The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1914)

40 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD. FROM OUR CHICAGO HEADQUARTERS— (Continued from page 39). Rename Station Healy. Officials of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway have decided to rename the station called Pennock, to Healy, in view of the fact that the new factories of Lyon & Healy are within a stone's throw of the station, and the most important feature of the neighborhood. Already there is a vast change in the little suburban neighborhood, and it is quite evident that the big new buildings of the famous music house have started a boom very profitable to real estate owners in the vicinity. A remarkably good business has favored the Lyon & Healy retail store the past month and all records for January sales have been broken. Steinway pianos and Victrolas have been especially well favored. The Clark Irish harps have also been much favored in the wholesale as well as the retail departments. Good for Record Shipments. The Interstate Commerce Commission rates on express shipments within the State became effective February 1 by an order issued by the new Illinois Public Utilities Commission. By this order the old mileage system of computing rates is substituted for the direct distance system. It means a cut in rates, especially on long distance shipments in Illinois. Uhl Gets Committee Appointment. E. H. Uhl, manager of the Chicago house of the Rudolph Wurlitzer Co., has been elected to serve on the subdivisional committee representing musical instruments and musical interests of the Association of Commerce. E. C. Barnes, whose place on the committee Mr. Uhl takes, has been transferred to the office appliance committee on his own request. Mr. Barnes, who is the Chicago representative of the Edison dictation machine, thought that he should be classified as a piece oi" office equipment rather than a musical instrument. Turns Back to Go Forward. B. C. Wilt, formerly a Wisconsin traveler for the Talking Machine Co., who a year ago resigned to go into another line of business, has returned to the company's service, and will represent the company in Iowa and Illinois. Mr. Wilt's former work with the Talking Machine Co. was of the most successful nature, and the trade will be glad to know that he is back in his old environment. Columbia Expansion in Elgin. The Kimball-Dietrich Hardware Co., Elgin, 111., which has been handling Columbia goods for some little time, is preparing to enlarge its operations, and this week has placed a $2,000 order with E. O. Zerkle, the Wisconsin traveler for the Chicago office of the Columbia Graphophone Co., and who ran down to Chicago and then shot out via the Aurora and Elgin Electric to fix up the order. The Kimball-Dietrich Co. has taken the entire second floor of its building for what will be known as the Columbia Music Store, which will occupy a space of 41 x 50 feet. A large part of the space will be taken up by handsome booths for the graphophone business and the rest of it will be used by Herman Bohnenstengle, well-known musician of Elgin, who has also had a sheet music and small goods department in the store of the Bower Jewelry Co. Mr. Bohnenstengle will put in a line of the wellknown Bush & Lane pianos, handle sheet music and musical merchandise on his own account, and will also manage the graphophone department for the Kimball-Dietrich Co. Mr. Dietrich, who placed the order, is a progressive young man, who is thoroughly alive to the possibilities in the talking machine business. T. M. Pointers for Dealers. One of our largest customers keeps track of just where each sale comes from. When a sale s is made, he asks the customer : "Would you mind telling me just why you came to buy your machine here?" — explaining to him that he would like to know how his advertising and circular work are pulling. "He found 84 per cent, of his sales originated by old customers— satisfied customers— sending in their friends. Every time he found this to be so, he wrote the old customer and thanked him cordially, endeavoring to show his appreciation of their interest in him. In many incidents you would be able to telephone the old customer and thank him. You know it is a fact the biggest asset in this business is satisfied customers and their good will." The above is just a sample of the ammunition which the Talking Machine Co., of this city, is continually supplying its customers for their selling campaigns. It is from its circular letter of advice of February 21. Here is another cartridge from its bulletin of January 22 : "Capitalize the Dancing Craze, — An offer to loan a Victrola and a selection of dance records for a tango tea or turkey trot dance, has been productive of many a good sale. We have some excellent sample letters for mailing to just such prospects." The company recently sent to its dealers a copy of one of the ideas developed by a Chicago advertising concern, and on which the dealers can get estimates through the Talking Machine Co. if he desires to adopt it to his own use. It consists of a cover for the monthly bulletins, to be sent to the retail customer. The cover is full of good Victor advertising matter, exploiting the individual dealer and also contains an approval record order, which can be torn off, stamped and sent to the dealer by the recipient. The write-up will be changed each month, appropriate to the new list and the color scheme will match the Victor supplement. We Are. Are we musical out here in the wild and wooly? Are we? The board of directors of the Chicago Grand Opera Co. desires to announce at this time the continuance of the opera for the coming year,1 and the permanence of the organization in its annual performances in Chicago * * * The board of directors is pleased to state that for the season just closing, the sale of season tickets for seats was considerably higher than during any previous year, indicating that the interest in grand opera in Chicago is not only, surely and rapidly increasing, but is permanent. And the Mason & Hamlin was used and probably ever will be. Moreover we have got one of the largest, if not the largest musical colleges in the world, all sorts of civic music plans are cooking and the new Chicago office of The Talking Machine World has fine mahoga'ny-fixtured quarters. Baer on Biz. C. F. Baer, manager of the Chicago office of the Columbia Graphophone Co., is very optimistic about business, past, present and prospective. The wholesale business of the Chicago office was way ahead of the corresponding month of last year. The record business, in fact, nearly doubled. The orders for the new 25 cent, demonstrating records are something phenomenal, and as a result the lists of users of Columbia records is being increased by hundreds. When the Columbia moved over to Michigan avenue, many people predicted that the retail business would fall off. In fact, some of the Columbia contingent themselves had a few doubts on the subject-, but Mr. Baer says that the unexpected has happened, and notwithstanding the disorganized condition of things incident to n oving, the deterrent advertising of the erection of r r.ew building near-by, the retail business is waj E.head. If there has been any loss on the sale of the cheaper class of goods, it has been compensated for by the increase in the high-grade business. In the new location they are selling very few 'machines under $75. Probably after the location becomes better known and people get rid of their timidity regarding Michigan Boulevard, more lower price business will come, but as it is, sales in dollars and cents, both in machines and records, is far ahead of the Wabash avenue store. How Hath the Mighty Fallen. The store formerly occupied by the Columbia Graphophone Co., corner of Wabash avenue and Washington street, now exhibits a giant fish, 30,000 pounds in weight, forty-five feet long, -twenty-three feet in circumference, eight feet in diameter. Its mouth is thirty-eight inches wide and forty-three inches deep, and its tongue forty inches long. The liver weighed 1,700 pounds. It is not a whale, but a fish, because it has gills. Earnest research has failed to find any relics of Jonah in the giant's inside, but archaeologists and ichthyological experts have their suspicions nevertheless. Some people say that this exhibition is almost a desecration of the quarters so long and honorably occupied by the Columbia Graphophone Co., but it must be remembered that the fish is dead, while the Columbia Co. in its new quarters on' the automobile-crowed Michigan avenue is very much in the swim. National Association Plans. L. C. Wiswell, manager of the talking machine department of Lyon & Healy, returned a few days ago from the East. He visited the Victor factory at Camden, and reports that the record plant is working night and dav» with greatly increased capacity. Mr. Wiswell stopped at Pittsburgh and had a conference with J. C. Roush, of the National Talking Machine Jobbers' Association regarding the arrangements for the coming convention at Atlantic City. It was decided that everything possible shall be done to avoid a bad taste in the members' mouths after the convention. In other words they will not sit around and wonder what it was all about. Plans are working for a program that w'll be constructive in its character so that the members will feel that they have learned something of benefit to them in their business. A very strong effort will be made to have riot only the department managers, but the owners and chief officers of the various jobbing concerns present at the convention. This will have the effect, Mr. Wiswell' and Mr. Roush believe, of making the heads of houses take the business more seriously and cultivate profound respect for the association and its accomplishment. Along this line it may be stated that there is a probability of a surprise or two for the members in the way of the presence at the convention of dominant figures in the industry. It is very likely that there will be a meeting of the arrangements committee called for some time this month in Chicago. Visitors and Personals. H. C. Baish, recently of the talking machine department of Lyon & Healy, has returned to the Victor Talking Machine Co., from whence he came, and is covering Nebraska for them. E. F. (Doc) O'Neill, of the wholesale department of the Victor Talking Machine Co., paid one of his angel visits within our pearly gates recently. Thomas Butler, Wabash, Ind., was in buying machines and records. Columbia Polyglot Department. The Chicago office of the Columbia Graphophone Co. has installed a department for the marketing, both in wholesale and retail, of the Rosenthal language system for which the Columbia Co. makes the disc records. The German, French and Spanish courses are offered. The linguistic onslaught from the disc records is large in volume and clear in annunciation, and evidently if the prospective tourists cannot parlez-vous, sprechen sie, or usted habla — as a result of his RosenthalColumbia disc lessens, he is hopeless. R. G. Winter, who has for some time successfully conducted the campaign waged from the Chicago offices for the installation of Columbia graphophones in the public schools, is also in charge of the new language course department. He is working the two lines practically in unison and is getting mighty good results. Absolutely! A Chicago daily made the remark that the exports of canned goods from ■ the United States reached an enormous figure last year, and that it didn't include canned music either. "We'' might add that canned music decidedly docs "count," nevertheless. Visits Lakewood. W. H. Sajewski made a trip to Lakewood, Mich.. a short time ago to superintendent the work upon a large dancing pavilion that he is erecting there. (Continued on page 42.)