Cut Glass Convention news, H. C. Fry invites group to Point Chatuaqua

CUT GLASS CONVENTION.

THE annual meeting of the Cut Glass Association was held at the Hotel Imperial on Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 10:30 a.m., J.E. Marsden, president, in the chair. At the roll call twenty-eight concerns were represented among them being the Quaker City, Liberty, Hunt, Imperial, Keystone, Blackmer, Libbey, H. C. Fry, Ideal, McKenna Co., Fishkill, Powelton, Tuthill, Figaro, Century, J. H. Herrfeldt & Co., J. J. Niland Co., Geo. Phillips & Co., Pairpoint Corporation, and Emil F. Kupfer.

After the reading of the minutes of two previous meetings and the treasurer's report, a committee consisting of Messrs. Denton, Sells and J. Howard Fry was appointed to audit the treasurer's report.

T. P. Strittmatter then read the report of the committee on "Minimum Prices on Staple Articles." The feature of this report was that many articles were priced too low and varied too much. Eight items were selected as examples, and in a lucid address Mr. Strittmatter showed conclusively that these could easily be equalized, to the betterment of the industry.

An animated debate followed, in which Messrs. H. C. Fry, Atterholt, Sells, Robb, Kupfer, Morecroft, Sherman and May participated.

Mr. Marsden took a hand and made a forcible plea or action. He said that these meetings were held year after year ideas were presented and talked over, and the meetings adjourned without accomplishing anything. Now was a period of readjustment an over the world. The cut glass business was in a bad way, and the manufacturers were partially to blame for it. The time was opportune to do something. — He wanted action, and wanted it to-day.

Before adjourning for lunch the chair appointed Messrs. Sells, Morecroft, Steinman and Kupfer as a committee to nominate officers for the coming year.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

It was an hour after the appointed time when the convention assembled in the afternoon, and the members got right down to business, Mr. Marsden calling for the report of the nominating committee.

Mr. Blackmer, who was slated for secretary, which office he has held ever since the association was founded, asked to be relieved, and gave his reasons. There was a storm of protests, and he reluctantly sented to serve one more year.

C. H. Taylor declined nomination for second vice-president. He was urged to accept, but insisted on somebody being substituted.

The officers finally elected were: President, J. E. Marsden; first vice-president, J. Howard Fry; second vice-president, G. W. Sells; secretary, A. L Blackmer; treasurer, T. P. Strittmatter.

Directors — E. Kupfer, J. W. Robinson, O. S. Atterholt, John E. Krantz, P. R. Pish, Thomas Shotton, R.W. Murphy, J. T. Tuthill, T. B. Clark, F. L. Morecroft and Osca Johnson.

Executive Committee --G. W, Sells and Thos. Shotton.

Mr. Marsden then took up again the waste proposition and advocated a consolidation of all the cut glass factories. The matter was debated for an hour, and again action was urged. The president proposed a three-day convention in the near future, and it was finally decided to convene on Feb. 13 for the purpose of carrying out the ideas, evolved at this meeting, a committee consisting of Messrs. Sells, Marsden, Atterholt. Strittmatter, Kupfer and Shotton being appointed to investigate the feasibility of minimum prices and consolidation, and to make a report in concrete and workable form.

Just before adjournment Henry C. Fry rose and invited the whole membership, with their wives, to be his guests again at Point Chatauqua on July 3d, 4th and 5th. There was no hesitancy about accepting the invitation, and a rousing vote of thanks was given.

THE BANQUET.

The hour appointed for the-banquet was seven o'clock, and ten minutes later the following were seated at the tables:

Thos. P. Strittmatter              G. E. Sherman

Henry C. Fry                        F. Beck

Arthur L. Blackmer               F. H. Taylor

John Gleichman                     H. R. Handy

David W. Denton                  Wm. J. O'Grady

J. E. Marsden                        Emil P. Kupfer

W. L. Day                            August J. Kupfer

J. Howard Fry                       John L. Brisbois

O. T. Atterholt                      Victor Brisbois

Chas. P. Schuller                   Claren Packer

Charles H. Strunk                  John A. Boyle

C. H. Taylor                          Louis Stanner

Chas. G. Robb                       Henry Engelbe

J. E. Stegner                          Fred Specht, Jr

F. L. Morlcroft                       Chas. Becker

Thomas Moltrusen                  A. B. Fischer

J. J. Niland                             Raymond H. Fender

R. A. May                             H. Baker

Geo. Phillips                           Frederick J. Todd

J. H. Herrfeldt                       Samuel R. Henderson

J. J. McKanna                       Z. E. Hall

Wm. Albert                           J. L. Crimmins

A. R. Engelmann                  A. R. Marryatt

John E. Krantz                      A. F. Lemcke

Henry Witte                          Geo. M. Jaques

G. Wm. Sell

MENU.

Oysters

Olives             Celery

Vegetable Soup

Boiled Cod

Lamb Chops with Mushrooms and Browned Potatoes

Rum Sorbet

Roast Turkey, Cranberry Sauce

Lettuce Salad

Ice Cream             Cake

Coffee                  Cigars

Manhattan Cocktails              Sauterne

A presenter started the singing immediately, and song followed song all evening.

At 8:25 Mr. Marsden called the meeting to order and introduced David W. Denton as toastmaster.

Mr. Denton asked the secretary to read a letter of regret at not being able to be present from Marc T. Lester, of Toronto, to whom a toast was then drunk.

He then called on Miss Mane E. Becker, daughter of Harry Becker, for a solo, and she sang so well that she won a rousing encore. Henry C. Fry spoke briefly in his usual pleasant manner. He said it was not so much reconstruction as readjustment that was needed in the trade. He spoke of the return of the boys from overseas, and counseled patience in getting back to normal business conditions. He said that the public wanted real cut glass, and in a short time he thought there would be an increased demand. He said further that shortly there would be better materials available with which to produce it.

A Mr. Day, from Philadelphia, spoke for twenty minutes on co-operative advertising. He gave examples of what bad been done by the lumber trade, fruit growers' association, and others, showing how these industries had been largely increased, and how the cut glass trade could be developed. He said it would take a lot of money each year for not less than three years, possibly five, and set the figure at a about $150,000 per year. He also said that unless they meant to see the thing through they bad better not begin.

John Gleichman told a series of stories in negro dialect that were very entertaining.

Capt. Conercan, of the British army, was called upon, and told a tale that was heartrending. He had been wounded seven times, bad been in the French and English hospitals twice, was finally captured by the Germans and spent twelve months in German prisons. Of the brutalities he had suffered he said that a Prussian surgeon tortured him by running a probe seven inches into a wound, taking a delight day after day in keeping the wound open. He and three others were put in a room not large enough for two, with no bedding, only a blanket alive with "cooties," which eventually got into his wound. He apologized for what his hearers might deem a too liberal, use of the personal pronoun, explaining that his Government had sent him over to tell his experiences in order to offset the German propaganda which had been started to create sympathy in the United States for the Germans.

Mr. Jaques, of the CROCKERY AND GIASS JOURNAL, spoke briefly, and was followed by Howard R. Handy, of the "Salesman," and Mr. O'Grady, of the "Jewelers' Circular."

The affair closed with the singing of "America," led by Miss Becker.