Real  Estate   Record





AND BUILDERS^ GUIDE.





Vol, XXYI.





NEW YORK, SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 1880.





No. 648





Published Weekly by

CIk Eeal €statB EetorJj S'Ssatiatton.

TERMS.
ONE VEAJR, in advance___SIO.OO.

Communications should be addressed to

C.   W.   SWKET,
No. 137 Broadway

For the information of tho.se owners of
. real estate who will now very shortly be
called upon by a legally ajipointed Com¬
mittee, charged with selecting the proper
locality for the great World's Fair, we print
in full to-day the law passed by the Leg¬
islature of our State conferring upon the In¬
ternational Commission extraordinary pow¬
ers. We have expressed no views of our own
in regard to the site that ought to be select¬
ed, and yet we have placed ou.r columns at
the disposal of those parties interested, who,
under their own signatures, desire to detail
at length the advantages of particular local¬
ities. In order to judge, however, of the
extent, not only of the powers conferred
upon the commission, but also of the rights
and benefits that may accrue to any par¬
ticular estate entering into any negotia¬
tion or an-angehient with the legally con¬
stituted commission, we print the law in
full in its present shape, and thus give food
for reflection to those disposed to come to
terms with the Committee on Sites.





Think of it, ye Pine street brokers, that
£200,000,000, or $1,000,000,000, idle capital is
now in London awaitiug employment! Does
it not take your breath away, while you
glance at the numerous diagrams on your
desks representing so many " eligible" lots?
And yet, indirectly, and in due course of
time, a slice of this vast capital will be in¬
vested in or around New York. Already
have the leading organs of public opinion in
England pointed to these United States for
the remunerative employment of this cap¬
ital, and a syndicate of foreign bankers is
being formed to invest large blocks of this
sum in the securities of leading Western rail¬
roads and also in manufacturing enterprises.
The influx of this foreign capital, added to
our own vast resources, can only increase the
duration of a general prosperity, of which
our own city will continue to reap vast ben¬
efits in the future, as much, if not more so.





than it has in the past. Only, it will not do
to forestall events and scare would-be in¬
vestors by prices not as yet warranted by the
situation. Let it be remembered when, next
month, the market revives, that fresh capi¬
tal is easiest secured whenever, notwith¬
standing an increased activity, prices are
kept at a moderate standard.





CAN  PERIODICAL DEPRESSIONS  IN

BUSINESS BE AVERTED?
The good old adage, '' to prepare for war
in time of peace," has not always been strict¬
ly followed in the past, and the neglect has
frequently, it must be acknowledged, result¬
ed to our disadvantage. It is, therefore, a
healthy sign of the times when the value of
this good old doctrine begins at last to be ap¬
preciated in this modern business world. At
the Banker's Convention in Saratoga, while
rej)resentatives from all parts of the country
gave glo^\'ing accounts of the progress and
prosperity of their respective sections, the
question, "How to prevent periodical pan¬
ics ?" enlisted widespread attention, though
no actual conclusion was arrived at. The
discussion of the sub,] eet, however, by men
so eminently schooled in practical finance,
will lead at a later pei'iod, jierhaps, let us
hope, to beneficial results. It was acknowl¬
edged that in this country, more than in
others, extremes always meet, that a period
of depression is generally followed by one of
extraordinary activity, and that the steady
middle course in business is an exceptioh and
not the rule. The prime cause of these de¬
pressions, of course, was attributed to over¬
trading in good times, and also to the sudden
refusal of banks to furnish accommodations
whenever panic was at their very dooi's, thus
intensifying the situation. In discussing the
remedies at hand, allusion was made to the
power of the United States Treasury, and the
question was asked whether, in an emer¬
gency, the government could not be called
upon to prevent widespread disaster. The
excellence of the theory was admitted, but
how, and in which manner, hampered as
the Treasury is by Congress, this last re¬
sort could be made available, was not clearly
stated. Neither was it really necessary to
give at once a practical plan of operations.
Sufficient that the subject has been broached,
and there is ample time before the next panic
is due for practical men like these bankers to
work out this problem. The operations of
the Treasury certainly have become an im¬
portant factor in the business of the country
since the close of the war, and through the
length and breadth of the land the doings of
the National Treasury are being felt in the





various channels of trade. It does not come
witliin our province to discuss the question
whether the power thus exercised by the Sec¬
retary of the Treasury, with or without the
aid of Congress, is in full accord with the
principles underlying our j)olitical institu¬
tions, or whether this influence is salutary to
the business interests of the country. The
simple fact is, that it exists, and as such it
must be acknowledged. It will certainly be
of interest to the entire business community
to watch and see if the bankers can agree
upon some method by which the Treasuiy
can be enlisted in a crusade against the re-
cui-rence of these periodical panics. Inci¬
dentally, while discussing the possible events
of the future, the changed condition of the
country in its internal business relations, were
strikingly set forth by some of the Western
bankers. All will remember how deeply in¬
debted the West was only a few years ago to
the East. ISow we are told she is rapidly
becoming a creditor instead of a debtor, and
New York Exchange occasionally sells at a
discount in Chicago and Milwaukee. It be¬
hooves business men generally to watch
these various phenomena as they appear one
after another. The changes through w^hich
the West and the South are constantly pass¬
ing, give them increased weight in councils
like the one just held at Saratoga, and if they
can be relied upon to aid this community in
averting periodical panics with their at¬
tendant disasters, we in New York will only
the more rejoice at their increased financial
strength and power.

-----------<•>-----------

Mr. Thomas J. Creamer's lengthy petition
for a revision of the tax laws appears to be
based upon the supposition that merchants,
landlords, " money kings " and citizens gen¬
erally are created simply for the benefit of
our city government. The burden of his
complaint is, that not enough money is
handed in toward defraying the expenses of
the government in this city, and that, there¬
fore, the tax laws should be revised. He
suggests the appointment of a number of
clerks to overhaul the public records and
make still further assessments, and then he
wants the counsel of the corporation, with
some "others"—^no doubt politicians—to
prepare a new tax code to be submitted to
the Legislature, but all for the purpose of
getting more money out of the pockets of the
people for the benefit of the city government.
Now suppose Mr. Creamer and his colleagues,
while talking about the revision of the tax
laws, and prattling about equalization of
taxes, should start from the modern and just
standpoint to reduce taxation,-and to find
out some way by which less money can be