Record





AND BUILDERS' GUIDE.





Vol. XXYII.





NEW TOEK, SATURDAY. JUNE 4, 1881





No. 690





Fuhlished Weekly by The

Real Estate Record Association

TERMS:

ONE TEAS, in adTance  -   -   -   -   -  $6.00

Communications should be addressed to

C. W. SWEET, 137 Broadway.

J. T. LINDSIEY, Bushiess Manager,

The prosperity of the times is shown by
the laxge demand for skilled labor. We
hear that some architects and builders have
come to a stop, due to the scarcity of work¬
men in certain branches and to the fear of
advancing prices. Many builders are an¬
noyed by the tactics of their workmen. The
latter find out when a loan has been effected
and a lien niade against the property, and
they make a demand for higher wages. The
builder is forced to submit pr he cannot get
his money. But then, in addition, there is
a scarcity of reaUy good workmen, and this
is true of all the trades in the country.
"When the telegraph lines were consolidated,
a nuMber of telegraph operators were thrown
out of employment. So great is the increase
of business, that not only have they all been
te-employed, but there is an actual scarcity
of good, tiraiiied te(legraphers. The trades
Unions are hot making much headway, but
there is an advance in prices along the whole
line. This in time will react favorably to
the real estate interest. It is the laboring
class aifter all who do the spending and who
occupy most of the houses. Increased
wages mean increased rents and a more ac¬
tive deinand for houses. The real estate in¬
terest leVies tribute on the entire working
class, and the higher the wages the greater
the tax in the way of rent.

Mr. Samuel R. PiUey's statements anent
the improvements going oh in the Twenty-
third and Twenty-fourth wards vsdll attract
attention. It seems the rapid transit com¬
pany has nearly got through its preliminary
work of securing title and the buildiug of
the bridge over the Harlem River at Second
avenue may be commenced any day. Work
on the road itself, once it has properly be¬
gun, will probably be finished much earlier
than the public anticipate. The eleven
miles of roadwill be substantially built, and
we are promised real ra^id transit; no such
slow performances as we have had on the
elevated roads. The tracks wiU be run un¬
der and over the streets. Iron pillars wiU
not be used, aiid the undergroimd track will
be Md upon an dpen cut. Mr. Filley is of
the inipressibn: that the central and eastern
portion of these wards will be the home of
-working people. Whatever malaria there
may be in this region is due to the damming
Tip of thfe haturEtl water courses. When
these are reopened, as they soon will be un¬
der the draihage act, the Twent5*--third and
Twenty-fourtW wards wiU be as' free from
foulair diseases 'as any ^pdrt^ of the paved
portion (tflSfewYdii CJity.       '''    '





It is surprising that "the Riverside Drive is
not more frequented by carriages. The river
views are superb just now. Shade, however,
s needed, and property holders would do
well to urge the Commissioners to plant large
and rapidly growing trees, so as to give the
needed shade on hot summer days. When
the Morningside Park and drive is completed
so that carriages can be driven directly from
the Central I'ark past Morningside and up
One hundred and twenty-second street, the
Riverside will be much more frequented, es.
pecially in the early morning and on cool
summer evenings. Some riding schools ad¬
vise their pupils to take the Riverside for
their early morning rides, as it is well shaded
during the early part of the day.





The Park Commissioners should widen the
roadway just east of the reservoir in the
Central Park, The throng of carriages be¬
tween four and five in the afternoon is ex¬
cessive, and on holidays, like that of last
Monday, the delays are annoying. This road¬
way has been widened once and should be
again. The original constructors of the Park
never realized how great a throng of car¬
riages and vehicles of all kinds would be
driven through this portion of the Park





The interview with A. B, Mullett, pub¬
lished elsewhere, contains several points of
interest.   That gentleman believes that New
York is destined to be a city of very large
houses.   He thinks that down town will, in
time, be filled  with  immense  structures,
twelve and fourteen stories high, and that
magnificent suites of rooms in them wiU be
occupied by merchants and others, who will
dispense with large warehouses and stores,
and transact their business, as merchants do
in London, by means of samples. There may
be something  in this.    Why  should  uot
many of our wholesale houses seU by sample,
and telegraph to the factories or distant ware¬
houses to ship the goods direct to the cus¬
tomer?   There seems to be no doubt that
steel will hereafter be used very extensively
in the construction of large edifices, and
that,  taking  into   consideration  its • light¬
ness and strength, it is really cheaper than
iron.     Mr,  Mullett believes in an under¬
ground railroad on Broadway, and says he
constructed the Post-Ofl&ce with its founda¬
tions on the water liae, so that the mails
could be delivered directly to and from the
cars of an underground road into the base¬
ment of the Post-Office.   He is of opinion
that the underground road should commu¬
nicate with a tunnel under the North River,
which should be constructed from the Jersey
shore to the Battery, and that the com¬
merce of this port demands an elevated road
running round, the city on the East and
North rivers, the tracks being laid upon the
tops of warehouses, so that freight could be
taken from or deposited directly, into the
vessels engaged in our foreign trade.   This,
if, practicable, wotild certainly save drayage
and waste, and place New York in the front
rank of the commercial cities of the world.





The reduction of the rate of interest on
Government bonds from 5 and 6 to Zy^ per
cent, is affecting very seriously the incomes
of insurance companies and banks. Gov¬
ernments were and axe likely to be the fa¬
vorite investment' for large incorporated
companies. But doubtless an effort will be
made in the Legislature of next winter to
permit the permanent holding of stocks and
bonds which are secure but pay better inter¬
est than the evidences of debt of the United
States. The reduction of interest will also
be a serious matter to tens of thousands of
widows and orphans who have been depend¬
ent for a living on the returns of Govern¬
ment investments which yielded from 5 to 6
per cent. It will force many people to go
into business who had thought they had left
it for good, and wiU. much reduce the num¬
ber of our idle class.





OUR ELEVATED ROADS AGAIN.
We have never believed that the Manhat¬
tan lease of the elevated road system would
finally lapse, even though there should be a
default iu the payment to the leased lines
on July 1. The Manhattan scheme was an
exceUent one for utilizing to the full our
elevated road system. Messrs. Field, Na¬
varro and Garrison made a great deal of
money out of it, but the investing public
lost heavily, and in equity, if not in law,
Field and his associates are morally responsi¬
ble for pecuniary injury done to innocent in¬
vestors; But because the present innocent
holders of Manhattan and elevated road
stock have so far lost money by the manipu¬
lations of conscienceless stock operators,
that is no reason why the public should
complain of the roads, or that the city
should unjustly tax them. The assessment
is outrageous, especially so in view of the
immense benefit the elevated roads have
been to New York, and the increased value
they have given to low-taxed city property.
Up to this time the press has very faithfully
reflected the public feeling in abusing the
elevated roads. But there is a sober second
thought abroad, as is shown by the following
extract from the Tribune:

The elevated roads have found an alternative
to the threatened bankruptcy—^but the remedy
will be worse to the public than the disease. The
company proposes to pay the amiual tax of $762,-
000 which has been imposed, and to earn the
money by increasing the current rates of fare—
diminishing the daily five-cent hours from six to
four, and charging for a ride to Harlem River
eight cents instead of five in the "conunission
hours," and seventeen instead of ten the rest of
the tune. This the company is allowed by its
charter to do, and this, it estimates, will earn
nearly enough to pay the taxes, which are 16 per
cent, of the gross receipts, and which they regard
as exorbitant and unjust. The remedy is an un¬
pleasant one, and it ought to be avoided if possi¬
ble. Tlie elevated roads, if not all our fancy
painted them, are a convenience and a benefit
whose value is not likely to be overestimated. If
their taxes are, as alleged, greater than that of
any other piece of property in the city or any
manufacturing establishment anywhere, there
ought to be some means by which an equitable
readjustment can be reached, without directly
transferring the burden to the poorest class of
travellers—^the early and late workers.

It is to be hoped that the companies will
not be forced to increase the morning aud