M'arch -1,5, .1902..





RECORD AND   GUIDE.





[ManliattBiij





473





block flocr.    Set in cemgnt, and held by iron fianges. with no air
■spaces underneath, they claim that it fills every requirement oi
a fireproof floor, and is much prettier to loolt at than the cemei
and composite floors.

The Cosmopolitan Range Co,, of No. 32 Sullivan st, have re¬
cently issued their Annual Illustrated Catalogue of 436 pages,
showing the many kitchen ranges, utensils, etc., made by them,
including the celebrated French ranges, considered by many to
be the best on the market. These catalogues, which have be¬
come great time-savers to architects, builders and others, will
be  mailed   on   application.

The Board of Walking Delegates and the Building Trades'
Council, which have been flghting each other for six years, de¬
cided, at a meeting held in Brevoort Hall, Wednesday, to stop
fighting and amalgamate. As soon as the amalgamation was
effected all strikes on both sides were declared off. The amalga¬
mated body will be known as the United Board of Building
Trades of New York and vicinity.

Halligan & Son, general contractors, of No. 549 West 40th st
are long established and experienced workers, with excellent fa¬
cilities for quick work. They excavate cellars for builders and
will gladly furnish estimates.    Their telephone call is 255 38th st.

One of the largest contracts for the demolition of buildings
In or near New York is beiug executed in Brooklyn by the Can¬
dee & Krekeler Co., for the New Tork Dock Co., of which David
H. King, the well-known builder, is president. The structures
removed embrace about 25 three and four-story warehouses and
4 elevators, formerly used for tbe storage of grain, which busi¬
ness has been transferred to other seaports. Something Uke
3 million brick were in tbe demolished buildings, and about l^A
million feet of heavy timbers, mainly 4x12 ins. x25 ft., all in ex¬
cellent condition. This materia) is now for sale by The Candee &
Krekeler Co., at their main yard, Hamilton av, opposite 15th st,
Brooklyn.     Tbeir telephone call is 313' South, Brooklyn.

Among other contracts for important work to be done this
spring by tbe Wm. Hilgers' Co., artiflcial stone and asphalt
works, of No. 202 West 101st st, are the Toung Men's Christian
Association Building, on East 86th st, for Wm. Crawford,
builder, and the renewal of all sidewalks on Broadway, between
60th and 104tb sts, destroyed by work on the subway for Con¬
tractor Wm. Bradley; also entrances to platforms of stations in
the district mentioned. The Hilgers' Co, bave contracts com¬
pleted and under way for work at many of the model tenement
blocks, including those at 10th av, 41st and 42d sts; West GSth
and 69th sts; 64th st, east of 1st av; Av A, block front, between
TSth and 79th sts; and SS to 62 Hester st, for the Bishop estate.
A large job was done at Mamaroneck for ex-Dock Commissioner
Peter F. Meyer, including stable, cow barn, hennery and dog
kennel.    Telephone, 3397 Riverside, calls the. Wm. Plilgers' Oo,

BUILDING IN K.4.NSAS CITT.
In Kansas City the tendency towards more extensive building
has been manifest for several seasons, but the last twelve
months have shown the largest development in a decade. During
1901, there was expended $6,028,170 for new buildings, $2,000,000
more than in 1900. Of the total amount spent, $3,077,000 was
for dwellings, $2,300,000 for business houses, leaving $650,000
for the sixty-seven flats that were constructed during the year,
A feature of the building in this city in tho last year has been
the tendency towards construction of homes. While last year
58 houses were built costing over $5,000 each, 1,385 houses were
constructed costing less than that sum, showing the tendency
towards the medium-class home. More than half these were
erected at a cost of between $2,000 and $3,000. The indications
are that there will be no diminution of the building movement
during the coming season. At the Builders' Exchange it is as¬
serted that every architect has enough to do to keep him busy
until far into the summer.—Kansas City Correspondence.

CITY COLLEGE BUILDING PLANS CHANGED,
The Board of Trustees of the College of the City of New Tork,
Tuesday, decided to change the general plans of tbe new build¬
ings in 140th st and St, Nicholas terrace, from a single building,
and the following specifications were sent to the architect,
George B. Post: "There shall be separate buildings for the col¬
legiate and academic departments, each to accommodate about
fifteen hundred students. There shall be a chapel seating fifteen
hundred students, which shall be attached to the collegiate build¬
ing. The physical, mechanical and chemical laboratories shall
not be in either the collegiate or academic buildings, but shall
occupy separate structures. Provision must be made for easily
augmenting tbe capacity of the buildings. These buildings will
cost about $1,500,000, while the original single structure plan
called for an  expenditure of $3,000,000,

A PLAN TO RELIEVE THE BRIDGE.
To relieve the present Brooklyn Bridge, or rather, to provide
more room for the traffic, Wm. Hildenbrand, Chief Engineer for
John H. BoebUng's Sons for the erection of the cables of the
new East River Bridge, proposes to widen the roadways for
vehicles from 18 ft 9 ins. to 25 ft. 6 ins. He would do this by
"letting out" tbe outer cables, which are now inclined inward,
or "cradled," to the extent of 10 ft The outer cables would thus
swing back more nearly to a vertical plane, though they would
still  "cradle"  about SVz ft., or a little less   than    the    present





"cradling" of the inner cables. He finds by calculation that the
stress on the cables due to extra load would not exceed 51,000
lbs. per sq. in., whereas Mr. Philbin's engineers considered a
stress of 60,000 lbs, perfectly safe. The estimated cost of this
widening is less than $500,000, and the work could be done in
about nine months. The direct gain would be rehef at the bridge
entrances by separating the roadways from the trolley tracks
and thus avoiding delays to the latter from any accident on the
wagonway. As the trolley tracks would be separated by a rail¬
ing from the wagonway, any speed desired could be maintained
by the trolley cars. This separation can not take place under
existing conditions.





Questions and Answers.

ICE    ON    SIDEWALK,
To the Editor of The Record and Guide:

I am the landlord of a certain tenement house in Brooklyn with
a store on the ground fioor. The store and rooms are rented out
to monthly tenants., I do not live in the house. (1) Am I liable
to a person slipping and falling on frozen snow or ice accumu¬
lated on the sidewalk in front of said premises, whicb has lain
there for about one week prior to accident, with my knowledge?
(2) Am I liable if without my knowledge?

Answer.—In neither case are you liable. The liability rests
upon the city,—Law Editor.





LANDLORD    AND   TENANT—OBNOXIOUS   SIGN.
To the Editor of The Record and Guide:

A client of mine owns a certain piece of business property said
property consisting of two stores on the ground floor and two
stories above the stores. One of the stores he has leased to one
party and the other store and also the floors above the stores to
another party; this last-mentioned party bas, without the con¬
sent of said owner, rented to an advertising sign company and
given them the privilege of placing a sign on the roof about 1*>
feet high by 24 feet long, and w-ithout a written or verbal con¬
sent of the owner. The lease given to this tenant is an ordinary
agreement, number 3, and does not mention anything about occu-
pymg any other portion of the premises except tbe one store and
the upper nart of the house. Now what I want to know is this-
(1) Has the tenant a right to lease said roof to this sign com¬
pany? (2) Has the owner a right to remove this sign and can he
make said tenant pay the expense for removing the sign? (?)
Should this sign blow down and injure any pedestrian on the ■
street can the injured person sue the owner and claim damages?
Kindly advise the best way to pursue in this matter.

Answer.—(1) Tes.    (2) No.    (3) The liability in such case would
be on the tenant, not 'the owner.—Law Editor.





BREACH OF CONTRACT.
To the Editor of The Record and Guide:

A agreed with E to lease a tenement bouse from B at an agreed
price for five years. A gave to his broker a check for $100. The
broker induced A to make an additional check for $50 to the
order of E. The broker has taken the two checks to B. B gave
the broker a receipt for the checks on a card stating the signing
of the lease December 31, without asking whether December 31
was convenient for A. A telephoned to B on the morning of the
Slst. B said he was busy and set the matter on for the 2d. A
telephoned to B on the 2d to find if he was ready; his hook-keeper
said E was out and would not be back until fhe next day. A
with his broker called on B on the following day and B refused to
close the deal, saying it was to be closed on the Slst, and denies
the extensions made through the telephone. A knew B's voice
through the phone. After refusing to close, A went to his banker
and succeeded in stopping the $100 check, but not the $50. The
$50 check was endorsed by B and given to the broker for part of
his commission   What cause of action has A got?

Answer.—He may sue to recover back his $50, or he may sue
to compel B to give bim a lease, or he may sue for damages for
the  breach of contract.—Law Editor.





The Population of Paris.

The figures of the French census of 1901 afford an Interesting
indication of the increasing importance of Paris in French life.
During the past five years there has been a gain of 444,613 In¬
habitants, of which 177,204 were credited to Paris. The following
is a table showing the increase in the population of Paris since
1881:

lySl  ..................280,217    1896   ..................SS,877

18S(i  ..................  75,527    1901   ..................177.204

1891   ..................103,407

In twenty-five years Paris has gained 725,262 inhabitants, and
that city has now more than flve times the population of any
other French city^as may be seen from the following table:

Paris................2,714.008    Nantes..............    132.990

Marseille............    491,161    Le Havre............    130,196

Lyon...............    459,099    Rouen..............    116 31f;

Bordeaux............    236,638    Reims..............    108,385

Lille................    210.096    Nice...............    ln.^.lOO

Toulouse............    149.S41    Nancy   ..............    102,559

Saint-Etienne.........    146,559    Toulon..............    102,602

Roubaix.............    142,365