May:i4, 1892





Record  and   Guide.





763











^               ESTABLISHED VÍ; i





ESTABLISHED V?'^ WARPH S\







Otv'oiEl) p F^L EsTME BuiLoif/c ArUitectjke .HoiiscUoLD Degor^tiuiI
Biísir/Ess a^ídTheme? of GeHeivI l;jTEi\Ebî

PRICE, PER ¥EAR IIV ADVAIVCE, SIX DOLLARS.

Published every Saturday.

TELKPHONB    ....   CORTLANDT 1370.

CommimicatioDs should be addressed to

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

J. 7. LINDSEY, Business Manager.

"Entered at the Posi-offlce at New York, N. Y., as second-class matter."





more than half a year previous. In the absense of any such condition
now courage may take the place of timidity for the time being, and
the persistenoe remaining, a good deal of fancy work in his
particular line may be done by the bear. A good deal has been
said of late of London enteriug this market as a buyer, and there
have been times when it was made to appear that tliere was a good
demand from that centre, but the movement has always been so
flashy as to give rise to the belief that that buying in the main was
merely a part of operations engineered here. Often when general
business is dull, Wall street is active, but that is when the dullneas
in general business foUows extreme liveliness, and merchants,
manufacturers and others have profits to invest. Novv, accumula-
tions of money are large because there has been little or no inclina-
tion for enlarging old or taking up new ventiores. Any sharp
break will be quickly followed by a rally, as is always the case, but
no sustained bull movement can be looked for uatil the bad features
of the sítuation have been disposed of.





VOL. XLIX.





MAY  14,  1893.





No. 1,261





CHEAP money and an extensive investment and speculative
movement generally go together.    At present the low rates
for money and the investment part of the movement are apparent,
but the speculative is left out.    In good bonds there was a reaction
from ^the prices prevaili.ng during the January demand, but the
losses have all  since  been   regained.    Some bonds which have
hitherto been regarded as distinctly speculative are changing status
and consequently have participated in recent buying.    The buying,
however, has been of a very discriminative character.    There has
been, in fact, a careful walking around of properties whose sound
ness hasany taint of suspicion, and the best issues of these proper-
ties show no advance in price.    This attitude ot the buying public
is wise, and while of goodly promise for the long run, it has in it so
much of caution as to make ic doubtful  that the speculative issues
will in the near future engage favorable notice.   With very few
exceptions railroad stocks are selling very much below the highest
prices of the year and in some ihe recuperative faculty seems to be
so lost that further decline is a certainty, nothwithstanding that
the   losses   for   the    year    are    large,     as,  for   instance,     in
New   England,   Atchison, Rook   Island,  LouisviUe &  NashviIIe
and Northern Pacific preferred.    Investment stocks like Northwest,
Illinois   Central, Lake Shore and Chicago & Alton  have recorded
recessions which, under ordinary circumstances, and especially were
money as cheap and as plentiful as it is now, would make   a new
advance certain and immediate.    There are, however,  too many
influences, both of special and  doubtf ul   nature, general and par-
ticular, to permit ordinary rules to vvork.    The general  influences
number among them the danger of rate disputes, uncertain crop
prospects, damage from floods and the discouraging coudition of
general business.     The peculiar conditions of certain properties,
though not by any means new discoveries, but which are lost sight
of in times of activity, have particular prominence in intervals like
the  present.     The   falling    off   in   the   earnings   of   Northern
Pacific    and    the    probable    passing    of    the    dividend    on
the   preferred   stock    has    an     unusually    depressing    influ-
ence     on     securities     of     a     system     not      at      any   time
received with unalloyed confidence.    LouisviUe & NashviIIe, whose
dividends have of late been concurrent with the marketing of new
obligations, has suffered the natural consequence, and now when
earnings fail to proportion themselves to increased mileage, is not
one of the encouraging features.    It is true that this stock has
gaîned somewhat lately when the general opinion of it is most bear-
ish, but it must not be forgotton,  also,  that it has only recovered
two points of a ten-point loss since the last dividend was declared.
The statement, wholly unoflicial, is allowed to circulate that there
will be no change in the quality or quantity of the dividend which
should shortly be declared, but this does notprevent those whobase
their opinion of auy property on careful study from regarding present
quotations   with   misgivings.     A   better acquaintance   with   the
working of the reorganized Atchison has shown a good many Iiopes
for that property, quite prevailent a year ago, to be unfounded, and
created a desire to take it at its true value, namely, one whose
splendor is more in the future than inthe present. Another unfavor-
able feature is the doubt that surrounds  the immcnse Richmond
Terminal interests.    As the plan has failed to secure the support of
the holders of the underlying issues and must admittedly be modi-
fied tojineet.their views, whatever form it takes cannot fail to be less
favorable    to     the    direct    issues    of    the    Richmond    Ter-
minal   Company    than    the     original    was.    The    committee
having    under    consideration    the    necessary    changes    have
a     large      task      likely    to      consume      considerable      time;
the Jconsequent doubt and delay are likely to be prejudicial to the
general market.    The persislence and timidity characteristic of the
bear operator have been very noticeable in tlie last month, the
former, however, being the least prominent, the latter being aggra-
vated by a recollection of the overwhelming promptness of the
response of the market ío anything in the shape of good news for





ENGLISH Consols, foUowing the movement of the issues ot the
chief continental nations, are beginningto recover the ground
vvhich they lost recently. For four years past the Bank of Eng-
land's rate of discount has not besn aslow as it is now; and it means,
of course, that in neither speculation or in generaf business is there
any profitable employment for money. Consequently, Consols pay-
ing Z^ per cent have become a more profitable holding; and the
same is true ot other securities which pay only a low rate of
interest. The present is a stage which every market has to pasa
through after a severe crisis; and for the next few months, pro-
vided the 2 per cent rate is continued, a slow improvement
may be expected. The Finance Ministers of Austria and Hungary
have entirely settled the text of the currency law and the cur-
rency convention. Three bills will be laid before the two Par-
liaments—the Currency Act, the Currency Convention and the
new statute for the bank. It is announced that the new coins wUl
contain 85 per cent of fine silver, and will be about the size of a
French franc. Both in Austria and Hungary the crops are
already suffering from the dryness of the ground caused by the
light snowfalls of last winter. The crops passed the cold weather
well enough, but lack of moisture keeps them at a standstill. If
the weather is propitious there will be an early harvest. It is
said that the Portuguese Govemment has reached some sort of
au arrangement with its creditors. The general plan is an assign-
ment of an annual sum of $38,000,000 from the Customs revenues
for payment of the interest on the foreign debt. The coupons would
be paid 50 per cent in gold and 5u per cent in paper, redeemable in
thirty years. The creditors of a bankrupt government do not on
the whole appear to be as well off as those of the average bank-
rupt American railway. Both have to surrender a great deal in
the way of immediate return; but the bondliolder in one of our rail-
road companies has far more to expect from the future.





THIS was the week of great expectations for the opposition to
the underground rapid transit railroad scheme, and it has
proven to be a week of small realizations. Three or four meet-
ings were held, at which Orlando B. Potter produced several
" witnesses," whose examinations he conducted in person. There
were but two men among them who knew anything whatever
about the plan ot the commission, and these, on cross-examinalion
by Mr. Bowers, proved better witnesses for the plan than against
it. Mr. Potter has taken to a sick bed in apparent disgust over the
poor results of his opposition, and was unable to appear at Thurs-
day's session. Another meeting wUI be held on Tuesday, when, it
is believed, the taking of testimony in opposition will close, and a
short day will be set for " summing up." The report will follow
closely thereafter, and there seems to be no doubt but that it will
be in favor of the construction of the Broadway line.





FROM the way in which the institutions located pn Morningside
HiII are going about the task of improving their recent pur-
chases it is evident that no opportunity will be lost of developing
the opportunities that are offered. The plans f or St. Luke's Hos-
pital will be obtained by a competition, including some of the best
architects in the profession ; and it is reasonable to suppose that the
outcome will ^be a building which wiU grace the admirable site
that it will occupy. The comparative liberality and fairness of
these competitions is one of the moat encouragin^ signs of our
present architectural development. It will rest with the author-
ities of Columbia, however, more than to those of any other institu-
tion to treat their plot so as to add a real arohitectural monument
to New York. The grouping and designing of the buildings to be
erected by thecollege will be one of the most interesting problems
offered to architects for many years. In fact, we can recall no
improvement in this city which has offered such great and various
opportunities for effectiveness and beauty of design as does this
one on Morningside HiII. In view of this fact it is encouraging to
notice that the arrangement of the whole matter for Columbia is in
the hands of people than whom there are no more competent ia