The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-19
< k k

Yr HAT pestiferous war Tn Europe
 has at last affected the book lover. Publishers say that the price ot paper, leather, cloth and ink has ln- creased from 50 to 100 per cent in the past twelve months and may go high CT. Also there is a shortage of cheml- lcals used in preparing certain kinds ot paper.
 Books that formerly sold at from 50 cents to S1 are now 10 cents higher
 The price of volumes War Sends Up selling at from $1 to Price of Books S2has been increased
 25 cents. A still fur ther increase of from 10 to 20 per cent may be necessary, unless the present situation improves. Publishers and re- tail dealers have both raised pr1ces. If the allied offensive is "speeded up' sufficiently to end the war in few months, the high cost of reading will he curtailed. Otherwise, no man knoweth what the effect will be.
 If the increased cost of production reduces the supply of books, there may be complaint in some quarters, but the overworked reviewers will re- ioice exceedingly and the person who is appalled, by the flood of trashy volumes pouring from the presses in never ending stream will not mind paying little more for good book, if there is sharp falling off in the output of poor ones. THE band music heard in Pitts ! burg's parks this summer IS of the trashy sort, the programmes be- ing far inferior in quality to those presented in previous years. This is because the director of the department
 of public Pittsburg Wrangles works who Over Quality of Music has the hir-
 ing of the bands says the people do not want what he terms high brow" stuff. The departments ruling" has brought out a strong protest from music lovers who had been in the habit of attend ing the open air concerts, and civic wrangle has been precipitated.
 One of Pittsburg's prominent musi- cians-a member of the faculty of the Musical institute-complains that the programmes given this season are decidedly low and that they are musi- cally "a sociological disgrace"
 But the man in authority insists that nine-tenths of the people who make up the open air audiences do not want to hear classical music," and that they must have what they want. But he is wrong in his estimate.
 Pittsburg is abreast of other large cities in musical culture, and there is no reason to think that the masses there would not enjoy music of artistic merit.
 No bandmaster or concert director would offer, as rule, programmes altogether "classic." Even devotees of serious music do not ask for severe programmes at this time of the year. They like combinations in the lighter vein when we'll rendered, and as has been frequently pointed out there is an inexhaustible supply of light but good music which the masses as well as people musically educated listen to with pleasure.
 And it is not true that Wagner programme is over the heads of park audiences. There has been a great advance in musical taste in recent years. Today there are few large cities in this country that let a sum- mer pass without "Wagner night" and vast crowds invariably attend. It is so in New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, and it was so in Birming- ham in 1913 and 1914, when high class band was heard in Capitol park. Musical America, in an editorial on recent "Wagner night" at Madison Square Garden, says the place was