98





RECORD   AND   GUIDE





July ri, 1908





HOW TO BUY  COAL INTELLIGENTLY.

How to buy coal scientifically and economically is an import¬
ant consideration to property owners, more particularly those
whose holdings consist of office buildings and apartments.

Many owners buy coal simply because the price is the cheap¬
est they have had quoted to them. Another man buys coal
upon its past reputation. He thinks "that coal has always
given good results; it gave Mr. So-and-So good results, and I
will keep on buying it." Another takes the recommendation
of his engineer or fireman, and, no matter what the price, he
says, "that coal is wofth the money, and I will take it." An¬
other man buys his coal upon the basis of the highest number
of heat units per dollar. And still another will make evapora¬
tive tests and buy coal giving the highest evaporation per
dollar, but in such instances the purchaser is often misled,
because he figures the price of his coal f. o, b. the car or vessel,
and does not consider that a coal which may evaporate 8
pounds of water to a pound of coal costs a good deal more to
handle enough to supply him for a year than if the coal
evaporated lOM; pounds ot water to a pound of coai.

PRACTICAL  THINGS  TO  BE  CONSIDERED.

in this connection the coal expert of the laboratory of Arthur
D. Little, of Boston, in writing on the subject, argues that in
any case, one cannot depend entirely upon the price and quality
of coal.    To use his own language:

"There are certain practical things that must be considered,
such as delivery and the question of spontaneous combustion.
There are numerous things upon which you cannot put a
definite money value, and each person must use his own judg¬
ment to a certain extent, after all. He must determine the
coal to buy either from a trial or from past use of that par¬
ticular coal. There are variations in the conditions in the
mines, as impurities, sulphur balls, and also the preparation of'
the coal, so that what you received from a mine last year does
not prove that you will receive the same the coming year. ,One
cannot drop the matter as soon as he has made his contract.
He must follow the thing up to be sure that he is getting the
value contracted for. He may determine this by inspection,-
and if the coal is from the same mine and of the same char¬
acter one can tell a great deal about the coal as to impurities,
one of the largest factors in the question. He may make
evaporative tests from time to time, and in that way determine
whether the coal is giving the results previously obtained from
it. He may analyze the coal, determine the percentage of ash,
sulphur and heat units. He may buy the coal on a b.t.u.
basis. The use of the latter method has been much extended
and several large concerns are buying their coal in that man¬
ner.    It has good points, as well as faults,"





PLATE WARMING BY ELECTRICITY.

The introduction of electric plate warmers in some of the
newer residences and apartment houses hereabouts is attracting
'no little attention, and may be said to be one of the most useful
conveniences in household electrical improvements yet invented.
In the past plate warmers have largely been heated by gas and
steam, but their use never became general owing to the discom¬
fiture attending their operation. The electric plate warmer, on
the contrary, has no objectionable features and offers the ad¬
vantages of absence of srfioke, fla^e or soot. Electric heat
can be more thoroughly localized, and for this reason the tem¬
perature of rooms where electric apparatus is used is never
raised to an appreciable extent. Electric heaters entirely elim¬
inate the making or maintaining of fires and do away with the
expensive   installation  of gas and   steam pipes.     The manipula-





GUARDING AGAINST FIRE.

Owners of tenement property are too often neglectful in
taking precautions against fire. Instead of assisting the
authorities in taking steps to eliminate or reduce danger from
this source, they frequently do all they can to block well-
directed efforts to safeguard not only their own interests but
also the lives of their tenants as well.

Known causes of fire should instantly be removed. Failure
to do so is nothing short of criminal negligence, and while it
is admitted that much improvement has been brought about
in this direction through the operation of existing laws and
ordinances, many owners have yet to understand the serious¬
ness of disobeying them. In this connection Building Manage¬
ment says: "The property owner must be taught to realize
that the safeguarding of his piroperty against fire is a duty
that he owes to himself and the community at large. He must
be made to see that he is responsible, on score of life, for the
safety of his employees and for injuries incurred by firemen
in the performance of their duty, and on the score of property,
for the damage caused by other parties by a flre originating
in his premises. The doctrine of responsibility is readily ap¬
plicable in the case of flre, for it is feasible and practicable to
eliminate a large percentage of the causes of fire and to so
construct and use a building as to render extensive fires ex¬
tremely improbable. The plea of ignorance is no longer to be
advanced, for the knowledge of how to prevent and extinguish
fire is available to anyone who seeks it, and there are ready
engineers of experience and ability to put it in practice."

It might be said that there are other reasons wjiy the property
owner should work with the authorities in minimizing the
hazard from flre. One of these is the desirability of reducing
the cost of flre insurance, thus enhancing the value of his
holding as an income producing asset.







---•-'-'-'".■■i-ff--''-
ELECTRIC  PLATE  WARMER.

tion of electric devices is almost invariably extremely simple.
A turn of the switch puts them in operation. Neither matches
nor fuel have to be used, and dangers from fires or explosions"
are avoided. Since the electric plate warmer consumes current,
it is a source of expense only when in actual use.- It may,
therefore, be said to be more economical than gas or steam
heated devices, because there is no waste of fuel, the action of
the electric current being instantaneous.

UNIFORM TEMPERATURE.   '

In installing an electric plate warmer see to it that the re¬
sistances are attached to the sides on inside of the warmer,
which is a great saving of space. So arranged the electric
equipment heats the entire inner space of the warmer to a uni¬
form' high temperature, thus insuring continuous circulation of
the heated air.

In electric plate warmers of earlier construction, the shelves
used to be heated by means of stove like heaters attached below
shelves. Where shelves are heated, the plates on top of a stack
of dishes remain cold while those at the bottom get too hot. In
case of overheating of the electric stoves below shelves, break¬
age of plates frequently results. These difficulties seem to have
been-overcome in an apparatus known as the "Prometheus."





TAXPAYERS ELECT OFFICERS.—The annual election of
the North Van Nest Taxpayers' Association was h'eld on the
Gth inst., at which the following ofQcers were elected: President,
M. J. O'Brien; vice-president, Lawrence Martin; r'ecording
secretary, J. P. Healy; corrospending secretary, J. Rosensweig;.
treasurer, O. Parker; serg'eant-at-arms, J. L, Levy. The efforts
of the association will be chiefly directed toward the improve¬
ment of street conditions. The carrying out of the projected
str'eet openings in that neighborhood will attract many new
home seekers to Van Nest which will undoubtedly result in a
quickening in property transactions.





MIGHT AFFECT PROPERTY INTERESTS.     •

The Taxpayers' Alliance of the Bronx, in a letter to the
Public Service Commission objecting to the changing of the
name of the New Tork City Interborough Railway Company
to that of the Bronx Crosstown Railway Company maintains
that while a first impression of this change, without considering
its effect upon the real estate interests, might seem unim¬
portant, a careful study of the history of the company, and
its association with other railroad corporations in the City of
New Tork, would no doubt have a decided effect upon property
interests in various sections of the Bronx traversed by its
routes.
In part the communication says:

We were led to believe, especially when this corapany made ap¬
plication for ameudmeuts to the franchise, tbat, as its very name
suggested. It had associated with it tbe strongest railroad financial
support that could possibly be contemplated; and at a number of
hearings it was also suggested that many of tliose interested in this
company were also interested in the Interborough Rapid Transit
Company, the latter of which was reputed to be the owner of a
large amount if not the majority of its stock—according to the re¬
port of your counsel, Mr, Ivins, $2,600,000 out of a total of $5,-
000,000.

Its very name was used as an argument indicating its good faith
and allured lo its support an almost unanimous sentiment of those
interested in properly affected, in its favor. It would now seem un¬
becoming, after having secured public support of its applications ou
these representations that it now should suddenly contemplate the
change of name and thus morally divorce its old association for no
better reasons   than  existed when it chose  its name.

President Adolph C. Hottenroth. on behalf of the Taxpayers'
Alliance, has requested that his association be granted a hear¬
ing in the matter before final action is taken.





THE NUMBER OP REAL ESTATE PEDDLERS in the city
is not large, but the surprise is that there are any. For the
daily price of a good cigar, an offlce can be equipped with a
Real Estate Directory service. It will save aimless flying
around, which accomplishes little, but a profuse perspiration.