this
and remember it.
The world is going to need more music after
the war than even it has needed during the war.
In heaven's name do not waste time worrying
about the future. Our whole attention should
now be devoted to getting ourselves in readiness
fur the huge industrial, economic and political
reconstruction which is even now looming up in
front of us.
No quarter for the foe, but many quarters for
Thrift Stamps. Buy some to-day.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).