OotoberS 1898





Record   and   Guide.





439





Investinents.—&ooii aná Bad.

Comparisons may, as tbe sayin^ bas ib, be odious, and do doubt are
when too personally and pointedly eTpressed. but tbpycan be and aredaily
made with many useful re?ults. In facb it would create a little surprise if
it were thorougbly uuderstood how inucb the world's activity depends oa
comparisons for its eiisterice, The crilic in art acd literature could not
exiu wîtbout them, and ĩn commerce and nianufaciure there would be no
incentive to iniprovement without thena. Compnrifousare jmt now, too,
the st-ock in trade of tbe politician who, with tbe zeal of a bighly paid advo
cate, lookgabroad oũly with eyestosee wbat is favorable to hia side of the
(luestion. Among other places the politiea! eyes ai-e directfd bo the ĨTnited
Kĩngdoæasapiace where eodlessar(;uæeiitouboth sidesof the queslinn of
the day can be Cound, with results thatmustthorougbly bewilder thecitizeu
wbo prides bimself oj u practice ot'heai'ing ail vfews, The prospect cf
cprtaiu mBtal-workersar'd workers in t'abrics beiog driven to starvation
excitesin certain quartci-sa jubilatioii sbort only of public thauksgiviug,
and to irope that the Britií^her may be laid low in the dust of his own
ruined commerce seems to be a pious as well as a patrio ic act. 0£ course
part of thís helongs to ôlection fervor and wi!l b^ repented of after the
retums are published nextmonth, but meantime those who bave no wish
tos e the greatest consumer o£ Anierica's asiricultural and niechauical
products and the sreatest investor ii American securities ruined pa't all
hope, inay flnd signs that that day is still distant ftnd take courage.

Oae of tbese sigos is the report made by tbe Board oí' Traae on the rail-
road business in the United Kingdom for the year 18ÍI1, from wbieb it
appears chat, whawver injury may bave been done in certain Itues aud
whatever business recent legislation in this country may have transferred
to tbis Bide of tbe Atiantic, tbe general business of the Uoiied Kingdcm
was last year great enough to permit an increase in tbe railroad traffic
reeeipts of 2,4 per cent, so tbat i£ any l'eel a naturally buman and christĩan
alarm for tbe safety and weii being of theUnited Eingdom as a whole
theycan flnd eneourag' ment from this fact and from the reasfnabie assur
auce to be drawu thereírcm ihat tbe people of that countrv as a wbole are
still "ble toafford the luxury of grain grown on the prairies and bave
some savings to invest In tbe railroads built to carry that grain to
the seaboard, In fact in some respects tbese Ecglish railroad retums
compare quite favorably with similar figures found in the lastt
îiBue of Poor's Manual, colltcted wiih tbe view of givĩng as íar as
they could possibly be obtaioed tbe resuHs of operatÍDgthe reilroads of the
Uoited Statts for tbe year 1891, In tbe case of tbe reiurns for ibe United
Kingdom, they are offîcial and cover the whole mileege of Ihe country,
while those f i)r tJe United Staleiare deficient of results on a large mile-
age, 3,6i7 miles, whicb were then incompiete or for other reason con-
tribute no returns, Such as tbey could have contribuied would iessen
rather fchan ÍDcrease tbe geceral resuliÆ, for tbe reason that new road
while usually burdensome hoth in ccst of capital and operation, does
not usually contribute much iu the way uf relurns. The American roads
show a larger growth of receipts tban tbe Eaglish road, 4 per cent agaĩnst
a.4 per cent, as may naturally be expected from the fact thst this couotry
is st.Il undergoing the process of settlement, Some other interestÍDg
points of comparison will be found in tbe foUowirg table, tbe money flg-
ures for the returns of tbe United Kingdom being reduce^l to Uniied
Btates currency at the rate of $4.S0 to Ibe pound sierliug. _ The source of
the results for the United States.bas already been stated,

1801.                                          United KiDedom.                Uniled States.

Milesof railroad........................              ao,iBl                               iei,S61

Capĩtal ..............................    $4,413,210,6811                    *10,7lĩ5,6i6,i4t

Cupltalpermile........................              ■ilS,-<7i                                   6ĩ MO

Capitdl inc. for íear....................         n.04u,nu0                         áST 080.936

EaruhiKÃ..............................        39'Î9'V.91S                       l,i39.30 ,642

OperatiiiBexpeDSes...................        Mi6694eiH                         Î8i îaB,5 6

Jet esrniiiíĩs........................        i;6,-a',yre                            ■Ífi7,ã-'i.>m

Earuinísp-r mile..................               1H.6;8                                 7,538

Optiraiiu^ expenses, p^^r cent..........                  bH I                                     6110

JEnraed OO C-ipital. per ceut.............                   4 00                                          4.i!

Faid OQ capilal, per cent ...............                    4.10                                         2 9

O^e íact in tbe foregoing fîgures cannot escapo notice, and that is
bow much more heavĩly capitalized the Ecglieh railioads aretbantbe
American. This isdue in part totbe greater cost of property acquired in
tbeolder couutry, but also more largely toaddĩtions to cspital wbicb it
has been found necessary to make to carry cut iũditpeiiEablp improvementB,
aprocess that hasalfeady begun to a cocsideral'Ie exteiit on ihee^tab-
liohed roads of tbis c ,unbry, not only iu tbe East, as, fcr evidence, tbe New
York Central's bwo iast loans, but also in tbe West, wbere only tbis jear
the Aicbison had to make.esbraordinary arrangements for improvemeDts
it will nave to make for sorne yeara to coroe. Consequently ibe Ame ican
Becutity-hoider will have in the future lo be contíut lo see lajge increaEes
of railroad capitabzation without corre;pondÍDg growih in mileage. So
far as the Englisb flgures sbow tbis is not a fact to be deplored,
because it will he seen that there was paid ciut on the total
railroad capitai of the United Kingdom 4 per ceut, agaínst 2.9
on tbe same cupital of the United atates, this latter being taken to be onîy
tbebond and stockdebts, ibe current and ucfunded dehb beiag ratber
regarded as probable than actual capiializaiion; tbey coneume alarge
parb o£ net earnings. Were Ihey capilalized ihe resultj in the two countries
would beou tbe whole about tbe same witb, if anytbing, asligbt diff-Teuce
in favor of tbis, The operatic.g cost iu tbe two countriea shows a mftiked
differeiice, in theonecase beÍDS ■''S.l percenb of the totsl reoeipts, and in
this country 03 per cent. The low rate in Ihe Uoited Kingdom is the
result largply of increasedefflciency produced by fcbe etnployment of new
i'apitalfrom time bo time, and ih remains to he Boen wbether theeame
palioy in ihe United títates can reduce the proportion of the woi klog cost,
At íirst sigbt it eeetns hardly credible that i'> per cent i í fcbe lotel receiptu
,^ hbould be ouly equal bo 4 per cant ou tbe oapital employed io any ijuter-
prÍBP, but tbih oiily shows to wbat au exfcent it baa been necessary to swell
ihe funds enjplcfîed to bring ahout the reeults Feen ín the cperation of the
raitroadB aí the ĨJnired KingdOm ard as i£ a reduciĩon ia
the coĸt tíf workÍDg cán 'o'nly be pVt'du'ceií by ap ir'Qr<-Bte in the
ainísVn't bif oalpítJsJ td ahkre tVe '■p-íoMB.     M "*&■ ■siáâé; 'viå^ S^ i''e¥íírĩi





CBn be secured ín this way it would spem to be preferable to a system in
which floatiug debts are crcated which eventuaĩly becomp capi'alized, but
meantime carry high rates of interes', aud debar stnckholder^ from Ihe
enjoymentof the profitswbicharemade from timeto time lu theEnglish
iSîstem the future is charged wilh its share nf the burden; fche American is
an attempt to provide for the future. " bich is the bcst railroad experts
are now trying to decidĩ. Tbere is od6 polnt ou wbic;h both
counfcries are to be ccngralulated, and that is on the apparent
readiness of their several investing pubiics to provide tlie cap'tal
necesaary to build new roads or to imorove old ones. Tn the Urifed
Kingdom the additions to railroad capitalizafion amnunted in 18Ĩ11 to
more tban S71,OO0,0OO, and In the Unired States to more tban four times
tbat amount. In the Ôrst tbe nominal increased capital bas not been
included, and making allowance fov that in the íecord and for discouuts
iu botb.tbese figures show a very satisfactory confidence on the part cf
tbe puhlic on both eides of the Atlantio io railroad ÍDvestments in spite
of falling rates and increase in the cost of labor and supplies.





Archítectiiral League's House 'Warmĩiig.

The Arcbitectural League took formal possession of its new quartera íd
the new Americao Pioe Arts Building, in fi'^th street, on Wedoesdaynight,
tbe occasion beÍDg the fi''st of the regular serles of montbly dlnnera since
tbe summer vacatiou, The buildirg is uot quibe flDÍsh°d and some extra-
ordinary worU had fco be done on Wednesday iu order to get the rooms of
the Architectural League in order for tbe fuoc'îon of tbat BVfnirg But
barring a shght odor of f reshness, with whĩch the memhers of the League
are uotunfamiliar, tbe new rooms were ia excellent order aod their bright
ard cheeriul Bppcarance elicited the admira'ion of evpry one present.

Whenc^mp'eted thebuilding ist^o be the home of tho Society of Ameri-
can Arfcis's Ihe Artists' Guild and tho Ait Students' League. as weĩi aí of
the Architectural League Tbe students are alreaciy in possession of thpir
portion of the new buiîd'ug There is a iarge eshibition gaiVry, o£ which
tbe sccieties uamed wilî bave alternate use for their various esbibitions,
besidesthe exclusive use of tbeir respective apartments Theintorior oE
thebuĩlding ií flni-hed in buff and hlu°, wilh oalt waiuscoting and fine
carved mantels of the same wond, AII the cor,1rituting -ocĩeĩies are wait-
ing withbutsmallpatience thc complelion of tbe building, for they are ail
anxious to get into Ít,

The Architecĩtural Leagne bas appacious room in tbe son'hwest corner of
tbe second floor, with two adj">iainĩ committee rooms. Tbe lareer room,
in which the famous montbly dinners of tbe T.eague are tc be given bere-
after, is to be bandsomely fitted np as a parlor and library, and bung wjth
arehitectural drawings aud photogrBphs, and vsrious oiber forms of art
work. Ib washere tbatthedÍQuerof CV=daesday nîsht was "praad, Tbemem-
bers and their gu=sts, to tho rumber of over a bundrpd, were seateii at flve
tables, Presi.ient RhsspII S'urgis occiipyiug (be seat of toa^t-roaslpr st the
guHsts' t-ililB, Amrmg tbe o*hers preseut werp; President Rdward H. Ken-
dall, of the American Instilute of Architects; Hoivard R, Butler, President
of the American Fine Arts Society, H. J. Hardĩubers, wb"', wit.b MHSĸi-g.
Huntiue & Jaeobs, designed the KioB Arts Buĩlding; Mootgimnry Scbuy-
ler, C, Powell Karr, E K. Roísiter; C. A. Rich, Tbomis Tryon. J. WiUiam
Fosdick, Chas. H. I-imeK John M. Car-ere, A F ri'0«oeh, Cre'ghton
Withers, J. H, Taft, W. W. & E. B. R9..wick. Geo. Kei-ter, Percy Jack-
son, H. L. Coulier, W. W. Ferguson, Horace Hradlpy, E. D. French, E. D,
Franklin, Hamllton Bell, Hpnry Farri'h. F. C. Bntle", Jnsbua Harnum,
Dr. Elwyn Waller. G. F. Post, G. P. Chifheîtor, O. Ma'eol.n Pi-ase', J. R.
Schroeder, Thomas G, Hijlyoke, Walter S. Fullerton, Howard Van Lin-
dererand P. E. Belt.

Tbe toasts were ..II infnrmal. but pverybody ciUed upw had sompthĩng
good to say, an'l said it j-jst as if the fpnpches had bseQ prepared for the
occasion. Addressos were made by Presîdent Rnssell Sturgis, Edward
H, Keuda'I, H. J. Hardenbergb, Montgomery Schuyler, Warren Briggs,
Architect Nickerson, of Providence, R, I , and Wm, Coffin.

Sale of Ihe Old G-reenwich Savings Bank,

UNDKKaOING   CONVSHSĨON   INTO   A LTTHOGtR*.PHĨNG BSTABUSmiENT FOR
THE Kew TOEK BANK NOTK CO.

The New York Bank Note Co , Geo. H. Kendall, President, has pur-
chased the subitantial old Greenwich Saviogs Bank property, on bhesontb-
west corner of 6th avenue aod Waverely place, aod is convertiog it into
oneof themOíitcompl-'telithngraphiogaodengriviDceatabtishmentsin thc
country. When the Greenwich Savij gs Pank abandonrd tbi.i comer, tbe
scene of its many yeare of successful business. Tvuoh wonrter wa.s BTpríssed
as towbat would tĩecome of theproperty. Tbe substaDiiai and imDOsing
old sto e buildiog was spleudidly adapted to bmkiug uies, but was
hardly supposed to be of usp fnr any otber kno^'n bosioess,

For the purposes of ihe New York Baik Note Compauy, bowever, it
is apparently well adapted. So far as tbe walîs ard general interioi'
construction were concerred the buildirg on ibe ecrrer was suitRble in
arrangement, and riquired ro raiiical alteratioDs. But there were two
other p'eces besides the batk bui'dinĸ and lots, wbicb tbe bauk bad pur-
cbased, for pro'cctive purpos°s, severat years ago. They were the four-
sbcry brick store aud flĩt bu'ldme adjoinirig on fĩth B^eiiin', mBkÍDir tbe
wbole of the.Gorcer plist 67 feet front on 6'li avenue by ^O on Wavnrley
place, aud the bhree-stcry aud basement brick dwediDcr and lot, S'.x^CO,
adjoÍDÍng on Waverley place. Tte prĩcc eîpi-fssed in i be deedi' Ifi $R7,,'il(i
for the bank buildiug aod arijiiulne property and %%2,'6Q0 for fhe Wa.v-
Rrley place property. But this prlcte is said to express somethÍDg leBn
tbaii the aotual (îons-ĩderaHoQ.

TheNew Tork Panlt Noto Co. will use tbebank buiiding and adjoin-
inapri'perty on fith aveiue for its offlcesand engiBVÍng fnd litboĸraphing
bu.=iness, and is at work uion tbo ucccs'ary alĩcralions. Arcbilecb
Stephcn D, Hlatoh has drawn tte pian íor thp n'.tpi'etii ns wbich ncquire a
m'^ijeri^ail s1|i<6u^'ening of b'cítb gtrucít'areii by^an iBlfffoí ctinsini'trtion tíf
^l írtoi'eVat'k mi*d ttiíi %tii^ cíf a graiAiIílhi'c 'iÍCor íu llve b'ai.feaĩ'fJDtl tb





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