The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1882-03-10
Organs aud Organ Grindefs.

n new 1Ofk manufacturer oil nand
organs has been giving some informa-
tion to a reporter. eyes," he said, in
reply to q question, 1.-THE organs you
see in the streets are generally rented,
and do not belong to the people who
play them. There are Eve or six large
places in the city where any number Of
organs can be rented. besides q number
OF smaller places, where only ono or
two organs are kept for hire. There is
one place in Mott street and two in
Mulberry street, both within a block Of
police headquarters. There is another
In Crosby street, and still another, the
largest place OF the kind, in Blocker
street. In the Blocker street place
fifteen OF eighteen organs are kept, and
on q fair day they are generally all in
use. No, the people who keep these
places do not buy their organs from us.
They are generally old organ grinders
themselves, and know about what an
instrument is worth. They watch their
chances till they find a man with an
organ who Is in need Of money and lend
him $40 orS15, taking his instrument for
security. Nine times out of ten the
borrower is not able to repay the loan,
and the capitalist keeps the organ.
When he gets enough instruments
to start In business he rents them out
by the day. The rent he gets depends
very much upon tho organ and the
number and character OF tue tunes it
plays. The customer has something to
do with it, too. For instance, il a man
has possession OF q good corner, where
he can take in two and three dollars a
day, he has to pay higher rent for an
organ than a man who goes wherever
he can find O chance. An organ In
good condition, playing ten popular
tunes will sometimes rent for as much
as n dollar @ day. From this the
rent comes down as low as ten cents a
day. A regular professional organ.
grinder who is known can generally
rent an instrument without any trouble.
But q new hand who Is not known has
TO give security for the safe return OF
the instrument. Women have q fancy
for sick organs, and they generally rent
for about twenty-five cents a day"
"Sick organs p
"That is some Of the slang of the
trade. The squeaky little music boxes
you often see melancholy-looking
women playing on the street corners
we call sick organs. They are not out
Of tune, or even worn out, as they
seem to be, but are often quite new.
They are made with die-away tunes to
excite sympathy. A woman with one
Of these sick organs, a half-starvei
baby and q sorrowful c~ountenanco is
u r to make a good living"
"Hov many organs are there in the
city? It is impossible to say. We
have made nearly 1000 here in this fac.
tory, but they go all over the country,
though they were nearly all made for
New York men. The organ-grinders
have regular routes, many Of them just
like Q theatrical company. But there
and West, they travel North and South,
20 as to be in the North in the summer
and the South In the winter. They do
all their travelling on foot. of course, so
1t is slow work. But they play all
along the road whenever they com to
. house, and are sure OF making their
travelling expenses at least. What an
organ grinder can make in the city
streets is just as uncertain as what a
merchant can make. He may take in So
m Q single day II he has a good place
and strikes a streak Of luck. On the
other hand he may not get half q dollar,
work as hard as he will.
1.-THE cost? Itan depends. Do you
see that big fellow in the corner? That
IL o saloon organ and belongs in Hous-
ton street. They got tired OF the old
tunes and want q new set. I made that
organ five years ago and got SO. 200 for
il. Prices have come down about ten
per cent. since then, and I could make
the same organ now for q trihe less than
$4,000. 1t is just as good to-day as
when 1t was made. In the ordinary
barrel. organs we charge 81 o tune for
putting in new tunes. And We have
had a great deal Of changing to do in
the last year. getting rid of the Pima
fore airs. There was q great run on
them at N time, but they are no use
now and have to come out. A common
organ weighs about twenty-five pounds.
and Is worth, to make, from SlC0 to
Sl35, according to the number of tunes
it plays. A parlor organ, with from
twenty-five to ~forty-six keys, costs from
$3.50 to 5000. What we call q side
show organ" to initiate a brass band,
has sixty keys. thirty-ive trlss trum-
pets, large and small drums and tri-
angles, and generally plays nine tunes.
II Is worth 50 500"