August 31, 1901.





RECORD AND   GUIDE.





261







Db/otS) to REA.L Estaie . BuiLDif/o ARJ^^rrecWR^ .^ouseiIoid DmaRfiiDil,
BusifiESS Alio Themes of GEtiER^. IjflERgs^.

PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE SIX   DOLLARS

Published eVers Saturday

Oommimlc&tloiiH should be addressed to
C. W. SWEET,   14=16 Vesey Street, New YopR





J. T. LINDSET, Buaineaa Manager





Teleplioiie, Cortlaiidt 1370





" Entered al the Post Office ai New York, N. Y., as second-class matter."





Vol. LXVIII.





AUGUST 31,1901.





No. 1746.





The Record and Guide Quarterly for the three months, April—
June, inclusive, is now ready for delivery. All the records arranged
for bandy reference. One dollar and a half a copy, or five dollars a
year. The cheapest and best system of keeping records of real estate—
conveyances, mortgages, new buildings, etc., etc. If you would like
to see it, send a postal card to the Record and Guide Quarterly, Nos. 14
and 16 Vesey st.. City.

WHILE the Stock Market has been apparently strong all
week, except one day. the actual advance for the seven-
day period is obviously small, and, if averaged up, might even
show a slipping back, because several prominent issues have
made quite noticeable losses. The facts point to a market man¬
ipulated in the hope of a new buying movement being induced
thereby. On the whole the news is good, or much better than it
was. With the close of the vacations we may look for more ac¬
tivity in general business. The crop situation gives less anxiety.
The steel strike seems about to end in favor of the U. S. Steel
Co., which, unless the leaders of the men have further surprises
in reserve, has now only to suffer the loss from business gone
beyond recall, naturally formidable in amount, that followed as
a consequence of the struggle with the association. Money, how¬
ever, ia less easy and more uncertain. At this season of the year
the interior demand for harvest purposes is always the subject
of discussion, and it is generally .the case that this demand is
feared here, but of late years the West especially has shown it¬
self Independent of the East, and so far as the facts are obtain¬
able, it will be this year also. There is, however, this difference
this year; all parts of the country participated in the stock ex¬
citement of the spring, and it remains to be seen whether the
West and South both, will not have to withdraw the funds so em¬
ployed then to meet their present wants. Exchange points to
possible gold imports, but as was pointed out last week Elurope
has no disposition to part with gold. Notwithstanding its un¬
usually large reserves the Bank of England maintains its dis¬
count rate at 3 per cent and could check calls upon its gold sup¬
plies by a further advance in tbe rate. Still exchange is in such
a condition that an import movement could easily be engineered
if there was any object in making it. The European situation
continues to be one of dull business, and a suspicion of industrial
enterprises. Consequently money is accumulating and govern¬
ment and other gilt-edged issues are strong, though they give no
signs of early activity.





T OHN R. THOMAS, whose sudden death was announced this
w week, was more closely identified with public work than
any other architect that can be named, and, singular to state, he
was able to satisfy the public architectural tastes of two gener¬
ations; or, to put it another way, while he could satisfy those
who decided what public buildings should be twenty-flve years
ago, he was still capable of satisfying the unprejudiced profes¬
sional commissions tbat now sometimes, for our happiness be it
stated, have the selection of designs for public edifices. A list
of Mr. Thomas' work would be a very long one, and reveal great
industry as well as technical facility. Considering that he. was
only fifty-three years old when he died, the amount of important
work he did was alone remarkable. His first large work was the
New York State Reformatory at Elmira. Several of tbe regi¬
mental armories of this city are his. In fact, we think, he was
the first to suggest the mediaeval fortress as the model for the
drill hall of the modern militia man with his rapid-fire gun; the
authorities adopted the suggestion and the public never seem
to have quarrelled with it, though it is somewhat singular that
this should not have evoked criticism. It is said that no less
than one hundred and fifty churches were designed by him, and
his success in the two great municipal competitions, where there
was no doubt of the ability of the contestants or the competence





and impartiality of the judges, those for the municipal build¬
ings—whose erection the legislature prevented and which resulted
in a lawsuit between the architect and the city—and for the Hall
of Records now being built, was sufficient to stamp him as a man
of great ability, as well as the extent and range of his other
work, proclaimed him a man of great industry.





■■^ HE most interesting aspect of the changes which are tak-
■*■ ing place in the shopping and amusement sections of New
York, is the extent to which those interests are becoming cen¬
tralized. With one or two exceptions all the important theatres
are situated either on or just off Broadway, between 28th street
and Long Acre Square, and the tendency is for this area to be
still further narrowed down. Within the past ten years two-
thirds of the important clubs in New York have built or are
building clubhouses along the line of 5th avenue, and not far
north or south of 42d street. A strong movement is also being
developed toward the situation of the better class of small shops
along the same line and with the same center. The department
stores show a manifest tendency to concentrate in the same
neighborhood, but on the line of Broadway rather than Sth ave¬
nue. Five-sixths of the new apartment hotels, which are being
built are located not much outside of a radius of a half a mile,
drawn with the new public library as the center. Even the
fashionable residence quarter, while it is including unexpected
reaches in the neighborhood of Sth avenue and 95th street, still
remains in close connection with the amusement and shopping
center, for sites on the side streets south of the Park are quite
as popular as those further north. When the changes now begin¬
ning have had full time to run their course the whole district
for a mile north and south of 42d street, between Madison ave¬
nue and Broadway will be unique for the concentrated yet varied
activity, which will be taking place within its limits, and for
the hrilliant appearance which it will offer 10 the observer in
the street. The huge buildings, both for residence and business,
which are becoming more and more characteristic of the city
necessitate and encourage an altogether unusual amount of con¬
centration.





FROM the articles and correspondence that have appeared in
our pages and continue to appear, it will be seen that tha
act, which goes into effect to-morrow, requiring brokers to have
written authority before offering property for sale or loan, has
some peculiarities not at flrst seen. In fact it is an illustration
of a common failing, that of seeing the thing desired even when
it does not exist. Obviously, the intention of the framers of this
act was that it should relate to property located in cities of tha
first and second class, whereas by its language it just as obvious¬
ly may be construed to relate to the offering merely of property,
and any property in such cities. On all sides the object of the
measure has been so prominent in people's minds as to obscure
criticism of its text, until a correspondent shrewder or more ana¬
lytical than the rest pointed out the weak spots. Still the aet is
sufficiently clear in its purpose to give parties aggrieved by the
unauthorized offerings of their property the means of punishing
the offenders, but as we have pointed out before a broker sure ol
his principal need flnd in it no obstacle to the carrying on of hia

business.

------------•------------

ON another page of this issue will be found the opinion of
Justice O'Gorman in the cases of those builders who sought
relief from the onerous conditions of Section 4 of the Tenement
House Act of this year. The court holds practically that having
made one condition that secured due compliance with the law—
that excavations should be begun in good faith on or before June
1st—the Legislature had no power to add other conditions
through non-compliance witb which the vested rights of the
builder created by compliance with the flrst might be destroyed.
This is the barest justice, because, having commenced his build¬
ing in good faith the builder has a right to expect good faith
also from the law and the authorities and assistance rather than
opposition in maintaining liis rights and bringing his work to

fruition.

-----------------«-----------------

AN act will go into operation to-morrow, September 1st,
known as Chapter 190 of the Laws of 1901, intended to
suppress policy playing. Of course, according to the legislative
fashion of the times, the landlord is to be made liable for what
his tenants do. The act says in enumerating those who shall be
classed as evil-doers under its provisions: "The owner, agent,
superintendent, janitor or caretaker of any place, building, or
room where policy playing or the sale of what are commonly
called 'lottery policies' is carried on with his knowledge or after
notification that the premises are so used, permits such use to be
continued, or who aids, assists or abets in any manner, in any