This business was founded in 1845 by John M. Brunswick, of Cincinnati, Ohio, father of B. H. Brunswick, first vice president, who was one of the first manufacturers of billiard and pool tables in the United States. In 1874 he entered into partnership with Julius Balke, father of Julius Balke, formerly second vice president of this company. In 1879 the J. M. Brunswick-Balke Co. was incorporated under Ohio laws, all of the stock of the company being subscribed for by the former partners. The new company had a successful career and in 1884 consolidated with W. W. Collender Co., of New York, and the name of the corporation was then changed to the Brunswick-Balke Collender Co. In 1907 they surrendered their Ohio charter and incorporated under Delaware laws, transferring assets and liabilities to this Delaware corporation. B. E. Bensinger is a son of the late Moses Bensinger, who was president and active in this business for many years. Mr. Brunswick as well as Mr. Bensinger were reared in this business. Mr. Davenport has been with the company for over 35 years. Mr. Deutsch has been connected with the company for many years. In April, 1924, Julius Balke, previously second vice president, withdrew from the company, and present board of officers and directors was elected. All of the officers except the president and first vice president are former employees of this company. This company has branches only at points where they operate factories, namely: Cincinnati, Ohio; St. Louis, Mo.; Dubuque, Iowa; Kansas City, Mo.; and Muskegon, Mich. The company maintans sales and distributing offices at about 50 different points, none of which are considered branches. The company also has a number of subsidiary companies, which have been incorporated in order to comply with different State laws, and operate at points where products of subject company are sold and also certain subsidiaries which own_timber lands, mills, factories, etc. The latter includes the Lake Independence Lumber Co., manufacturers, Bay City, Mich., and Wickes Refrigerator Co., of Elkhart, Ind. The principal subsidiary of subject company is the Brunswick-Balke Collender Co., of New York, which was incorporated under laws of the State of New York, and has offices at 319-333 West Thirty-second Street, New York City, and factory at Long Island City, N. Y. That corporation has jurisdiction over practically all eastern offices and business of subject company. Canadian business is operated by Brunswick-Balke Collender Co. of Canada (Ltd.), which has headquarters at Toronto, Canada. A subsidiary, the Brunswick-Balke Collender Co. of Tennessee, is located at Knoxville, Tenn. The company has a subsidiary, namely, Beech-Fork Timber Co., that has headquarters at this Chicago address and own a large tract of timber land in the State of Tennessee, in Scott and other counties. The Brunswick Shop, phonographs, Rockford, Ill., is owned by this company, which furnishes everything sold by this shop. Rockford is not a branch. The company also has a subsidiary at Rockford, Ill., namely, Forest City Phonograph Co. On August 1, 1923, this company sold its automobile-tire business with all finished stock and good will, patents, and trade-marks to the B. F. Goodrich Rubber Co., of Akron, Ohio. The company went out of the automobile-tire business in order to increase its output of phonographs and records. They did not sell any part of our plant at Muskegon, Mich., where they manufactured automobile tires. That plant has over 2,000 employees, is a branch of Chicago, and now manufactures phonographs. Officers of the subsidiaries are the same as those of the parent Delaware company. No financial statements are issued for subsidiary companies, as reports of those subsidiaries are merged with the showing of the Delaware company, whose annual consolidated balance sheets contain the assets and liabilities of all of its subsidiaries. FIRE RECORD January 10, 1908, in a general fire at 225 Fourth Avenue, New York City, their buildings and contents were practically destroyed by fire. They carried $175,000 insurance, and loss as stated by their president was $160,000. Settlement was made by the insurance companies. February 13, 1913, they sustained a total loss by fire at their general office and salesroom 324-328 South Wabash Avenue, which was fully covered by insurance. Their factory at Muskegon, Mich., was about February 15, 1923, damaged by fire, reported as loss of about $800,000. On February 25, 1923, building at Kansas City, Mo., in which this company had storage space was damaged by fire. The company is said to have sustained no actual financial loss through either of these fires, as they are fully and heavily insured. GENERAL REMARKS Officers are well regarded personally and management is considered efficient. Record of the business is clear, successful and progressive. This company manufactures and sells billiard and pool tables, billiard supplies, bowling alleys and incidentals thereto, refrigerators, piano cases, office and bar fixtures, and general cabinetwork and phonographs. To insure a supply of lumber, especially maple for bowling alleys and tenpins and slate for billiard and pool tables, the company invested in timberlands and slate quarries. (G. Aa., May 28, 1924.) Add: September 10, 1924, at Chicago, H. F. Davenport told our reporter that there had been no change in the affairs of this company since last annual statement was submitted. They are conducting a large and successful business with ample capital and is estimated by our authorities to be worth $15,000,000 to $20,000,000. Add trade opinions: Where credited in different quarters on accounts of $25,000 to $150,000 all bills are reported discounted. Add fire record: In December, 1923, the Canadian subsidiary of this company namely Brunswick-Balke Collender Co., of Canada (Ltd.), sustained fire loss of between $76,000 and $77,000 at Winnipeg, Man. The loss was adjusted and paid by fire insurance companies. (G. Aa., September 11, 1924.) Add: No change noted in the affairs of this company at date. and estimate of $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 net worth sustained. Add trade opinions: Where credited on accounts of $10,000 to $125,000 bills are all discounted. Previous report Add fire record: November 18, 1924, they sustained a fire loss of about $4,000 from unknown cause at their Muskegon, Mich., plant. Loss fully covered by insurance. (G. Aa., December 8, 1924.) (Thereupon, the committee adjourned to meet again at 10 o'clock a. m., Tuesday, February 10, 1925.) THE COMMITTEE ON PATENTS. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SIXTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON H. R. 11258 A BILL TO AMEND AND CONSOLIDATE THE ACTS RESPECTING COPYRIGHT AND TO PERMIT THE UNITED STATES TO ENTER THE INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT UNION M.E.A. COPYRIGHTS COMMITTEE ON PATENTS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Tuesday, February 10, 1995. The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., Hon. Florian Lampert (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Paine, had you finished your statement when we adjourned the last time? Mr. PAINE. No, Mr. Chairman; I was right in the midst of my argument. The CHAIRMAN. Then you may resume at this time. STATEMENT OF MR. JOHN G. PAINE, REPRESENTING THE VICTOR TALKING MACHINE CO.-Continued Mr. PAINE. You will remember, Mr. Chairman, that I offered to write out the remainder of my remarks, and file them with the committee, but Mr. Reid, who was then present, insisted that I continue to enlighten the committee on international copyrights, and I continued with my notes, and I presume that that is the situation that I meet this morning. However, there are one or two things that I want to call to the attention of the committee before I continue. At the last meeting, if you will recall, I made the statement that the matrix manufactured by the Victor Talking Machine Co. from which the sextette from Lucia was pressed cost the company, estimated roughly, about $15,000. Without definitely verifying those figures, I was informed by the company that the figure was a little low, and that it was frequently necessary, in order to develop a broad catalogue such as the Victor offers to the public, to spend sums considerably larger that that. And I have brought with me a record, which is an organ record, on one side of which is "Nearer my God to Thee," and on the other side of which is "Abide with me," and the matrices from which this record was pressed cost the company over $100,000. So that the costs that enter into the manufacture of records are really very tremendous. And it is not simply a little question of asking somebody to please come down to your laboratory, and putting them before a horn and having them sing and getting the result. That is not all there is to recording. There is the years of experimentation back of it. To produce this record has taken 10 years of conscientious effort, in order to get an arragnement in the organ which would be reproduced on the record and given out again by playing on the machine what the organ actually put into the record itself. There is all that experimentation, that great, vast expenditure. There are the expenses of skilled musicians. There are the expenses |