WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 2 April 1929, Page 2

WELLINGTON NEWS

PASSING OF THE PIANO. [Special To The Guardian.] WELLINGTON, March 28. Ono of the very remarkable industrial developments of the post-war period lias lieeu the decline fit the piano, and manufacturers in all countries are facing an anxious time with very little hope of any improvement. There are many reasons to account foi this but the chief is the advent and increasing popularity of the gramophone, wireless and the motor car. Germany lias 'long been known lor the pianos manufactured there and many thousands of German pianos lorn* found their way into Now Zealand homes, but now German manufacturers anticipate a. crisis which may mean a struggle for life for many of them. Before the war between 180,000 and 140,000 German pianos were manufactured and marketed annually, but in spite of the improved methods of production,- it is believed that the number during the-current, year will not ex coed 80,000. In 1923 the number of pianos export ed from Germany was 7G.-I00; the figure had sunk to 55.000 in 1925. and t 40,000 for each of the years 1920 and 1927, while 'for the first eight months of 1928 it was only 21,000. Formerly some 22,000 gramophones were bought annually by Britain alone, but since the introduction of the McKenna duties the number decreased to barely 15,000. .Australia has practically closed, her market against German pianos by an 80% duty, and the Russian market has been lost altogether. Though special credit banks have been astablishcd to help the industry, many firms have had great difficulty in keeping their doors

open. . , , The decline of the paino is only partly due to tariff manipulations, the real cause of its serious setback is the growing popularity of the gramophone and mechanised music generally, and the radio. But this is not all. For the price of an average decent piano one can procure a very respectable motor car, which admittedly has a greater use than the musical instrument, which nowadays lew have the inclination to master. Through the medium of the gramophone music lovers ' can and do indulge a capacity for appreciating good music of all kinds well rendered, rather than submit to th o amateur performance uppn the piano. . . . Musical evenings and musical parties have to a large extent ceased to figure in social life, on the other hand the Gramophone has been the means o m traducing all grades of music even to comparatively humble homes. Ihe people are not less musical than formerly but more so and more critical and better able to appreciate good music. The teachers have more pupils yet no more pianos are sold, while moie anc more gramophones and wireless sets are bought by the people each year. In 19215 N.Z. imported 3G7D pianos,, m 1927 there was a drop to 2154 and last year tlier was a further decline to 1(510 If we look at the money spent on imported pianos wo fine! that ; m 199(5 we spent £170,900, m 19-/ £ll3, 000 and in 1928 £85,448, while on gramophones and records we expended last year £284,000 as against £244,000 in 1927.

RUBBER RESTRICTION AND AFTER. A very excellent illustration of the futility of State interference in business is shown by the plan which ceased to operate as from Nov. last. The scheme was put into loyce in Malaya and Ceylon by the Bntisli Government in Nov. 1032. Artificial in its nature it could not hope to succeed before the forces of economic, reality ranged against it. The scheme failed in its objective of with due suitability and adjustment of the supply to the demand mainly for two reasons. It paid too little regard to the potentialities of Dutch production the increase in which nullified such reduction as took place in the British output and it did not see such enormous expansion in the use of reclaimed ruh|)or as took place in Ameiic.i as a consequence of artificially high pi ice. for the rare product. Throughout the whole of its operation the output of rubber was on an expanding scale—the rate of production nearly doubled during the period—and hut for a remarkable increase m con sumption the life of the scheme mum have been'of brief duration. It is to the great rise in consumption, largel> owing to the advance of tho motor car that the return of prosperity ol the rubber industry has been due; tic restriction scheme merely introduced a number of abnormal complications, including violent changes, such one of its purposes to avoid. Had the industry been left to itself the stimulus given to Dutch production and the meantime to reclaimers would have been avoided, and the British producers left to take their normal place in the industry, they would have done better. State interference did 11101 e more harm than Rood-