638





RECORD   AND   GUIDE





November 6, 1920





stagnation in business, especially in the building line, it is in commercial circles, but at least there is a more substan-
encouraging to hear that this trade deterrent is rapidly be- tial basis to build on than existed at the height of the post¬
ing done away with.   There is still room for improvement     armistice boom.





Joint Committee to Investigate Coal Supply





OWING to the difficulty of securing coal and the high
and varying prices of it in New York City, a number
of organizations have taken this matter up for investi¬
gation as the result of a call issued by the Building Managers
and Owners Association. Two meetings were held last week
and a committee was appointed with Edward P. Doyle of
the Real Estate Board of New York as Chairman. The
other members of the committee are J. L. Herman, B. H.
Belknap, A. C. Bang and H. Voorhees of the Building Man¬
agers; David Robinson of the Downtown League; John L.
Parish of the Advisory Council of R. E. Interests and Joseph
L. Lonergan, Chief Sanitary Inspector of the Board of Health.

On behalf of this committee the following statement was
made :

"New York City needs annually 12,000,000 tons of anthracite
coal and 6,000,000 tons of bituminous coal. This would neces¬
sitate an average weekly delivery of 360,000 tons. During
the past six months this delivery has been negligible and
only during the past three weeks has any real attempt been
made to supply New York City with coal.

"During that time the average delivery per week has been 11,000
cars almost equally divided between anthracite and bituminous.
Eleven thousand cars mean 550,000 gross tons of coal.

"The result of the neglect to furnish New York City with
a needed supply is an alarming shortage at the beginning of
cold weather. The testimony taken before the United States
Wage Commission and before the Calder Committee showed
that bituminous coal could have been contracted for at the
mine last spring for $3.70 a gross ton and the cost of pro¬
duction of anthracite coal giving a fair profit to the opera¬
tor, was $6.40 per gross ton.





"The average freight to New York City is $2,25 per gross
ton. The cost of terminal handling and delivery should not
exceed $1.50 per ton. In other words bituminous coal should
be delivered in New York allowing a profit of $1.00 per ton
to the retailer for $8.45 per ton and anthracite coal should be
delivered for $11.15 per ton. It should also be remembered
that the dealers pay for a gross ton of 2,240 lbs. and de¬
liver a ton of 2,000 lbs. The difference in gross and net will
more than cover the screening and yard deteriorating and
loss in weight.

"The retail price of anthracite ranges from $11.50 per ton
for pea coal to $14.00 for larger domestic sizes, and bituminous
has sold as high as $21.00 per ton.

"To ascertain why an average of 360,000 tons is not allowed
v/eekly to New York City and why there is such a difference
between a fair price and the price charged is the object fo
the committee.

"The committee will make a thorough investigation and will
find out the following: Cost of production of anthracite and
bituminous at the mines; the cost of transportation to New
York; cost of unloading and storage and the cost of delivery
to consumers.

"It will also investigate and report on the difficulties in the
way of production which affect supply and cost and the
difficulties in the receipt at terminals and delivery to con¬
sumers which add to cost and delay delivery.

"The committee will spare no effort to get at the bottom
of the whole question, particularly as the members of the
Real Estate Board of New York and the Building Managers
and Owners Association represent a large percentage of users
of both anthracite and bituminous coal."





Government Tests of Slag for Coarse and Fine Aggregate





TESTS made in 1916 and 1917 by the U. S. Bureau of Stand¬
ards on the value of slags for fine and coarfe aggregate have
recently been reported. The concrete so made seems
to be of an equal strength with concrete made from ordinary
gravel. In the tests concrete of satisfactory local sand and
gravel was made at the same time of the same cement and
mix as the concrete using crushed slag furnished by three
commercial companies. The consistency in all the concretes
was the same as judged by eye. The slag was crushed to
coarse and medium' sizes, the former being fairly uniformly
graded from % to IJ/^-inch openings, through the larger of
which 100 per cent, passed, the latter being all through a
5^-inch screen, S7.4 per cent, through a J4-'nch, and 6.2 per
cent, through a 0.8S-inch screen, these figures, of course, being
for only one of the specimens and being merely typical. The
weight of the gravel was approximately 100 pounds per cubic
foot, while the slag was between 70 and 85. The various slags
had a sulphide sulphur content varying between 0.04 and 1.43
per cent. The strength of the various specimens varied ac¬
cording to the different times and the different mixtures of
which they were made, but quite uniformly the crushed slag
aggregate made stronger concrete than the Potomac gravel
aggregate. The conclusions of the bureau are as follows:
Crushed slag as a coarse aggregate produced concrete of as
high strength as gravel. The tests were not extensive enough
to determine the durability of the slag, but to the extent of
the tests there were no signs of disintegration due to the
sulphide sulphur or other causes. Slag sand, because of its
lack of fine material, does not produce easily workable con¬
crete when used as a fine aggregate. If it must be used its
working qualities can probably be improved by the addition
of small amounts of fine sea sand, hydrated lime or other fine





material. Provisions in specifications for slag aggregate call¬
ing for a maximum sulphide sulphur content of l.S per cent.
and a minimum weight per cubic foot of 70 pounds are tenta¬
tively recommended.





I





N accordance with an order issued recently by Judge Julius
M. Mayer, upon application of the Guaranty Trust Co.,
trustee for the First Real Estate and Refunding Mortgage
Bondholders of the N. Y. Railways Co., now in the hands of
a receiver, a portion of the unusued real estate belonging to
the company will be sold by Joseph P. Day, auctioneer, under
the direction of Francis M. Scott, special master. The sale
will be held on Tuesday, November 9, at 12 o'clock, noon, on
the steps of the New York County Court House.

The two most important properties to be sold are the car
barn blocks in Fourth avenue, at 33d street, and in the west
side of Madison avenue, from 85th to 86th streets. The Fourth
avenue property comprises the entire square block bounded
by Fourth and Lexington avenues, 32d to 33d streets, and will
be sold, as a whole, with immediate possession. The Madison
avenue block will be sold, first as a whole, and then in plots
of various dimensions. Other parcels are also included in the
sale.





When figuring on the installation of new lighting equip¬
ment it must be remembered that when the lamps become
old and more or less dirty between cleaning periods the
emitted light falls off about 25 per cent. Consequently for a
desired foot-candle illumination the rating of the lamps must
be about 53 per cent, higher than that found necessary froia
calculations based on the efficiency of new clean lamps.