September 6, 1880





Record and Guide.





305





I





of Canda St Kane, rather takes y otir association to task for wuAiing to break
their contrads.*^

" We do not wish to break otir contracte," said Mr. Hammond. " We
wish it to bs known that it Is the sense of the association that a contract is
sacred and should dbt bd Ivoken. We only ask that the fulfllllng of the
contracts shall be deferred. One object in doing that is to have the
dealers pennit us to stop shipmente of * contract' brick temporarily, so
that we shall the quicker denude the market of brick, and thus win our
cause without a long struggle. Tbe loss to the dealers from such a course
Would be less, for they are now paying high prices for ' sucker' brick."

" What percentage of t' e total production is controlled by the Manu-
fadturtirs' Assclciation f'

"About 97 per dent now, as nearly all have wheeled into line. There are
only three manufacturers at Haverstraw not with us (they are called
' suckers') and one of these is not shipping.'^

Continuing, Mr. Hammond said: " It is the general dtlinlon among the
manufacturers that the brick season is ended. A resolution was offered at
the meeting on Monday to stop manufacturing on the 10th inst. This met
with general approval, but several of the members wanted longer time so
ftS to fulfill contracte, while others said it would be hard on their employes
td have td disnliss them so early in the season. The date was then extended
to September Itth, and stlbfiequently to the 27th, but no definite action was
taken on tbe matter, which will bd brought up again at a meeting in a
few days."

From inquiries made among manufacturers and dealers it Is learned that
the latter are not receving their contract shipmente as promptly as they
would have done bad there been no brick trouble. One of the manufact¬
urers interviewed by The Record and Guide did not hesitate to confess
that the manufacturers were not hurrying contract brick foi ward, and it
Was intimated that they did not intend to. They propose to put every
obstacle in tbe way of getting bnok to the market One manufacturer
started to load a single barge up the river with contract brick about nine
days ago and he is still loading it, when dnder ordinary circumstances it
would now be in a New York yard, or quite possibly in a New York build¬
ing. Tbe dealers are feeling tbe result of this, and in addition they have
to put .up with the difficulty of getting boycotted brick handled by Union
men. This accounte for Mr. Kane's statement that he is paying $1 more
than necessary for non-contract brick because his firm wishes to get a
supply to keep faith with their customers.

A brick manufacturer seen, said: " Ijarge stores of brick were pur¬
chased by builders before the trouble commenced, but these supplies have
been rapidly consumed and tbe piles of brick seen in front of many build¬
ings during the last week or two have dwindled down to almost nothing.
Many builders, anticipating the trouble, put on more masons and rushed
tbeir buildings up as fast as they could so as to advance them as far as pes
sible. There is no brick in the market now and the shipmente do not meet
much more than one-fifth or one-sixth of the requiremente."

It bas been generally estimated by manufacturers and dealers that the
New York market requires a supply of about 5,(X)0,000 brick per day. To
meet this tbe receipts this week have not averaged over 1,000,000. On
Monday five barges arrived, of which two wero " sucker" and three
"contract." On Tuesday four arrived, of which three were "contract"
and one " sucker," and on Wednesday flve arrived, of which four were
"contract" and one "sucker." This was an average of about 1,000,000
per diem.

IN TWO BIG builders' OFFICES.

In the office of David H. Eang, Jr., it was ascertained that Mr. King
has enough brick on hand to supply immediate wante. The principal
buildings which he has under way are the Racquet Club, the Huntington
residence on 5th avenue and 57th street, the Grosvenor Hotel on 5th avenue
and 10th street, the towers to the Madison Square Garden, Delmonico's
new down-town building, and King's Hotel, opposite the Racquet Club, on
43d street. " We have plenty of brick " said Mr. King's representative in
his absence, " and we are being supplied all the time with brick for which
we have contracted. We have started our large building operation of
seventy-eight houses up town, and we do not think the brick trouble will
affect us at all."

Isaac A. Hopper, said: "I have enough brick to finish the Carnegie
Music Hall. I am starting the four-story building of Kocb Sc Co., on
r25th street, between 6tb and Tth avenues, which is to be 100x3(i0 in size,
and I expect to be short of brick on this job if tbe manufacturers continue
to stop shipmente. I have, also, buildings to put up ou Tdd street 15Uth
street and Edgecombe avenue, 68th street and Amsterdam avenue, 100th
street and Amsterdam avenue (St. Michael's church) and elsewhere, and I
shall probably be short of brick. I think most builders are pretty well run
out o' brick and are depending entLiely on tbe few contract and " sucker "
brick being brought here. If the shipmente are not increased we will all
be in a hole."

A gentleman connected with a prominent flrm of dealers said: " The only
way to win would be to stc^ building operations eutirely. That would put
the workmen out of employment, and the latter would soon force tbe
walsing delegates to raise the boycott at Verplanck's Point"

A member of the Building Material Exchange said: "The reason why
the manufactm-ers are having a long fight of it is because the dealers will
not stand by them. The majcn^ty at the latter would like to help the
manufactorers, but are unable to make up their minds to stand together
to do so. If the dealers stood by the manufactiu-ers the fight would be
won in a few days."

J. N. Manchester, <^ Manchester & Philbrick, brick dealers, said: " We
have all the bnck we want We had thirteen cargoes of brick—four
barges aud nine sailing vessels—at our Mott Haven yard Thursday, more
than we ever had before. I think the trouble will be felt this fall rather than
at present It will be seen in a f neat faUing oflF oi new work. Builders
and othea will not oommenc0 gfaattiaas while this brick trouble lasts.
There wUIIm an »t»yiijl|ipge (^ Mbgr and a large sarplustrf brick tbis taSL^





A dealer who declined to have his name mentioned, said: "I do not
think that the manufacturers will win."

" Why V asked the writer.

" Because there are too many Jersey, ' sucker' and • sneak' brick being
shippecKbere."

" What do you mean by ' sneak' brick f

" I refer to brick forwarded by members of the Manufacturers' Associa¬
tion, who are sending brick here on the quiet, although having agreed to
stop shipmente."

Chairman W. K. Hammond, of the Manufacturers' Association, was
seen, and this statement was repeated to him. He at once said, very
emphatically, that this was a mistake. " I have kept close wateh of the
arrivals of brick, and there is not a " sneak " barge in the whole lot. Up
to Thursday afternoon twenty-two barges had arrived. Of these thirteen
were contract, six sucker, two destined for Jersey City and one will not be
sold."

Mr. Martin, of Peck, Martin Sc Co., said: "The manufacturers with
Whom we have contracts have asked us to defer the delivery of brick which
they have contracted to supply to us. We are perfectly willing to make
such a concession, if the other dealers will agree to do it, but until then we
will do our best to supply our customers. It would be useless for us to fight
single-banded. I may add that no manufacturers has asked us to allow
•them to break tbeir contract with us. Tbeir object in asking contracte to
be deferred is to help ihem tbe better to win in the fight which they have
undertaken."





A Bachelors' Home on Fifth Avenue.

The bachelors' apartment house is a product of our modem life. It is
not a social fad, ready to disappear directly it has ceased to be a novelty.
It bas come to stay, for it fills a gap in the life of every unmarried man
who has become weary of the boarding bouse, the furnished room, or the
hotel. There is a large and increasing number of men in New York whose
relatives live in other cities, and who are deprived of home life through
force of circumstances. To these there comes a strong desire to obtain
something which, while not a home in the true sense of the word, shall in
a measure take ite place. The boarding bouse or hotel is at best a sorry
makeshift. Only in the bachelors' apartment house can the unmarried
man bave those little comforts wbich are so dear to the bachelor's heart.
There be can play his piano or his banjo at all hours without disturbing
his neighbor; he can smoke at will, and come home at any time of the day
or night, and can find an elevator to take him to his particular floor. No
lateh-keys, no worry. There can he gather around him his lares and
penates, and he can purchase his own particular furniture, and decorate
his own rooms to suit his own particular desires. Hence it comes that
the idea of the bachelors' apartment house is associated in the public mind
with taste, elegance and comfort.

The latest addition to the comparatively few bachelor apartment houses,
pure and simple, in this city is tbe " Wilbraham," on the northwest comer
of Sth avenue and SOth street It has just been completed, and is certainly
the " crack " apartment house of ite kind in New York City. It stands,
with the mansard roof, nine stories high, and ite exterior, with ite carved
columns and numerous window openings, is quite an imposing piece of
architecture. The property is owned by Mrs. A. Moir, and has been two
years under construction. Although valued, with the groimd, at about
$500,000, it will prove an excellent investment.

The main entrance to the building is on SOtb street It is wide and
spacious and the vestibule and main hall are tiled in mosaic, while the
wall bave high wainscotings in mahogany. The ceilings are decorated,
and a large stained glass window meete the eye at the northern end of the
halL At the southeast part of the hall there is a superintendent's room,
wbich contains  electric bells  and   tubes  communicating  with  every

apartment.

Passing under tbe handsome hall lamp we approach the elevator—which
is one of the most substantial of the Otis type—and we are taken up to the
eighth story within a few seconds. Here we find a sample of the apart-
mente which the bachelors are to occupy. Each suite of apartments oon-
siste of two rooms and a tathroom, and these can be enlarged at will by
throwing two or more suites together. The rooms which comprise each
suite are arranged so that one can be used as a sitting-room and one as a
bedroom. The sitting-room has a handsome mahogany mantel, with mir¬
rors encase!. The fireplace, which is tiled, contains an oraaraentel basket
and brass fenders and andirons of special design. The fioors have inlaid
borders of hardwood, while the centre flooring is of selected timber, flnely
planed and ready to be stained and polished in any color desired by the
occupant The walls are handsomely papered and the ceilings frescoed.
A feature of each sitting-room is the handsome gas and electric light chan¬
delier containing self-lighting electric and gas attachmente and electric
arcs.   The bedrooms are handsomely appointed and have electric side-

ligbte.

The bathrooms, and there is one to each suite, are models ot neatness
and sanitation. It may be said with trath that in no building in New
York are.they prettier, lighter and better appointed than in the " WU-
braham."* They all open upon the street or avenue or have light and
ventilation from skylight roofs. Tbe bathtubs are of chaste white porce¬
lain, the washtubs are of similar material, and the plumbing is nickle
plated and exposed to view. The other conveniences are on a par with
those described.

While there are numerous hotels and restaurants in the vicinity, from
Delmonico's downward, a dining-room is provided on the eighth floor.
Tbis while not large, is cosy. There are separate tables and a handsome
oak sideboard, with plate and crockery, the latter being artistic and evi¬
dently of Chinese or Japanese manufacture. Here the bachelors can
obtain their breakfaste and dinners and such other meals as they may
choose to (vder.

The view from the roof of the WUbraham is imposing. In tbe distant
east are tbe Long Island bills; to tbe west tbe North River and the PaU-