Music Trade Review

4
THE MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
JUNE 7Jl19
HERE is presented in the Supply Section of The Review this
T week a most valuable symposium of views on present conditions
PUBLISHED BY EDWARD LYMAN BILL, Inc.
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Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques·
tions of a tochnical nature relating to the tuning, .
regulating a!,d r"'\.laidng of pia!,os and player:pianos
are dealt WIth, WIll be found In anotbeT sectIon of
this paper. We also publish a number of reliable technical works, information concerning
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PI ayer- PI aDO an d
Technical Departments
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
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LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES-NUIIIBERS 11982-15988 IIIADISON SQ.
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Cable address: "Elblll, New York"
Vol. LXVUI
NEW YORK, .JUNE 7, 1919
==EDITORIAL
No. 23
II
ELDOM, if ever, have the members of the National Piano Manu­
facturers' Association listened to a more comprehensive report
of the year's activities and of the future possibilities from a retiring
president than the report presented by Paul B. Klugh at the annual
convention on Tuesday of this week, and which is presented in fuJI
in connection with the convention report in The Review. Mr.
Klugh's administration, it must be admitted, has been one of the,
or rather the, most strenuous in the history of the organization, as
a result of external, rather than internal, conditions. He assumed
his duties as president just at the time the war was making itself
felt on Ameri<::an industry , and it is due largely to his skill as an
executive and the co-operation of the other officers of the Associa­
tion that the industry weathered the storm until the date of the
armistice so capably and well.
In his annual report Mr. Klugh has again exhibited his ability
to sum up succinctly the dominating points of the situation, and
present them clearly and logically. A gla·nce at his report brings
to light not only the activities of the Association during the past
year, but some valuable ideas regarding possible future activities.
It ranks high .among the documents of the trade.
S
recent passing of J. Frank Conover, who had been identi­
I N fied the with
The Cable Company interests for a considerable period,
and of Robert A. Gaily, widely recognized . as the builder of the
Baldwin Manualo, the music irraustry"loses two men of unusual
technical ability-men wh9have d0fi~ much for the development of
the American piano and .. piayer" alo-ng --2't : cntive and coristructive
lines. It is rather interes,t ing in a way: to observe that both these
men were not only skilled in ·the p~ J;B. - · +,,('1 of piano making,
but they were thoro\Jgh tnusiciant ' ,ID F'
t, .. . •
': ~l 'rlied under
capable masters: Mr. Gally was ~G;n£ ~,
'1: "
~ 'i i ;lUist, while
Mr. Conover could ~'sh6~ off:;;~ rlo·",., ;t· the skill 'of a virtuoso.
This musical equipment wa~ ~l).~by- ';; '., ~l ; · !lulus . in their con­
stant striving and effective labor.s t in the manufacturing field .
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as they affect the piano supply market, together with possibilities of
future changes in that market to the advantage of the manufac­
turer. The Review has taken occasion to interview men of standing
in the several branches of the supply trade, and has found them as
one in voicing the opinion that not only are prices of materials con­
siderably higher just now than they were at this time last year, but
that a still further advance must be expected before there can be
any perceptible downward trend. For the manufacturer who ha s
held back on his supply purchases in the hope of a break in the
market there is not much hope offered.
Accepting the opinions of the supply men at their face value,
however-and they are opinions that must be accepted in the proper
spirit beca\.lse they represen t results of actual experience-the piano
manufacturer has ample reason to watch · his own prices and so
regulate them that they may cover ad equately this extra cost of
doing business, and not only that, but offer a profit on the addi­
tional money tied up in production.
To all appearances the chief factor in keep ing supply prices up
is labor. Not only are wages going up steadily, as they must to
meet the high er living cost, but even at the higher prices skil1ed
labor is hard to obtain. This means that the supply manu'facturer
is not only not able to bring his prod uction up to normal, but has to
pay unusually high prices to obtain the output that is possible. It
is a situation that offers a wonderful opportunity for careful study
and discussion were not the conditions surrounding it so serious
for the industry itself.
Information and Education Service of the Department of
T HE
Labor, under the guidance of Roger W. Babson, is conducting
a campaign to let the American people know that they can create
business activity on a large scale if they "buy now-build now- ­
repair now-renew now--do something now," but ao it. In other
words, the aim is to boost this country from a period of uncer­
tainty into a period of prosperity, and Mr. Babson says that the
surest way to get the desired results is to tell the people about the
difficulties encountered due to the netessary readjustment of war­
time activities into peace-time industries. He poin-ts out that
"Labor and capital are muddled. Industry is marking time . The
manufacturer has not been purchasing his raw materials except as
he needs them from day to day. The merchant is operating with a
skeleton stock. The public is refraining from purchasing except
for its immediate necessities. Everyone is waiting for everyone
else."
How can business be energized? How can confidence be
restored throughout the country? How can labor be induced to
get back its desire to produce and capital to speed up the remobili­
zation of peace-time activities?
Mr. Babson believes that the desired results can be accom­
plished by administering the following stimulants to the country:
First, tell aLI progressive merchants and manufacturers-tel! all
who have anything to sell~to advert ise now and take ad vantage
of the great market which exists at this time.
Second, tell the public that now is the time to buy- th at they,
the people, in normal peace-times are the controllers of all produc­
tion and all distribution .
If the consumer buys the merchant sells and in turn is forced
to buy. The manufacturer and the producer of raw ma terials are
forced to buy and sell. Labor is put to work. The brakes put
upon industry are thus removeo and the machin ery of production
and distribution is set in motion.
OLLOWING an extensive trip throughout the W est, Director
F General
Hines of the Railroad A dministration has expressed
himself most enthusiastically regarding the favorable conditions
which prevail, and the outlook for future business broadly con sid­
ered. It is his belief that the recon struction process now under
way will create a big industrial revival, because of the arrested
demand for many produ~ts during the war, and the large buying
power of the public ~ue to high wages and high prices for record
foreigu crops. Unti:! t he industrial situation is clarified officials of
the Railroad Adn: hiistration do not expect to consider an increase
in freight rates t rl:. compensate for the increasing deficit arising from
reduced business a fter the armistice.
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