September 14, 18b9





Record and Guide.





1229







*^r              ^        estabusheii*-^'march21'-^ ____^

Dev&ieD to Re\L Estme , BuiLoij/o Ajt.ci<iTECTO(^£ ,h(ousEitoLD DEOoi^nort,
Busir/Ess dv Themes of General 1;^t£i\est





PRICi:, PER YEAR IIV ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS.

Published every Saturday.
TELEPHONE,          -          -          -          JOHN  370,

CoDmnmications should be addressed to

C. W. SWEET, 191   Broadway.

/. 2". LINDSEY, Business Manager.





Vol. XLIV.





SEPTEMBER 14, 18S9.





No. 1,122





The general situation of business throusbout the country haa
changed but slightly during the past week. Practically a very
large corn crop is assured, although several States whicb had a
yield above the average last season show a falling off this
year. Our wheat crop is also large, but this is offset to a certain
degree by the better prospects abroad of an increased yield.
France, for in.stance, will have a crop exceediog that of last year by
at least 20 per cent. Even this, however, will bring her total yield
to but 50 per cent, of her full crop. The average yield since 1885
has been about 300,000,000 bushels, while this year it will be rather
more, England, also, has an abundant yield, and lately lias had
fine weather for harvest oiicrations. The coming Australian crop
bids fair to be a good one, while the estimate of the Russian supply
has increased 10 per cent., and it looks all around as though the
good foreign tuarket Avhich tlie speculators promise us for our sur-
phis wheat is not Ukely to crystallize. Certainly, if Europe buys
it this year it will not be at high prices, and it is unlikely that
England will be in the market of the world for more thau 140 to
150 roillion of bushels. Continued ease in money is not entirely
assui'ed, and there is no doubt but that the Bank of England is
using extraordinary means not only to keep its present stock of
the precious metals, but to increase it as much as possible. France
will not part with any gold except under stress, as she has acquired
it recently at no little sacrifice, French Investors have sold in this
market within the last few months NewYork Central stock, which
has stood since 1880 in the name of one banking house which
largely represents French interests. While the stock market is
sure to show much Jiigiier prices between this and next spring, it
seems unlikely to have any immediate' large advance, as good crop
prospects have been largely discounted, and the fears of disturbance
of mouey rates are not entirely unwarranted.





Chauncey M. Depew returned thia week from Europe, aud the
first thing he talked to us about (of course, after stating, as he
always does on such dccasious, that his railroad has nothing to
learn from the rest of the world), was what we shall have to do to
beat the Frenchman's Exposition, He is afflicted, too, with the P.
T. Barnum, "biggest-show-ou-eartb" idea of a World's Fair, and
there is no disguising the fact that this idea is the dominant one in
the minds of all but a very few. Tlie public want a big show: a
wilderness of huge buildings fllled witli a chaotic display of mer¬
chandise—soda-water fountains, sauces, bottles of beer, patent
medicines, inks, advertising signs and stuff of that kind—of no
interest to anyone, and serving merely to weary the visitor and
distract his attention, by confusing it, from inventions, machinery,
processes and produc ts worth inspecting carefully.





of goods. At the best our Exposition will be a continental affair
in which other nations will figure in a small way. A few visitors
may come to us from abroad, but the number will not be large.
People who have intended visiting the country, or those who have
interests here, may be induced by the Exposition to make the trip
for the sake of seeing us in holiday time, but we shall have no such
crowds of foreigners as fiock to Paris and make the city for a time,
like the Exposition, truly international. To attempt, under these
circumstances, to "beat the Frenchman" on his own ground is folly.
Let us try something else that will be better if possible—that will be
so excellent, so productive of good that it will be the first of a aeries
of Exhibitions of a new character, and not the last or one of the
last of an old kind.    Let us invent and not copy.    Let us make our

own model and not go to Paris for it,    Mr. Depew might have told   __

the public this to advantage.





It is plain that if New York is to have the World's Fair she will

not obtain it by merely letting it be known that, like Barkis, she
"is willin'." Chicago means to have the Exposition if push,
enterprise, brag, and an energetic public-spiritedness, of which we
seem to have little, can get it. A stout contest between the two
cities is inevitable, and it is not improbable that while the rival
dogs are fighting over the bone, Washington, like the raven in the
story, will fly away with the prize. The fact is, Washington's
chances of being the site of the World's Fair have not yet received
the consideration they deserve. It is always wise to consider contin¬
gencies, and prepare for them. It is on the cards that we may not
have the World's Fair ; and if this should be the case, what are we
going to do? If this city is not the site of the Exposition, it is very
certain that the National capital will be. The opposition of Chicago,
the wishes of a i>art oi our people by no meaus inconsiderable, any
mistakes w-c should make, political exigencies, etc., will all inure to
tho benefit of Washington. We can view this with a certain
amount of satisfaction, for a great uumber of the visitors to tbe
capital are sure to be visitors to this city also. While giving
our full support to the national undertaking, we could have an
Exposition of our own, which woald amuse the tens of thousands
who would under any circumstances visit this city, and attract
thousands of others who did not intend to visit us. Instead of
having a large Fair composed mainly of exhibits sent by manufact¬
urers for the sake of the advertisement obtained, we might have
something smaller and better. We might have an Exhibition of
quality instead of one of quantity, and instead of grouping all the
exhibits into one vast building we might have several in different
parts of the city. The money collected might be spent in the erec¬
tion of permanent structures. We might have a Naval Exhibition
at the Battery, a Fishery Exhibition in Pelham Bay Park, an
Industrial Exhibition in Ceutral Park, and a Building and Sanitary
Exhibition on the west side.   These would be eo many permanent

attractions for the city, and would be much more pleasant to visit __

than one large buildiug or a group of buildings in one spot.











It does not seem that the public will be contented with an Expo¬
sition that is not in length and breadth and height bigger than the
Frenchman's. Uuder these circumstances the Committee on Sites
is wasting its time in considering Cedar Park, Washiugton Heights,
or indeed any other sites but Van Courtlandt Park, Pelliam Bay Park,
and perhaps Inwood andMorningside and RiversideParks. In these
alone can the necessary area be obtained. It is to be hoped, how¬
ever, that before the final arrangements are made for the Fair ]niblic
opinion will change and demaud that tlie Exposition be excellent
rather than big. It is sim ply absurd for us to expect to rival the French
Exposition in size as well as iu quality. We have not the field to
draw on that the managers of the Fair in the Champ de Mars had.
Evei-y country in Europe sent its finest products to Paris, and
even American Sl:ates, such as Bolivar and Mexico, spent some¬
thing like a million dollars in constructing their ovm
buildings on the grounds^ European manufacturers will
contribute in no such way to om' Exposition, The dis¬
tance alone is an obstacle: then their interests here are
comparatively slight. The policy of the country is hostile to
them iathe extreme, and it would be simply money thrown away
for manufacturers in scores of industries to mM exhibits to thisi
country s\'here the tariff prevenrti fliem selling a sioj^'le dollar's worth





So long as we tolerate the sjioils system with its party service
qualification for office we shall have to tolerate, at any rate for a
season, men like Corporal Tanner. There are in the Federal service
to-day thousands of officials in no wise more competent to fill the
position they hold than the re-rating Corporal-at-Alma. It was hie
misfortune to be placed too near to the Treasury. The abuse which
the newspapers have heaped on the man is unjust. He was put
into the position he occupied, too notoriou'sly for himself, as a
reward for "services performed," and as an appointment d'esiime
to the soldier vote. The policy he carried out from the beginning
was strictly the policy outlined—in political terms of course—in the
Republican platform, and generally understood by a large uumber
of interested voters as it was intended they should understand it.
The Corporal has heen forced to resign, not because he has done
what was imexpected, but because the public has. Since his appoint¬
ment Tanner has been the most active member of the Republican
government iu carrying out the Repubhcau policy. For the rest
we are very much where Mr, Cleveland left us. Nothing has been
done about the tariff, the silver question, the internal revenue, the
rehabilitation of our merchant navy, or tbe deposits of government
money in national banks. Tanner alone set to work and reversed
the Democratic policy as to pensions, and incidentally did some¬
thing to decrease the surplus. Many will regret that he could not
"hold the fort" longer, but party justice demands that "some-,.^
thing equally good" should be given to him.                                     ^H

There are some figures given by Prof. Adams in his report that
have attracted considerable attention, On the 136,883 miles of road
for which he has returns, there were outstandmg, June 30, 1888,
§3.864,468,055 of stock, and $3,816,379,040 of bonds. Analysis
shows that $2,374,-300,906 of the stock—that is, 61.44 per cent, of the
whole amount—received no return whatever, while there were
alsQ 1837,554,319 of bonds (21.69 per c^nt,) on which nothing was
paid, ''In other words,"' eays the ,,f'ina?ic?'o? Oftrp'Hc?^, ■'outofan
aggregate of 7,680 raiUions of m^^ anrl. bonds, S,30|  mUVi^HU ha(i