The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-06-23
MUSIC TRADE TO| ADOPT CAMP PAICN l
 OF ADVERTISING
Three Conventions Organize to Promote Love of Harmony
 In Home.

New York. June 23-"Good music for the home" This is the watch word which will be scattered broad cast throughout the United States as the result of the three conventions of piano men, which concluded their sessions almost simultaneously in the Hotel Astor yesterday.
 The surprising official trade figures placed before the conventions, show ing the steady and material decrease in the manufa cture and sale of pianos during the last five years, served to arouse the delegates to a sense of inn pending disaster unless something is | speedily done.
 The conventions, representing ap- proNmately 75 per cent of the piano manufacturers and sales houses of the country, were not slow in responding to the "cal1 to arms.''
 The awakening of the American people to a, renewed desire for music Tn. their own homes will fall to the lot of the newly organized Musical In
 dustries' Chamber of Commerce.
 This national organization has re- ce1ved Q tremendous impetus through 1 the action of the conventions. It has
 been alm ost unanim ous1y indorsed by i the National Association of Piano |
 Manufacturers, the National Associa- |
 t1on of Piano Merchants and the Ma tiona1 Piano Travellers Association. These three bodies received with a. 1
 brand of genuine whoop Ter up type of enthusiasm. the plans for the musical chamber of commerce. They have l received unofficial assurances that the | central organization is to be given equally hearty indorsemen by every other branch of the musical trace, in cludfng the talking machine cornpan- kiess music publishing houses and l musical accessory manufacturers The organization of the new parent hr1 1-, l of arduous planning and tentative, or ganizing by a few men prominent in l the musical trade world. l Headed by Paul K1ugh of Chicago,
 these men undertook to bring together
 into one central association every
 musical trade in the country. Their | success was made certain by the ac- l ton of the piano mems conventions. MT. Klugh in Tresenting his plan, pointed out how closely related are all 1 the musical trades and how vital1y 1 necessary is their joint cooperation. He explained that any missionary work along the lines of advancing l the general use of musical instru- l ments would benefit every branch of l the trade, and how unjust it would be l for any one branch to bear all the | expense and labor. while others reap l ed in equal amounts the harvest. | The piano manufacturers and deal | CTS were amazed to learn that during l the last five years their business, ac- i cording to federal trade reports was l showing a steady and marked de- l crease.
 We must band together in a. cam l paign of honest, useful publicity l stated John G. Gorley, of Richmond, 1 Va, the retiring president of the Piano | Merchants Association.
 l Pick up any newspaper or maga-
 zine and notice the automobile adver-. i<1;- P-1-.
 how correspondingly small is the piano l advertising.
 | / ''Of course. it is going to prove ex- l pensive.s but som ething must be done. ] The manufacturers and dealers must 1 agree on some plan by which the gen.
 eraI public can be given a renewed in
 terest in securing for their homes the 1 best of music.
 Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent each year for expensive cat i alogues by the piano manufact cturers. l Yet these never find their way to the I general public, The money is prac- tically wasted. There should be
 some method of aboIishing this waste
 and using the money for a campaign l of general education of the publtc.'' l Much the same sort of talk was de- klivered to the piano manufacturers in l their convention, which was held in a l separate room on the same floor, by
 J. c. Coffin, who was later elected first
 vice president of the Organization. The Musical Industries Chamber of Commerce. will be asked to solve the l publicity problem, as well as others
 which are facing the piano men, such | as freight charges, etc.
 | Each branch of the musical trade ] which is at present organized, will be
 admitted to the central body as a divi-
 sion member. There will also be f1l- | dividual memberships for men in the trade who are not members of any
 branch organization.
 The financing of the new organiza- | tion is a question remaining to be set
 tied. The piano mems associations
 decided to leave all the details to their
 respective executive boards. They 1 did pledge, however, to furnish the I sinews of war for their part in the
 music campaign.
 The piano men will leave the city tonight enthusiastic for the new cam l paign ,and determined to boost their
 trade, not as individual manufactur- CTS merchants, but in such a broad
 manner as will necessarily reflect pros l perity to the whole trade. The dele gates who arrived here at the first of
 the week in pessinistic frame of mind
 were among the most optimistic to- 1 day.
 The Hobbies of the Astor Hotel re-
 semb1ed a musical salon. The piano
 merchants wear upon their lapels gay
 gold badges. The manufacturers
 wear plain shields, while the travelling
 men sport bright blue and gold rib l bon badges.
 1 Many of the visiting dealers have l l5