March 2,1895





Record  and   Guide.





325





that whenever the Sheriff of New York ia required by law to sell real
or personal property, he may, and if requested in writing by the
attorney of any party to the action or proceeding "iu which such
aale ahall be made, he must cause to be made through an auctioneer,"
The act goes on to say that " such iuictioneer shall be selected by the
attorneys of such of the parties aa have appeared in the action or
proceeding iu which such s^aio is to be made, aud iu case tbere shall
be no appearance iu the action or proceeding upou the part of tbe
defendant, theu the attorneys for the plaintiff in auch action or pro¬
ceeding aball select the auctioneer to make auch sale. The said
Sheritt is directed to withhold from the proceeds of the aale a sum
sufficient to compensate the auctioneer for the services rendered."





The Building Trade Stnke.

WORK STILL INTERRUPTED,   BUT  THE   PROSPECT   FOE THE STRIKERS

GLOOMY.

From the fact that the Board of Walking Delegates have not
called out the men from any more buildings, in sympathy with the
electrical workers, it is judged that that movement has been a de¬
cided failure. It is also confidently expected that tbe original strike
will have as little aucceas as the sympathetic movement. Two
causes have contributed to thia result; one, the firm stand taken by
the boasea, and the other tbe decided disinclination on the part of
the men from other trades called upon to ahow tbeir sympathy with
the electrical workera by giving np their jobs at a time when work
is none too plentiful, aud at the end of a period that must have
borne heavily on the resources of the unions.

The men are still ont on the Pine street. Tract Society and Presby¬
terian Mission buildings, and it ia reported from the Board of Walk¬
ing Delegates thatthey have "decided to begin hostiiitiea" next
Monday unless some arrangement with the contractors is reached
before then. Tbey declare that all efforts at arbitration have failed
andtbat themen must take a decisive stand withiu a few days in
order to succeed in their tight. The board refuses to say whether
a,ny more strikes will be declared before Mouday. but states Ihat
some action would be taken to help the men. The electrical workers
aaid, too, that several of the large bnildera had asked them to set
men to work at once in finishing their coutracts without the aid of
the contractora. If the negotiations were successful they would let
a large uumber of men go back to work this Saturday morning.

The electrical coutractors say tho matter is one of a fight to a
fiuish, that they are employing non-union men, and have inqniiies
from other cities asking whether if men come on they will be per¬
mitted to work? " We have," said one, " now about 165 men'at work.
The uuiou coutains 520, so we have a third aa many as there are in
tbe union, and this combined with the fact of the inquiries from
other places shows that we can get all the meu we want. By Mouday
or Tuesday we expect to have another 200 men at work. You see the
position is this: Men iu Philadelphia and Boston are getting $2.25
and $2,50 for ten hours' work; here they can get $3 for uine hours'
work until May 15. and after that for eight hours' work."

The doubt abont the position of bosses in other lines is being re¬
moved. The electrical contractors are in receipt of a reaoluiion
passed by the United Buildiug Tradea at a meeting held on Tuesday
laat, expressing sympathy with the former in their struggle, approv¬
ing the position they have takeu aud stating that tbeir proposition
to the men—eight hours after May 15—was a most liberal one. A
meeting of the Master Builders' Association was arranged to take
place late laat evening to diacuss tbe situation.





Law Relating to Tenement Houses.

RESULT.? OF CONFKRl^NCES BETWEEN THE TENEMENT HOUSE COM¬
MISSION AXD nUILDING INTERESTS
^ For the past two weeks conferences have been held between the
Tenement House Commissioners atd tbe representatives of the
various building organizations iu relation to tbe bill now before the
Legislature aftectiug the bnilding and conduct of tenement houses.

The Asaembly Committee on Cities gave a hearing on the bill in
Albany on Tuesday last. A bill as amended waa submitted to the
committee and also there were submitted points npou which no
agreement could be had between tbe tenement bouse commissiou
and tbe builders.

Some of the amendments as agreed to were aa follows-

The requirement that no wail paper shall be used iu any tenement
houae. aud that 1be wall paper on the walls and ceilings of anv such
bouse ahould be removed withiu eixty daya was changed 'to the
simple requirement that, hereafter no wall paper shall be placed
upon a wall or ceiling, unless all wall paper shall first be removed
therefrom, and the walls and ceilings be thoroughly cleansed.

The word annual waa stricken from the requirement, that every
owner of a teuement house ahall tile a notice in the Department of
Health coutaining his name and address. Tbe penalty for a failure
to hie snch notice was changed from an exceaalve one to a reason¬
able one.

The power to condemn a building, aitbough iu good condition
becauae it interferes with the Hght and ventilation of adjoining prop-
, erty was stricken frora the bill.

The discretion which tbe present law gives the Superintendent of
Buildings to modify certain distances between two buildings on the
, same lot waa put back in the bill.

The portion of a lot to be covered by a tenement house waa defi¬
nitely mane 78 per cent on au inside lot and 90 per cent ou a corner
lot. with the further privilege to cover the full depth of the lot ou the
corner below the aecond story.

The requirement to allow no gpcr.iu;rs in tbe first floor of a ten^-
meut house, and also tbyt theopeniogsto a dumb-waiterinthe c»l-





lar should be out doors, so that if au occupant desired to send up coal
or groceries to bts apartments he would be comtielled to reach tbe
opening in the dnmb-waiter by going out into the court or into the
rear yard, was stricken out.

A new clause which requires that the opeuing to dumb-waitera in
the cellar and on every story shall be provided with self-closing tire-
proof doors was pnt in the bill.

The requirement that all stud partitions shall be filled in solid was
stricken from the bill.

The requirement that all staircases shall be made tire-proof,
although tho halls migbt not bo fire-proof, waa stricken from the bill.

The requirement tbat no fanlight or window shall hereafter be
placed in any hall partitiou waa one of the matters upon which no
agreement was readied,

Tbe requirement that no bakery or place of busiuess in which fat
is boiled aball be maintained in auy tenement house unless the entire
tenement house be constructed flre-proof was auother matter upon
which no detenniuation was reached, but this requirement will prob¬
ably be compromised.

The requirement that uo part of a teuement honse ahall be used
for a feed or hay store was modified, by providing tbat a store could
be so used by a permit from and under auch conditions as maybe
impo.sed by the Fire Department.

Much tbat was in the biil already sufficiently provided for by the
building law waa atricken out aud many legal changes were made
so as to avoid any possibility of the powers of the Department of
Buildings beiug transferred to tbe Board of Health.





Labor on the Stone-Dressing Law,
The pavers', rammers', and bridge and curb setters' and atone
laborers' unions of tliis city, at a meeting held thia week iu Currier's
Hail, iu East 47tli street, adopted resolutions denouncing the Tobin
Stone-Dressing law and demanding its repeal or an amendment
sanctioning the importation of ready-dressed granite naving blocks
into the State and their unrestricted use upon State aud municipal
work. This demaud is made for the following among other reasons:
"The said law, chapter 277 of the Laws of 1894, haa been already
the means of throwing over 2.000 local pavers, rammermen, bridge
and curb-setters and stone laborers out of work, and cauaing a loas to
them individually in the shape ol unearned wages tbat averages
$500 and collectively a loaa approaching $1,000,000. The said law
also operates prejudicially to 7,000 pavers, rammermen, bridge and
cnrb-sottera and atone laborers who are resideutsin and citizens of
the State of New York, and practically closes to tbeir labor all
avenues of public employment by whieh in the paat they earned a
subsistence for themselves and families."





Municipal Eapid Transit,

The Rapid Transit Commission is haviug a bill prepared for presen¬
tation to the Legislature to amend the rapid tranait act in several
particulars, with a view to removing obstacles that stand in the way
of the work, aud to eularge fhe ComraisEion's di.screiion. The Chief
Engineer lias estimated that a railroad—tbe route recently deter¬
mined upon—will cost $49,500,000. exclusive of damaiiea to private
property andallowancesforland required to bepurchaseil forstations.
Anioditicatiou of the plan permitting two tracks only to be bnilt
between 125th and 128th streets would lessen the estimate by
$1,700,000. Five years interest was allowed, but tbe engineer said
the work could be done in two years and a half and half tbe allow-
auee for interest thereby saved,

Mr, Abram S, Hewitt when declining to receive compeusation for
his services as one of tbe experts who recently reported on the rapid
transit problem, preferring to look upon them as a public duty,
wrote to tbe commission stating, amoug otherthings, that the brard
of experts acted upou the theory thatthe main object of the estra.jrdi-
n.iry legislation under which tho commissiou ia acting was to srcnre
rapid transit facilities as soon as possible and with tbe least po.ssibIe
Qspenditnre of the public money. It pointed out how this result
might be speedily attained by utilizing existing agencies.

The commiasion, however, appeared to have decided npon a policy
which reverses this espectation, and which, instead of providing
immediate relief, will necessarily postpone it until the new lines are
completed, unless in the meantime, by the failure to secure a respon¬
sible bidder, the commission shall be constrained to look moro favor¬
ably npon the suggestions of the board of exports in reference to th©
improvemeuts on tbe Mauhattan system, bv which course aloue rapid
transit cau be secured without serious delay,





A Fruitless Appeal,
The Board of Estimate and Apportionment haa refused to reduce »
$32,000 assessment made on adjacent property for the small triangu¬
lar park at 106th street and West End avenue.





The Mulberry Bend Award,
Judge Andrews, ia tbe Supreme Court, has granted a mandamus
directing Comptroller Fitch to pay to Frederick A, and William C.
Schermerhorn $44,600 as au award for property at 51 and 51^ Bax¬
ter street that has been taken by the city for the Mulberry Bend
Park, For the Comptroller it waa set up that under the law he was
allowed to pay out but a million dollars annually for property taken
by tbe city for small parks, and tbat he bad already paid out
$1,500,000. Tbe ComntroUer saw no reason why the plaintiffs
should be preferred, as there were other claimants for the money for
awards. The order was granted, however, by the Court, A bill has
l-een introduced into the Legislaiure empowering the city to is.sue
bo:ivl^ for tMe payment of the small park awards, jncluding the Moi-





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