The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-07


bors is only a sideline with most of
the instrument makers, for the
piano factories are now all gluing
up wooden airplanes. catgut is all
going into Sutures, there Is a pri-
GRITTY on all the brass that used to
go into bands, and for all this de-
partment knows the dog house car
penters are all on army barracks
construction, while the oboe and
piccolo foundries are probably pour
ing out rush orders for anti-tank
battalion baZookaS. It's even getting
SO bad that a hill billy maestro has
trouble finding decent B fiat
minor washboard that is made out
of metal and not some skim milk or
salvaged nylon hose plastic which is
without soul.
MANUFACTURERS HOPEFUL
But the makers of musical instru-
ments radios, talking machines
and juke boxes excluded - like the
makers of music, live in hope.
Business isn't always going to be
this bad, they figure, and people as
well as their progency will again
want to buy on the installment plan
while taking lessons on strings,
winds or percusSions.
The lull in business has, in way
given the makers of musical instru-
ments a chance to reflect on their
sins Of the past. The musical instru-
ment industry, in short, is about to
adopt a code of fair trade prac-
tees.
They had a meeting on this mat
ter out in Cincinnati last month,
and on December 16 they will meet
in the Federal Trade Commission
building in Washington to amend or
ratify the resolutions on principles
composed along the banks of the
beautiful Ohio.
Remember those ads with the
big type come-in, FREE Accord
ion?" After you investigated, you
found out that 1t was free along
with "a lessons at IS crack. Well,
proposed Rule No. IA says:
THE use of the word free or
the equivalent thereof when the
article is in fact not free, with the
capaciyt and tendency or effect of
misleading or deceiving purchasers
or prospective purchasers, is an I'M
fair trade practice"
Wonderful! 1t gives hope this past
war world will be worth waiting for.
NO BAIT" ADS
Bait" advertising would also be
banned. That's the line where they
try to entice the customer by offer
ing him a grand piano for $75.
When the sucker sends in his
money, they tell him that this piano
is green, is nailed to the floor and
weighs four tons and he wouldn't
like it-but that they have some
other nice pianos for $3.50 and just
try to get out of their clutches.
There was one unethical practice
the industry wanted to ban, but
couldn't get together on because
they couldn't find any way to check
up on 1t or enforce it. This is the
business of having music teachers
recommend to their pupils certain
make of instrument, teacher get
ting commission on the sale.
What the professors have been do
ing for years is shopping around
among the various makers, and
recommending the make that paid
the highest cut.
Another thing they probably
never considered was a rule that
would prevent sales to the neigh
bors' children, but after all-this
isn't the millennium, SO give the mu-
sic trade big hand!"
Strike up the band, too, for the
Federal Trade Commission, which
sponsors these fair trade codes and
encourages whole industries to DO
lice themselves for the protection
OF the consuming public. You don't
near much ABOUT elem, but there
are over $50 of these codes in force
now, regulating the conduct of such
business as the baby chick industry
and the tomato paste industry, the
curled hair industry and the sar-
dine industry. the putty industry
and the oleomargarine industry. To
say nothing of the vegetable ivory
button industry. Great business
that. Haven't you always wanted to
be vegetable ivory button tycoon?