February 14, 1885





The   Record   and   Guide.





161





Let this proposed law not only decree ttet no competing Une shall
be buUt merely for competition's or speculation's sake, but that
the element of competition, being thus eliminated, shall te virtually
compensated for by rates and facilities rigorously fixed and provided by
statute. When tho English Railway Board go tefore the authorities to
protest against the proposed line whicli is to intrude upon the territory of
the existiug liuc, they have wai-rant for doing so, because not only are their
rates fixed by authority, but theu- freight and passenger service is also
largely contioUed by the law. They must charge so much or so little, and
they must run so many trains per diem between this place and that, and
stop here and there so many times per diem, whether to stop pays them or
not. In other words, the railroads of England are by law the public's ser¬
vants—the common carriers or the porters of the public. The Parliament¬
ary Railway Coimnissiou is an inexorable master, and it does not permit the
railways to usurp its functions. If a dozen lines ran paraUel along a given
route in England, they could, of course, make their rates as low as they
pleased; but though only one is permitted, its rate must be as low as they
should be after paying a fair rate of profit on the bona fide investment,
whichaU parties' interests considered, is better than a shifting, unreliable
competing rate. In England, also the road-bed and all its plant must be
kept up to the highest standard, and, indeed, there is no point of manage¬
ment or operation which is not subject to investigation and change by the
Commission. The Reagan bill, winch the Senate properly killed, was
founded upon a substantial grievance, but it was in its spirit and provisions
as hostile to the railroads as the raUroads are alleged to be to the public. It
was uo remedy at all. The raih-oads have just rights, which the law must
recognize if it would not destroy then- usefulness. The Commission bill of
Mr. Cullum is objected to because it is said th,at no Commission could with¬
stand the temptations the railroads would throw in its way. There is a
great deal of force in that, as experience proves. The Pacific or Laud Grant
RaUroad Commissions were faUures because thej- became the suppoii^rs of the
roads. But we stiU believe it possible for enough honest men to be foimd in
each State to form a State Commission, and in the United States to form a
National Commission. It is not suspected, much less alleged, that the Eng¬
lish RaUwaj^ Board is not honest. The good it has eft'ected proves that it is
honest; aud if we could have in this country a simUar one, to work under
similar laws, the remedy of the railroads and the remedy of tho people
would best be fomid. On one side ruinous or speculative competition would
be stayed, and on the other the public's interests would be protected.
Ttet is the sort of law that is needed.—Phila. Telegraph.

A Sliding Scale for Coal and Freight.

Although Mr. Franklin B. Goweii has been very severely criticised for
his management ot tbe affairs ot the Philadelphia and Reading Coal aud
Iron Company and the Philadelphia & Reading RaUroad Company, he is
nevertheless a man of gi'eat talent and is quick to see the necessities of an
emergency. The troubles ol the Reading compames are by no means due
to any lack of capacity on his part. He stUl retains an intimate connection
with the antteacite mining and transportation interests, and his views upon
the relations of the coal companies toward Eastern iron manufactiirers are
entitled to much consideration. In a receut interview he is reported as
saying that the best way to treat the iron manufacturers of Eastern
Pennsylvania is to adopt some sUding scale for the jirice and transportation
of coal whereby the latter should always be regulated bj' the price at which
the iron is sold in the market. He added that it was probable that some
such plan woiUd be caiTied out. We imagine that such a scheme would not
be unacceptable to iron manufacturers, even though they would possibly
paj' higher rates for coal and ti'aus|xirtatioii iu good times thau they have
ever done. But the good times are so short and bad times last so long ttet iron
manufacturers could well afford to take the chances, with the prospect of
saddling some of the burden of making iron cheap on the coal and railroad
compames. The proposition has much to commend it. The sliding scale is
greatly in vogue m adjusting wages, in paying for iron ore and iu paying
for castings. It ought to work satisfactorUy in adjusting the cost to
fumacenieu of these very important essentials, fuel and transportation.
This promises to be at least a very fair solution to the cUsiigi'eemeiit
between the Ea.stei'u pig iron manufacturers and the coal aud raih-oad
companies, providing, of course, that the basis i? not made to high. Mr.
Gowen goes somewhat further, however, into a diagnosis of the situation
in the East. He is evidently uot disposed to have aU the blame of the
present misatisfactory condition of Eastern iron manufactures laid on
the mining and transportation companies.    On this point he says :

A great deal of the trouble iu the anthracite iron manufacturing districts is due
to the fact that many of tbe furnaces are antiquated, only capable of producing
from 120 to 200 tons a week; whereas modern furnaces are producing from ,S00 to
1,000 tons a week, and the great economy in manufacturing iron is to divide the
fixed charges by the greatest product possible. In other words, a furnace pro¬
ducing l.M> tons a week cannot pretend to compete with one producing 1.000 a week,
because the labor renuired at a furnace producing 1,000 tons a week is very little
greater than that ot a furnace producing but 150 tons a week, and the whole
tendency of modern manufacturing is to increase the product.

There is much more truth in this assertion than many membei-s of the
Eastem iron trade are wiUing to admit. In the Lehigh and SchuylkiU
valleys quite a number of blast fui-naces ai'e no longer worthy of being
classed among possible producers. They are temporarUy out of blast, their
owners hope, but it is very problematical whether the necessities of the
country will ever rise to such a height as to again call them into activity.
These are favorable times for making changes and improvements, however,
as wages and the cost of materials are now so low that there is little chance
of then- going much lower. Old furnaces could be converted into new ones,
and old machinery and apparatus could be replaced with that of greater
efficiency, at probably less co.st than ever before in the history of the coun¬
try. But the Eastern pig u-ou manufacturers are not lacking in enter-
l5rise, and we believe that changes such as we have indicated would have
been inaugurated in that section long before this time if it had not been for
the bUghting effect of the poUcy of the coal companies and tho transporta¬
tion compames. They would have profited immensely if all the Eastern
pig-iron manuf acturers had continually introduced improvements to offset
the faU in prices and had been able, if such a thing were possible, to con¬
tinue to tm'u out as much iron as ever, and to hold their natural markets.
But pig-iron producers certainly are not to be chided for not having made
such improvements when it was apparent that furnace owners would reap
very Uttle, if any, profit from theu- operations. Perteps, if the new policy
foreshadowed by Mr. Gowen is adopted by the coal and railroad companies.
Eastern furnace owners wiU take fresh courage, invest further capital in
improvements or in new plants, and continue to manufacture iron in the
quantity that ought to be turned out by these old iron-making locaUties.—
Age of Steel.

Private Banks Disappearing.

Mr. Walter Bagehot, some years since, in his Lombard street article,
noticed the gradual decadence of the EngUsh private banks. He said ttet
it was only a question of time when the last firm of that description would
disappear or be merged into the jomt stock with limited lialiility system.
His iTords were prophetic. On the 1.5th of last month Messrs. Glyn, Mills,
Currie & Co., called by a leading London jcurual " the great private bank¬
ers of Lombard street," registered themselves as a jomt stock company.
Two other old private banks disappeared last year, being taken over by a

frovincial jokit stock bank. Others, like the Dean Pauls aud the WilUs
'ercivals, have faUed in busiuess through the incapacity and folly of their
proprietors. The English private banks have in this way dwindled down
to a couple of dozen or so, whUe among these some are banks only in name.
YeH ji^tjy Ijie^iming of the present century there were seventy private
^"'f'^vlMIPf iil Londou alosie.   Ajid, after all, it ^as the private banks





of former days that laid the foundation of England's commercial greatness,
even as far back as the last century, when the old Scotch bankei-s of Lon¬
don, Edinburgh and Glasgow financed the tobacco supply of the French
receivers general.—Chicago Ne^vs.





Real Estate Exchange Legislative Committee.

At the meeting of the Committee on Legislation of the Real Estate
Exchange yesterday, it was resolved that when the committee tidjoumed
it would te to meet on Tuesday the 24th instant, and ttet the day of the
weekly meeting should thereafter be on Monday instead of Friday as
heretofore.

The Sub-committee on Mechanics' Liens and Building Laws reported
that they cUsapproved of the bills referring to mechanics' Uens recently
introduced in the legislature, and would at the next regular meeting submit
for consideration proposed amendments to the existing law which they
believed would remedy all existing defects, and it was resolved ttet the
secretary ot the Exchange communicate with the committees to whom the
mechanics' lien bills have been referred, requesting that no action te taken
until the Exchange or its representatives are heard ou the subject

It was resolved, after a spirited debate, that a committee be appointed to
furnish such information as can be obtained regarding the location, the
numter of acres, probable cost, etc., of the proposed new parks in the
Twenty-third aud Twenty-fourth Wards and vicinity, authorized by an act
of the legislature passed April 19th, 1883, an 1 the methods by which said
parks shaU be paid for.

--------•-------

Williams on Real Property.'*

Another good book for owners of real estate is one iiublished by T. & J. W.
Johnson & Co., of Philadelphia, the principles of the law of real property,
intended as a first book for the use ot students. It is not so abstruse as the
majority of law books ujion this subject necessarUy are, and we recommend
those of our readers, and there must be many of them, interested in this sub¬
ject, to obtain a copy of this excellent work, which gives each principle its
adequate importance, presents the best of illustrations. Ls readable and use¬
ful for reference, and will always be a standard authority. It is a band-
some octavo of five himdred pages, treating ot leases and mortages, of wills,
and the kinds of estates that may be created by wiUs, the mutual rights of
husband and wife, of uses and trusts, joint tenants and tenants in common,
containing the fimdamental English law, together with the valuable
American notes with which it has been enriched by Mr. Rawle, by Judge
MitcheU and by the present editor, E. Coppee MitcheU, in its tteee American
editions.





* "Principles of the Law of Real Property", by Joshua Williams, Esq., of Lln-
.soln's Inn, one of Her Majesty-s Counsel. Fifth American edition, from twelfth
Engltsh edition, with American notes. Philadelphia, T. & J. W. Joteson & Co.,
Law BookseUers & Publishers. 535 Chestnut st.





Real Estate Department.

Although March is stUl two weeks distant, the spring business in real
estate may be said to have commenced, and under auspices that are very
reassuring. The sales last Tuesday were a real surprise to the trade. The
room was thronged in such a way as to suggest doubts as to whether the
new Exchange room wUl be large enough to accommodate several great
sales at one time. It may be, as a correspondent suggests, that different
kinds ot realty will be called at different hours, just as there is in the Stock
Exchange a separate call each for stocks, bonds and misceUaneous secur¬
ities. But not only was the room crowded on Tuesday; the bidding was
spirited for all the parcels offered and the prices very satisfactory. It is
evident that auction sales are growing in favor. Holders of property are
finding that it is not sacrificed at a public sale, as there are and have
been for some time tiained experts on hand with plenty of money who are
wiUing to give a fair price for such parcels of real estate offered as are
desirable. When titles are guaranteed, as they soon wUl be, and offered
on the market with this guarantee, it will largely increase sales and add to
the value ot the property sold.

Our reporters state that there is a much better feeling in the tiade. We
commented last week upon the fact ttet this would be a good buUding year,
as shown by the new plans at the BuUding Department and the projects
now in the offices of the architects. The demand for dwelUngs vrill
unquestionably infiuence the market for vacant lots iu the Une of improve¬
ment. We should not be sm-prised to see something of a speculation in
vacant lots before the season is over. For houses suitable for persons of
moderate means in accessible parts of the city there is a decided demand,
and for this class of property there is no concession in price. House agents
say there will be Uttle or no concession in rents in residences letting for
from $1,000 to $3,000 per annum. It is as certain as anything can te that
the population of New York is steadily growing, and as rapidly as at any
former period. Hence the demand for new houses, both for sale and to rent.
There is, however, no particular caU for high-priced houses or costly flats.
Should the present activity in general business continue and stocks keep on
advancing, even these descriptions of property may do better tefore the
close of the renting and buying season.

It was the curtailment of the profits of the weU-to-do which lessened
the demand for first class residence property; but WaU street is buoyant
again, the banking and mercantile classes think the times have reaUy im¬
proved, and hence good houses ui any desirable part of the city wiU not in
that case go begging for either tenants or owners.

It is not to be disguised that conservative dealers during January were
apprehensive of a dull spring business. They thought there would te a
general reduction ot rents and a lower valuation for realty. Concessions
were made on Broadway above Chamters street aud in the dry-goods dis.
trict on the west side. It was believed that office bmldiugs were overdone
in the lower part of the city, and that there would be a further Uquidation
in the streets and avenues east of the Central Park and west of Lexington
avenue, but more hopeful views are now entertained and a more cheerful
feeling prevaUs, for the season has opened auspiciously, and there is every
prospect of a good buying and renting demand.                                                 .,

On Tuesday the sales of the Post and Boyle estates attracted an immcdfth
throng, and very satisfactory prices were obtained, tbe amoimt r