November 2, 1889





Record   and  Guide.





1465







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Vol. XLIV.





NOVEMBER 3. 18S9.





No. 1.139.





In another column of tliis issue will be found an account in detail

of the first step taken by tbe building trade (with the industries
and professions related to il) to secure for itself in the forthcoming
Exposition a representation and place commensurate to its magni¬
tude and wealth. The significa.nce of tbe meeting cannot be over¬
estimated. It was called hastily, with only a few hours' notice,
yet the numbev and character of those present, and the unanimity
that)^prevailed as to tlie necessity for organization and concerted
"action to secure for the building trades something better than a
scattered exhibit mark it as the beginning of a movement that in
importance may fall short only of the movement to secure the

Esposition itself.

-------------------.-«— ■ ■—

Hitherto, in exhibitions, the building trades, have, cut a very poor
figure. They have made a display incomprehensibly insignificant,
considering that grouped as one they form perhaps the largest of
our industries, and one that certainly is veiy far from being the
least interesting, for everyone Jias a direct personal interest in all
that appertains to the design, construction and decoration of build¬
ings. The work of this industry is constantly before people, it
"cries in the streets," and both the comfort audhealthof all are per¬
petually influenced by it. If it were necessary to choose between
having in the forthcoming Exposition a Machinery Hall or a
Building Hall there are a miiltitude of facts to support a preference
for the latter. There is no necessity, however, to make a choice.
There should be both.





There is only one way to obtain a Building Hall. Those who are
interested in building iniist organize and subscribe the funds neces¬
sary to erect the edifice. There should be, and we are confident
there will be, not the shghtest difficulty in obtaining all and even
more than is ]ieeded. The trades concerned are among the very
wealthiest in the country. Architects, real estate men, builders,
and all who manufacture or supply the multitudinous materials
and articles used in the construction and decoration of buildings,
are alike interested in the success of the project. First or last,
from them would come no small portion of the fund that will
create the Esposition. This sum, if concentrated for a single pur¬
pose, would collect one of the most interesting, instructive and val¬
uable exhibits of the Esposition in a magnificent edifice which should
be typical of the highest condition of the art of building in this
country at the i>resent day. Inside and out it should be the glorifi¬
cation of the great army of builders and those who, either as artists or
manufacturers, march witb them, Thematerials used in the build¬
ing (and how gladly tbey « cuid be contributed !) should be chosen
from the finest quarries of the country and should be of exemplary
workmanship. The granites of the North, the limestones and sand¬
stones of the Central and Western States, and the variegatedstones
iu which the South isrich beyond common repute could be used.
The great wealth of this country in timber could be reflected in the
interior of the building, and the measure of the ability of our wood¬
workers shown. The history of ai'chitecture and building could be
told in stained glass, mosaic work and sculpture, and finally the
design of the building should be chosen in a competition that would
be a model for all others, and represent the highest artistic skill of
the country. Every ccnsideration that can be advanced favors the
collection of the building exhibit in a structure of this kind. The
trade should organize for it. Every individual should subscribe for
it and work for it,   Let the building trades be properly"represented





in the Exposition of 189S,and!et the exhibit be permanent. Instead
of being scattered at the end of a few months it should remain to
the perpetual benefit of the exhibitors, the trade at large and the
public.





Everyone in the trade should make it his duty to attend the mass
meeting which, we believe, it is the intention of the Committee of
Nine appointed on Thursday to call early in the coming week. The
proposition made by Mr. S. F. Jayne to hold the meeting in the Real
Estate Exchange is a good one, and that institution will no doubt
permit the use of its room for a purpose so public and important,
A permanent organization can then be effected, and the committees
appointed necessary to investigate aud arrange for matters of
detail. Not only should the building trades of New York be repre¬
sented as completely as possible, but those of Brooklyn and Jersey
City—the district of greater New York. A bureau should be
established to invite the co-operation of the building trades in all
the cities and towns of this State and neighboring States who are
interested in having the Exposition held in New York City.





It has always been the characteristic of the Etock market to dis¬
count tbe future. Securities sell there more on their prospective than
on their present value. If the earnings of a railroad are on the
increase the price of the stock goes up, although the dividend rate
may not be at all increased for the time being ; and so, if the out¬
look is good, a bull market is always expected, although the actual
effects may be postjioned for some months. The market this fall,
curiously enough, has been exceptional in this respect. The pros¬
pects have never been better, yet one incidental circumstance after
another, co-operating with a lack of general interest iu the market,
has kept prices from rising. This lack of outside interest may be
attributed, in part at least, to the present change in method of busi¬
ness due to the formation of combinations. During the process of
this cbange, business men will be forced to strengthen themselves
by a considerable cash reserve. The conditions, however, remain
very much the same. The agreement between Northwestern and
the Union Pacific will doubtless be followed by others similar in
kind, which, by facilitating transportation, will help to bring about
the unusual prosperity next year which Mr. Benuer has so confi¬
dently predicted. Moreover, there are signs that the high prices
aud good times abroad are reacting on our own trade. The ship¬
ment of iron to England by the Thompson Ironworks, of Pittsbui-g,
is significant in this respect. But the market for the present is
a waiting one.





The impressions of a foreigner who knew nothing about New
York, and whose sole idea as to the present condition of afEaii's in
that city was derived from the columns of the Evening Post, might
well think that the Central Park was a sanctuary as precious to the
rehgious aspirations, the moral sentiments, and the material well-
being of the T)eople of this city as the Holy of Holies was to the
people of Jerusalem, It goes without saying that the Central Park
is of the greatest importance to the happiness of such of our popula¬
tion who have not the means or time to seek country pleasures in
country surroundings, and that any scheme which proposed to use
the whole of the park, regardless ot its present configuration, and
cf the money and skill that has been put upon it, sbould be unspar¬
ingly condemned. On the other hand, it is not consecrated gi'ound.
No cardinal has drawn around it the holy circle of the Churcli'of
Rome; and we may be excused if we do not kneel to the curse
which tht Pont so unceasingly promulgates.





We should like to knovp whether the Exposition is worth any sacri¬
fice at all. Tf it is not, it should never have been undertaken. If it
is, should not the sacrifice be shared by all? It is very well for the
papers to urge the rich men of our city to contribute. They should
do so; they are doing so, thereby showing that they do place some
value <m the holding of the Exposition in New York. Thus far the
poor and the moderately well-off—the people who use the park—
have been sparing of their subscriptions. Why should they not, if
riL'ce.ssaiy, sacrifice a few trees and a little open space for the sake
of makiug the Fair a success and possibly of gaining a valuable
permanent exhibit. The objection is not to the use of the park, but
to its serious mjury. If it cau be used without serious injury and
to its own permanent advantage, wild newspaper talk should not
be permitted to standin the way.   Surely this is the common sense

(f tiie whole matter.

---------•---------

The committee, constituted unfortunately ou the principle that
" he who drives fat oxen must himself be fat," have not been any
too wise. Not knowing their own minds, they have hesitated,
delayed, and faced first one way and then the other. But there is
as much to be said for as against them. Coming to the business
inexperienced, and having to reconcile conflicting interests and
conflicting ideas, they have necessarily incurred opposition and
criticism.    The  att itude,-;;. how ever, with _^whjnh   their _work was