The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-11-27

~ NAANf 4 ia 81 saw tic machine lntA
were unwilling to make their invention
known until Il had been further devel-
oped Ny idea was to strike while the
| iron was hot a view they accepted With
some reluctance
We rented a back room on side
street in Washington and began business.
/ Our first factory employed six men and
| its capacity was three machines a day.
Now We are manufacturing two machines
a minute. In a little while We moved TO
better building, where the rent was
$500 month. 1t was a risky undertake
ing, we thought However. By that time
we could reproduce simple songs, banjo
playing. and band music, and had slot
machines that would sing or talk for a
nickel. We assumed the financial Obliga-
ton of 500 a month with fear and trem-
bling The slot machines, much 10 our
surprise. paid the first months rent in
three DAYS and there was money enough
left for our electric lighting.
Slot Machines Paid.
stores were quickly established in all
the principal cities and in each instance.
though we rented rooms in the thick OF
business, the slot machines paid all the
expenses. In the meantime We were SELL
ing graphophones and keeping our factory
busy. Stores were also opened In Europe
The slot machines finally lost their inter
est. but they had permitted US to build
up our retail business without expense.
and had more than accomplished their
purpose"
rs it true. I asked that very large
sums of money are paid TO famous sing
ers for records OF their best songs?"
Like most stories Of money-making,
the figures haYe been somewhat exagger-
ated. At first. we got three songs from
Sembrich for 5000 Edouard de Reszke.
the celebrated bass singer, gave us three
songs for $1,000 In time Schumann-
Heink. Campanari. Lilli Lehman. Bis
pham. Mary Garden. and Cavalieri sang
for us very willingly. Indeed. We have
laboratories I'm Paris, Warsaw. Vienna,
ST. Petersburg, London, Milan, and other
European cities. and singers supply us
with such records as we may want from
time to time. The old way of paying
cash in advance, however. was unsatis-
factory. and so a system OF royalties was
substituted. Famous singers. I have no
doubt, earn as much money by means OF
the talking machine as they do in operas
or concerts. The graphophone. ! should
say. actually doubles their earnings.
Records sell at from So cents to $50
apiece, the latter being sextet from
Lucia by great vocalists. We have a
laboratory in China and the records of 400
Chinese songs, which were given us by
the best Mongoiian artists. The music
may sound something Ike chicken cat
ing corn OFF a pine board. but that Is
because we can't understand or appre-
eiata II TauudrVulau In fhiSN oOunfrx
are large purchasers of Chinese records,
thus getting songs from home I'm their
own language to cheer them as they iron
GU" shirts and collars. The manufacturers
OF American talking machines are doing
business eyerywhere-in Japan. Turkey,
Africa, Egypt. and the Islands scattered
ur and down the earth. from Australia
10 Greenland. and then to Madagascar
More than S20.000.O00 is invested in tho
industry. and thousands of persons ara
given steady and pleasant employment"
will political speeches and lectures
ever be delivered by machinery" l in
quired.
Stamping by Phone.
Mechanically. there would be no diff
Guilty in having Senator La Toilette.
Speaker Cannon, j. Pierpont Morgan. or
ElIhu Root make a tour of all the Chau-
tauaua assemblies ia the United States
by voice alone. Nothing would be miss
ing but the fire In their eyes, their ges-
lures. and the magnetism of their per-
sonal presence. But audiences, in my
opinion, would not care 10 hear a long
speech, lecture, OF sermon out OF
Nor would the people sit
through al opera. They would go To