Presto
Issue: 1920 1756 - Page 23
March 18, 1920.
LONG-TIME CREDITS
OF CENTRAL AMERICA
Assumption That Perplexing Problem of Ex-
porters Is in a Fair Way to a Solution
Is Groundless.
It is a matter of some perplexity to business men
in the United States why the credits of Central
America should be so long as compared with those
of their own country, and why the merchants of
the Tropics should cling so tenaciously to this sys-
tem. At the same time, because the exigencies of
the European war have forced some Central Amer-
ican importers to meet the terms of dealers in the
United States, it has been asserted that the tropical
business men have at last come around to the
American way of doing businesss.
The assumption follows that this method will
continue, and the hitherto perplexing problem of
long credits will be solved. But there are certain
underlying conditions in the Tropics that will
cause a reversion to the old terms just as soon as
European firms are able to come back into the
markets. The people in Central America are not
buying American goods and paying cash or its-
equivalent for them because they like this method
of business. It is being done simply because the
goods must be obtained and there is no alterna-
tive. It means in many instances that the im-
porter is paying 1' to V/2 per cent per month to a
bank for the money with which to meet the draft;
or, if the local banking facilities are not equal to
the unprecedented strain upon them and recourse
must be had to private money lenders, as much
as 2, 3, 4, 5, or even 10 per cent per month may
be charged for the accommodation.
There is in addition an immediate outlay for
freight and duties; sometimes these items amount
to 50 per cent of the total cost of the goods. The
goods must be carried in stock longer than in the
United States. There is not, per capita, anything
like the same purchasing power among the people.
It is a condition that will not soon change, and
that form of business dealing best designed to, meet
the situation as it exists is the form that
will be followed. The long-credit system has been
a matter of necessity for which the business man
of the Tropics was not responsible.
The coffee crop is the principal ^money crop of
F-RESTO
Guatamala, Salvador, Costa Rica, and holds an im-
portant position in Honduras and Nicaragua. Cot-
ton is no more important to the Southern states
than coffee is to Central America.
The countries of Central America will for many
years continue to be principally agricultural, and
the tide of business will be dependent to a great
extent upon the seasons for the various products
that these countries have to sell. It is idle, there-
fore, to expect the business houses of these coun-
tries to revolutionize the whole fabric of trade and
adopt methods foreign to their custom. In the
first .-place, the banking facilities are not sufficient
to carry the houses over the interregnum that
w.ould occur, if such a condition could possibly
be brought about; and, second, the charges for ac-
commodations are so high as to preclude the possi-
bility of profit in doing business on such a basis.
MUSIC DEPARTMENT GROWS.
The O'Donnell Hardware Co., Washington, Ind.,
which some time ago decided to keep adding to the
scope of its music department, now considers the
music goods interests of the company have reached
a condition of importance as great as that of the
original hardware line of the firm. One of the
handsomest business shops in southern Indiana is
the new exclusive music shop of the O'Donnell
Hardware Co., in a wareroom adjoining its general
hardware store. The place has been rearranged es-
pecially for the music shop. The Knabe piano and
Artemis player-piano and Brunswick talking ma-
chines are included in the stock. Added to these
is a complete line of music instruments as well as
records and sheet music.
TO MOVE IN PITTSBURGH.
Volkwein Bros., Pittsburgh, Pa., dealers in small
musical instruments, have taken a lease on the build-
ing at 632-634 Liberty avenue, and will locate there
about May 1. The firm has been at the present
location, 516 Smithfield street, for twenty-one years.
The structure is to be razed to make way for an of-
fice building.
BUSH & LANE IN COLLEGE.
Officials of the college of music at Iowa State
University have a particular choice in pianos. The
college recently purchased two Bush & Lane pianos
from the Arthur P. Griggs Piano Co., Davenport.
That college now has three pianos obtained from
the Arthur P. Griggs Piano Co.
ARTISTS INDORSE REPRODUCING ACTION
LAST YEAR AN EXCEPTIONAL
ONE IN THE IVORY MARKET
Small Supplies, and General Expansion of Trade
Gives Prices an. Upward Trend.
According to the annual review issued by a prom-
inent London firm of ivory brokers, 1919 was an ex-
ceptional year on the ivory market. Small supplies,
a general expansion of trade, and the greater popu-
larity of ivory for fancy articles combined to force
prices higher at each sale during the year, the sharp-
est advance occurring in October, when when a £15
to £25 increase per hundredweight was realized. In
some lines record prices were obtained.
The principal buyers were the United States and
Great Britain, and the chief supplies comprised Egyp-
tian, hard West Coast, and Central African, the of-
ferings of Zanzibar ivory being quite small The
stock of ivory on hand at the end of 1919 totaled 73
tons against 102% tons in 1918.
The brokers report that at the sale held on Jan-
uary 27, 1920, only 2534 tons were on offer, and
practically the whole was sold. Further advances in
prices occurred. Zanzibar, Mozambique, and East
African soft, large, and medium tusks and scrivelloes
rose irregularly by £50 to £100 per hundredweight.
Egyptians, comprising a few hard lots, advanced £50
to £100 per hundredweight, and a small quantity of
West Coast African rose by £50 to £90 per hun-
dredweight. Bangle tusks, of soft quality, advanced
£50 to £60. The stock left on hand aggregated
67% tons, compared with 96'/2 tons in January, 1919.
THREE KINDS OF TOUCH
DESCRIBED BY AN AD=MAN
Gulbransen Bulletin Speaks of the Mushy, The
Trembly and the Stiff Touch.
The Gulbransen Bulletin, Chicago, published by
the Gulbransen-Dickinson Company, Chicago, says
there are three unpleasant kinds of pedaltouch found
in various players. There's the stiff touch, when
pedals work hard—wear you out, if you play long.
Fatigue is likely to keep you from playing with
expression.
Then there's the "mushy" touch. This is usually
found in instruments that imitate the Gulbransen.
The makers have tried to produce easy pedaling by
the cheap and convenient means of using light bel-
lows-springs. The pedals push down easily, but you
have to work like a bicycle champion to produce
enough power to keep the,thing playing!" This is
added:
The "trembly" touch. Found in most single-valve
actions except the Gulbransen. Pedals seem to
tremble as you push down, giving you a feel-
ing of uncertainty and dissatisfaction. Gets worse
as the instrument grows older.
Then there is the pleasant kind of touch—the
Gulbransen kind—in which the pedals feel FIRM,
yet MOVE EASILY. It is the natural pedal-touch
—so natural that you forget the pedals and think
only cf the music. Therefore, you play WELL, if
you are naturally musical.
These various kinds of touch are receiving and
will receive a good deal of attention in Gulbransen
national advertising this year. They deserve atten-
tion.
Pedal touch is of great importance to the play-
erpianist—as important as key touch to the manual
pianist.
TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS.
An associaion, having as its members manufac-
turers and others interested in transportation prob-
lems, is located at 132 Madison avenue, New York
City, and is known as the Traffic Clearing House,
Inc.
This association issues, bi-monthly, to all
members a leaflet touching on points of vital im-
portance. When a question or point arises which
affects certain members, the association renders in-
dividual service in the way of notifying them by
special letter, that they may protect themselves. It
furnishes information pertaining to traffic matters,
such as quotation of rates, routing of shipments
and auditing freight expense bills for both shipper
and receiver. There is also a collection department
for freight and express claims.
Jacques Pintel and Miss Nannctte Flack, two
noted artists in music realm, are enthusiastic en-
dorsers of the Auto De Luxe Weltc-Mignon, (li-
cense) Reproducing Action.
Both these artists have had an opportunity to
closely study the operation of this reproducing ac-
tion and have pronounced it the means of repro-
ducing most exactly the works of the great pianists.
Mr. Pintel is well known in piano circles as a
L
pianist of rare merit. He plays with a deep under-
standing which is the result of a life's concentration
on the reproducing of piano music. Miss Nannette
Flack is a soprano who has won a wide popularity
through her work on the concert stage.
Both these artists took part in the concerts given
in the Auto Pneumatic booth during the recent music
show.
THE DEALER'S TRIBUTE.
Talking about the Kurtzmann piano the J. W. Jen-
kins Son's Music Co., St. Joseph, Mo., says: "A piano
honestly and carefully constructed—a piano on
which you can rely. The tone is rich, the action is
responsive and every Kurtzmann will give the kind
of service you have a right to expect. We personally
guarantee Kurtzmann pianos because we know their
worth."
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/
LONG-TIME CREDITS
OF CENTRAL AMERICA
Assumption That Perplexing Problem of Ex-
porters Is in a Fair Way to a Solution
Is Groundless.
It is a matter of some perplexity to business men
in the United States why the credits of Central
America should be so long as compared with those
of their own country, and why the merchants of
the Tropics should cling so tenaciously to this sys-
tem. At the same time, because the exigencies of
the European war have forced some Central Amer-
ican importers to meet the terms of dealers in the
United States, it has been asserted that the tropical
business men have at last come around to the
American way of doing businesss.
The assumption follows that this method will
continue, and the hitherto perplexing problem of
long credits will be solved. But there are certain
underlying conditions in the Tropics that will
cause a reversion to the old terms just as soon as
European firms are able to come back into the
markets. The people in Central America are not
buying American goods and paying cash or its-
equivalent for them because they like this method
of business. It is being done simply because the
goods must be obtained and there is no alterna-
tive. It means in many instances that the im-
porter is paying 1' to V/2 per cent per month to a
bank for the money with which to meet the draft;
or, if the local banking facilities are not equal to
the unprecedented strain upon them and recourse
must be had to private money lenders, as much
as 2, 3, 4, 5, or even 10 per cent per month may
be charged for the accommodation.
There is in addition an immediate outlay for
freight and duties; sometimes these items amount
to 50 per cent of the total cost of the goods. The
goods must be carried in stock longer than in the
United States. There is not, per capita, anything
like the same purchasing power among the people.
It is a condition that will not soon change, and
that form of business dealing best designed to, meet
the situation as it exists is the form that
will be followed. The long-credit system has been
a matter of necessity for which the business man
of the Tropics was not responsible.
The coffee crop is the principal ^money crop of
F-RESTO
Guatamala, Salvador, Costa Rica, and holds an im-
portant position in Honduras and Nicaragua. Cot-
ton is no more important to the Southern states
than coffee is to Central America.
The countries of Central America will for many
years continue to be principally agricultural, and
the tide of business will be dependent to a great
extent upon the seasons for the various products
that these countries have to sell. It is idle, there-
fore, to expect the business houses of these coun-
tries to revolutionize the whole fabric of trade and
adopt methods foreign to their custom. In the
first .-place, the banking facilities are not sufficient
to carry the houses over the interregnum that
w.ould occur, if such a condition could possibly
be brought about; and, second, the charges for ac-
commodations are so high as to preclude the possi-
bility of profit in doing business on such a basis.
MUSIC DEPARTMENT GROWS.
The O'Donnell Hardware Co., Washington, Ind.,
which some time ago decided to keep adding to the
scope of its music department, now considers the
music goods interests of the company have reached
a condition of importance as great as that of the
original hardware line of the firm. One of the
handsomest business shops in southern Indiana is
the new exclusive music shop of the O'Donnell
Hardware Co., in a wareroom adjoining its general
hardware store. The place has been rearranged es-
pecially for the music shop. The Knabe piano and
Artemis player-piano and Brunswick talking ma-
chines are included in the stock. Added to these
is a complete line of music instruments as well as
records and sheet music.
TO MOVE IN PITTSBURGH.
Volkwein Bros., Pittsburgh, Pa., dealers in small
musical instruments, have taken a lease on the build-
ing at 632-634 Liberty avenue, and will locate there
about May 1. The firm has been at the present
location, 516 Smithfield street, for twenty-one years.
The structure is to be razed to make way for an of-
fice building.
BUSH & LANE IN COLLEGE.
Officials of the college of music at Iowa State
University have a particular choice in pianos. The
college recently purchased two Bush & Lane pianos
from the Arthur P. Griggs Piano Co., Davenport.
That college now has three pianos obtained from
the Arthur P. Griggs Piano Co.
ARTISTS INDORSE REPRODUCING ACTION
LAST YEAR AN EXCEPTIONAL
ONE IN THE IVORY MARKET
Small Supplies, and General Expansion of Trade
Gives Prices an. Upward Trend.
According to the annual review issued by a prom-
inent London firm of ivory brokers, 1919 was an ex-
ceptional year on the ivory market. Small supplies,
a general expansion of trade, and the greater popu-
larity of ivory for fancy articles combined to force
prices higher at each sale during the year, the sharp-
est advance occurring in October, when when a £15
to £25 increase per hundredweight was realized. In
some lines record prices were obtained.
The principal buyers were the United States and
Great Britain, and the chief supplies comprised Egyp-
tian, hard West Coast, and Central African, the of-
ferings of Zanzibar ivory being quite small The
stock of ivory on hand at the end of 1919 totaled 73
tons against 102% tons in 1918.
The brokers report that at the sale held on Jan-
uary 27, 1920, only 2534 tons were on offer, and
practically the whole was sold. Further advances in
prices occurred. Zanzibar, Mozambique, and East
African soft, large, and medium tusks and scrivelloes
rose irregularly by £50 to £100 per hundredweight.
Egyptians, comprising a few hard lots, advanced £50
to £100 per hundredweight, and a small quantity of
West Coast African rose by £50 to £90 per hun-
dredweight. Bangle tusks, of soft quality, advanced
£50 to £60. The stock left on hand aggregated
67% tons, compared with 96'/2 tons in January, 1919.
THREE KINDS OF TOUCH
DESCRIBED BY AN AD=MAN
Gulbransen Bulletin Speaks of the Mushy, The
Trembly and the Stiff Touch.
The Gulbransen Bulletin, Chicago, published by
the Gulbransen-Dickinson Company, Chicago, says
there are three unpleasant kinds of pedaltouch found
in various players. There's the stiff touch, when
pedals work hard—wear you out, if you play long.
Fatigue is likely to keep you from playing with
expression.
Then there's the "mushy" touch. This is usually
found in instruments that imitate the Gulbransen.
The makers have tried to produce easy pedaling by
the cheap and convenient means of using light bel-
lows-springs. The pedals push down easily, but you
have to work like a bicycle champion to produce
enough power to keep the,thing playing!" This is
added:
The "trembly" touch. Found in most single-valve
actions except the Gulbransen. Pedals seem to
tremble as you push down, giving you a feel-
ing of uncertainty and dissatisfaction. Gets worse
as the instrument grows older.
Then there is the pleasant kind of touch—the
Gulbransen kind—in which the pedals feel FIRM,
yet MOVE EASILY. It is the natural pedal-touch
—so natural that you forget the pedals and think
only cf the music. Therefore, you play WELL, if
you are naturally musical.
These various kinds of touch are receiving and
will receive a good deal of attention in Gulbransen
national advertising this year. They deserve atten-
tion.
Pedal touch is of great importance to the play-
erpianist—as important as key touch to the manual
pianist.
TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS.
An associaion, having as its members manufac-
turers and others interested in transportation prob-
lems, is located at 132 Madison avenue, New York
City, and is known as the Traffic Clearing House,
Inc.
This association issues, bi-monthly, to all
members a leaflet touching on points of vital im-
portance. When a question or point arises which
affects certain members, the association renders in-
dividual service in the way of notifying them by
special letter, that they may protect themselves. It
furnishes information pertaining to traffic matters,
such as quotation of rates, routing of shipments
and auditing freight expense bills for both shipper
and receiver. There is also a collection department
for freight and express claims.
Jacques Pintel and Miss Nannctte Flack, two
noted artists in music realm, are enthusiastic en-
dorsers of the Auto De Luxe Weltc-Mignon, (li-
cense) Reproducing Action.
Both these artists have had an opportunity to
closely study the operation of this reproducing ac-
tion and have pronounced it the means of repro-
ducing most exactly the works of the great pianists.
Mr. Pintel is well known in piano circles as a
L
pianist of rare merit. He plays with a deep under-
standing which is the result of a life's concentration
on the reproducing of piano music. Miss Nannette
Flack is a soprano who has won a wide popularity
through her work on the concert stage.
Both these artists took part in the concerts given
in the Auto Pneumatic booth during the recent music
show.
THE DEALER'S TRIBUTE.
Talking about the Kurtzmann piano the J. W. Jen-
kins Son's Music Co., St. Joseph, Mo., says: "A piano
honestly and carefully constructed—a piano on
which you can rely. The tone is rich, the action is
responsive and every Kurtzmann will give the kind
of service you have a right to expect. We personally
guarantee Kurtzmann pianos because we know their
worth."
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).