.inly SB, 1891





Record   and  Guide.





107







DtvbTED TO f^L EsTME. BuildiKg ^crfiTtero^E .Household Degoh^toiJ.
Basif/Ess AtJo Theme? of OeNeiv-L 1>tei\est

PRICE, PER YEAR I!V ADTAIVCE, SIX DOLLARS.

Published every Saturday,
fELEPHONE       ....      Cortlandt 1370.
Communications should be addressed to

C. W. SWEET,  14 & i6 Vesey St.

J. I. LINDSEY, Business Manager.





Vol. XLVIII





JULY 25, 1891.





No. 1,219





The publication offlees of The Record and Guidb have been
removed to Nos. 14 and 16 Vesey street, over The Mechanics' and
Traders' Exchange, a few jeet west of Broadway.

THE NEW MAGAZINE.

Within a few days now will be issued the first number of the new
illnstrated quarterly magazine. The Architectural Record
Readers of The Record and Guide, and those who have received
our circular letter, who desire to become subscribers to the new
magazine should lose no time in sending in their names and
addresses to the offices of publication, Nos. 14 and 16 Fese^ street.
New York City. The reception which has been given to the new
enterprise by the architectural profession, the builders of this
country and the general public has been most encouraging. The
new magazine will start ivith thousands of readers in every State
in the Union, and the large cities have shown an unexpected inter¬
est in the new periodical. We are desirous, of course, of^ having
the subscription list as large as possible for the first number, and
in order that delivery may be prompt, all intending subscribers are
requested to send us a postal card at once. The first number of the
magazine will contain " The Revival of Romanesque," by
Montgomery Schuyler, with thirty full-page illustrations; "An
'American Style'' of Architecture," by BarrFerree; "■Architectural
Fads," by George Keister; " The New York Building Law," by Will¬
iam J. Fryer, Jr.; "Terra Cotta," by Jas. Taylor; ''Byzantine
Architecture," by Professor Aitchison, and other articles, editorial
departments, etc., uith numerous illustrations of recent de¬
signs for office buildings, residences, clubs, churches, country
houses, electrical fixtures, fumiture, interiors, etc. The magazine
vnll be printed on the finest paper, and no expense or pains have
been spared to make it the leading architectural paper in the
country.   The annual subscription price is $1.

THE conditions adverse to the stock market wbich we pointed
out last week are still in the ascendant. Business is limited
and more directed to selling than to buying ; Louisville & Nasb-
vile and Burlington & Quincy remain attractive spots for the aim
of operators on the short side ; there is more talk of trouble in Lon¬
don ; the gold movement continues under such anomalous con¬
ditions that it is impossible to calculate where the end will be;
finally, the Richmond Terminal issues continue to sustain the
anxiety of their holders. The disfavor with which the new issue of
Louisville & Nashville has been received is shown b/ the quotations
for the rights, worth at the time of their announcement from
twenty-five to thirty-five dollars, which yesterday sold for four
dollars. Burlington & Quincy is weak because the payment of
. dividends at the rate of 4 per cent per annum i^ sailing very closely
to the extreme limit of the company's earnings. There
is no doubt the management is relying on an unusually
large fall business to carry it through and with good
reason. The grain movement even now is very great, but
meantime the stock finds few supporters, and unless the expec¬
tations of an increase of earnings this fall are realized, the selling
will be justified by the action the directors will find themselves
compelled to take on the dividend. The main trouble in London,
the River Plata Bank having been disposed of so far as to suspend,
is with a house that has been more than once the subject of similar
talk since last November, and anything which could happen to it
now would not be so very injurious, probably a collapse would be
less prejudicial to the general market than these periodic relapses.
More serious is the engagement of a million and a-half of dollars
gold for shipment to-day with exchange at about three and a-balf
cents lower than the cost of the gold to the European buyer. And
no explanation, whether it be to meet drafts to be made later on
or to relieve the necessities of an embarrassed foreign market can
remove^the'anxiety which the continuation of gold exportations





causes. For these reasons there is little prospect of change in the
attitude of the stock market in the near future. There are some
features favorable to American securities, however, which should
not be lost sight of, ani which at a time like this it is particularly
important to bear in mind. For instance, London confidence in
them is displayed in over-subscribing the $5,000,000. Manitoba 4
per cent loan'and the grain movement in Chicago has already
begun to be heavy, which must benefit all the lines converging at
that point.





THE security of the obligations of many governments, both in
this country and abroad, has lately been so continuously
impugned that a summary of the present position and prospects of
these .obligations by a well-informed correspondent of the London
Economist will prove interesting and instructive. This writer pre¬
mises that strong governments in great and wealthy countries can
always find money by loans if they choose to adapt their conditions
to the wants of the public and the interest of the bankers. With a
clever, energetic Minister of Finance the credit of a strong and well-
administered empire seems inexhaustible. Everything is a ques¬
tion of skill, convenience and adaptation. When the Old
Regime broke down the French Government could find
no money, and it was thought that the country could
not bear its debts. After passing through a period of com¬
plete disorganization the French Empire, under Napoleon, was
again on the top of prosperitv, although the debt of France had
risen to many times the amount it stood at during the last days of
the Old Regime. This was simply the effect of good administra¬
tion, political and economical prosperity, military strength, and
the organization of credit. This example shows how imp<j3sible it
is ro puta limit on the extent to which a country may incur obliga¬
tions. No one can say that Russia, France or Germany could go
beyond a certain sum in their loans and expenses only by destroy¬
ing their credit. If they can discover new fountains of income,
create new resources, maintain or increase their political
prestige, they may go to almost any length. It is,
therefore, absolutely impossible to say anything definite
about the probable course of the market for tbe loans
issued by the strongest countries on the Continent. The case is
somewhat different as regards the securities of the weaker nations.
Austrian finances have never been regarded as being administered
in a way that could serve for a model—a fact that is not due to lack
of financial genius among her statesmen, but to the political com-
jwsition of her empire. To centralize is very diflicult here. Yet
the more steadily and the more eflBciently the administration in
Austria and Hungary works, the greater credit the monarchy
will enjoy in the market. And from this point of view Austro-
Hungary undoubtedly shows herself in a most advantageous
position. About Italian loans there is an unmistakable conflict
between opinions and wishes. German financiers, because
of the feeling engendered by the Triple Alliance,
would like to help Italian loans; but all efforts in tbis direction are
thwarted by the present unfortunate economic position of the
country. Similar observations may be made in regard to Portugal,
Turkey, Greece and Spain, and it does seem probable that the pub¬
lic will adopt any very hopeful views in respect to these countries.
Of late the renewal of the Triple Alliance for six years is leferred
to as an element of strength, and the alleged addition of England
to that alliance is also made a strong point. But everybody is
aware that, in spite of treaties, Europe is an armed camp, and
though the views referred to may be attractive to onf-half of
Europe and [consequently to tend to an improvement in
business, the impression on the other half of Europe is
just the contrary. There is yet another view to take. In
some of the European nations tariff questions are now, or are
about to become the order of the day. In others the prices of bread-
stuffs give ris^ to all sorts of discussions, which indirectly bear on
the causes influencing the market for loans. In Germany it is pro¬
posed to reduce considerably the Customs tariff for cereals. This
question has already had a serious effect on operations in rouble
notes and Russian loans. They rose when the reduction was cred¬
ited, and fell when the hopes therefor were temporarily disappointed.
It is not improbable that the German politicians and economists
will in the course of time have to approach other tariff questions,
besides those concerning grain. Tho coal trade and consequently
the iron and steel trades cannot be left in their present suffering
condition. The conclusion is inevitable that the political and econ¬
omical prospects of the continental countries are fraught with
uncertainty, and obviously this must detract from tbe value of
funds in tbe market, coupled with the fact that values have at
present a natural tendency to fall.





THE Rapid Transit Commissioners have again commended them¬
selves to the traveling public of this city by the selection of
the second route, one with novel elements not before suggested in
the newspapers. It was generally supjiosed that the route selected
would be that of the Belmont Commission as far north as 43d street,