Music Trade Review

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MARCH 13,
1926
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Ohio Association Makes Report on the
National Mid-Year Meeting
Report of the Delegates From the Ohio State Body Calls for Some Radical Modifications of the By-Laws
of the National Association, If, They Declare, Affiliation of Local and State Bodies Is to
Be an Actual Fact and of Value to All Organizations Concerned
F the views of the delegation representing the
Music Merchants' Association of Ohio, rela-
tive to the rules and regulations promulgated
by the National Association of Music Merchants,
for regulating the participation of State and
local bodies in the affairs of the organization,
are to be taken as a criterion, then some radical
changes will likely be necessary in those rules if
the national plan is to be successful.
The rules and regulations for the government
of the local association, as affiliates of the na-
tional body, were presented at the meeting of
the Executive Board of the National Association,
held in New York in January and were in the
form of amendments to the Constitution and
By-laws of the organization, to be acted upon
by the membership at large at the annual con-
vention in June. The Ohio delegates resent
particularly the provisions of Article XI of the
proposed amendment, which provides that all
resolutions from local bodies must be presented
to the office of the National Association thirty
days before a stated convention or board meet-
ing, and need not be presented to the convention
as a whole if the Board of Control in its wisdom
determines that the resolutions are "not germane
to the purposes, services or activities of the
National Association."
In reporting to the membership of the Ohio
Association its delegates, namely, Fred N. Goos-
man, chairman; Otto C. Muehlhauser, president,
and Rexford C. Hyre, secretary, comment in
part as follows:
"Your delegates realize that it would not be
good form for the Ohio Association to suggest
a plan of national affiliation and amalgamation.
However, the National Executive Committee has
offered a plan, and has asked the Ohio Associa-
tion to make suggestions, if they have any.
Therefore, your delegates herewith take up the
various parts of both the present constitution
and by-laws and the amendments thereto, which
in their opinion should be changed, and give
their reasons for such suggested changes:
"Article III, Sec. 12.—This section provides
that only the President, a Vice-president and
the Treasurer of affiliated organizations shall
be on the National Auxiliary Board. This sec-
tion appears to be a hardship on the affiliated
organizations, because it would be often im-
possible to have these particular three officers
serve on this board. Financial and business
reasons might make it impossible for the carry-
ing out of this provision by the officers desig-
nated. Every dealer who becomes President of
a State organization must give of his time and
money to fully and capably perform his duties.
"As a rule, the dealers occupying the lesser
positions are eventually elevated to the presi-
dency, and when they arrive there they must
expend their time and money in the interests of
the organization. It would seem that the Presi-
dent each year should be on the National Aux-
iliary Board, but that the Association should be
permitted to select any other two men in its
organization who will have the time and money
to represent it at these meetings in the larger
cities.
"Article V, Sec. 1.—This provides that each
individual member shall be entitled to one vote
and cannot be represented by proxy. The proxy
provision we feel is unfair, because the new
arrangement will permit members of affiliated
associations to be represented by delegates,
I
which is only another form of proxy. We feel
that every member should have the right and
privilege of expressing himself personally or
through a proxy at any annual meeting of the
National Association.
"Article V, Sec. 2.—This provides that all
affiliated active members shall have l/2Oth of
a vote, to be cast by delegates only. Just how
the National Association arrived at the ratio of
twenty to one in the matter of affiliated associa-
tions is not clear, nor was it explained at the
recent New York meetings. If it is based on
the matter of income, then each affiliated active
member should have 1/lOth of a vote, because
he pays $1.00 a year dues. The individual active
member has one vote and pays $10.00 a year
dues. Therefore, financially speaking, ten affili-
ated active members equal one individual active
member.
"However, the object of all association work
in the music trade should be and is for the
purpose of interesting the retail music merchant
in what is best, for himself and his business,
and to support, financially and otherwise, the
great movements in the trade for good. If
approached on this basis, it would seem that
every active member, whether affiliated through
a State organization, or individually, should be
entitled to a vote, in person if he is there, or by
proxy if he is an individual member, or dele-
gates, if he is a member of an affiliated organi'
zation.
"Article VII, Sec. 4.—This provision of the
National constitution and by-laws provides that
the Advisory Board (past Presidents of the
National Association) shall nominate all officers
of the Association. This plan was abolished in
the Ohio Association, some seven or eight years
ago, when the future of the organization was
threatened in this State, because of the claim
that the officers were selected each year by the
retiring officers. Since it was abolished, the
Ohio Association has grown and every member
feels and realizes that he has an equal chance
of holding office with any other member. Nomi-
nations in Ohio are made from the floor, con-
tests for the offices are indulged in, and each
member given an opportunity to attempt by vote
to select whom he wishes for each office. We
cannot see how the Ohio Association can enter
a national organization which does not recog-
nize this first principle of democracy in trade
association activity. This provision should be
abolished in the National constitution and by-
laws.
"Article XI. —We quote this entire article as
follows: 'The introduction of resolutions or
other recommendations assumed to warrant
action by the National Association or its officers
must be delivered to the office of the National
Association at least thirty days prior to the
next stated or called convention or board meet-
ing as may be. If, in the judgment of the
Board of Control or such officers as may be
delegated to consider it, any resolution of recom-
mendation so submitted be considered as not
germane to the purposes, services or activities
of the National Association, the Board may
return the resolution or recommendation to its
proposer explaining its refusal to approve for
further consideration.
" 'If the Board shall approve such resolution
or recommendation, appropriate action shall be
taken looking to its execution or to its submis-
sion to the next National Convention through
the usual channels.
" 'Provided, however, that all such resolutions
or recommendations as may originate with affili-
ated active members must be presented to the
National Association through the authorized
officers or delegates of the affiliated association
in which the author or authors hold member-
ship.'
"This Article XI should not occur in the Na-
tional constitution and by-laws. It is a new
addition and was proposed in New York at the
recent meeting. This article, together with the
one covering the nomination of National offi-
cers, attempts to shackle and control the various
affiliated organizations which are asked to amal-
gamate into a national organization. The free-
dom of the floor during conventions, the right
to introduce any resolution and discuss it, and
vote on it, should not be denied or abridged in
any way, shape or form.
"Again, at the recent New York meeting, the
National Association failed to take any action
upon the numerous resolutions heretofore re-
ferred to them by this organization. If this
Article XI was in effect, and Ohio amalgamated
with the National, there would be no oppor-
tunity for the Ohio Association to bring these
resolutions up upon the floor of a National
convention.
"Your delegates are sincere about this ques-
tion of real National affiliation, but we feel that
the Ohio Association, if it is wanted in this
National scheme, should be permitted to inject
the same democracy, open and frank principles
into the National fabric as exists in its own
organization.
"For these reasons, we believe that these pro-
posed and existing National constitution and
by-laws should be amended and changed to
carry out the suggestions for democracy and
fair play that we have set forth above."
Ready for Style Exposition
CANTON, O., March 8.—Nine retail music firms
here will participate in the annual Spring style
exposition to be held March 10 to 13, and spon-
sored by the Canton Retail Merchants' Associa-
tion. Music houses will present window dis-
plays in keeping with the occasion, stressing
newest in musical merchandise. Several of the
stores will hold informal musical programs for
the throngs expected to be attracted to the
downtown business section on this occasion.
Radio will be stressed more than ever this
Spring, music merchants said.
Piano Accessories Catalog
CHICAGO, I I I . , March 8.—Lyon & Healy, Inc., of
this city, has just issued a new catalog, en-
titled Piano Accessories. It shows the newest
benches, bench cushions, scarves, roll cabinets,
piano lamps and other accessories of interest
to the piano merchant. A wide range of this
type of merchandise is described and the book
will be a great help to the dealer who is finding
a growing sale for such goods.
The Sowders-Bolling Piano Co., which has
been operating for several years in Evansville,
Ind., has filed a certificate of preliminary dis-
solution.