The talking machine world (Jan-June 1919)

140 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD June 15, 1919 WALTER S. GRAY CHRONICLE BLDG. SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. NEEDLES Pacific Coast Jobber for the BEST in Talking Machine Trade Accessories CAN MAINTAIN RESALE PRICES Supreme Court Upholds Colgate Co. in Suit to Maintain Prices — First Authoritative Ruling on Price Maintenance Question Washington, D. C, June 9. — The fight for the right of maintaining resale prices by manufacturers gained a big victory here recently in the decision handed down by the United States Supreme Court in the Government's appeal from the verdict of the United States Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at Norfolk, which dismissed the appeal and upheld the Colgate Co.'s contention that it was within its rights in requiring standard resale prices on its products, and also that it was privileged to decline to sell to dealers and retailers who refused to agree to maintain such prices. The principal and only contention of the Department of Justice was that the Colgate concern, by selling its goods solely to dealers who would agree to resell only at prices fixed by the company, had entered into a "combination in restraint of trade" in the fact that it deprived other dealers of the opportunity to handle its products, as covered by the provisions of the Sherman anti-trust law. The Supreme Court's decision is the first authoritative ruling on the actual proposition of the right of the manufacturer to maintain resale prices. Other decisions in various courts, including the United States Supreme Court, have been handed down, but these have all been based on some phase of the price maintenance question and not on the proposition itself. The denial of the Department of Justice's appeal from the District Court's verdict leaves the whole question of price maintenance in a most favorable status for the manufacturer, not only as regards the interpretation of the law by the Department of Justice, but also as making necessary the enactment of legislation removing the price maintenance subject from the operation of the Sherman anti-trust law. SOME CABINET WORKERS RETURN Jamestown, N. Y., June 9. — The strike of the cabinet workers here only temporarily affected the production of Edison phonograph cabinets. The cabinet manufacturers who make cabinets for the Edison Co. have reached an understanding with their employes and the latter returned to work on June 10. Workers in many other factories are still out. AN INTERESTING NEW MACHINE B R. Seabrook Reverses Some Recognized Principles of Sound Control in Construction of His New Talking Machine There is now on exhibition in New York the Seabrook talking machine, a new type of machine of a revolutionary character, invented by B. R. Seabrook, an engineer of Winnipeg, Man., and which has been demonstrated very successfully for some time past in Canada. In building his machine Mr. Seabrook has reversed the usual order of things in many partictilars. For instance, the horn of the instrument is not intended to and does not amplify the sound, the amplification being obtained through the means of a special sound "chimney" built into the cabinet. Whereas in the ordinary type of machine the sound becomes louder as one approaches the machine, in the Seabrook instrument it is quite the reverse. As a matter of fact the melody can be heard close to the horn without any unpleasant effects, but as one moves away from the instrument the sound volume increases perceptibly. As a result of Mr. Seabrook's invention he has succeeded in amplifying the sound waves after they have left the horn of the instrument, and has thus upset some recognized principles of science. The material of which the horn is made is, as has already been stated, absolutely dead, does not vibrate, nor reflect sound waves, acting merely as a channel for guiding the sound in the proper direction. The horn can be so arranged as to direct the sound several degrees from the dead center if desirable, throwing the sound waves down, for instance, when the machine is placed in a gallery, and it is desirable to play to an audience seated below or throwing the sound waves upward when the reverse is the case. In connection with the work on his talking machine Mr. Seabrook has developed some interesting features in megaphone construction that serve to reverse the usual order of things. In short, he handles sound waves in a way that brings results entirely new. Mr. Seabrook has established his laboratories in New York, where he has on exhibition four types of machines, including a monster model said to be able to spread sound waves over a distance of five miles, and intended for use in parks and large auditoriums, in fact, has been used for reproducing under such conditions. The smaller models of machines look much like the accepted types of talking machines, but their reproduction, particularly of the human voice, is unusually distinct, and free from blast or squeaking. An interesting feature of the machine is the fact that the pitch of the reproduction can be changed while the regular speed of the record is maintained. There is much about the Seabrook instrument to interest the progressive talking machine men. RECORD CABINET DEMAND The K. Nicholson Furniture Co. Have Built Up a Large Trade Following Chase City, Va., June 6. — The K. Nicholson Furniture Co., of this city, manufacturer of record cabinets, has developed an extensive de No. 15 K. Nicholson Record Cabinet mand for these cabinets throughout the country, and at the present time dealers from coast to coast are handling the company's products. This company has for many years manufactured a line of sectional bookcases, and in this field has enabled it to produce record cabinets that are ideally adapted to the dealers' requirements. .•\ popular model is No. IS shown herewith. ATTENTION DEALERS! We maniifactorio 200 beautifully designed and splendidly constructed Talking Machines per month, of the large 50-inch type. Write for illustration and terms. TYROLIA TALKING MACHINE CO. WILMETTE, ILLINOIS Ramosola Phonographs The Talking Machine With a Soul Best on Earth. We Prove it by Perfectly Playing All Makes Of Disc Records. To The Blind T3T>ewriter So Will it be with the One School Machine and The So-called Universal. Richmond Made Perfectly Adjusted Machine of Universal Proclivities. Thirteen Models. Write for Trade Discounts. We also Job the Quality Line of Motors, Tone Arms and Records We Have Profited by The Mistakes of Others. The Proof of Our ProfitLook What Happened We mean OkeH Records, Heineman Motors, Meisselbach Tone Arms, Cleartone Needles. Ramos-Eubank Phonograph Mfg. Co. The South's First Phonograph Manufacturers P.O.Box 1354 104 N. 7th Street Richmond, Va. /