June 7, 1884





The Record and Guide.





611





THE   RECORD  AND   GUIDE.

Published every Saturday.
191   Broadway,   N.  Y.





TERMS:

OiVE VBAR, iu adrance, $IX DOLLARS.

Communications should be addressed to

€. W.  SWEET,  191   Broadway.

J. T. LINDSET, Buainess Manager.





JUNE 7, 1884.





Whatever may be the outcome of the two political national con-
rentione, the one just adjourned and the one about to meet, thereis
no reason for any exaggerated fears for the safety of the country.
Partisans may believe thafc the choice of a certain President may bo
the ruin of the country, but such feara are groundless. The busi¬
ness community should not lose its head if certain so-called
organs of public opinion should predict disaster if one or the other
party succeeds. Let us all keep as cool as the Btate of the weather
will permit.                        ____________

All the crop news ia good. Accidents excepted, the year 1884
will witnes3;the heaviest cropg of corn, small grain and cotton ever
grown in this country. With an average season we ought to have
two billion bushels of corn, seven million bales of cotton, over five
hundred millibn bushels of wheat, and other grain in proportion, as
a basis for tbe business of the year beginning with next fall.
There is no danger of our people being hungry ornaked during the
year to come, aod with ordinary luck we ought tohavea handsome
profit besides on our business operations.





Wall street [has been blue for some days past, due to the selling
of our local securitiea by foreigners who bought for a turn during
the recent cyclone. That buying was so extensive aa to reduce the
price of exchange. But the balance of trade is largely against ua,
and unlesf we ship more grain and cotton, gold will be leaving our
shores again. It is this consideration and the uncertainty about
the Chicago nomination which has made the market weak. But
it will be better by-and-by.    The June boom is due and it will

come.

----------•----------

According to our Albany advices there ie little doubt but what
Governor Cleveland will sign the new building law, but there is
some doubt about his approval of the bill providing for the acqui¬
sition of new park grounds in the annexed district. The pressure
upon him to sign the bill is very great. It is, in fact, one of the
most popular bills of the late session. Owners of realty in the
Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards will be very much disap¬
pointed if the Governor should withhold his signature from this

enactment.

----------•----------

The Republican platform does not give any encouragement to
the gold unit people. It ignores all that has been said about the
wickedness of the ailver dollar coinage, and calls for international
action to determine upon what ratio the two precious metals can
be freely coined ; in other words, it declares in favor of bi-metal¬
lism, which is the true American doctrine.





the Harlem River to South Ferry ; the New Haven road will also
use it to convey passengers to a new depot shortly to be conatructed
in the neighborhood of Twenty-third street. The New York &
Northern road will also come to the front again as a feeder to the
reorganized Manhattan system. The way will also be opened for
an understanding with the Brooklyn Bridge trustees and the com¬
pany now constructing the elevated road across the river to make
a running arrangement between the elevated systems of the two
cities. It is hard to judge what a man like Jay Gould may do
with the combined elevated roads, but potentially for its length
and capital it is the most valuable railway property in the world.
Ita possibilities in the way of profit are simply phenomenal.





The Cotton Exchange has established rules under which its mem¬
bers can deal in print cloths. This is a more importanl matter
than appears on the surface. It will create a market for cotton
gooda and relieve the trade of many embarrassments which it has
heretofore labored under. True it opens the door to speculation,
but this simply means that outside money will be available to pur¬
chase cotton gooda when they are low and to sell them freely when
too high. This will equalize prices and prevent many of the heavy
failures which occur under the present system. It will also make
Now York in time the great dry-goods centre of the Union, In
this connection would it not be worth while for some one of our

exchanges to deal in the  shares of the eastern manufacturing

companies ?

The Manhattan-Metropolitan imbroglio has, it seems, been settled.
Certain of the parties interested have been caught out in the recent
WaU street cyclone and were forced to offer terms. The compro¬
mise, as made, has been without the intervention of courts or law¬
yers.   It is high time this matter wag adjusted.





The Transfers for Five Monihs.

The first five months of this year show a larger real eatate busi¬
ness than in any previous five months in the hiatory of the city.
The table which we give below tells its own story of the remark¬
able activity in realty during the past spriug. The total number
of conveyances was 5,974, against 5,047 in the first five months of
1863. The total amount expended was but little shsrt of $100,000,000
(193,065,206). The total for the same period last year waa $78,140,-
456. It should be remembered, however, thafc these figures do not
tell the whole story, for, inaddition to the figures given, there were
1,306 transfers which were nominal, a great number of which
were transfers from husband to wife, or presents without con¬
sideration from parents to children; but undoubtedly in other cases
the amount paid waa concealed for a purpose. Still as au offset to
this possible augmentation of the actual sum paid for real estate
there were many cases where the consideration was overstated, in
order to give fictitious values of property for sale. It is, liowever,
safe to estimate that during the first six months of this year nearly
$125,000,000 will have been invested in New York realty.

It is also worth noting that the number of transfers iu the Twen¬
ty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards is steadily increasing. There
were about 200 more this year than lasfc, and $1,753,846 was in¬
vested against $1,406,3S7 for the same period in 1883. Should the
Governor sign the new park bill the transfers of property in the
annexed district would double aud even treble as^compared with the
number which took place last year.

\ |Turning to the record of mortgages we find the total for the five
months was $57,456,800, against $53,303,0:2 during last year. The
mortgages for the month of May are unusually large, owing to the
Wall street embarrassments; but the gratifying fact is shown that
while the money invested in real estate is largely in excess of last
year th? relative mortgage indebtedness is far less; that is to say,
more people have paid in cash, and have reduced instead of in¬
creased the liens upon their property. This is the moat healthful
symptom of the present real esfcate situation. But the following is
the table, compiled from our records, from which our readers can
draw their own deductions:





CONVBYANOBS.





1883.         No. Conveys.

January......       929

February.....       844

March........     1,031

April.........    1,235

May..........     1,009

Total......    E,047

1684.

January......       941

February.....       8M2

March_______    1,134





imount.
$ll,a75,TGG
13,785,799
17,i52,m9
IH. 643,671
16,98J,aal





Nom. S3d & 91th W. Amount,





a5B
216
2i7
269

aofl





85
10(i
]03
101
J37





$147,895
341.356
201,572
38^,793
3-39,769





878,140,456          .1,300





5-11         51,4(16,.S87





April.
May.





1,537
I.-ISO





S 14,362,7'12
18,306,093
16,359,029
25,065,37.^
23,971,389





Total......    5.974





No.

1883.                    Morta.

January.........       904

February........       7'2

•March.........    1,011

April............    1,004

May.............       033





$99,005,206





143
357
270
20S
335

l,3t]6





lao

1S8
134
165
J65





*351,03!

sm.uo

335,373
275,061

4ie,ai2





718        $I,75-',846





Nom.

23
35
L'6
SS
37

149

24
30
33
02

37

191





uoRTOAass.





Amount.

»11,C33,156
8,0tiii.272

'12,061,779
11,375,185
10,665,630





No. at

5 p. C.

333
270
332
370
310





Amount.
$3,985,745
2,035,862
3,787,067
4.911.638
3,737,759





No. to
Banks &.
Ins. Cos.

117

147

191

H7

133





Amount.

$1,995,182
3.132,900

*:).576,100
4,06S,B0O
3,175,60'J





TotftI........    4,5D4        $63,202,022        1,614      $19,348,271





708      $I9,£48,5?J!





1884.
January ..
February,

March___

April......

May......





800

708

911

1,I.')9

1,137





$9,700,463
7,414,053
13.iei>,140
11,463,411
15,693,731





,3;i3
250
329
485
401





$3,403,204
3,19s,-J5S
3,466.130
6,120,083
6,411.665





J5I
129

223
177
201





$2,751,100
3,'.'10.766
4,678,1 JO
S r.62,600
0.539,350





The settlement of the elevated roads disagreement will have
several important consequences. The Suburban Rapid Transit
Ctompany will shortly commence work in the annexed dietrict.
The Second avenue line wiU be utilized for through trains from





Total........    4,811        $57,456,806        1,838      $31,621,395          881      $I9,74i,!6H

* Does not Include ona mortgage for $10,000,COO on property ot Poatal Telegraph
Co.

The record of new building plans filed is also very eatisfactory,
Thefigureswegivebelowwillgreatlysurprisenot only ownera and
dealers in realty, but the businesa public generally. The number of
plans filed during May compared with the two previous years have
nearly doubled, and the amouni; which it is propoaed to invest in
new buildings is $8,688,025, against $4,870,747 in the May of last
year, and $3,917,350 in the same month of 1883. The total for the
five months for 1884 is $34,415,051, while for the corresponding
period last year it was $31,748,369. In 1883 the plans caUed for an
expenditure of $17,826,370.
Eut here an explanation is in order.     It does not follow that be-