February 2, 1918





RECORD   AND   GUlDii





10/





to fight the war, giving it his persona
support and participation in its national
solidarity of action and placing him un¬
flinchingly in the ranks of patriotism,
to stand four-square in the fight to up¬
hold his country*s glorious traditions of
the past, to maintain its honor in the
present and to make secure its safety
in the future.

Coal  on Premium Basis.

Editor of the Record and Guide:

I have read your editorial on Battle-
of-the-Hudson with interest. I feel it is
a much better solution of the problem
than the one offered by the authorities
at Washington.

I do not think these Monday closings
are working out the way they antici¬
pated. The fact that the day has been
declared such a general holiday is more
or less contagious. The people that it
was hoped would put forth an extra
endeavor on that day evidently do not
wish   to  work  and  therefore   take   the

day off.

If coal could be put on some premium
basis for all that was mined and
delivered to the consumer during, say,
the month of February, I believe^ it
would go much further toward helping
the situation. Allow so much more per
ton for handling it where the congestion
was greatest, and allow the dealer here
in New York so much more per ton for
delivering it for all he delivers within
a certain time. Let the consumer pay
the additional price except where he
buys by the pail.                    u i-    -4. *u

In that case alone I would limit tne
price. I think you can trust the munici¬
pality to see that that class of people
get coal, provided it is reasonably
abundant, even if the price is low and
let the others pay the additional ex¬
pense of getting it out in such times as
we are having at present.

WILLIAM  H.  BROWNING.





To   Relieve   Realty.

Editor of the Record and Guide:

High rentals, complete stoppage of
building operations, and few vacancies
should logically result in enhancing real
estate values. This condition, however,
is not reflected either in public or pri¬
vate sales, and real estate prosperity is
still a thing of the past and not espe¬
cially attractive to the ordinary inves¬
tor-                                          1 ,        J

Brick and mortar are stable and per¬
manent, and real estate with its rent-
producing income has an intrinsic
value that cannot be affected by the
many extraneous occurrences that shake
the investments of "Wall Street" like
the delicate reed in a gale of wind. The
cause is to be found in a lack of faith
in governmental regulation and over¬
taxation. It is the bulwark of our Gov¬
ernment, and largely supports both
State and municipality, providing al¬
most 90 per cent, of the taxes.

A number of attempts have hereto¬
fore been made, from time to time, to
alleviate this abnormal condition, yet
all plans and suggestions proved abor¬
tive, and of no practical value. Legis¬
lators seem imbued with the belief that
the solidarity of real estate is such that
it can endure an excessive burden of
taxation without a strain, and as a re¬
sult each year adds an increased impo¬
sition. We have a personal tax law on
our books which is honored more in the
breach than in the observance. Its en¬
forcement has been farcical in the ex¬
treme, and by clever misstatements the
good intent of the law has been frus¬
trated so that the results are inconse¬
quential. The returns have been out of
all proportion to the possibilities, so
that its repeal has been repeatedly ad¬
vocated. Unless some provision is made
in law, providing adequate punishment
for an evasion of personal taxes, there
can be no relief in this direction. _A
law should be passed providing penalties
similar to that in the case of smugglers.
In Europe the decedent's estate is ex¬
amined with great care, and if any false
returns  were   made  prior  to  his  death





the proper taxes are re-imposed with
an added penalty. The State appraisers
could certify any additional facts which
might be of service in securing for the
State or municipality its just rights.
The exemption from taxation of Man¬
hattan real estate is excessive, and
should be reduced to proper propor¬
tions, or entirely abolished. In 1917
real estate exemptions totaled $1,796,-
620,000 out of a total of $8,000,000,000.
A commission of expert business men
should be appointed to properly classify
exemptions so that injustice may be
avoided.

A bill has recently been introduced
in the State Legislature known as the
Boylan bill, which limits the rate of
taxation to be imposed on city real
estate at $1.75. The passage of this bill
would prove acceptable to real estate
interests as fixing the ultimate liability
of real estate at that figure. Property
owners would not be menaced by con¬
stant increases of taxation, and real
estate would be freed from alone meet¬
ing the enlarged needs of a growing
municipality. Should this bill be enact¬
ed, it would be imperative for the Gov¬
ernment to raise additional revenue by
opening other sources for taxations. It
is idle to speculate what commodities"
should be taxed to meet this deficiency,
but the ingenuity of the United States
Government in raising war taxes can
well be patterned.

The Mayor has appointed a commis¬
sion to devise ways and means to seek
additional revenue, so that real estate
may be relieved from an intolerable con¬
dition. This committee, composed of
such well known citizens as Nathan
Hirsch, Bryan L. Kennelly, William Ran¬
dolph Hearst! and others, will act in con¬
junction with the Tax Commissioners,
and will be prepared to receive sugges¬
tions from any and all sources, with a
view of increasing the revenues of the
municipality without adding to the bur¬
dens of real estate.

The President of the Tax Board, Jacob
A. Cantor, expresses himself in favor
of ameliorating? the condition of real
estate by any and all constitutional and
just means. He favors a stricter en¬
forcement of th- Personal Tax Law, and
is considering the advisability of tax¬
payers filling out blanks similar to the
routine provided for in income tax pro¬
ceedings so that an examination can be
had, if desired, and the proper penalty
inflicted in case of falsity of return.

The amount of personal property, sub¬
ject to taxation for our local needs, can
be vaguely estimated, when we consider
that our local residents subscribed nearly
two and one-half billion dollars in two
Liberty loans without creating a ripple
of   excitement   in   banking   circles.

It is incumbent at this time for real
estate interests to be on the alert, and
offer such suggestions to the new Tax
Commission as they may think service¬
able so that a decisive result may be
reached without the interminable de¬
lays that characterized prior commis¬
sions.

JOHN FINCK.







This department is intended to be of serv¬
ice to all interested in the real estate market,
whether as broker, agent or property owner.
The readers of the Kecord and Guide are in¬
vited to send in questions on matters per¬
taining to real estate, building and building
management, though legal questions will not
lie answered in this column. Questions should
be stated as fully but as briefly as possible
so as to allow intelligent answers. Arrange¬
ments have been made through which the
questions will be answered by a Committee
of the Real Estate Board,, including 1 le
following                                                        , I

E. A. Tredwell. real estate broker.

Frerlenck   D.  Kalley,  real  estate  broiler.

Robert  R. Rainey, real estate broker.

B.  E. Martin.                                      ,

WilUam   Douglas   Kilpatrick,  builder. .

H. H. Murdock, arcliitect.





Question No. 301.—The stock of a vegetable
and fruit store is sold by the Sheriff or Mar-
shalj who, in view of the perishable nature of
the aoods, permits the purchaser to sell goods
at retail in the store that day instead of remov¬
ing them. When night comes the landlord de-
nres to lock up the place but the purchaser of
the stock refuses to allow it or to surrender the
key, declaring he trould leave the remainder of
the goods overnight and sell or remove it next
day. How can the landlord secure possession
of the premises that evening f               '-    8. F.

Answer No. 301.—It is impossible to
answer this question without additional
facts. We know of no law> which gives
the Sheriff or a marshal the right to
allow the purchaser to retail the goods
which he has bought in the place in
which he purchased them. The general
rule is that purchasers at these sales
must remove the goods from the prem¬
ises immediately. The question does
not state whether the lease of the store
was sold or not. It also does not state
as to how the purchaser secured pos¬
session of the key. Surely the Sheriff
or marshal would have no right to give
it to him. If the landlord is entitled to
possession of the property he could re¬
move any goods he found therein.





Fire  Menace  in  New York.

Editor of the Record and Guide:

The fire menace in New York, in¬
creased as it is to an alarming degree
by the considerable impairment of auto-
'matic sprinkler protection by the recent
unusually cold weather, is a grave prob¬
lem, as the Record and Guide says—
grave beyond the conception of the aver¬
age person. Some conception of the
gravity of the problem may be gained
from what prominent underwriters said
at the New York Fire Insurance Ex¬
change meeting several weeks ago.
This meeting was held to consider meas¬
ures of relief from the perilous condi¬
tion and was the beginning of public
interest in the question.

In   remarking  the   possibilities   of   "a
conflagration  of  the  first  magnitude jn
the   city   of   the   world   which   has     '
greatest    concentration    of^   values,
prominent    underwriter   said   Uiat
could      mean     "a     conflagration





the
'    a

this
loss





amount of losr. would have^ to be pro¬
vided promptly "and not in promises
but in actual cold cash," which would
"exhaust our treasuries so far as cap¬
ital and surplus are concerned. And if
we have that conflagration and we
should be called upon for a sum of three
or four or five hundred millions of dol¬
lars, where are we to get the replace¬
ment of that fund? Can we go into the
open market today and borrow, the
money from our banks upon depreciat¬
ing securities? The very occurrence of
such a conflagration would increase de¬
preciation of our securities, and .we
have nothing in our hands which could
appeal to the investing public at the
present time to come back and fill our
depleted treasuries in the event of oiir
meeting with such a catastrophe. It is
not money we after after, it is security.
The whole basis of credit would be
shattered should the companies be
brought to the point where they are not
prepared to give the blanket of indem¬
nity to the rest of the country if their
resources should be sucked dry right
here."

As is well known, the reason for the
underwriters' apprehension of a confla¬
gration is the considerable impairment
of automatic sprinkler protection. In
remarking the importance of this pro,-
tection. it was said:                                  '

"Modern conditions have brought
about buildings of immense areas,
crowded with a value which in the time
of our grandfathers would have been
value enoueh almost for a whole city.
These conditions are largely made oos-
sible by the automatic sprinkler. With
all due deference to the powers of the
Fire Department—and the power and
efficiency of that department are mag¬
nificent—we still have to come back to
it that modern conditions in a city like
New York would hardly be po<>s^ible
apart from the sprinkler eqniomerit." ,

And because of this condition. Cmfet
Kcnlnn himself, and for the first time.
frankly admitted at this meeting a fear
of a conflagration.

IRA G. HOAGLAND.





amounting    to    $500,000,000,"    and    that
RBCORP   AND   GUIDE   IS   IN   ITS   FIFTIETH   YEAR   OF    CONTINUOUS    PUDLICATION.