Real  Estate   Record





AND BUILDERS^ GUIDE,





YoL. XXIV.





NEW YUliK, JSArUllUAi, JSOVEMBJiR 8, lb79.





JS'o. 608.





Published IVeekly by

'€bt Seal Estate Secorb l^ssoctation.

TERMS.

O.VE VEAR. in advance... .*10.00.
OotnmunicationR Rhould bn addre.iscd to

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No.s.   115 AND  1}" nROAnW.^Y





THE RECORD'S NEW UFFICES.

On and after this da}-the oltlce.'^ of Tiik Rkal
Estate Record will beut ISnanil l?.THrnad%vny,
corner of Cedar .street.

This removal to the imiiu'diatt' vii-iuit^- of the
real estate market, has been iieoe&sitated by a de¬
sire to aecoinmotlate our numerous friends and
suKscribers, for whom Tuk RKOcmo h;is now he-
come an all iinportant adjunct for tho proper
transaction of busine.s.s.

"Whatever new spirit and yiu?rs.v may bu ile-
veloped in the real estate and building market
will, in the future, as it has been in the pa.st, be care
fully reflected in these columns, and in its new
i}uarters e.<pecially it will continue to be a faithful
Record and safe Guide to all those interested in
real property, whether located in NewYork or in
any part of the United States.





ABOUT INVEST.MENTS.

The ar icle in Tub Real Estatk Rkcokd of la-st
week entitled "In what shall we Invest ?"
attracted considerable attention and has e.xcited
much comment. It will ba remembered, in that
article, we trietl to point the moral of the recent
railway securities stock speculation. Starting
from the fact that there has been but a slight
advance in the .so-called ''gilt-edged" .securities—
that is, the New York Central, the Chicago &
Rock Island, the Chicago, Quincy Sc Burlington
and the other great and rich trunk lines that we
pointed out, there had been a very large advance
in the s i-calleil "wild cats"—in the low-priced
.securities. We alleged that this advance in the
*' wild cats," so-called, was bas-^d upon a sound
bu-dness reason and that it was the wise and far-
seeing of the railway stock speculators who
bought the cheap rather than the dear stocks.

The point to be borne in mind is that the trans¬
portation lines are being unified—that, in our
immense country, the railway system is becom
ing one, and that it must eventually be managed
iu a common interest and perhaps under some
one general management.

The Western Union Telegi-aph Company is an
instance of what must happen to the whole rail¬
way system. The Western Union was, at one
time, as tbe name shows, a combination between
a few Western telegraph lines. These connected
Chicago with several of the outlying large West
ern cities, but little by little the Western Union
picked up first this line aud then that liue until
the West and Northwest telegraphs were under
the on« control. Its consolidation with the Amer¬
ican Telegr aph Gompiny, which owned most of
the Eastern lines, followed, and then came miuor
cousolidatiDus with tho Southern Atlantic Coast
and Suuthwestern line.?. Then followed the con-
wlictnfctoh with the Atlantic Si Pacific, the Fi-ank-





lin and others, until finally the whole system of
•elegraphs is now under one management and
iwuership.

The consolidating prot;ess has steadily gone on
•n our great railway system from the very first
True, we have now several great opposing com-
•linations seeking connection between the two
iceans. But there seems to be every reason to
believe that William H. Vanderbilt and Jay
jould have struck hands, and that t4>day the
j;reat trans continental linei are practically under
me management. Tho strength of the weaker
railw.iy secuiicie.s in tbe market ii this knowl¬
edge that the great rich trunk lines are forced to
()urcha.s*tliem and make them a part of the gen¬
eral railway system of tbe country. Tho child is
living who will see our whole railway sy.stem
practically controlled by one set of directoi-s and
che^-, in turn, subordinated to the government of
die United States. Not only public, but private
interests aro rapidly bringing this consolidation
•ibout. It is the interests of the Presidents,
Directors and sub-ofTicers of all the railways of
tho country to unite. There is money to be
made by nianipuluting the bonds and stocks of
the weaker companies and American oflicials are
not, gi'iiorally, averse to making money by
manipulating the stock of the road.s committed to
their care.

It is these considerations which must bo borne
ill mind by prudent investors. Thoj^ are safe
uuiugh ill buying and holding the bonds of first-
cla.ss road-;, though it seems to us the prices for
these securities are very high, but we do not
chink capitalists aro .safe in paying very much
dbovo par for the leading railway securites, for
the reason that in time these are to be taxed to
support the weaker and less valuable lines.
Evei'i' new connection, while a benefit to the
country aud to the sto^-k of the leased or guaran¬
teed road, is another burden upon the back of the
sjreat trunk line. We know what the history of
the Penn-tylvania Central has been-in itself a
magnilicent property; the panic found it so laden
down with connecting lines that it looked at one
time as if a receiver would have to be appointed,
riie history of the Penn.sylvania Central is about
t'j be repe.ited by the New York Central, by the
Chicago & R ick I->land, by the Chicag i, Qaincy
& Burlington aud by the Union Pacific and the
Central Pacifi ■. They cannot help themselves.
They must act. and that in the direction of exten¬
sions, leases, guarantees and the purchase of the
stocks and bonds of connecting lines. How far
this movement of the great lines to give value
to the connecting lines has proceeded, will be
seen by the folio iving summary of the prices
which we give of the minor stocks :

N'onhwest, common.........^    Nov!!'isrU'        liy

Erie                                           ■*    -^t»'"''. '^^-         ^%

^"\.......................... i    NOV..18TU.          41^1

Hannibal & St. Jo., common.. i.    ^{J^"" j|;'J"         yy

Ohio & Mississippi ...........j    i"ov'.".'i879.         ai'sl

waoasn...................^    Nov.. 18T9.         BO

Hissouri, Kansas & Texas___<    j^iA'                  gj

Kansas City & Northern......|    ,4ov."'i8?9^'        46

Kansas Pacific ...............|    ^^^[S.-        sl

BurtiuKton & C^dar Rapids... i    ^»^''^'        ^^





If our readers wiil consult the list of higU
priced securities, they will fir.d that there has
been but a relatively slight advance, so that the
speculators of the street are justified in the
course they have followed, and the very wild
talk in the daily pres-; about the dangerous specu¬
lation in Wall street, tbe c*>rtauity that the
bubble will be pricked and the like, d<x-s not show
much judgment of tbe situ itiou by the ordinary
newspaper writer. It is the high priced securi¬
ties that are dear. It is the low priced se<rurities
whieh are cheap, and in which there is yet money
to be made. There will be Heavy " set backs,"
and iu many securities there will be dangerous
speculations, but upon the whole ue judge that
the market is not yet up to its liigliest figures,
and there is a great deal i)[ money to be made by
judicious investments and daring speculations.

The moral of all this is plain enough. For per¬
manence, stick to real os.ute. Fir.st mortgages,
at the pre.sent price of property, aro among the
most desimble of investments. Well located real
estate Is a splendid purcha.se One cannot go
amiss in purchasing property upon N«w York
Island, no matter what its present character.
Buildings for ofiices down toun will also be found
a most lucrative investment. Prop<-rty in the
business parts of the city offers nuequa led advan¬
tages to the capftali.st. There is a sure and certain
future for all the well built houses in New York.
Nay, even tenement property and neglected busi¬
ness locations in the lower parts of tbe city are
certain of a large advance. The same holds good
of unimpioved property in this citj-. and also on
the oth^r side of the Harlem Itivi-r. Nor is
Brooklyn and Jersey property.' without merit,
though the ailvance cannot be relatively as much
in real e.state as in New York city. But it is as
certain as anything in the future that the next
great panic will find our leading trunk lines laden
down with the obligations of the connecting and
competing roads ; that history is ab;)ut to repeat
itself in the grand consolidations amonsj railways
which is about to take place : thus following the
example of the Western Union Telegraph Com¬
pany, while this will strengthen the general rail¬
way sj'stem. it will weaken the great trunk lines,
so that they will be undesirable for permanent
investment.





THE TONE OF THE M.ARKET.       ^

A TEMl'ORAUV Lll-I.—ISTKRVIEWS I.N rI^E STfiEKT—
UOW .SO.ME l-EOl'LE W.aXT TO OET KICU IN A W. KK—
H03IER MOIIGAX US Itfc.NTS. —ANTllo.XV .1. Bl EECKEB
O.N   UKiUEK  I'KICES.

The readers of The Recoku will understand
that the parties interviewed are solely responsible
for the views expressed by them. Our c^dumns
are open to all who have something to say. and
whose business or experience enables them to say
that something intelligentlj-. In presenting the
various views of men, well known in the real
estate mai ket, we do so without either endorsing
or contradicting them.

There certainly is a disposition in some quarters
to lake too much advantage of the increased ac¬
tivity of the market, and pile on tbe prices for
lots which they were glad to get rid of for almost
any sum less than a year ago. Some very sen¬
sible remarks were made on that subject by Mr.
D; M; Seaman in au interview which the writer