April 6, 1&89





Record  and  Guide.





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Vol. XLIII.





APRIL 6, 1889.





No. 1,099





We persist in the expectation that President Harrison will soon
call an extra session of Congress. The business of the country is
now without chart or nidder. Our bankers, brokers, merchants,
mauufacturers, are without any guide as to tlieir future operations,
Tlie sm-plus in the Treasury is still accumulating, and uutil Con¬
gress meets there will be no legitimate means of getting rid of it.
The country will not tolerate the policy of giving it away to the
national creditors without an equivalent consideration. Secretary
Blaine is on record in objecting to the policy of putting the surplus
into the banks without interest. If Congress met for only two
months, it could start the business of the country on a prosperous
basis by voting for liberal intenjal improvements and the rehabili¬
tation of OUI' steam marine. This would furnisli a productive outlet
for the Treasury surplus. If Congress met May 15th, it could take
a recess from July 4th to October 1st, when the tariff could be acted
apon. But, however fixed, ^e want an early session of Congress,
so that means may be provided for disbursing theTi-easury surplus.





For years past this publication has been pointing out the change
wbich has taken piace in public opinion and in government action
on the subject of competition. Tlie political economy of the nine¬
teenth century, wiiich was born of the negative philosophy of the
last half of the eighteenth century in every way magnified competi¬
tion, " Let us alone," the cry was, and "supply and demand," "self-
help," "a fair field and no favor" will set all mattez's right. It was
in this school we were all educated, and our editors aud politicians
keep on enunciating the old axioms right in the face of their every¬
day experience. Herbert Spencer has lent his great talents and
lucid style to the advocacy of government abstention from all inter¬
ference with men's pursuits, aud in trying to show that the free play
of huinan forces cannot but in the end bring about the best results.





The working classes were the first to revolt against ruthless com¬
petition. -They declared that its effect upon them was ruinous ; ifc
was the struggle for life which played such havoc in the animal
world about us transferred to the sphere of human activity. It led
to the massing of wealth in a few hands andthe starvation of many
—so the trade union came into existence to get rid of competition
by uniting among themselves. The history of these organizations
in Great Britain and this country shows that in a measure they
have succeeded in putting a stop to competition in theii" own ranks.
The employers liave generally been beaten until recently, when
they discovered the value of combination, thus benefiting by fche
experience of the working people.





The Record and Guide has looked upon the formation of trusts
as a striking evidence of a general desire to get rid of competition
and to put the commercial operations of man on a co-operative
basis—a wasteful struggle for life in industry to be replaced by
asking and conceding a fair price for a good article. In this con¬
nection the following document, which we take from the Times, is
very significant:

The Wew York Nationalist Club was organized last evening at tbe
Everett House ua tho roo^ns of Stewart Merritt, who was iiistruefced by the
Boston Nafcionalist Club to (orm a local branch of its organization. Among
the prominent members of the present branch iii Boston ai-e : Edward Bel¬
lamy, author of " Looldng Backward ;" Edward Everett Hale, Col. Thomas
W. Higginsou, Rabbi Schindler, the Rev, Philip S. Noxon, Sylvester
Baxter, of the Boston Herald, Mrs, Mary A. Livermore, Miss Auue
Whitney, and others. The meeting waa called to order by Stewarfc
Merritt. Jonathan Sturgess was elected chairman, and Mr. W. C. Temple,
secretary,

A declaration of principles was unanimously adopted to this effect;

" So long as competition continues to he fche ruling factor in our indus¬
trial system, the highest development of the individual cannot be reached,
the loftiest aims of humanity cannot be realized. Those who seek the
welfare of men must endeavor to suppress the system founded on the brute
principle of competition, and put in its place another basis ou the nobler





principle of association. But in striving to apply this nobler and wiser
principle to tbe complex conditions of modei'n life, we advocate no sudden
or dl-cousidcred changes, we make no war upon individuals, we do not
censure those who have accumulated immense fortunes simply by carrying
to a logical end the false principle on which business is now based,

" The combinations, trusts aud syndicates of which the people at present
complain demonstrate the pi'acticabiUty of our basic principle of asso¬
ciation.    We merely seek to push this principle a Uttle further and have al
industries ojDerated in the interest of all by the Watiou—the people organ
izcd—the organic unity of the whole peopls.

"The present industrial system proves itself wrong by the immense
wrongs it produces; it proves itself absurd by the immense waste of energy
and material which is admitted to be its concomitant. Against this system
we raise our protest; for the abolition of the slavery it has wrought and
would perpetuate we pledge our best efforts."

And so the leaven spreads. While Herbert Spencer is wasting
his time in trying to demonstrate that government should only be
a police force, that ueither national nor municipal efforts should be
made to improve sanitary arrangeuients or get rid of squalid tene¬
ments, but fchafc it should be left to individually directed movements,
all fche great governments have been interesting themselves in
model lodging-houses, sanitary systems and otber measures for
improving the health and other comforts of the populous districts.
The world is certainly moving; but it is away from the Jeffersonian
scheme of government and fche doctrine of free competition as
urged by the English scliool of political economists.





Oonyeyances, Mortgages and New Builclinge.

THE QUARTERLY RECORD.
The figures given to-day showing fche filings of the pasfc three
mouths will he read with interest by all who own or deal in realty
as well as by those who are considering investing iu the soil of this
great city. It will be noticed that the figui-es for this quarter
of 1889 largely exceed those of last year and, with fche exception
of the buildings projected, also surpass the wonderful record of
1887, The figm-es are displayed in a manner which enables the
dullest mind ti\understaad, and we shall therefore refer more pai--
ticularly to some of tbe facts which bave brought about the
iucrease, as well as some of the transactions which form a part of
the March business.





18S9.             Couveyg.

January......     J,ai3

Febi-uary.....     1,185

March........    1,413

Total......    3,810

168S.

January.......    1,033

February......       001

March........    1,154

Total......    3,087

losr.

January.....        99G

February.....       088

Mai-ch.........     1,4^1

Total.....    3,415





CONVEYANCffiS.

Amount.             Nom, 23d & 34th W. Amount.





820,377,405
22,16U,835
25,937,16?

$68,484,407

$ir,aes,29o

20,02^,935
19,871,780

$57,182,995

$17,581,862
17,746,213
28,101,783

SG3,439,857





325
288
335

_948

226
197
272

695

IIJI
192
233

606





207
172
274





$754,225

665,331

1,093,734





653        $2,513,390





$583,926

4-14.145

1,066,493





178
113
173





463        $2,094,663





182
167
211





$874,937

035,097

1,359,160





560       $3,669,194





Nom,
64
41
71

166

33
21
53

107





87
103





Estate Sales.

■ These are some of the large estates which changed hands dming
March, together with the amoimts involved for tbe parcels
conveyed:





Joshua Jones............   3 parcels.

Kinsslaud...............   6       "

Vau Nest...........___17       "

Lorillard Speucef, Sr___in       "

Walter F. Brush.........   3       "     .

Sidney Smith............   5       "

EetaeyA.Hart.........   8       "





$425,000
391,400
333,32?
232,100
412,650
128,250
302,400





TotJll........................................$3,314,135

From the foregoing it wili be seen that the division or sale of seven
estates involved property vahied at S3,214,135,eyual to one-tlm-tieth
of the total 1^68,484,407, the consideration embraced iu 3,810 convey¬
ances recorded during the past month. The Jones esfcafce makes the
lai-gest showing, although only thi-ee parcels were conveyed, against
some twenty wbich were recorded the first days of April, The
amount mentioned in connection witb the Brush estate needs
explanation because the property was really sold for ^330,660. A
conveyance of part at $192,000 to a third party, who reconveyed to
the heu-s, accouuts for fche difference. More than two-thirds of fche
sum paid for the Kingsland estate properfcy was bid by aud secured
for the heirs. The Van Nesfc esfcate embraced vacant lots only, and
by far the largest portion does not leave fche family.
Large Sums Involved.
Here follows a list of the largest transactions recorded during
March:

WiUiam st,Nos..l0 and 18. n e cor Beavei-.. .Farmei-s^ Loau^^Tmat Co..   1f25o!ooo

Broad st. No, .13, aud 38 New st-...........Lewis S. Samuel                          !o"^nu

Trinity pl, Nos. 70-76........................J. W. £ L. N. Levy.          '"''       ]r-''>ou





Same properfcy..............................Aug. D. Shepard,.

Madisou av, Nos. lOiI-1017 iforeclos.).......Exrs. Effiugham Towusend'

niadiaou av, No. lOil (pai-t of above)........Dr. Octavius A   Wliite





2d av, a e cor I03d st, live tenem'ts
Total





175,000
153,000
55,000
107,500





......................................-..................  $1,014,000

The flrst plofc in the list wiil no doubfc be improved by the erection
of a fine office building. Parcel 2 was formerly occupied by the
open Board of Brokers, and although sold at auction some time ago
the deed was only lately ijlaced on   record.    It may interest our