The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1916)

THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD 37 eh r> IT f V H I ir Friends Who Attended the Convention in Atlantic City CONVENTION OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TALKING MACHINE JOBBERS (Continued from page 36) "I have enjoyed the work allotted to me by President McCarthy, and greatly appreciate the honor. The hotel management has done everything possible for your committee and has made it as easy as they could to make satisfactory arrangements." Mr. Trostler here spoke of the arrangements made for the banquet and of the co-operation of the Victor Co. and its artists in furnishing entertainment, and continuing said: "I also want to say that L. F. Geissler, gen Arthur A. Trostler eral manager of the Victor Talking Machine Co.. has done everything possible to assist your committee in working out the details pertaining to the Educational Day, and I am satisfied that you will gain a world of information which is valuable to your business. "In conclusion, I want to thank the members of our association for answering the questions that I put to them through the mails as promptly as they did, which helped me very materially. I also want to thank the' balance of my committee for the wonderful support they have given me, and my fellow members have worked just as hard as their chairman. We know that one cannot accomplish great things unless he has the support and co-operation of others." Following the report of Mr. Trostler came the report of the legislative committee, which was presented by Mr. Mickel. The report outlined the work which the committee had done during the year, and also was supplemented by the report of the' special Stephens Bill committee, which was presented by Secretary Rauth, after Mr. Mickel's report had been read. Mr. Mickel showed that the legislative committee had been exceedingly active in endeavoring to foster interest and support for the Stephens Bill, and the report, which is as follows, was received with much approval by the convention : REPORT OF LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE The report of the legislative committee will have to include the report of the special committee on the Stephens Bill for the entire work of the year has been concentrated on this one movement. I will not attempt in this report to go into the details of this work. If any of you are interested to know what has been done, apply to our efficient secretary, E. C. Rauth, after the meeting and you will be gratified to see the detailed account of the work which has been accomplished by the different members of the committee. Special interest in the Stephens Bill was aroused at the convention in San Francisco. W. H. Reynalds and myself discussed the plan of our association doing something more definite on the Stephens Bill than had been done before. The matter was then presented to the executive committee which held a meeting immediately after our convention, at which time the executive committee decided to have appointed a special Stephens Bill committee. In the latter part of July I talked to Louis F. Geissler about the work and he stated to me that if the association could be of assistance in bringing about the passage of the Stephens Bill, it would have done more good than the organization had accomplished since it had been in existence. I mention this so that the members of the association who have not been active, will appreciate the importance of the work done. When the committee began to look into the plan it very soon developed that we required money in order to accomplish much, so in the early fall there was a meeting of the executive committee and the special Stephens Bill committee called in Philadelphia, at which time there was an assessment of $100 per member to defray the expenses of the committee. At this time we divided the United States up into districts, allotting specific sections to the different members of the committee and also to some who were not on the committee and were willing to devote some time to this work. In February, another meeting was called in New York, at which time our plans were further perfected and adjournment taken to Washington. This meeting was attended by Messrs. Roush, Nestor, Blackman, Rauth and myself. While in Washington we called on a number of the Senators and Representatives and Secretary Tumulty, also consulted with Mr. Whittier, of the American Fair Trade League, and I am sure that every member of the committee agrees with me that we did some very active work at that time. Since that meeting it has been necessary on one occasion for Mr. Rauth to go to Washington; on another occasion, Mr. Blackman went. Last November, it seemed to be necessary that some one go to Atlanta, Ga. Blackman, Rauth and myself made that trip. About a month ago the committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, to which this bill has been George E. Mickel referred, took it up, which made it necessary for our committee to have another meeting in Washington, and at that time J. Newcomb Blackman made a very able argument before the committee. The hearings will be continued before this committee at some future date, but when it will be reported out is indefinite.. I mention these few instances just to give you an idea of the time a thing of this kind requires and this is only a small amount of the work done. I have not attempted to give any detailed account of the trips that every member of this committee has made and they have required much more time than these special trips I have mentioned. The report which our secretary, E. C. Rauth, has, if looked over, will give you some idea of the time that has been given to this work. I want to say to you, gentlemen, that the thanks of the association are due to the individual members of this committee for the work which they have done. The plan of operation as conceived originally was to see individually the United States Representatives and Senators to secure if possible (Continued on page 38)