The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1913)

34 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD. THE TALKING MACHINE AS AN AID IN CARE OF DISEASE. Insane Asylums, Almshouses and Hospitals Awakening to the Need of Good Music — A Rare Opportunity for the Talker Man to Open Up a New Field That Will Call Down Blessings on Those Engaged in This Good Work — Interesting Facts Worth Recording. Within a few miles of the writer's home, situated among the fertile farms of central New Jersey, nestles the Burlington County Almshouse and Insane Asylum, and, if you care for a practical demonstration of the value of the talking machine among the aged poor and feeble-minded, I will be charmed to have you meet the visiting physician. We will call upon him at his home in Mount Holly, and, our errand explained, he will ring up his chauffeur, have his car brought round, and soon we will be flying up the South Pemberton road toward our destination. Upon our arrival at the institution we are cordially welcomed by the superintendent, who assists the doctor in making our visit a memorable one. "The advent of the talking machine in our midst has proved a great blessing," we are informed as we make our rounds. "Mrs. Wm. C. Parry, a philanthropic woman of Hainesport, was the donor, and it must be a great satisfaction to her to realize how much cheer her gift has brought the human derelicts under our care here." We pass from ward to ward in the asylum and everywhere peace and quiet and contentment reign. No dungeon cells meet our sight; no straitjackets or other instruments of subjection one is so apt to associate with a place of this character are in evidence. In answer to our inquiries concerning them, we are told that in the most violent cases they are still occasionally necessary, but in most instances a warm bath and soothing music are sufficient to subdue the most unruly. Hypodermic Syringe with Morphine Charge. At the almshouse we find the inmates assembled in the living room, and a thrill of suppressed excitement circulates among them. Mr. Dealer, did you ever attend an entertainment at the old town hall down home? If you did, and had pull enough with the management to be allowed to. look at the rural audience through the peephole in the curtain, you gazed upon a similar picture. Then, as we enter, the matron starts the phonograph. The record has engraved upon it one of Col. Stewart's funniest stories, anl low ripples oflaughter and subdued guffaws greet every witticism. We linger through several selections, and never before have we witnessed a more attentive audience. In a talk with the matron at the close of the concert we learn how much real enjoyment the talking machine furnishes these unfortunates. "I do not know how we could ever do without it," she remarks by way of finale. ■Hospitals, too, Mr. Dealer, are accepting the talking machine as a curative agent in certain forms of nervous diseases, and it is fast taking the place of drugs. Instead of resorting to the hypodermic syringe with its hellish charge of the devil's brew — morphine, which, while it soothes and exhilarates temporarily, floods the system of the victim with the most seductive of all poisons — opium, the more advanced of the medical fraternity are experimenting with music as a harmless and effective substitute. Dr. James E. McCambridge, a leading Poughkeepsie, N. Y., physician, has found music of great value in his battles with tuberculosis. A Harmless and Effective Substitute. Listen to what trie Philadelphia North American has to say upon this interesting subject: Poughkeepsie, N. Y., March 10. Music, as an aid in the cure of tuberculosis, has proved its value at the Samuel W. Bowne Memorial Hospital in this city, one of the leading insti "THE LITTLE SARASATE." Twenty Selections Played by the Juvenile Spanish Artiste Cristeta Goni for the Columbia Co. — Known as "Little Sarasate." The Columbia Graphophone Co. will list in the very near future, both in domestic and export supplements, about twenty selections played by Cristeta Goni, the juvenile Spanish violiniste, known abroad and in this country as "The Little Sarasate." These selections constitute a splendid repertoire of all the Sarasate Spanish compositions, and this is the first time this library has ever been recorded. Those present in the Columbia laboratory when the records were tested say Miss Goni has produced some remarkably successful records. Cristeta Goni. Cristeta Goni is only eighteen years of age, but she has already achieved noteworthy fame both here and abroad as a finished artist in every respect. She is a pupil of the world-famous maestro and composer, Ambrosio, professor of the Grand Conservatory in Paris, who has proclaimed her tutions in the State for the treatment of pulmonary diseases. The hospital, which was erected by Mrs. Bowne at a cost of more than $200,000, closed its first year of the musical treatment to-day, and reported a fifty per cent, gain from that cause in the results obtained. Dr. James E. McCambridge, one of the leading physicians of the local hospital, said to-day that the music, heretofore used only in the treatment of insanity, had benefited his patients almost as much as the fresh^air cure. "Music relieves the strain in the mind of the sufferer, and, when that is done and the patient has other than his troubles to think about, he is on the road to recovery," said Dr. McCambridge. "Tuberculosis, properly treated, is far from being the dread disease it is generally thought to be. "We have made it a rule to have concerts frequently at the hospital, which was easy to accomplish because of the willingness of local musicians to donate their services." Now, Mr. Dealer, the idea I have endeavored to convey in this story is that there is an opening for your goods in the hospitals, sanitariums, insane asylums and almshouses throughout the land, and that by a systematic canvass of the above named institutions near you you can make some substantial sales. It occurs to the writer that the doctor's office and the dental parlor should have talking machines as part of their equipments also, for what will make .a fellow forget his stomach ache or throhbing molar like a good tale well told or a cheerful singing tune? I am very sure, Mr. Dealer, if you put this matter in an interesting light before the M.D.s and D. of D.S.s they will agree with me and become your patrons. Give them a go anyway. Howard Taylor Middleton. to be one of his most talented pupils. Miss Goni was honored by being called to play before their Royal Majesties the King and Queen of Spain, who signally honored her by arising in their seats in the royal box after the first number, a distinction never before accorded an artist by members of the Crown. In her recent tours of this country Miss Goni scored emphatic successes, and her two recitals in Carnegie Hall were unanimously commended by the press. George P. Metzger, advertising manager of the Columbia Graphophone Co., returned to New York March 21 after a two weeks' stay in Yucatan, Mexico. Mr. Metzger states that his short trip was a most pleasant one, and that he was enabled to take care of an enormous bundle of work that would have used up about two months of his time at the office. PHONOGRAPHISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT BERLIN W. 30, GERMANY The oldest and most up-todate trade paper covering the talking machine line published in the German Language. PUBLISHED WEEKLY. FOUNDED 1900 Circulates all over the world. 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