The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1912)

20 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD. Dealers who take our Saturday Evening Post campaign half as seriously as we do, stand to make as good a thing out of it as we do— and that's considerable good. Columbia Phonograph Co., Gen'l Tribune Building, New York STRONG FIGHT FOR PRICE MAINTENANCE. (Continued from page 19.) dealers; Illinois has 551 dealers and there are 452 retailers in Minnesota. The Edison Company, he said, was wedded to its present plan of marketingits goods through dealers and he ventured the claim that every one of the dealers was heartily in favor of the principle of price maintenance — the policy that gives the smallest dealer in the most out-of-the-way location the same opportunity to do business as is enjoyed by John Wanamaker or the large mail-order houses. Another big man in the trade who has been at Washington fighting valiantly for a continuance of the present method of conducting business is Mr. M. Dorian, treasurer of the American Graphophone Company and its selling agent, the Columbia Phonograph Company, General. Mr. Dorian made a most favorable impression by his frankness in disclosing details of the Columbia busi^ness in reply to the leading questions that were fired at him. For instance, he turned over to the committee of Congressmen copies of the various Columbia dealers' contracts and discount sheets and in summarizing the terms offered he said: "We have three classes of discounts. We have one to the small dealer who , buys two or more machines — 'a discount of 40 per cent. To the dealer who buys initially an order of $500 at a time and undertakes to purchase a minimum quantity during the next 12 months we allow 40 and 10 — what ' we call the purchaser's quantity. To a jobber who purchases $2,000 worth and who is handling the goods only as a jobber or distributer, we give 50 per cent, discount as to some types." Mr. Dorian stated that the factory at Bridgeport now gives employment to more than 2,000 persons and that the Columbia Company maintains about fifty stores of its own throughout, the United States, in addition to offices or branches in Europe and throughout the world. He added that the heaviest export business of the firm is with Mexico, South American countries, China, Japan and Australia. In answer to an inquiry, he said : "Our company has owned at different times two hundred to three hundred different patents, but those under which we are actually operating now probably number only twenty or thirty. There is one patent on which we have been paying royalties for the past eight years and we have not manufactured new machine under this patent in three years and we are not likely to, either, because that invention is passe." The Columbia representative explained, too, that his concern does not make any machines in Europe — all of the machines are made in this country and shipped abroad and the factory in London is used exclusively for making records. And speaking of records, it may be added that Mr. Dorian's testimony gnve some interesting side lights on the subject of the record business. For instance, he stated that his factory was now unable to turn out copies ■of the "Stop Kickin' My Dawg Aroun' " record rapidly enough to supply the demand, whereas in two. months from now it may be" that they could' not give those records away. "On the other hand," said he, "we have another record called 'Herd Girl's Dream,'., which has been popular for four years and is just as popular to-day as when we brought it out." He explained, too, how careful the company is to go through its catalog every now and then and cut .out obsolete and unpopular selections and told of the exchange arrangements open to dealers — particularly the new scheme of a flat exchange of record for record which has been put into effect this spring. Mr. Dorian laid stress upon what his company is doing for the dealers through the medium of general advertising and told of spending $8,000 for the recent two-page advertisement in one issue of the Saturday Evening Post, 'which has attracted so '■ much attention in the trade. The Columbia representative, like the president of the Edison corporation, --told of the troubles resultant from price cutting. « Said he : "At the present time we are practically free from price cutting. But I can cite a recent case of a merchant at Frederick, Maryland, who buys through our Baltimore store. He bought something like $2,000 worth of goods and was doing a nice business with them when a dealer in similar lines, who had never handled our particular product, got hold of some of our records, a small quantity, and began to advertise a cut price. Our merchant notified us and we got busy on the proposition right away. We found out the source of supply of this pricecutting dealer and cut off his source of supply, and then gave him the option of promising not to cat the price any more or to stand suit, and he thought it would be a wise course to say he would not cut the price any more. In fact, he had no more goods on which he could cut. This is a recent case which has just come to our attention." In conclusion Mr. Dorian expressed the fear that if the new bill became a law it would enable the department stores and large private buyers to make it impossible for the small stores to sell a supposedly one-price article at all, because the smaller dealer could not afford, even though he bought as cheaply, to sacrifice his profit on the article. Nor could he afford to carry the stock on his shelves until the department stores withdrew the cut price. Horace E. Pett.'t, the eminent attorney, appeared at Washington in behalf of the Victor Talking Machine Company. He made an able and exhaustive argument, but it had largely to do with the legal phases of the subject. He did take occasion, however, to emphasize that in the talking machine field it is the retail dealers who reap the greatest benefits from the policy of -price maintenance. Mr. Pettit said further that most patent attorneys would prefer to see the law stand than have the Oldfield bill passed. He said it has taken a vast amount of litigation to prove just what the present law is and all that would have to be gone over again. Furthermore, he said, he opposed any provision which tends to deny to the patentee the privilege of retaining all rights to his patent. He said the statutes have given a patentee a monopoly and this has been guaranteed by the Constitution. To cut off any privilege would be unconstitutional. He thought that Congress would have to give the patentee a monopoly for one or five years at least, after which a condition could apply. Mr. Pettit's opposition to the bill was presented in a most forceful and able manner and was based ' chiefly on the argument that Congress under the Constitution had no power to limit the rights and ■ privileges of the inventor under the patent law, and he backed up his argument with much convincing data. RED SEAL RECORD CATALOG Just Issued by the Victor Talking Machine Co. Is a Most Complete Publication. Recent catalog -productions of the Victor Talking Machine Co. have been designed along the most complete arid interesting lines, and the latest issued in this connection — a catalog of Victor Red Seal records — takes its place as among the most artistic and effective of the many admirable examples of Victor literary effort on file. No attempt has been made to furnish an elaborate catalog, but rather give a most complete and comprehensive arrangement of Victor Red Seal records in a dignified and convenient form. To enable one to instantly turn to any artist's list of records, or any particular record, an alphabetical index of the artists has been made on page 3, while on pages 108 to 116, inclusive, there will be found an alphabetical index of the operas, titles of selections, etc. The book is illustrated with portraits of the artists with a condensed and interesting synopsis of the artists' public career. The volume is printed throughout in two colors, red and black, and will prove a veritable vade mecum for those desirous of having a complete key to the library of famous voices. The volume should give an impetus to the Red Seal record business. Copies are now being shipped to distributers so that they may be sent to dealers about May 15 and shipments to far Western distributers to reach their destination about June 1. INCREASING DEMAND REPORTED By the Condon-Autostop Co. for Its Popular Automatic Disc Stop for Talking Machines — Messrs. Scott Sinclair and Geo. G. Blackman Representatives of This Company in New York Territory. The Condon Autostop Co., 26 Front street, New York, report a very large volume of business and an increasing demand for their automatic stop for disc talking machines from representative houses throughout the country. The demand from jobbers would indicate that this stop is proving a big seller with the dealers. The very artistic advertising carried by the Condon-Autostop Co. in the Saturday Evening Post and Collier's Weekly, two of the leading magazines of the country, is proving most helpful in stimulating sales of autostops. The Condon Autostop Co. states that W. W. Aube is no longer in its employ, having been succeeded -by Scott Sinclair; also that George G. Blackman, formerly with the Blackman Talking Machine Co. is now representing the . Autostop in New York territory in addition to Mr. Sinclair.