Music Trade Review

78
THE
MUSIC
TRADE -REVIEW
JUNE
14, 1919
TENTH ANNUAL BLACKMAN REPORT
NEW EDISON SHOP IN MOLINE. ILL.
CHENEY CO. PURCHASES FACTORY
Employes of Blackman Talking Machine Co.
Hold Enjoyable Theatre Party, Dinner and
Dance-Distribution of Profits Made
J. Ramser's Sons' Music Shop Now' Featuring
the New Edison in Attractively Appointed
Headquarters-Tone-Test Recital Planned
Cheney Talking Machine Co. Begins Plans for
Expansion With Acquisiltion of Accounting
Machine Co. Plant at Grand Rapids, Mich.
The tenth annual banquet of the employes of
the Blackman Talking Machine Co., New York,
Victor wholesaler, was held last Saturday, and
the program offered the employes provided for
a th eatre party, dinner and dance. This year' s
event was thor oug hly enjoyed by ever y member
of th e Blackman organization, and in view of
the keen delight of the emp lo yes it is likely that
similar pro grams will be car ried out eac h yea r.
The members of the Blackman party assem­
bled at the Palace Theatre at 2 o'c lock and e n­
joyed one of th e best vaudevil le bills offered
by this famous theatre during the curren t sea­
son. Every act was a hea dli ner, and this part
of the program "";as a signal success.
At 6 o'clock the Blackman'organization visited
Murray's on \Vest Forty-second street, where
as usual the Egyptia'n Room had been reserv ed
for their party. The menu was typical of the
culinary achievements of this pop ular restau­
rant, which is one of the best known in the city.
At th e close of the banquet J. Newcomb
Blackman, president of the company, ga ve an
address of welcome, and during t he course of
his talk gave a brief resume of th e company's
progress and activities during the past year.
Mr. Blackman also gave an inte·resting talk re­
garding general conditions in the talking ma­
chine industry, predicting that the industry will
grow steadily, and that 1919 will be th e greatest
year in the history of the trade. He commented
incidentally upon the fact that his company had
just closed the biggest May in many years, and
stated that, judging fr om the present outlook,
the fiscal year of 1919-1920 will be the best in
the hi story of the compa ny. Refer ring to the
price maintenance sit uation ::VII' . Blackman ex­
pressed his pleasure at the re cent -decision in the
Colgate suit, which is deemed one of the most
importan t hand.e d down in recent years.
In the course of hi s talk, which was inter­
rupted frequently b y the heart y applause of the
diners, Mr. Blackman paid a tribute to the loy­
alty and 'supp ort of the employes of his organ­
ization. It is .interesting to note that the aver­
age term of service of th e Blackman employes
is over five years.
One of the unique features of this annual
Blackman dinner is th e distribution of profits
to the employes.
Ten years ago Mr. Black­
man inaugurated a plan whereby eve ry member
in his organization wh o has be en associated with
the company for one year or more participates
in the profits of the past fisc al year.
This
rr.eth od of profit distribution among emp lo yes
has been adopted by the leading and most suc­
cessful con cerns throughout the coun try, and
Mr. Blackman well deserves reco gni tion as one
of the pioneers in this practical plan of co­
operation. Each year new employes are added
to the list of profit sharers, and in ad'dition Mr.
Blackman has recognized the invaluable support
of his older employes by making th em stock­
hold ers in the corporation. In fact, Mr. Black­
man has left nothing undone that might add to
the satisfaction and p rosp erity of his employ es,
and a considerabl e measure of the success
achieved by his company may be attributed to
his farsightedne ss and liberal policies.
These two photos give a very inadequa te idea
o i the new showroom and demonstrating booths
of the J. Ram ser's Sons' Music Shop in Mo­
line, Ill. Thi s firm started out with only a de-
.'\ nnouncem ent of what is believed to be only
one of the several step s taken toward a rapid in­
crease in production of Cheney phonographs
co mes from Grand I\apids in the form of a state­
ment that the Cheney Talking Machine Co. has
pnn;.hased the plant of the Acc9unting Machine
Co. in that city, and that thi s plant will within
a short time be devoted entirely to th e produc­
tion of parts for the Ch eney phonograph.
For the past few months the Accountin g Ma­
chine Co.'s factory has been devoted partially
to production of parts for th e Cheney phono­
g-raph lin e, but, in line with its policy of per­
fecting its production, both in quality and quan­
tity, the Cheney Talking Machine Co. accepted
an oppor tunity to purchase the Accounting Ma­
chine property, and ha s now added this ' to its
other factory equi pment in Grand Rapid ~ .
The arrangement with the Berkey & Gay Fur­
n iture Co., under which this famous furniture
concern manufactures cabinets for the Oheney
phonograph only, will be continued, as will the
operation of the Cheney Talking Machin e Co.'s
plant on Mill street, Grand Rapids, Mich. With
the co-ordination of the two Cheney plants and
the Berkey & Gay plant it is believed that with­
in a few weeks the Cheney produ ction will be
materially increased over its present maximum
output.
It is an nounced that with the coming increase
of production it will probably be possible to in­
clude in the Cheney Talking Machine Co.'s
tr ade extension plans several States in which
the company now has little or no representa­
tion.
During th e recent annuaL conventions of the
a llied music trades in Chicago, June 2 'w 7, the
Cheney phonograph line was on displa y in
rooms 708 and 710, Auditorium Hotel, and in
th e com pany's wholesale offices, eighth floor
Marshall Field Annex Bu ilding, and also in the
phonograph depa rtment of Marshall Field &
Co., retail. Burton Collver, the company's East ­
ern representative, was in charge of the Audi­
torium exhibit, and-·several othe r representatives
of the company were in the city during the con­
vention.
Plans for trade ex tension, including announce­
ments in reference to new equipment features
and aggressive advertising campaign s, will be
given in detail to th e trade in th e cou rse of a
few weeks.
In the list of trade opportunities issued by
the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce
appears the following: 29164-A firm of mer­
chants in Belgium de sire to purchase talking
machines, musical instruments of all kinds, mu­
sical ~upplies and pianos. Information may be
had at the office of the bureau, Wa:,hington , D.
c., or its district offices,
Entrance to J. Ramser's Sons' Music Shop
partment in a large store in that city, but th eir
business grew so rapidl y that they have now
opened an exd usive music shop, where the y will
feature the New Edison. The shop is carpeted
in old blue, and that gives the keynote to the
co lor scheme.
The booth s are glass, as the
Inter'ior of Ramser Store
cut s hows, and are of up -to-da te con stru ction.
Th e whole s hop is most attractive, and is cer­
tainly a credit to the firm .
The open ing of this new shop occurred quite
rccently and was celebrated by an Edison con·
ccrt. A very attracti ve program was played 'on
the phonograph, and was very much appr eciated .
Mr. Fry, the manager, made it very clear to all
the guests that th e shop was at th eir disposal
at any time, and that they' should feel free to
call there wi th ou t obligation to purchase.
Mr. Fry also annou nced a tone-test recital
for the nea r future.
JOINS NATIONAL ORGANIZATION
Talking Machine Men, Inc., Elected to Mem­
bership in National Association of Piano
Merchants-First Independent Body to Join
E. G. Brown, who ,vas the delegate of the
Talking Machine M en , Inc., to the music con­
vention, presented the applic atio n of his asso­
ciation at the. conven tion of the musi c ind us­
tries held in Chicago la st week, and at a meet­
ing of the executive board the Metr opolitan or­
gan ization was elected as the followi ng tele­
gram advi ses:
"Your association e lecte d to affi liated mem­
bership in National Association o[ Piano Mer­
chants, wh ich is merchants' division of Music
I ndustri es Chamber of Comm erce, by unanimous
vote of executive board. W 'elco me to our work
for advancement of music and protection of
trade.
You are assur ed of our hearty co-op­
era tion. Best wishes. C. L. Dennis, secretary ."
FREE SONORA ADVERTISINO SERVICE
Company's Advertising Department to Furnish
Cards and Other Material Which Can Be Used
in Show Windows and Store Interior
The advertising department of the Sonora
Phonograph Sales Co. has announced that So­
nora dealers will receive in the future a free
advertising service, consisting of cards and other
material which can be used to excellent advan­
tage in the show windows or in the store in­
teriors. Several bf these cards and accompany­
ing dealer helps will be sent out each month,
and those now being completed are exception ­
ally handsome.
Such trade helps as electric signs, costly glass
signs, expensive display material, etc., will not
be furnished hereafter free by the Sonora Co.
Material of this kind which is now on hand is
being sold at prices quoted in the official sales
help booklet, mailed some time ago to Sonora
dealers. After the present supply of this ma­
terial is exhausted the deal ers will be referred
direct to the manufacturers for further supplies.