Music Trade Review

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MAY
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
14, 1921
A new drive for additional members for the
Music Merchants' Association of Ohio was
Effect on Demand for Musical Instruments— started this month and many new names have
already been submitted. Passage of these pro-
Attending National Conventions in Chicago
spective members by the council will make them
that the legislators not only favor a reform, but members in fact. The council includes the fol-
that they feel certain that a more favorable form lowing:
O. H. Boyd, Marion; A. B. Smith, Akron;
of taxation will be supplied for the present
C. M. Alford, Canton; O. C. Muehlhauser, Cleve-
methods.
Review of the revised laws recently obtained land; Rodney W. Martin, care the J. C. Martin
on the statutes through the efforts of Rexford C. Co., Dayton; Omer E. Westerfield, Greenville;
Hyre, secretary of the Music Merchants' Asso- Fred N. Goosman, Toledo; Charles H. Yahrling,
ciation of Ohio, and officials of that organization Youngstown.
Membership committee conducting the cam-
is contained in the May news bulletin of the
State Association, issued this week. In addi- paign includes:
William G. Franke, 81 West Market street,
tion the bulletin contains data of value to the
pjano merchant on filing and renewal of chattel Akron; E. M. Abbott, Seventh and Elm streets,
mortgages, conditional sales, repossessions, pen- Cincinnati; C. C. Baker, 43 South High street,
alties for violating the chattels provisions of Columbus, chairman; C. J. Carroll, 125 Putnam
the code, etc., all of which are features confront- street, Marietta; Leo H. Gerhardstein, San-
ing the piano merchant at one time or another dusky, who is a new member of the committee.
in the ordinary course of business.
Latest possible additions to the roster include:
William J. Schopen, Newark; Leroy B. Dowd,
Secretary Hyre, of the State organization, also
has completed negotiations with the National Newark; John D. Tebben, the Aeolian Co., Chi-
Stockman and Farmer, Ohio farm paper, cago; Jesse K. Murdock, Pleasantville; Albert
through which such valuable information as the H. Dodson, Youngstown; O. W. Christian, sales
extent of and income from crops and rural manager, W. F. Frederick Piano Co., Youngs-
pursuits, in advance of the harvesting or selling town; B. A. Emerson, Akron; Thomas C. Shon-
season, the whole arranged by counties, is ob- ert, Bucyrus; Clara M. Shonert, Bucyrus; Harry
tainable. This data is expected to be of much R. Valentine, salesmanager, the B. Dreher's
importance to the piano merchants who cater to Sons Co., Cleveland; M. G. Vernon, Alliance;
the farm trade, as it is expected to aid them Otto B. Heaton, Columbus; Joseph I. Hickley,
in planning their advertising campaigns and Cleveland; N. A. Soriano, Niles; Floyd F. Daw-
shape their cash sales to the farmers. City deal- son, Cincinnati; Robert L. Seeds, Columbus;
ers, as well as those in the smaller communities, Andrew W. Wolfe, New Lexington; Jack Her-
agree that this data will be one of the best fac- vey, Greenville; Carl Wilson, Greenville; Doris
tors in helping to develop the outlying district M. Stafford, secretary, G. M. Ott Piano Mfg.
business.
Co., Cleveland.
GOOD TRADE IN CLEVELAND DESPITE LABOR TROUBLES
Strikes in Various Lines of Trade Have Little
Unusually Large Delegation From Cleveland
CLEVELAND, O., May 9.—Outstanding factors in
the piano industry here since the beginning of
May are the strike of building trades operatives,
journeymen printers and others, to the num-
ber of close to 40,000, and the suspension of
practically all work in these industries. In ad-
dition to this railway operatives on the Northern
Ohio Traction have walked out, curtailing the
number of persons coining to Cleveland on these
interurban lines.
The first effect of these strikes was expected
to be an immediate curtailment in buying in
retail establishments. After the first week it
was evident that more retail business was being
done and in this respect the piano merchants
who have been going after business were getting
their share. Consensus of opinion was that
unless the strikes are long-drawn-out the holi-
day for the working people would prove bene-
ficial to business rather than otherwise.
Inquiry conducted by George M. Ott, head of
the Ottone Co., Cleveland, piano bench manufac-
turer, shows that piano merchants here and
throughout the Ohio territory are preparing for
immediate revival in business. This appears to
be proved, points out Mr. Ott, in the steady in-
crease in number and size of piano bench orders.
The chief difficulty that confronts piano dealers
in disposing more rapidly of their stock, in the
opinion of Mr. Ott, is the belief among the peo-
ple that pianos are still selling at war-time
prices. Mr. Ott is urging upon dealers the im-
portance of disabusing the people of this thought
and that best results will obtain when convinc-
ing argument is used to prove that prices really
are lower on pianos and musical merchandise.
Belief that Cleveland would be selected for
the 1922 convention of the Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce and allied organizations
was strong with the Cleveland and Ohio con-
tingent upon its departure for the 1921 meeting
fof the Chamber at Chicago. The largest dele-
gation ever to attend at the national conven-
tions was expected to move westward from
Ohio. The Cleveland message, framed after a
conference by President O. C. Muehlhauser, Vice-
president C. H. Randolph, Assistant Secretary
Rexford C. Hyre, of the Cleveland Music Trade
Association, and G. L. Bowe, assistant manager
the Cleveland Convention Bureau, was to be pre-
sented before the convention by President
Muehlhauser. Uniting in the urge for the
Cleveland selection were to be the messages
from Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, Youngstown,
Toledo, Canton, Akron and other Ohio cities.
In matters legislative the Cleveland trade has
not been idle. Replies are already being re-
ceived from the letters sent out some time ago
to national legislators, in which repeal of pres-
ent taxation and substitution of the retail sales
tax was urged. Replies from Congressmen and
Senators received by President O. C. Muehl-
hauser and Assistant Secretary Rexford C. Hyre,
of the Cleveland Music Trade Association, show
THE LEADING LINE
WEAVER PIANOS
Grands, Uprights
and Players
YORK PIANOS
Uprights and Players
LIVINGSTON PIANOS
Uprights and Player-Pianos
If your competitor does not already have this
line, go after it at once.
Weaver Piano Co., Inc.
FACTORY
YORK, PA.
Establish* 1970
CINCINNATI MUSIC TRADE SHOWS STEADY IMPROVEMENT
Gradual Increase in Sales Totals Makes Local Dealers Optimistic—Baldwin Co. Issues Folder
Showing Status of Agricultural Districts—Truck Shipments Save Freight Charges
CINCINNATI, O., May 10.—Business has been hold-
ing up fairly well with the music trade, and
while the dealers are doing far less than they
would like there is no pessimism evident among
them. Things are getting better, they declare,
though very gradually, and there is nothing to
do but bide their time.
The Chicago convention, of course, was the
topic that interested most of the members of the
musical instrument trade during the week, and a
good-sized delegation left on Sunday for the
"big doings" in the Windy City. Otto Grau,
chairman of the Cincinnati committee, was busy
as a little bee ro"unding up the members of his
party who left Sunday night in a special car. In
this party were Messrs. Otto Grau and Volz, of
the Grau Co.; Waters, of Morse & Waters; But-
ler, of Butler Bros.; Summey, of the Church
Co.; Dawson, of the Sterling Roll & Record Co.;
Weyman, formerly with the Werner Industries;
Blackenship, of the Q R S Co.; Chubb, who is
soon to open a new talking machine store on
Sixth street; Reis, of the Brunswick Co.; Schup-
pig, of the Smith Piano Co.; Abbott, of the E. M.
Abbott Co.; Devine, of the Aeolian Co., and
Miller and Furlong, of the Vocalstyle Co. Quite
a number of other Cincinnati dealers went up
several days ahead of the party.
Horace Williamson, advertising manager of
the Baldwin Co., has just put out a folder, called
the Baldwin Business Barometer, showing con-
ditions in the farming sections. According to
Williamson, the farmers are planting their crops
and anticipating a return- to a normal state of
mind. They desire to provide for their families
in the best way possible, he says, and they real-
ize that music provides a necessary form of
recreation which they are desirous of furnish-
ing them. Hard work means greater need of
diversion and cartoons through the folder call
attention to the value of musical instruments in
providing this. The Baldwin Co. is refurnishing
and redecorating its showrooms on the second
floor and expects to make them among the finest
in the city. These rooms, by the way, have be-
come very popular with both visiting and local
artists, who have taken advantage of the oppor-
tunity given them of using the Baldwin pianos
to practice both instrumental and vocal selec-
tions in preparation for concerts or recitals.
Ernest Urchs, manager of the concert and art
department and of the wholesale department of
Steinway & Sons, of New York, has been the
guest of Manager R. E. Wells, of the Cincinnati
branch. Mr. Wells gave a dinner party for him
during his stay here. The guests invited to
meet Mr. Urchs were: Eugene Ysaye, conduc-
tor of the Symphony Orchestra; Miss Bertha
Bauer, Miss Mary Venable, Miss Amalie Staff
and Marcian Thalberg, all of the Conservatory
of Music.
Guy L. Mclntyre, of Kohler & Campbell, Inc.,
New York, was in the city during the week.
An experience of the Mathers Organ Co., a
local concern, shows how musical instrument
shippers are turning to the motor truck to ship
their good's in order to save on rates. The
Mathers Co. is installing an organ in an Indiana
church. Instead of crating it, as in the past, it
was carefully loaded in large moving vans and
the instrument was delivered at the church door.
This saved the cost of crating, saved the hauling
to the depot here and from the depot at its des-
tination and a week or more of time in transit.
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