New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-01-23
THE GREAT PIANO WAR.
WEBER TO THE FRONT AGAIN.

ALL ABOUT The AWARDS, AND BESiONo oo"I
KIND ADVICE ON THE sTEINwAYs.
| To the Editor Of The Tribune.
SIR: The scurrilous abuse which Messrs. Steinway
Sons indulge in against their competitors after ev-
cry Exhibition where their pianos hare been Invariably
defeated has been apty termed by an eminent house
| in the piano trade, the new Steinway System"
| When they returned from London in 1862 they
claimed to have received the highest award among
| some 26O pianos on exhibition. when, in fact,
Messrs. Broadwood & Sons, of London, did receive
| it, This great and honorable house have simply ig
| norcd their impudent pretensiOn. The venom with
which they assailed Messrs. ChickerDg O. Son. after
| the Messrs. Chckering had received the supreme
airard the Cross of the Legion of Honor, at the
Paris Exhibition, while the Messrs. Steinway only
received gold medal is probably still remembered.
1t lasted for years. Another outbreak of Billings
gate followed when the Messrs. Chickering showed,
after the Vienna Exhibition. that the whole state
ment THAT of the Messrs. Stenway) as it appeared
in the American newspapers, is forgery tissue OF
| impudent falsehoods."
Now comes the Centennial Exhibition at Phia-
| dSlphia i'll 1876 Last January, just year ago,
| they opened broadside of abuse on the Messrs.
| Knabe & Co.. Of Baltimore, and went so far as to
! commence lawsuit. But when the Messrs. knabe
| g. Co. joined issue, they ANONYMOUSLY withdrew
| and scolded through the press like n fsh-woman.
| Inc plafO-inakerS Naturally "ohiu po
| the end. but 10! and behold November 10, 1877,
one year after the close of the Centennial and sew
cnteen months after the judges had left their reports
with the Executive Committee, and they had been
| ;oted upon by the whole Centennial Commission,
the Messrs. Steinway start out afresh and fling
whole dictionary Of mud and dirt at the head Of the
| innocent He6er
| II has always been maxim that the naked truth
| squarclv presented hes an inherent strength, and
| that Whenever abuse is resorted to it shows that
the facts are wanting when of course loss of tenn
per naturally fcllows
| Now. the facts arc these The Mcssis. Stenway
| undoubtedly came away from the Centennial fully
| convinced in their minds that they had a very
| good report Presently it pointed out to them
| and the world that the judges, while giving them
credit for "arges; volume, purity and duration of
| tone and extraordinary carrying capacity" had
really awar Jed to Weber the highest honor, VIZ ::
Sympathetic. pure and rich tone, combined with
greatest power" This is the ideal piano OF every
great musician and artist VIZ scusibility and sym
| pathetic quality with greatest pOwer-in lact, an
| instrument with soul in It This report, signed
and sealed with the Ces;oaRdl SEAL can b. seen at
] NY warcrooms.
with an instructive dread If impending evil Which
for.shadowci loss Of prestige and business, the
| Mo.sr-. Steinway now rushed thousands of miles
and made two ocean voyages to obtain certificate
| AT enormous expense of money, time, labor and
brains from some OF the former judges Of the Cen
| t-nual. This they have published ever since while
! iLey entirely ignore their Centennial report.
| When IL was pointed out that tins certificate bore
no official character but was simply opinion OF a
number OF private gentlemen more renowned for
| thor philosophical attachments than for their
| knowledge OF pianos. they bethousht themselves Of
an insignificant change which had been made at The
,oqatjt " Of The jadyes III this wonderful award
| given TO Weber. and Induced some of the judges to
| ask the Executive Committee TO make the altcra-
| ton. This tbs Exccuti'c COMMITTEES refused 10 do,
| declaring they had no power IN the premises as the
| Weber award was given by the JgH Centennial Com
mission, signed and sealed. but resolved that the
| Executive COMMITTEES strongly recommend to the
commission that its action approving said amended
report he rccclsidercd. and that the original un-
amended report be accepted AMI issued As the true
basis Of tac award in said Weber case" The gentle
men of the con nssio0 are all honorable men. and.
have no doubt. will act in street accordance with
Justice at their May meeting. and common courtesy
requires that il bo left till then.
1he two reports are almost identically the same,
and either Is superior TO the report gwen 10 the
Mcs>rs. Stcnway which they ,tll seem ashamed TO
publish II have Offended the judges, do not
know Of II. Noi one Of them has told me or uritcn me
90. They are all gentlemen. and If they had any
grievance against me. il = but natural to suppose
they would tell ,cfe % that cGcr' and not 20
and tell auy one else so. THIS whole question. how
ever il a matter bt,tem the commission cud nyseW.
do not nee what business it of the jIessrs. Stein
way
ITr THE MFssRs. STLISwiV ATTEND TO THEIR
oWN Brsr;Fss. Instead of running oyer the world
spending money and time, let them IMPROVE THEIR
PIANOS.
While have built an addition of 1856 feet to my
factory, and have added the most perfect improved
machinery, and spent my cash ~ improving ms pr
amos and quietly attended to my business az Mi the
rest of the piano-makers have done. they acllnowl-
edge publicly having run over the world FOR thirteen
months to SIR mp strife.
The American people. so intelligent and musical,
come to the riLno-maN.r, 70 by pianos not reports.
nor Judges nor even COMMISSIONERS and me man
Udciucr io can make tie best piano at tie mostrsdson-
able uics gets the trade If they are losin. it, il is
| their own fault.
The trade Of the " Weber Piano has increa'td in
| 1877 over 1s7G-i3l pianos. and sold nearly
double IA many pianos in 1877 as did in 1874; ;
and considering the times an perfectly satisfied.
Ii the Mcssrs Stcinway want similar result, let
them inprore heiT p:anOs put their manufacturing in
a more compact and systematic shape, stop running
the world ~ such enormous expense, when
accolnplisles nothing, stop making wiiewood,
maple, and walnut pianos, aud staining them TO look
like rosewood, pat their money in their pianos, not
in outside issues and they may regain some OF tle'r
former prestige feel happier. get richer. anl not
| need 10 scOd 80 much. A. WEBER.
IU.k-art and Siriceah.d Nec YOrk, Jan. %, 1878.
MIDNIGHT WElIUE REPORT