.Innnniy 27, 1891





Record   and   Guide.





'129













ESTABLISHED-^ »ARPH2l'J^ 1868,

Dn^TED TO Real Estate . OulLDI^'c ApcrfiT£CTUi\E ,KouseHou) DEGd^nori,
Bifsii/Ess A^fo Themes ofGejJei^L IKteres-j.

PRICE,  PER   YEAR   IN   ADVANCE,  SIX   DOLLARS.

Published every Saturday.

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Coniraiinieations sUonlrt he aiUlressed to

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" Entered al the Post office at New Tork. N. P., as second-class matter."





Vol. LIIT.





JANUARY 27, 1894.





No. 1,350





For additional Brooklyn matter, see Brooklyn Department immedlatdy
following New Jersey records {page 15.S).





THE stock market fluctuates according to the way in wliich
Wa.shinjrtoii news att'ects the profes.sional mind, also occa-
sionally influenced by the returns of earninjis fioiii the difl'erent
roads. But the way in which prices in the main keep their
ground or recover it wlicii lost shows that outsiders are not
anxious sellers. The outw.-ird aiipearances are not the best that
could be wished for by any nieaiis; there is very little doing in
the commis.sion houses and money continues to pile up in tlie
banks, showing how small is the demand. The failures continue
heavy in point of numbers at least, and in the aggregate if not
in the average greater in the matter of liabilities than
they Avere at this time last year. The continued
fall in the price of wheat is a very unsatisfactory
feature, though not by any means so much ,so as the doings
in Congress, where any crank.y theorist has an opp<irtH-
nity for mischief and a readiness to avail himself of it not to be
found iu any other place on the face of the earth. .\11 this
keejis alive the iinea.sy sentiment and the suspicions which have
characterized the public for .so many months now. Notwith¬
standing all this, the outlook continues to improve, even though
the Jirogress may be slow. Business that is held back liy the
Taritt'bill will commence as soon as that measure is disjio.sed of
one way or another, and not ouly will trade be
benettted by it, but tlie Treasury will tind its con¬
dition improved as soon as importers know precisely the
terms under which they can bring in goods. At the present
moment goods which have been brought in are being kept in
bond, or taken out only as absolutely required. These will, of
course, pay duty as soon as the importers can get the best terms
on which they can be released from bond. While complaints
come from many mills that they are kept running on stock witli
small demand for tlie goods, others have started up uiuler pree-
sure from,jobbers and retailers who needed supplies, and tlireat-
ened to go elsewhere if they could uot be satisfied. Taking the
situation as a whole, and esjiecially in view of the economy that
has been enforced on the nation for more tliau lialf a year, the
signs prepouderate to the encouraging side.





THE idau for converting the French 4ios into 3ios does not
at the outset And much favor among bondholders, as the
ott'erings of bontls for conversion have been very light. The
failure of this plan would be inconvenient to the administration,
because it was relied upon to eflect a saving of about >^l'.i,-
000,000 in the annual expenditures for interest whereby a new
loan could be issued, the Trea.sury being m need of new money.
Indeed, .M. Leroy Beaulieu declares that at the rate at which
money is spent a loan of from .$11)0,000,000 to.t20O,(l0(l,(l00
will be reiiuired ever.y three or three and a-half years. Three
years ago a loan of iiii7."i,000,000 was raised and the Trea.sury
is again bare. .Moreover, reports of revenue from taxes show
a large falling ott'. In (Terniany it is expected that a
further reduction in the Bank rate will be made before very
long. This gives some satisfaction, but it does not do away
with the fact that the general de]>ression is very great. Besides
the reports that come from Beriiu, of the large number of
unemployed in that city, a further iiroof of bad times is found
in the estimates of returns for the Prussian income tax
for the .year 18!i4-i»,"> ; notwithstanding that tlie number of
taxpayers has increased by l:t,!)51, thi; estimated total
yield of the tax shows a decline ol' l,(i,")2,717 marks. Towards
tliis decline corporations coiitribnt<^ a large share. The total of
the iucomes sub.iect to taxation shows .a decline of about 9 per
cent. Reports from some of the coal and iron centres of the
Fatherland are encouraging. The .Vuslrian anil Hungarian
Fiuauce Ministers have decided ou the measures to be taken to





realize the currency and standard reforms in the Empire. Jlore
than one-half of the money necessary being already coined, 200
millions of florins' worth of notes are to be withdrawn and
destroyed in 1S<)4 and ]S>>,j. This total is made up of 07
millions of one-florin notes, 70 millions' worth of five-florin
notes, and 03 millions' worth of fifty-florin notes. For these
200 million florins the bank is to receive 100 millions of florins'
worth of gold coins each year as a return for the silver
florins and notes. This will rid the bank of its silver
and allow it to build uji a gold ie.serve. Silver is to be substi¬
tuted for the small notes, and it will be interesting to watch
from this side where there is a geueral, but largely sentimental
Iireference for small paper to the exclii.sion of silver, how the
.Vustro-Hungarian public takes to the uew silver coins in the
place of the greasy scraps of paper they are accustomed to. The
cautious way in wliich this reform is being carried out is creating
confidence of its success in the minds of the business public.
The Britisii public has in the Board of Trade returns .just
published an opportunity of seeing what were the con¬
ditions of trade last year. Imports decreased 4.4 per
c-Mit and exports 4.1 per cent, the money involved
being about !i<9.">,000,00( I ill the fir.stca.se and !^42,."iOO,000 in the
»"cond. This is not nearly so liad as it appears, because a very
1 irge jiart of the decline in im])orts is due to cheapness of the
articles imported. In the item of wheat imports alone there
was a saving to the nation of about .fHli.TiOl^OOO by reason of
reduced price, and in other grains a saving trom the same cause
of $32,0(»0,000. I'hc live cattle landed in iH!)!! were valued at
!fil.'.,000,000 less than in ln92. These advantages of cheaper
food were gained largely at the cost of the United States, aud it
is some satisfaction, though not much, to note that the decline
ill British exports was due in .some measure to (.Termany and
other countries coming to tis directly for cotton aud other sup-
]ilies instead of purchasing through Loudon as had
previously been the custom. Judged from the remarks of Lord
Landsdowne, the retiring Viceroy of England, it is not likely
that the Government will go back in its currenc.y policy by
reopening the mints to silver, although he does not ajipear to
have given any indii-atioii of what the next step toward a better
state of things will be, Italy continues and is likely to continue
to occupy an unenviable prominence in all the financial centres
of Europe. It is generally conceded that it is impossible for her
to go either forward or back. The treasury is without resources,
yet fre.sh taxation means increased discontent, and failure to
meet obligations means inability to rai.se money for current
needs in the foreign markets. .\ modification of the
terms of the triiile alliance seems imperative in order
to enable Italy to reduce her military burdens. German.y
and .\ustrla have to consider whether they would pre¬
fer au ally that can with a moderate army, but a jieaceable jiopu-
lation, keep France engaged in one quarter, or one with a nominal
military force of half-a-million men, but really with troops
insuflicient to restrain its dissatisfied people, 'i'he Island of
Sicily alone requires the presence of over 40,000 troo]is, and it
is .said th<it all the mainland south of Rome is held down by the
pointed bayonet. In fact, the burdens upon the pojiulace are so
great that the glitter of steel is less formidable than the rustle
of the tax notice.





OPTIMIS.M regarding political aft'airs is an airy, fairy unsub¬
stantial sentiment. The public give themselves up to it
once in a while, always to experience a sharji disappointment.
AVhen people discussed the unexpected moral revolution mstui-
fested at the jiolls last November, they all agreed that something
better than hitherto would come out of .\lbany during tlie new
year's session. There were so many reasons for this jilcasant
hope. Had not the good people of New Vork to their own great
surprise expressed tliemselves dissatistied with "boss" rule,
and the unclean workings of "iiractical politics?" In time,
the new "Ins" might become as bad as were the old
"Outs." but for the first session at least, the moral
.significance of the election, which put the Reiiublicans in
power would make for righteou.sness. Those, however, who
had carefully studied the workings of Party tloverument
were not inclined to be very enthusiastic over the prosiiect.
Politicians, they said, are very much of the same nature uo matter
what badge they wear, aii<l only eyes atHicted with jiolitical myo¬
pia have ever been able to discover any vital distinction between
the personnel of the two gi-eat parties. Their ideals are the
same; their methods are the same ; they are moved by jiiecisely
the same motives. Events at Albany since (he o|K'iiiiig of the
session have proved the correctness of this ]iositii)ii. So far as
one can see, the State miglit Just as well have the old dirty gang
of last year in pos.session of jiower. Four weeks have passed,
and nothing has been done. The hoary " strikes," which have
made the convening of the Legislature a jiublic disgrace for
many years, Ixib up as serenely as ever, Tlie Hcpublicaii leaders
are busy seeking party advantages, and the intcresis of the jieo-
ple are receiving only secondary consideration.   Boss rule is as