William L. Bush

Biography

William L. Bush was, in the author's estimation, the most earnest and active opponent in the piano trade of the practice of stenciling pianos with fictitious maker names, a practice traced to Joseph P. Hale beginning in 1870. Bush convinced Congressman Phil P. Campbell of Kansas of the need for a law, modeled on the Pure Food Law, requiring manufacturers to mark goods with their true name and address; Campbell introduced such a bill on January 4, 1912. To build support, Bush promoted and financed the "National League for the Maker's Name," whose president was Dr. Harvey W. Wiley (father of the Pure Food Bill) and of which Bush served as acting secretary and treasurer. In business, Bush partnered with William H. Bush and John Gerts in 1885 to form W. H. Bush and Company ($20,000 capital), reorganized in 1890 as the Bush and Gerts Piano Company ($400,000 capital, later $700,000). Bush served as the corporation's president and business manager, pursuing an aggressive and energetic business policy while John Gerts oversaw piano production.

Highlights

• Led a decades-long campaign against the fraudulent "stenciling" of pianos with fictitious maker names
• Convinced Congressman Phil P. Campbell to introduce a 1912 bill requiring true manufacturer names on goods sold in interstate commerce
• Co-founded W. H. Bush and Company (1885), reorganized as Bush and Gerts Piano Company (1890), and served as its president and business manager
• Promoted and financed the National League for the Maker's Name, serving as its acting secretary and treasurer

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. II (1913), pp. 45, 47, 48, 49.

Public domain.