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December 17, 189^
Record and Guid?
907
ESTABICIHED'i^ WRPH eW> 1868*'
Dented id Fp^ Estwe.Boiu^ ftsgtfrTECTUBy i{oo'<yMrr^I)iiwi^ia|
BasDlcss AiblkEUES Of GcjtoV^.ri(rE"F>}^
PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE SIX DOLLARS.
Published every Saturday.
Telephone. Cobtuhdt 1370.
Communications should be addressed to
C. W, SWEET, 14-16 Vewy Street.
/. 1. Lf^i'DSEY, Business Manager.
"Entered at the Pcsl-O^ice at New York, N. Y., as second-class matter."
Vol. LXII.
DECEMBER 17, 1893,
1,605
RBASO'NiS for the present optimism of Wall Street and the
advances in. the quotations for securities there, are now
on the surface and every one can see them. If we take one of
yesterday's newspapers we will find statistics showing that the
exports of the United States in 1898 for the first time in their
history are greater than those of Great Britain, added signifl¬
cance being given to this by the fact that this is a period o-f busi¬
ness activity abroad. IWe also find most glowing reports of the
condition of the iron trade and of the Maine ship-'building in¬
dustry; also minor items relating to new enterprises and develop¬
ment of old ones, involving large expenditures of money. These
things indicate not only that business is good, but that it has
been good for sometime, an assertion for which sufficient foun¬
dation could he found alone in the reports ot railroad earnings
and the number of stock issues that have recently entered the
list of dividend papers. As to the public they now have no end
of enthusiasm. The country is to spread its possessions and trade
all over the world and London is to relinquish the place it now
holds as clearing agent for the world- to New York. Judging by
the talk of the street and hy the comments of the press, par¬
ticularly the press outside qt New York, these things are to be
accomplished at once and without any of the setbacks that such
revolutionary changes might be expected to meet. Of course, the
thing is overdone, our people are never content to simply do
things, they must always overdo them, notwithstanding many
reminders of the evils that have followed their impetuosity in
other times. It is undoubtedly a fact that industrially and com¬
mercially and most probably politically also, the country is en¬
tering upon new phases and conditions from' which great wealth.
power and influence may reasonably be expected, hut they need
more time for their coming than the people seem willing to allow.
In this temper of the public there is no telling how long the ad¬
vance in prices will go on or to what extent it will go. Money
continues to be so cheap and, until some event transpires, un¬
favorable in character and prominent enough to arrest attention
and to make people think, the speculative movement will con-
WHILE the Czar's pacific congress is in session, most of the
, parliamients of Europe, where parliaments exist, and the
despotic heads of the people where they do not, will be consider¬
ing the ways and means of increasing their fighting forces. These
acts may seem anomalous, if not contradictory, but as a matter of
fact the second shows the necessity for the first. An army is
something that is never complete. At any time it may want
more artillery, or cavalry or infantry, or improved weapons, so
that if something is not done to force a movement in the other
direction, to equalize by reductions instead of by additions, a
return to primitive conditions with the whole nation an army
and control falling to military chiefs is inevitable. The Czar's
appeal coming at a more opportune moment than similar pre¬
vious appeals, may result in this something being done. States¬
men are as much oppressed hy the demands of great military
leaders as they are by the problem of keeping their constantly
increasing populations in economic content, and are all the more
likely to be willing to listen to any propositions that promise to
relieve them of one, at least, of their difBculties, Therefore the
times make for the prolongation of peace and also, tl irefore,
commierclal and financial circles are encouraged. Th© European
â– money markets have eased somewhat in the past few days, the
security markets have become more active and there is a more
cheerful regard turned to the coming year than has been the case
for a couple of months previous. London is discussing the ad¬
visability of governmental control of the telephones which, it is
estimated, could be obtained for about $35,000,000. The Aue-
.traliau colonies have outlined works, which will necessitate the
raising of loans to the extent of $40,000,000 in the coming year.
Argentine foreign trade reports for the flrst three quarters of the
year are the most satisfactory for some years and indicate an
increase of customs dues of $2,000,000. The French Government
have adopted the scheme for raising $40,000,000 for building rail¬
roads in Indo-China and a hill to authorize the loan has been
passed by the Cham-bers. The monthly settlements at Berlin
were made without producing remarkable incident and arrange¬
ments have already been made to meet the large demands sure
to arise at the end of the year. While most branches of German
manufactures are enjoying almost unprecedented prosperity,
textile industries are in a bad way and curtailments are con¬
templated. The month of October was favorable to Austrian
foreign commerce and the outlook has encouraged a speculative
movement ou the Vienna bourse, whether or not to be checked
by the discovery just made of stock jobbing and a secret accumu¬
lation of an immense surplus by the directors of one of the
greatest iron companies in the country, cannot yet be said
------------------------•------------------------ â– !
THE SUCCESS OF FIREPROOF CONSTRUCTION,
X B'ROADEiR andr fuller discussion of the results of the re-
â– **â– cent Broadway flre, assisted by a more careful examina¬
tion of the burned premises than was then possible, confirm the
view takeu last week that flre-proot construction had thereby
been tried and found fully up to all reasonable requirements. It
siiould be noted that this is the flrst time that a fire in a fire¬
proof building has been discussed in untechnical circles on the
basis that an incombustible buiiding did not necessarily mean the
impartation of incombustibility to its contents. The reporters
for the daily papers were good enough to admit this from the
start, though still regarding it as a weakness and much.to be
deprecated. When the difterent view they took of the Mianhattan
Saviugs Institution building fire is remem'bered, though the
building was uot fire-proof, as the term is now understood, it
will be seen that the public has learned something about thesi
buildinga in the two or three years that have transpired between
the dates of the two flres.
In technical circles, of course, there was no need to specify
such an allowance and the opinions arising therein, wholly con-
flrm the wisdom' of fire-proof construction. E'xperts in other
cities seem to have carefully read all the reports of the flre and
their views harmonize in favor of fire-prooflng. One, D. H. Burn¬
ham, asserted that it would be found that the wood casings and
furniture in the Home Life building only would be burned and
the steel frame and walls escape material damage before those
facts were actually demonstrated by examination. Now, this
coming from a man technically informed and experienced in flre¬
proof building shows that the science of that form of building
has the necessary exactness about it to make it reliable. Mr.
Burnham, or any other expert, knowing the nature of the ele¬
ments involved in the problem could predict the solution with
certainty.
The report of the President of the Home Life Building on the
flre says: "There was not at any time any communication of the
fire from one story to another through the floors, the fire-proof
brick preventing such transmis-sion;" so that the fire was com¬
municated from wiLUOut to each of the burnt stories of the build¬
ing, which goes to prove what has always been claimed for fire¬
proof construction and what each succeeding test proves
that a fire occurring within the buiiding could easily be confined
to the apartment in which it occurs. Another paragraph of the
report just referred to also deserves notice in this connection. It
is this: "During the entire night this building stood as a 'bul¬
wark, preventing the spread of the flames toward the south and
it is admitted by all experts that a most serious general con¬
flagration was thereby prevented." This being the case, it fol¬
lows that a general confiagration would be an impossibility in
any section solidly built under the laws governing modern con¬
struction; that that construction is, to the extent that it is used,
an aid to the flre prevention service second only in importance
to water. If the commercial section of Manhattan was composed
wholly of fire-proof buildings tbe risks would be merely trivial.
Great casualties usually bring out a flood of suggestions, some
practical, but more otherwise. The Broadway flre brought out
but few. Fire-proofed wood for windows and sash, concrete
floors, and Iron shutters for windows overlooking old buildings
are the hest made, and while practical, they are not new. This
partial silence is as much an evidence of the worth of modern'
construction as the positive evidence ai^orded by the burnt build¬
ing itself. The Fire Department repeats its oft expressed de¬
mand that buildings higher than 125 feet should 'be supplied with
auxiliaryflre apparatus under its control, and adapted to use with
its own appliances, and there is some likelihood that the authori¬
ties will soon give this demand consideration. The alternative
suggestion from' the same source, that an underground service