742





RECOKD    .\ND    GUIDE





December 9, 1922





building program of the coming year will not be ham-     labor available for the work in hand and the ability of
pered by a restriction of funds.   The manufacturers of     the railroads to get their lines' so organized that the





materials have frequently given assurance during the
past weeks that tlicy will be in a position to meet all
requirements for materials and supplies.

The outstanding doubts as to next year's building ac-
tiviiv chiefly concern the amount of skilled and unskilled





transportation of materials will not be delayed. If
these matters can be settled definitely there seems to
be no reason why the coming year should not develop
into a period of activity equal at least to the one now
drawing to a close.





Many Bargains in Country Houses in Suburbs of New York

By JAMES G. COFFIN

President of S. Osgood Pell & Co.





iT BEHOOVES those who are interested in owning their
own country homes or estates at prices lower than can pos¬
sibly prevail for some years to come to bestir themselves.
This appHes with equal force whether the home desired is
merely for the summer season or for all year occupancy;
whether the location preferred be Westchester, nearby Con¬
necticut, Long Island or Xew Jersey. Let us briefly analyze
the market for modera-te priced houses.

Most of the war activities were centered in the East. Nearly
all the enlisted men passed through New York City either on
their way to or returning from the front. Many were fas¬
cinated with the greatest city in the world and not a few were
attracted by the many and diversified opportunities it pre¬
sented.

The ending of the war left us with a shortage of housing
accommodations of every sort. There had been no building for
some years—no increased facilities to take care of the unpre¬
cedented demand. Labor was scarce, inefficient and almost
prohibitive. Building materials wasted through the extrava¬
gance of the war were both high and inferior. Spurred by
tax exempt laws and by the incessant demand suburban builders
vied with each other in reaping the golden harvest.
. Everywhere in the less expensive suburbs blocks of single or





multi-family houses were thrown together for the eager buyers
of homes selling from $10,000 to $18,000. Through various causes
many of these houses are now for sale, generally for less than
they cost the present owners, although the value of the ground
because of the improvements has increased many times. Many
ore-war houses of approximately the same size are also in the
market.

Let us now consider the market for the more expensive places
generalh' classified as estates. Westchester along with most sub¬
urban X'ewYork has felt the inactivity of the past season. This
is due not to any one cause but to a combination of circum¬
stances. Foreign travel this year has been extensive. The unus¬
ually late summer, with many cold and rainy days throughout
the season has made the city homes and apartments comfort¬
ably cool. The general business and trade uncertainties have
made renters and buyers of expensive homes overcautious.
The increased difficulty of getting satisfactory servants has
also discouraged many who invariably seek the country at the
first approach of summer. The high prices at which the more
attractive country homes have been held were a decidedly
deterrent  factor.

This continued lack of activity and in many cases of even
inquiries either for sale or rent has reduced the prices to such
an extent that the market is full of real bargains.





Surplus of Steam Coal But Shortage of Domestic Sizes





Now that the winter season is actually here, although
the weather continues mild, there has been a revival
of interest in the coal situation, due largely to reports
of shortage in domestic sizes in Brooklyn and the Bronx.
Inquiry by The Record and Guide at the office of Fuel Admin¬
istrator William H. Woodin brought out the statement that
there is an actual shortage of the domestic sizes of anthra¬
cite, meaning egg, stove and nut, and that there will continue
to be a shortage for several months, for the reason repeatedly
set forth that only about 60 per cent, of the usual output of
anthracite will be or can be mined this winter.

Steam coal used in apartment houses and office buildings is
anthracite of the No. 1, 2 and 3 buckwheat sizes and of this
there is a surplus in Xew York City and the adjacent docks and
railroad jards. On Monday of this week there were 1,171 cars
of buckwheat averaging 40 tons each, nearly 50,000 tons stand¬
ing in the yards for which there was no demand. This supply
was in addition to a large quantity in cars "on order," sold but
not delivered. A few weeks ago there were about 3,000 cars
of buckwheat at the terminal but the Fuel Admini.'itiator has
induced many consumers to take m.ore than their routine needs
demanded so ns to cut down the surplus and return the cars
for other shipments. In addition to the buckwheat still loaded
on railroad cars there were, last Monday, between 250 to 300
boat-loads of buckwheat in the harbor, each boat averaging 500





tons, or between 125,000 to 150,000 tons of steam coal for which
there are no orders.

Small house owners and those still using coal cooking stoves
will have to use substitutes for anthracite up to about 40 per
cent, of their necessities all winter. Both Fuel Commissioner
Wooden and Mayor Hylan have issued statements pointing out
the danger of trying to rely on the regular sizes of anthracite
for domestic purposes and urging the use of substitutes so
hardships may be avoided.

Fuel .\dministrator Woodin explained that it had been found
difficult to fix retail prices for coal owing to the great diflfer¬
ence in prices charged at the mines. He declared that buck¬
wheat sizes should range from $8.20 to $10.50 per ton and
urged those householders who were charged more to report
the facts in writing to the fuel administration so an investiga¬
tion could be made. The price for anthracite depends on the
price at the mine, wliich also varies greatly. Every case has to
be considered separately by the Fuel .Vdministration which
aims to keep the profits of local dealers at the same ratio pro¬
portionately as before the strike. The Fuel Administration
urees all citizens who have evidence of profiteering to report
such cases so they may be investigated. Prices of domestic
sizes at the Philadelphia & Reading Company's mines have
been advanced about 20 cents a ton, making the price for stove
and nut $6.30 a ton and S8.30 for other sizes. To these prices
must be added freight to Xew York and profits of local dealers.





Board of Aldermen Adopt 1923 Budget Totalling $353,350,975





THE  Board of Aldermen  on last Monday adopted  by  a
vote of 44 to I the 1923 budget without any changes in
the items as it came from the Board of Estimate and
Apportionment.    The  budget   carries  appropriations  of  $353,-
350.975.     Last   year   the   final   figures   were  $350,238,420,   after
the Board of Aldermen had cut the Bronx totals $177,610 and





the Richmond totals $100,494 to bring their quotas within the
2 per cent, of the assessed valuations. The new budget there¬
fore is greater than that of 1922 hy $3,112,555.

The budget must now be certified by the Mayor, the
Comptroller and the City Clerk before December 25, filed in the
Comptroller's office and published in the City Record.