The Portland daily press., 1899-01-31
WANT CHEAP PIANOS.
Leading Makers Now Recognize the De-
mand for Low-Priced Instruments.
IN. Y. Sun.

"How many piano makers are there in
the country" was question asked the
other day of the head of one of the oldest
factories In the United States.
Forty, should say" he answered
after thinking 1t over a moment
This led TO a search for directory OF
the music trade, and it was found that
the list ofAmerican makers of pianos con-
tained nearly 200 names Nearly eighty
piano makers, it appeared. were right
here in New York and half a hundred
more were in Chicago and Boston. In the
south could be found but two factories,
both in Baltimore. Besides the 200 makers
of pianos there are nearly forty factories
where organs alone are made, and then
there are about 100 makers Of actions,
plates, sounding boards and the like.
"The industry is bigger than l thought
1t was" said the piano maker. Accord
ing to the best Information at hand, we
made over so, 900 pianos in this country
last year and we've been making them
year after ear by the tens of thousands
| suppose that In the last ten years we've
made three quarters OF "A million pianos.
and you don't have TO go very far back TO
reach million.
Now where, tell. me, are these million
pianoss Has one person in every seventy
or eighty in this country piano? That
isn't possible. You see, of the pianos we
make every year only few thousand are
we'll enough made TO be musical instru-
ments after half dozen years use, and
so there must be hundreds Of thousands
of old pianos lying around. i don't think
they are destroyed, for when an family
gets an olu second hand piano. because
| ID can't ait ord IA good Instrument, 1t treas
ures the musioless old box as piece of
ornamental furniture or else exchanges 1t
for a new piano. Then II Is tlnkered with
and sold again. Old clothes go to the
rag mills, old houses are torn down, old
ships are destroyed, old iron Is melted
over, but old pianos live on and on. "
Looking over the music trade directory
again 1t was found that up in Harlem
| there were nearly thirty piano factories.
Pianos and Harlem flats are ihdissolubly
connected. With the return of prosperous
| times the demand from Harlem for pianos
| has doubled, and Ii Is this demand that
| is stirring up things in a lively way in
| the local piano trade. Harlem wants o
cheap piano and wants to buy II on the
| installment plan. There are piano makers
who can not afford to make cheap pianos
The few makers of really superior instru-
ments talk about "coDmeTcialism in art
and turn up their noses at the pianos sold
at bargain prices on the instsllment plan.
But still the cheap piano has its uses,
II am glad TO see the department stores
selling pianos, said maker OF high
| grad Instruments che other day, land
| I'm glad to see these rattletraps sold at
si25 and 100 on monthly payments
Every cheap piano sold means sale for u
good piano later on. A boy gets D watch
| that goes, and stops very soon, and when
he grows up he gets real timepiecs.
| Cheap pianos are bought and when they
become useless and their owners educated
| to the use of real musical instruments
and able TO buy them. they are exchanged
| for high grade pianos
1.-The cost OF making pianos changes
very little The skilled labor required
to make good instrument always com
mands high wages. Cheap pianos are
| thrown together like folding beds and
they are commercial product. After
very little use they get loose and are be-
yond repair Lack of the best materials
and workmanship and lack of artistic
knowledge by their constructors make
them but pseudo muslcsl Instruments
Fine tone qualities and Durability can
only be attained by the expenditure OF