Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1883-10-20
HAND-ORGANS.
Music by the Crank-Ehilosophi Re
Elections by "a Maker of Hand Organs
Hideous Music,

fdllTOdu- SedLlcu DoWciy SluuuS
factory whose existence is horror
and the continuance of whose in
dustry is likely to bring blight
upon many happy home. 1T IS one
of those places where the sounds are
first given being, the presence of
which in the summer air has made
many a mild eyed citizen curse his
hearing and has caused multitudes
of rip-saws to perish in despair. 1t
has no reason to live save to scatter
torment in half aud quarter notes,
and it is accommodating upon its flat
roof such load of popular indigna-
ton that some day it will crush
through to the cellar and ann;hilate
every hand-organ and hand-organ
maker in the building. A Tribune
reporter invaded the discordant pre-
cincts and was met by man who de
clared i'll tones as wheezy and as
various as his own handiwork that he
was the proprietor of the factory.
"The hand organ" he began ''re
garded in the abstract is beautiful
Contemplation. Think how many
fair woodland they have made vocal
with their echoes; how many a mount
ain torrent has leaped from its prec
ipice and run laughing and muir
muring down its silver course to the
dulcet sounds of the hand-organ;
how many a summer sunset has
blushed anew as the sweet tones OF
the organ lay quivering beneath its
haze. If st. Cecilia had been the
woman she has been represented she
would have turned the harmoniou
crank. But hand-organs in the con
crete mean money. The business is
profitable, for while we have Italian
immigrants we shall have hand or
gans. The business is in some re-
spects singular one. You must not
think for moment that every organ
grinder buys his instrument directly
from the dealer. He comes to this
country with the expectation CT find
ing grapes hanging i'll clusters about
the doors and pomegranates nodding
from the lamp-posts. He finds that
the only sluiceways open to the rush
of his ambitions are the STRENGTHENING
department and the unstable hand
organ. He finds his level in Null
berry street, and languishes there,
with stale beer at his elbow and stale
bread in his mouth. AT last pad
rome comes along. Let the police
say what they will, the padrone sys
tenn has not been killed and never
will be until the Italian peasants be-
come intelligent human beings. The
padrone appreciates the situation.
He says to himself, here's chance
to make S25 pay me back 500 in
three months. Then he paints be
fore Antonio the wonderful resom ces
of the country. He tells him that he
will make lots of money by travelling
through the country and playing in
the cities The terms of the agree
ment are very simple. The padrone
allows the man everything he makes
over 81 day and sets him on the
road with stout pair Of shoes and a
decrepit hand-organ. There is a
singular thing about an Italian who
apprentices himself to padrone
He becomes systematically honest.
He won't rob his master, but will turn
every cent of the dollar he earns
over to him even though he has but
ten cents a day to live on. At the
end of three months, il he has gone
out into the country, he returns and
does more tramping about the city.
At the end of six months the hand
organ is his and he has laid the
foundation of his fortune. But six
months work means over $50 days,
each of which represents dollar, and
until the organ grinder has given his
padrone $3.50 he remains slave. o.,
yes! a padrone does very profitable
business He pays $50 for the organ
and makes profit OF $l20 on his iti-
vestment. There is many reputable
merchant who would be well satisfied
could he do the same.
"Do they ever come to us?' con
tinued the manufacturer. "Yes,
often. We have about dozen rag
ged looking Italians come to us every
day with IS or $40 in their hands,
asking for organs. No, we don't sell
hem. We cannot do so. If we did
we would lose our regular custom.
for we agree, as every manufacturer
does, not to sell at retail. We can
get an organ up as low as So and
make money on it. OF course it
won't play dozen tunes, but it will
grind out two quite respectfully.
They are usually shipped to South
America and Africa, where they are
quite an important article of trade,
for although the negro does not APP
preciate the music he does the noise,
and it's quite the thing for Pata
gonian tribe to have an organ in the
tent of his chief. To the padrone we
sell a dozen organs at time and get
our money in cash. Yes, We know
them and know what devilish trade
they are engaged in, but it's our
business and we are obliged to make
a living. We ship a number of or
gans to Europe also, Germany being
the best market and after it Italy. In
Germany they make figures that are
moved by the core Of the organ and
make the front of the box quite a
panorama of dancing shapes. In
Italy they do nothing but play the
organ, and from the number we send
there the ruins of Trajan, and of the
Antonies must be shaken to- their
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