February i, 1902.
RECORD AND GUIDE.
195
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Vol. LXIX.
FEBRUARY 1, 1902.
No. 1768
Hie Index to Volume LXVITl of the h'ecord and Guide, cover¬
ing the period between July 1 and December 31, 1901, is now ready
for delivery. Price, ^1. This Indej- in its enlarged form is now
recognized as indispensable to every one engaged or interested in
real estate and bnilding operations. It covers all transactions-
deeds, mortaages, leases, auction sales, building jilans filed, etc.
Orders for the Index should be sent at once io ihe office of publica¬
tion, 14 and 16 Vese;/ ISi.
INTEREST in the stock market is kept aiive by tbe continued
announcement of new deals; but it is still a professional
interest. This is shown by the fact that the market has on the
whole this weelc lieen weakest on the days when transactions
were largest and by the poor response that is made to direct
appeals, such as the United States Steel report may be consid¬
ered to be, to the confidence of the outsider. The gratifying
feature of this report is the encouraging view it gives of the
condition of trade generally. We know that if the iron trade
has a certain prospect of full employment for a year to come,
other Hues of industry cannot be depressed, because the activity
of the'first comes from that of the latter. If any further testi¬
mony was needed of the satisfactory nature of general condi¬
tions of business throughout the country, it could be found in
the returns of railroad earnings, which keep up with marvellous
persistence. It might be argued from these things that security
values ought to go up, but when we consider that phase of the
question "we are met by the. immense, and even mad, discounting
of the future that took place last year, and the fact that the
securities of the new organizations are still on trial and have
yet to prove, if 'they ever can, that the liberal addition of water
they contain was justifled by their dividend-earning ability on
a continuous stretch of years.
ABROAD money is everywhere easy, and the cheerfulness
noted in previous weeks continues. Still it should be
borne in mind that too confident views of the industrial situatioa
are discouraged by the best opinion in banking circles, which
confirm our view that what we are seeing is simply a reaction
pointing a period in the general decline. Capital, without which
commercial and industrial movements cannot be sustained, is
leaving them to participate in the low-rate government loans.
Regarding this matter, the Chairman of the Union Bank of
London, an accepted authority, when addressing his share¬
holders recently, said: Tt must not be forgotten how largely
foreign capital has been attracted by various government issues
—a fact which must have an important bearing on the future of
our money market, and which goes some way to explain the
comparatively easy conditions lately prevailing. Other causes
have contributed to this comparative ease. There is no doubt
that a reaction has occurred, and is still proceeding, not only iu
this country, but practically over the whoie of Europe, from the
great commercial and industrial activity which had prevailed
during the closing years of the last century; there has been a
smaller home demand for money owing to lessened trade and a
check to speculative enterprise; monetary and commercial
affairs have been unsettled in Germany, in Russia, and to some
extent in France; industries which had suddenly sprung up and
developed rapidly suffered severely, and confidence waa to some
extent shaken, with the usual result that capital, to which active
trade had given profitable employment, returned to the monetary
centres."
IT is not often that we can endorse an application to the
Legislature for the amendment of the Mechanics' Lien Law,
because the requests contained in such applications are generally
so wild and one-sided. There is an application, however, now
before the Legislature that we can approve and recommend for
adoption. This is contained in Assembly Bill No. S5, introduced
by Mr. Wilson, and its object is to provide for the identification
and location on the property of goods supplied to buildings
under what are known as contracts for conditional sale; that is,
contracts providing that title to the goods shall not pass to the
vendee until the stipulated payments have been made. At pres¬
ent it is not always possible for the purchaser of a building
or the leaner of money secured by a mortgage on a building to
ascertain w^hether any of the furnishings and fittings have beeu
supplied under conditional sale contracts, even when he knows
the name of the builder, and never when he does not. As a con¬
sequence, it has occurred that buyers and loaners of money
have, after purchase was made or the loan effected, found them¬
selves obliged to pay for goods they had previously thought went
with the property. To overcome this evil. Assembly Bill No 85
proposes that the conditional sale contracts shall identify the
building for which the goods conditionally sold shall be sup¬
plied, and that the contracts shall further be indexed under that
property so that in the event of a search their existence may be
disclosed. This is a fair and simple requirement to which no
one ought to object. The seller of the goods will still have his
conditional sale contract, and in a proper case can take away
his goods if he is not paid for them; but, at the same time, the
intending purchaser of property or leaner of money will have
protection, because he will be able by a search to find out what
fixtures and fittings pass with the title and what do not.
A natter of Looks.
THE better public opinion of New York wil! demand from
the new administration the establishment of a new policy
in relation to all questions of public aesthetic decorum, and
there is every reason to believe that the administration will
respond to the demand. The consolidation of the various
Boroughs into the Greater New York has greatly stimulated
the municipal pride of the whole city, and has aroused atten¬
tion to the fact that the arrangement and the furniture of New
York streets do not properly symbolize the metropolitan im¬
portance of the city or the prevailing standards pf aesthetic
propriety. New Yorkers would like to take pride, not merely
in the commercial and financial leadership of their city in
American economic life, but also in the generosity and the
beauty of its public works. This wish, which will doubtless
increase with years, can unfortunately be gratified oniy to a
limited extent and in particular ways, for the street plan oC-
central Manhattan is inconvenient, ugly and almost entirely
lacking in handsome, well-proportioned and well-arranged
avenues and squares. Moreover, the ugliness and inconveni¬
ence of this plan are irremediable, because of the prohibitory
expense of radical changes. It is probable, indeed, that even¬
tually some alterations of plan will become necessary, owing to
the congestion of traffic, both in Greeley and Longacre squares;
but it is not customary in New York to anticipate the need of
such improvements. They will wait until the condition of
things becomes intolerable. These local changes, however, can¬
not do anything lo ameliorate the impression, which New York
makes, and will continue to make as a city, in which energy
predominates over form—a city whose appearance suggests
power, wealth, and a kind of careless efiiciency, but only a nig¬
gardly public spirit.
But while New York can never obtain either a grandeur or
comeliness of appearance commensurate with its economic im¬
portance and the better aesthetic standards of its citizens, an
enormous deal can be undertaken in small ways, and a certain
amount in large ways to improve the appearance of the city.
So far as Manhattan is concerned, the best that can be done
is to improve the street furniture. In this important business -
the new administration is already showing an excellent spirit.
President Cantor is conferring with representatives of the
Municipal Art Society as to the designs of lamp posts, and it
may be hoped that within the coming year the city will be pro¬
vided with convenient and well-designed electric light and gas
posts and lights. This, however, is only one thing among many.
All the street signs, over which the municipality has any control,
should be made to conform to certain standards. Small changes
could be made in the arrangement, and the plan of some of
the squares, for the purpose both of improving their good looks
and convenience; public buildings of all kinds should be gen¬
erously planned, and their design placed in the hands of good
architects; and an effort should be made to increase the amount
and enhance the quality of our public sculpture. Work cannot
be pushed along all these lines at once; but the great thing is
to get the municipal government committed to a policy of
spending public money for the purpose of furthering better