October 10, 1885





The   Record   and  Guide.





1105





metropolitan pundits have been most signally falsified. The coinage of
silver dollars has heen going on for seven years, and in this time our whole
stock of golil iu 1878 ought to have gone to Europe, leaving not a single gold
coiu in the land. Wheu thesilver bill was passed there was only $218,000,000
of gold coin in the United States, and since then the silver coined amounts
to $250,000,000. This larger amount of silver ought, therefore, to have dis¬
placed the gold and left the country entirely bare of the yellow metal. But
mark the fact: Our stock of gold, instead of disappearing, has increased
nearly three-fold. In ISTS ifc was $218,000,000; now it is $575,) 00,000—and
ifc is still steadily increasing, both by the production of our own mines and
by imports frora abroad. We actually iraported during the eleven raonths
ending May 31, lt,85, $19,726,0'»0 raore gold than we exported. It is plain,
then, that if there is one subject in which tho raefcropolitans are proficient
enough to warrant the assumption of dictatorial airs it is nofc finance. Ifc
would l»e a little fc<:)0 harsh, perhaps, fco say they know nothing about it. but
it raay be eniphatically asserted that the popular instinct on this subject,is a
rauch safer guide than aU their leai'ued essays and theii* worthless predictions.
—St. Louis RejJubiican.

Iron and the Tariff.

Th© discussion concerning fche effect of the tariff on the price of pig iron
is attracting serious attention in fche North, and necessarily the discussion
includes many references to the cheap iron now made in the Southern
States. An article on this subject, written by Mr. J. Schoenhorf, appears
in Bradstreets, and it is commended especiaUy to those of our Democratic
friends who imagine they are protectionists. Mr. Schoenhorf presents quite
an array of facts and figures bearing on the comparative cosfc of pig iron,
which constitute mighty interesting reading for those who imagine that
nothing can be accomplished iu America without protection. No other
article is so related to cheap production in all other branches as pig iron.
America can, as the Courier-Journal has been at some pains to show, pro-
■ duce a certain grade of pig irou at as low a price as can Great Britain.
What we need to give additional value to this product is easy access fco other
grades essential to tbe production of steel. In other words, we need to
have free importation of these foreign ores. When the duty on quinine was
repealed, the mistake w-as made of leaving a duty on the bark and the duty
on tbe chemicals used in the manufacture of the quinine. In revising the
tariff hereafter, care will be taken fco begin at the right end. On this point
Mr. Schoenfet rf says:

*• Now, if our iron were ever so cheap—and it can be made in the South for $9 a

ton—it would uot be of use to us in steel-niakinsr uuless we have a full and free
supply of foreign ore, or foreign pig iron for nuxiug. The ores of Ihe United
States are too phosphorous for Bessemer steel-making, and thej- have to be mixed
with fully one-third of the carbonaceous ores from the Mediterranean to make them
available for steel-making. Although Great Britain has an inexhaustible supply of
ores, yet she has only a few of the character wanted for si eel-making. Many
mines are not worked or worked to a lesser extent,while ore importation is increas¬
ing in proportion as steel-niaking is extending.''

Sorae days ago the Courier-Journal presented for the consideration of
the first-class in political economy—composed exclusively of a few amateur
politicians in the c^outh who are deluded with the idea that they are protec¬
tionists—this propcsition: " Good wages are essential fco che pproduction."
It startled some of the class who saw that if it were accepted the house of
cards, which they thought they admired, would fall about their ears. As
bearing on this proposition we submit the foUowing quotation from Mr.
Lowthian Bell:

" None of these figures, however, are any approach to v.-hat is done by the work¬
men at the Cleveland furnaoes, and illustrate what has been already observed in
these pages, that well-paid and well-fed men are not always more expensive to the
employnr than badly-paid labor. As a matter of fact I have rarely found the
wages on a ton of the furnace produce to amount to less than what I have found
it to be in Cleveland.'''

Mr, Schoenhorf insists that the direct labor cost of a ton of pig iron is
so small a prop* rtiou of the whole cost that the difference in wages has little
or no effect in determining which nation can produce pig iron at the lowest
price.    He says:

" Mr. Abram S. Hewitt informs me that at the works of his firm the present
actual outlay for labor in a ton of pig iron is S'^O, without any allowance for inci¬
dental expenses. The report of the Bureau of Statistics of IST*^, page f 39, gives
the cost of pig iron production in the United States from lf<5'tolS71. Omit¬
ting the years of inflation, we have the following data for labor: 1850, $2.22; 1^6 >,
$'.87; 1861. $1.97; 1803. $'.i,07. From then progressively rising until the maximum
was reached in l87;^at S'\ll. But this rising scale "as proportionate to a general
rise in pig iron both as to selling price and wages all over tiie world, So'^tch pig
iron being quoted in England in 1860 at 5;is. tid . or %\2 87, with average wages per
day of coal miners at 3s 6d., or 84c., and in 1873 at His. 3d., or $28.12, with average
wages per day of coal miners at 9s. lid., or $.'.;i8. But how does the labor cost of
the present time on pig iron compare to that of foreign low-priced labor? The
daily average wages of men employed at the blast furnaces in Khenish Prussia
in 1H78 were 2s. TV^d., or 63c. Mr. I. Lowthian Bell, in Manufacture of Iron and
Steel, gives an account of a blast furnace in hhenish Prussia which is worked by
117 men. who wt^re paid colle,tively £5.581, or £17 14s. per head, or $228.96. Their
average yearly production for that year is given as 132^ Ions, which makes the
labor cost per ton come np to Si 66."

Of the price in the South he says :

" For Birmintiham. Ala., the labor cost of producing'a ton of iron is given to
me by Mr. Lindley Vinton. President of tho Vinton Iron Works at Indianapolis,
who has just returned from a trip to the Southern iron district, as $1.66 a ton at the
Sloss furnace at Birmingham. Ala. The r\ien are paid from 75 cents to $1 a day,
but there are 200 to 250 enjployed at a production of 150 to 180 tons a day. These
figures are supplied by one of the firm. Averaging the numbers given we arrive
at this result : 22h meu at 8';j^ cents divid^-d by 165 tons equal to $1 20. or at the
mobt favorable productive siiuation of cheap labor a .saving of 20 cents a ton over
labor in the Lehigh Valley. The furnace owners, however, claim $1 66 as their
co&t, or 26 cents above the Lehigh Valley cost. But still, though tbe labor cost is
nearly the same. Southern iron is now the great arbitrator and leveler of prices in
the Eastern markets, aud at a cost of $3.75 to $4.50 for transportation to the North
it can be landed cheaper at northern ports than Pennsylvania irou."

Mr. Schoenhorf also ihows that in the raatter of transportation the South
bas a decided advantage, in that it is uot true with us as ifc is true in fche
East that the transportation lines own or control the mines.    He says :

"Here, the same companies who own the mines—Reiding, Lackawanna, etc.—
in most cases own the transportation lines who bring the coal to the furnace.
Unless prevented by parallel lines the charges are frequently so high that they
make profitable manufacturing at times impossible. Philadelphia, thn high school
of protection, is now raising a cry of distress against what it calls unjust discrim¬
ination. But all pnitection or legislation benefiting the few is unjust discrimina¬
tion, and Philadelphia ouf;ht not to complain.

"The high royalties and the excess of transportation charges, based on exces¬
sively watered valuation of mine and railroad property, paid by some of our fur¬
naces,would more than cover the labor cost contained in a ton of pig iron. Our
Southern pig-iron furnaces, which are free from these grasping charges, will find
this to be Iheir >ole advantage. We are paying high taxes" on the very essence
of profitable manufacture, clieap raw materials, to enrich mine owners and trans-

Eiortation companies. It is gross injustice to tax the millions, to close the gates to
oreigQ commerce, in order to enrich the projectors of gigantic financiering oper¬
ations. The protective tax abolished, the force of competition would press these
private tax gatherers to the wall, not labor. To an extent this will ensue even
now, through the introduction of Southern iron, which under inteUigent and
economical managen^ent can be sold with a profit at $lO, and at $9 even under
close pressure, instead of $15, the lowest price at which Northern iron (gray forge)
is sold now."

In the South the railroads are laboring to develop this traflic. They are
interested only in the growth of the industry, and they can be parties to no
combination which will decrease the output of the mines, as they have Uttle
interest in the speculative features of the business. In other words, while
in the North it is thought to be io the interest of a few railroads to impede
the growth of these industries, in the South it is clearly to the interest of
the transportation lines fco remove every obstruction^ tp free traffic betvfeei}
the States,—(/'ovrier-(/p'ftrna/,





Real Estate Department.

Everything looks well in real estate circles, A very hopeful sign is
that the costly houses which could not be sold at any price last year are now
being quietly picked up by investors who have made money recently in
WaU sfci-eefc or in general business, or whose securifcies have so increased in
value that they feel they can afford to indulge in the luxury of a fine resi¬
dence. Houses and stores on the east side have sold very readily recently
and at good prices, whUe the buUding movement west and north of the
Central Park shows no signs of abatement. So far there seems to be a
demand for all the raediura-priced houses put upon fche market.

Vacant lots are also looking up. Investors are realizing that the quantity
of land on this island is lunited and that there is virtually a corner in
vacant lots. The stoppage of the buUding of apartment houses, which
economized ground relative to the growth of the population, ensures a
gi'eater demand for urumproved land in the future than when the great
fiats were under way during the past few years.

The aucfcion room is now beiug largely attended. The bidding for aU
property offered is very brisk, but the prices on the knock-down are not
high. The outlook, however, is very promising, and there are some
large sales to come upon^ the market, not only of New York but of
Brooklyn property.

Tbe partition sale of French's Hotel was largely attended on Wednesday.
The first bid made was $300,000 by one of the heirs. The property was
finally sold to W. L. Hamersley for $460,000. The hotel wa^ offered at
auction in April, 18S4, and knocked down for $410,000 to T. J. French.
The dimension is 113.10 feet on Chatham street, xl36.3xl07.3xt24.3 on
Frankfort street. Mr. Hamersley says he bought the property on his o-vn
account, but there is a surmise that he purchased it for Williara K. Asfcon,
for whom Mr. Hamersley bought No. o}^ Piue street and Nos. 3t and 33
Broadway, Some brokers afc the Exchange felt fchafc fche purchase was
made for Amos K. Eno, bufc this gentleman denies the statement. A prom¬
inent investor who examined the hotel a few days before the sale is reported
to have said it was very much out of repair. Mr. Hamersley says he has
received an offer of $500,000 for the property.

The partition sile of West Fifty-eighth street lots ou Tuesday attracted a
large attendance. The property was sold very cheap. The fcwo lots nearest
Eighth avenue brought $13,200 each, and the others $13,000 each. The four
lots have since been resold for $60,400, an advance of $10,000.

At the Exchange on Tuesday several sales of out of town properfcy took
place, among them being parcels at Long Branch, Whitestone, Yonkers and
Hoboken.

Richard V. Harnett will sell ou Tuesday, October 20, by order of Chaun
cey S. Truax, receiver of Ferdinand and Benjamin Mayer, the handsome
private residences Nos. 13 West Fifty-sixth street and 162 East Sixty-fourth
street; tbe valuable investment property Nos, 1597 to 1605 Third avenue, on
the southeast corner of Ninetieth street; the three well-known first-class md
richly appointed apartment houses, " The Strathmore" on the northeast
corner of Broadway and Fifty-second street, " The Adelphi" on the opposite
corner, and '*The Newport" on Fifty-second street, running from Broad¬
way to Seventh avenue, aud fifty-two choice lots on Jerome avenue, in the
Twenty-fourth Ward, This wUl be a very important sale, and a large
attendance is anticipated.

On October 13th, Smyth and Kyan will the sell two four-atory brick flats
Nos, 18.5 and 189 East One Hundi'ed and Seventeenth street. This is good
investment property.

Jaraes L. Wells will sell on October 13th some rapidly improving prop¬
erty on East One Hundred and Forty-ninth street, corner of CoUege avenue;
also a parcel of five lots with two houses thereupon on Courtlandt avenue,
corner of One Hundred and Fiftieth street, and three fiue lofcs on One Hun¬
dred and Fiffcy-firsfc street, near North Third avenue.

On October 14th James L, WeUs will sell two fine Boulevard lots afc
fche corner of One Hundred and Twenfcy-second street. In view of their
nearness to the greafc Granfc monumenfc fchey are very desirable. On the
same day fche same auctioneei will sell three lots on One Hundred and Thirty
fourth street, near Madison avenue; also the house, store and lot, No. 213
Spring street, the title deed to which is an historical curiosity, as ifc was
originally given by Aaron Burr fco the forefathers of the presenfc owner.

On Friday, October IGth, John F. B. Smyth will sell the house and lot on
the southeast corner of New Bowery and Roosevelt street. This is desirable
investment property. Mr. Smyth will also seU on the sama day the houses,
Nos. 1135 and 1137 First avenue.

A. H. Muller & Son wiU sell the four-story stone front dwelUng No.
54 West Thu'ty-sixth street at auction on Thursday the 15fch inst.





Number.......................

Amount involved.............

Xuraber nominal.......    .....

^Jumbe^2:^d and 24th Wards,,

Amount involved............

Number nominal..............





OONVKYANCKS.

1884.
Oct. 3 to 9. inc,

..............              187

............   $3,385,H15

.............                47

.............               38

...........     $130,3S2

.............                7





ifm.

Oct. 3 to 8, inc.

174

$4,037,646

34

43

$64,386





HORTOAOKS.

Number.............  ........................             1R9

Araount involved...............................  $2,018,675

Number at 5 per cent..........................               W

Amount involved............................  $1,059,917

Number at less than 5 per cent...............                7

Amount involved ............................     $128,000

iNumber to Banks, Trust and Ins. Cos.........               26

Amount involved........................  ..     $941,000

paOJKOTKD BUILDINQS.
18.S4.

Oct. 4 to 10,

Number of  buildings..........................             51

Estimatedcost................................    $825,350

Gossip of the Week.

Lynd Bros, have sold the four-story high stoop brown stone front dweU¬
ing No. 23 East Seventy-second street, 32x98x102.3, for $85,000 to Juliug
liovine ^ down-town merchant,   broker, Cr, Bramson,





171

$2,357,018

76

$l,0a\020

13

$5'^3,C00

29

$902,31)0

18«5.
Oct. 3 to 9.

47
$m,7t5