October"13,1894





Record   and   Guide.





499









.^4^

EGT;(PUSHED^MRR.CH?1M>1868.

De/oteD TO flE\L Estate,BuiLDi|/GApcrfiTEcnjRE.Ko\JSE:iloiDDEGaRATioi).
Bi/sit^EssAttoTHEwr^ OFGEiJEi\ftl IiVterest.
PRICE,   PER   YEAR   IN   ADVANCE,   SIX   DOLLARS.
Published every Saturday.

Telephone,......Cortlandt 1370

Communication8 should he addressed to

C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street,
J. 1. LINDSEY. Business Manager.

Brooklyn Office, 276-282 Washington Street,

Opp.  Post Office.

" Entered al ihe Posl-offiee al Keiv York, N. Y., as second-class matter."





Vol. liv.





OCTOBER 13, 1894.





No. 1,387





For additional Brooklyn matter, see Brooklyn Department inimediaieiy
followina Xew Jersey records {page 524J.

THEKE is apparent a haltiug, or perhaps more properly
speaking, a retrograde movement in aluiost eveiy liue of
busiuess. This may be explained by the season, the prominence
in men's minds of tlie coming elections, tbo recent religious ob¬
servances which have kept so many members of tliat natiou
which influences every commercial centre from business, aud
the limit of the ability to purchase beiug reached for the time
being. There is, too, a feeling of disappointment iu the results
of operations during the tine season, with little encouragemeut
iu sight for tbe coming winter mouths that has also a consider¬
able influence. Tbe crop reports continue to be bad reading,
the comparison between previous years both in yield of wheat
aud corn and their prices, indicates such a depreciation of re¬
sources iu the regions they most etfect that it arouses ouly
very gloomy views at present; later, some mitigating cir¬
cumstances will come into play, and at least
modify those views. Going into the stock market, for instance,
the extreme bear opinion on tbe West is tbat the people have no
money to travel with aud nothing to ship, the extravagance of
which is apparent. But AVall street is the gloomiest place to be
found anywhere to-day, though tbere are signs that the stock
market has discounted the bad features of the busiuess situation
for a moderate period ahead. If there was a little more activity
in the commission houses, amore positive opiuion might be ven¬
tured, but while these are so dull, prices are very much at
the mercy of traders whose chauging fancy there is uo fore¬
telling.

----------•----------

WHILE a great deal is very naturally made of the efi'ects on
the business situation yet to be experienced, of the
shrinkage iu the coru crop, no attention seems to he paid
to another poiut which will go ou the credit side of tbe
agi-icultural ledger. This is the improvement of all fall crops
aud late pasturage as a result of the plentiful rains and sunshine
of the past two montbs. The spring-like freshness of the grass
everywhere observable, though most uuusual at this time of the
year, is alone signiticaut of a large addition to tbe means aud
resources of the fanner, and has au actual pecuniary value whicb
will compensate for. a part of tlie losses the country has sus¬
tained through the drought of the summer. To this must also
be added tbe value of many small crop.s which have also been
benefited by recent climatic conditions and whose share in the
total of the year's returns from agriculture ia 'by no meaus iusig-
niflcaut. Another thing not without importance is that if tbe
experiments, now beiug made with wheat as cattle feed, are as
successful as tbey promise to be in enlarging tbe uses of that
grain it will uot continue long to sell at the same price as corn.





THE uuion of all the anti-Tammany forces will test the
strength of tbe Wigwam at the coming municipal election.
Political arithmetic is noflOviously uncertain, but so far as paper
calculations go, it is difficult to see how Tammany can come out
of the contest a victor. Colonel Strong, the nominee of the
anti-Tammany combination,is pretty nearlj"" as strong a candidate
as could have beeu put up. He lacks, perhaps, something of the
popular esteem iu which, for instance, Mr. Seth Low is held,
but be lacks little else. Any slight obscurity surrounding bim
at present will be dispelled before election day, and voters will
bein very little doubt as to who the man isor asto what he stands
for. Mr. Strong's election will meaij a newregiTuein the admiu-
istration of the city, and it is scarcely Puritanism to desire a
change iu the administration of the city's affairs after the recent
disclosures made by the Lexow Committee. Mr. G-off's investi¬
gations, of course, have been limited to only one department of
the governmeut, but no sensible person believes for a moment
that all the other departroents of the administration are uot
Bimilarly tainted.    The ofeople of this city have been given an





lesson as to what goverument by "politics" meaus, and It Is
simply impossible for any one to believe that they want it to be
continued. The union of othenvise hostile factions, under the
leadership of Col. Strong, indicates a real detennination to
bring about, at least, a measure of reform. Complete reforma-
ation at one bound is, perhaps, not to be hoped for. The most
that can be looked for is a decided measure of improvement.
The combination of Republicaus and Democrats vnXl iu itself, if
successful, insure greater progress later on. It is a decided
step toward nou-partisauship in muuicipal affairs. Tbe mani¬
fest absurdity of attempting to govern the city upon political
lines will be driven home by au object-lesson, the force of which
can uot but be felt by eveu the most rabid party men. The efficient
management of the cityis entirely a matterof selectiugefticient,
honest meu for the work that has to be doue. It is precisely
similar to the successful management of a business concern.
The merchaut who should engage hia assistants and workpeople
solely according to the way they voted would be regarded by
everyone as fit for instant transference to au insane asylum. To
endeavor to cleau city streets by "politics" is every bit as
ludicrous, aud the people who persist iu the method deserve to
be secluded with the merchaut. A Chinaman who should faith¬
fully describe the principles upou which New York city is man¬
aged woidd undoubtedly figure as a very comic persou among
his fellow Celestials. If we had uot tried the system, and had
not beeu confronted for years with the resirltiug criminality and
inefficiency, tbere might be some excuse for people going to the
polls, election after election, to vote for officials according to
"politics." We have been prosecuting the absurd busiuess,
however, since childhood, with the result that New York is to¬
day the type of a mismanaged city. To-day the indication is
that common sense is about to play some part iu our affiiirs.
The eleetiou of Colonel Strong is hardly to be doubted. His ac¬
cession to office will mean more busiuess and less politics tban
we have had iu the City Hall almost since that venerable build¬
ing was constructed.

Kapid Transit at Last.

CERTAINTY has so frequently proved uncertain in the par¬
lous undertaking fo supjdy New York city with an adequate
system of rapid trausit that it is running something of a danger
to say: "At last, the metropolis is practically assured of au
adequate system of transportation." This does seem, however,
to be the case. There is an unusual au- of certainty about the
]jreseut situation. It is true, the whole affairis still in a theoretic
condition. Constructively, nothiug bas yet been decided upou.
The problem is still more or less in the control of popular
clamor, and as the judgment of the multitude has ali'eady given
several curious twists to (be matter, it is, of coiu-se, uot impossi¬
ble that it may give one more turn to it a.ud talie it quite off the
lines upon which it is at preseut.

It will be remembered that at oue time the prevailing concep¬
tion of rapid transit was uot mueh beyond a third track ou the
elevated road. At the time, the Manhattan Co. was quite ready
to extend its system, bnt public opinion, which usually means
public prejudice, was "down on" the late lamented Jay Gould,
aud refused to grant any tiling to tbe company he presided over,
no matter how much benefit would accrue thereby to tbe city.
This phase was oue of long duration. It gave way, after a
time, under the pressure of the inconvenience of getting aboiit
the city, to tbe idea that an underground road, owned and con¬
trolled by some private corporatiou {of course, morally consti¬
tuted like the Mauhattau Co.), was tbe proper thing. But this
idea did uot get acceptance at ouce. A mirage, of a solid over¬
head road through the blocks, from one end of Manhattan to the
other, floated about on the verge of the popular horizon until it
was clearly shown that a coustruction of the kind was totally
precluded by its enormous coat. Schemes, also, for girdling the
city with rails aloug the dock fi'outs were discussed, but all dis¬
cussion drove public attention more and more to concentrate ou
the axis of tbe island. It was seeu that to meet the requirements
of the city adequately, whatever road was built, overhead or
underground, would have to pass as nearly as possible through
tbe centre of the town. This condition seemed to make au under¬
ground road the one thing possible. People took up the idea,
endorsed it, and, after a great deal of pother, a franchise was
put up to auction. No purchaser was forthcoming. The fact ia,
there was nothing for private capital in a road that I'cally served
the people. Another twist was then given to the problem
After having cursed the Manhattan Co., Public aud Press alike
appealed to it for assistance. The company was solicited to
accept a franchise for the coustruction of a new elevated road
aystem. But in this case the eorporation was obdurate. It was
content to leave the New Yorker to deal with the problem un¬
aided.

This denoument drove people to the conclusion that th6y
should have reached logically at the outset. Municipal
ownership was the way out of the woods. The Recokd and
Guide pointed this out at the time when press aud public alike