August 28, 1897.





Record and Guide





291







^                                      __________^lAAHiJH21^^1868.

DéV&TeD TP RE*,LE:sTATE.BuiLDIjfe AR,c^nĩ:(mn^.K0USEIÍ0IDDEi3(Si»Tiũi4
Bí/sn/ESS AltoTHEIiflES Of GEfÍER&l Il/TCRF*T^
PRICE     PER   YEAR     IN   ADVANCE,   SIX   DOLLARS.

lislied every Suturãay.

TELaPBONE,               ....              COBTLAMDT   1370.

Communlcations should be addressed to

C. 'W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street.
J. 1, LINDSEY, Biiainesa Manaycr.
"Bntered at thc Fosl-lf^ec. al Acw York, .V. Y., «s seeond-claas matlcr."

No. 1,537





VOL. LX.





AUaUST '2S, 1897.





HOW  TO  KEEP  TRACK  OF  REAL   ESTATE.

Every Broker or Owner can bave hla own Bureau oE Iníorma-
tion for a aUEht expense. With It tie oan follũw readlly all trans-
actions affecting any particuiar piece of real estate in New Tork
City—a matter of the utmost importance In buying or selllng
realty, appraisements, etc, The Index to The Record and Guide
now covers all transactions—Conveyances, Leasea, Mortgages,
Auction Salea, Bullding Improvements, etc. Under each entry all
references to aU transactlons are concisely grouped. The Index
to Vol. LIX. is now ready, and can be obtalned at The Record and
Guide ofBce, 14 and 10 Vesey street.    Prlce, One Dollar.      ^^^





UCH a Stoek Marlíet as we bave now is only esplained by

the beljef that it is au eutirely uew public that lias takeii

up speculatiou, and that that public is uot yet educated up to

the fact that there are two siûes to the market.   The traders,

who, by the hy, were the leadevs in the late advauce are ready

euough to operate ou the short side, but they get very little help

from the commissiou houses whose cUeuts seem ouly to want to

buy.   The marlĩet has, therefore, uoí got into full swing of ac-

tivity; but it is siguifleant that, although the disposition of the

outside public is so one-sided, prices are on the main lowei- thau

they were a fortuight ago.   As a rule, the struggle against reae-

tiou, when maiutained ouly by outsiders, ends iu defeat.   Thls

tveeJĩ has seeu how prevaleut is the desire to buy iu the move-

ments of other markets besides that for stoelîs.   In cottou, for

instance, an advauce found great favor.     It was   said   to   be

liased upon the resumptiou of worli in the New Eugland miUs,

but it more probably tool; its iuitiative iu the reeeĩpt of esti-

mates of the Indiau erop for 1S96-T, which placed it at 750,000

bales less than that of the previous year, wbich, in turu, pro-

duced less than the year 1S94t5.   Speculatiou in coffee, too, has

îts advoeates, who claim that its statistical positiou and the

peculiar eouditions surrouudiug the coffee trade în this country

malĩe an advauce lilicly.   Altogether there is apparent a reaãi-

ness to buy auythiug aud everythiog If onĩy specious escuse

and eompetent leaders are found.     Those who study railroad

statistics cannot fail to be struek by the losses in gross earnings

made this year, even if they are accompauied witii gain in net.

"The Fiuaueial Chrouicle" figures for 179 roads   for   the   six

months endiug June 'SOfh  give a loss oí $1,734,080 iu gross aud

a gain of $6,760,808 in uet; both loss and gain  were   maûe  up

therefore by reduetious in espeuse of operation.   With the im-

provement in business this disparity will be removed, but it

must uot be forgotten that, iu the hard times through wbich we

have passed the raih-oads geuerally have necessarily carried

economies to tbe estreme aiid will have to spend a good deal of

money on their properties wheu their good times eome.   Eveu

Ihe big drop iu steel rails, seen at the openiug of tjiis year, did

not bring orders iu antîcipated quautity.   The steel rail mills

aud the eugiue aud car builders will bave to be much more ac-

tive thau they have beeu before our railroads are in a complete

state of efficieucy.

------------»------------

PEBSIDENT FAURE'S enthusiastic reeeption, immedîately
following as it does the merely eourteous one of the Ger-
mau Emperor, shows that Russia is øxed in her prefereuce for
the friendship aud allianee of France; but there is nothlng iu
the proeeediugs to iudieate tbat the Russian Govemmeut has
Duy sympathy with, or desire to aid the ambition of France to
reeover the lost provinees of Alsace and Lorraine. The words
nsed by the Czar and Fresident íu their adieux, conflrm the pre-
dietĩou of tho London "Times' " Paris correspondent raado some
time ago, that a treaty of allianee wíís to he signod during Pres-
ideut Fanre's stay in St. Petersburg, The eourse of thc markets
ûoes not iudîeate that the Indian governmeut has anythiiig in
the nature of an insuperable task to encounter in'suppressing
the risiug upon the Afghau border, though the suppression of
rebellion among a warlike people intrenehed in mountain fast-





nesses is always a diOicult and protracteã work. -President
Krugei', with characteristic shrewdness, has taken this moment
to reaíhrm his denial of British suzerainty over the Transvaal
Kepublic, auû more disquiet iu South Africa and consequent
iujury to Kaííir shares is iikely to follow. Judging again of
politieal probabilities from market quotations, there is good rea-
son to believe that the exteuded negoUatious over tbe terms of
peace, between Turkey aud Greeee, wiU soon be ended, and the
treaty sigued. Some form of foreigu conU-ol over Greeian
íiuauces seems to be inevitable. The possibility of large ship-
meuts of gold to the United States is beiug actively diseussed in
Europe. The hardening of rates for mouey aud the action of the
representative banks show that this is a probability for which
the Haute Fiuauce considers it well to be prepared. On this mat-
ter tbe Loudou "Ecouomist" thinks that, although it is not un-
likeiy that some gold wiU have to be sent in paymeut of Euto-
pean food suppiies, there is uo reasou to look for such a drain
as occurred last autumn, beoause of the large shipments of se-
eurities to the Uuited States, the lattei-'s purchases in Europe
iu advauce of the passage of the new tariff aet, the easy posi-
liou of thtí United Btates' Treasury, tbe iucrease in the Ameri-
oau gold produetiou, and the ease of money iu New York and
other Americau fiuaucial ceutrcs. Nothing authoritative is
Iieard of a prohibitiou of exports of wbeat hy Russia. Sucb an
act is extremely uulikely, exeept that tbe eouditions threatened
lamiue, which Ihey do uot uow do; eveu then it is questiouable,
bceause tbe probibitive ukase of 1S90 eutirely failed in its ob-
ject, owing to tbe impossibility of carryiug tbe grain denied its
usual foreign markets, to the districts where it was ueeded. This
probibitiou did immense harm to the grain growers and dealers
aud little or no good to the sufferiug peasants. .





PROBABLY it is unuecessary to remind our readers, the
fact haviug beeu mentioued iu these columus oa several
previous occasions, that the uew Mechanics' Lien Law—Ghap-
ter 418, Laws of 1S97—will be of efCect on Wednesday uext, Sep-
tember Ist. Tbis act is a codifiuuliou of all the laws relating to
iiens, as well as au ameudment to the old lien law. Tbe ebauges
relating to lieus on buildings for material and labor performed
were giveu in unteehnical form and language in our issue of
July 3d, in an artiele entitled "Tbe New Lieu Law," and to that
article tbose of our readers who wisb to malĩe themselves ac-
quainted with those cbanges are referred. Oue of the changes"
is espeeially ímportaut, îuasmuch as it requires that all con-
tracts for the sale of laud aud any modification thereof to be in
writing and filed within teu days of execution with tbe eouuty
clerk, Regarding tbe act as a wbole, competeut judges belíeve
tbat it gives more protectiou to the materîal man thau tbe old
one did, witbout pressing uuduly upou the builûer and owner.
Opiuions upou the value of an act iu advance of its prectical
operation and its iuterpretation by tbe courts are rather more
iuterestiug thau valuable in the loug run, but it is cei-tain that
tbe aet shows a disposition to remove some of tbe anomalies
and hardsbips that existed, or were created by tbe laws which
are about to be superseded. While on this subject it may not
be amiss or uuprofitable to poiut out that caution in the be-
stowal of credits is often more satisfactory tban recourse to the
laws to collect debts from the unscrupulous. If a little tĩrae
were taken to inquire into the autecedents of the wouĩd-be eua-
tomer, and to examine tbe records relating to the property for
which the supplies are wanted, it would pay and prevent a good
deal of loss, which is now oceasioned by over-haste in the plae-
ing of business. Tbe dealer canuot himself give the time to
makiug these iuquiries, but tbere are institutions tbat wiU do
the work for him for a reasouably small fee, tbe payment of
whieb would be money well laid out. One considerable loss pre-
vented in this way would pay many examination fees. Judg-
ing by tbe nature and estent of the losses of which material
raeu have heretofore eomplaiued, tbe reraedy for tbeir suflfer-
ings would seem to be less haste and more inquiiy before giviug.
credit, rather than more law. If the uew law proves an im-
proveraeut on the old one, they should be congratulated on that
fact; but they may be sure that it will not save tbera from tbe
usual consequenees of imprudence wben dealing witb incompe-
tent or dishonest men.





ARCHITECTS, builders, plurabers aud owners in this city
should take uotiee that the revised plumbiug, lighting
and ventĩlating regnlations, prepared by the Departinent of
Buildings, under section 5, chapter 803, Laws of 1S96, also take
effect ou Wednesday next. It ís very iraportaut that these
■should be carefulĩy studied, beoause they will govern the deci-
sion of the Depaitraent on plaus pre.'íented on and after that
day. We gave the origiual regulations in our issne of October
24, 1S96, and the chauges reeently inade by the revísion in our
issue of July 17th last.