- William Steinway gathers New York piano manufacturers at Steinway Hall, to form a “protective society”, whose main purpose is to deal with the problem of Joseph P. Hale’s bogus pianos. William Steinway’s attorney George W. Cotterill has prepared the legal documents for the society.
- Despite the obligatory $10 membership fee, Joseph P. Hale’s agents invade the meeting, which leads to an unexpected outcome: by anonymous voting, Joseph P. Hale becomes the president of the society that gathered to protect other pianomakers against him. Joseph P.Hale gains control not only of the society, but also of its funds.
- William Steinway’s diary: “At 2 PM in the smaller Steinway Hall 65 parties appear and to our intense disgust Joseph P. Hale is elected President and Weber Secretary, through having a lot of piano dealers and outside parties there packed by Weber and Hale.”