.February 8, 1902,
RECORD AJVD GTJIDE.
239
ESTABUSHED ^ ff^J^aSl^'^ 1868.
Dn/o-?1 TO R.EAL EyTATE. BinLOIf/o ^[WfrTECTURE.HoUSEa01DDEBn|pU]U,
Bu.MfJEissAi^D Themes ofGeiJer^. IjftERpl.
PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE SIX DOLLARS
Tuhtished eVers Satardasi
Commmllcatlons should be addreaaed to
C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street, New Yorfc
*. T, KtNDSET. Bustaosa Manager
Telephoua, CorUandt 3167
'Bnlered at tlte Post Office at New Tork. N. Y., as seoond-dass matter."
"~^"~~ ~ ' No. 1769"
Vol, LXIX.
FEBRUARY 8, 1902.
A MORE confident feeling prevails in the Stock Exchange
created by the news of the week, but it does not seem to
be siared by outsiders, because commission business, while a
little better than of late, is still very light. There is no diminu¬
tion of cheerfulness elsewhere because whenever the mer¬
chant or the manufacturer is questioned regarding the con¬
ditions in his own line, lie becomes most enthusiastic, when,
however, the conversation is turned to Wall street, he cools off and
has something to say about the possible improvement in the
business of the country having been discounted too far ahead
down there. There is a feeling too, as Mr. Whitney expressed it,
that the railroads are doing their maximum business for this
period and that the turn may come anytime. There is under¬
stood to be a great demand for investment issue, and surface
appearances sustain that understanding, but it is whispered
around that some of the recent offerings of bonds, which ought
to have gone off easily if there had been such a tremendous de¬
mand for corporate investment issues as was supposed, were if
not failures, then not very well taken. As a consequence a good
deal of stuff is left upon underwriters' hands, which has to be
worked off as opportunity occurs. Still for all that there is a
very confident and alfluent party in the Street, who believe in
higher prices, and are willing to stake their money upon their
belief. The logic of their position is doubtful to those who
cannot understand how. If a dividend payer like U, S. Steel falls
back upon the heads of its friends whenever lifted, a non-divi¬
dend payer like Southern Pacific, selling above 65, can be suc¬
cessfully advanced. These two issues are used for illustration,
because it is with them that the confident party referred to have
tried, and are trying to show that they are right.
EVIDENCE accumulates that the various departmental heads
of the new administration are taking very seriously the
pre-election pledges to reduce salaries and cut off sinecures.
Register Ronner is making one of the most thoroughgoing at¬
tempts of all to cut oif salaries, his saving aggregating already
522^802; and he promises to double the amount without decreas¬
ing the efficiency of the office. He expects, in fact, to pare
down the annual appropriation from 51(>5,000 to $110,000, If he
can do this, he will have made a better record than any of his
colleagues—and a Register should surely make good records.
The offices under the "control of the President of the Borough
will be run with a reduction of appropriations amounting to
at least twenty-five per cent. The sum to tal of all the savings
will apparently amount to several million dollars, and should
do something effectual to reduce the tax rate for the coming
year.
A SECOND drop in the Bank of England's rate of discount in
the course of a fortnight shows that Europe is now easy,
£0 far as money is concerned, for some time to come. The causes
of this have already been given in these columns. As to trade
conditions they still enjoy the partial improvement that has
beeu apparent since the opening of the year, Germany is man¬
aging to place a good deal of iron and steel abroad, as is shown
by the following figures, taken from the foreign trade report of
the Empire: The exports of old iron increased from 61,000 iu
1900 to 153,000 tons in 1901; construction forms from 215,000 to
342.000 tons, bars from 172,000 to 329,000 tons; blooms and billets
from 33,000 to 201,000 tons; wire from 94.000 to 154,000 tons; and
plates and sheets from 167,0,00 to 255,000 tons. The iron and
steel trades of Europe are further encouraged by expectations
of orders from the United States, Some figures showing the
tendency of late in shipping construction have come to hand,
which, though not practically instructive to business circles,
are still interesting. These figures reveal in the past fifty years
a reduction in the number of ships on the British register, with
-an increase in the total tonnage. Thus in 1850 there were
25,984 vessels on the register, having a total net tonnage ol
3,564,833, an average of 137 tons; in 1900 there were only 19,751
vessels, but the total net tonnage had increased to 9,280,164. and
the average to 460; that is to say in the half century, with a de¬
crease of 6,233 in the number of vessels, the tonnage had in¬
creased by 5,715.331, and the average by 323 tons. These figures
demonstrate what has been going on to increase the size and
efficiency of water carriers and, of course, increase the economy
of operation.
The Metropolitan Street Railway.
t*H 0 far as can be seen the leasing of the Metropolitan Street
'—^ Railway system to a new security company is merely a
device to raise new capital in a manner profitable to the stocks
holders. Of course such a security company provides an ex¬
cellent corporate machinery for taking over the other street
railroads of New York and Brooklyn, in case it becomes possible
or desirable to do so; but that this consummation will ever be
actually reached is only guess-work. True, it is guess-work
based upon the universal tendency toward the consolidation ol
street railway companies; and it is guess-work, part of which
derives some plausibility from the bill now hefore the Legisla¬
ture permitting the subway contractor to assign the lease of the
tunnel; but for the present it is not a matter of serious discus¬
sion. All that need be said is. that at least some traffic arrange¬
ment between the Subway Company and the Metropolitan Street
Railway Company is indispensable to the full public usefulness
of the underground road. The subway, consisting as it does ol
only one line of railways, except north of 106th st, where the
city is wider, is peculiarly in need of crosstown transfers, so that
its passengers can be collected and distributed without the pay¬
ment of two fares. A system of transfers with the important
crosstown lines would probably increase its short distance traf¬
fic by fully 25 per cent, and would do much to relieve the pres¬
ent over-crowding on some of the longitudinal surface lines.
But obviously the Metropolitan Railway would scarcely grant
them to an independent company, except upon the payment ol
an extra fare of three cents. For this and many similar reasons
consolidation of all the surface, underground and overhead lines
of Manhattan. Brooklyn. Queens and the Bronx, would be the
best thing both for the patrons and the owners of these roads,
but a detailed discussion of its advantages may be left to the
time when one can do something more illuminating than guess
at its probable occurrence.
What is certain is that the Metropolitan Street Railway Com¬
pany proposes to raise sufficient new capital to convert the ninety
odd miles of horse car lines, which it still owns, into properly
equipped and electrically operated roads. This, in itself, will be
an enormous gain to a large portion of the New York public.
The only important longitudinal road upon which horses are
still used is the Ninth ave., and the introduction of electricity
upon this route will both relieve the Eighth ave, cars of much
traffic, and will be a great convenience to the population living
betweenNinth avenue and theriver. The other routeswhich have
not yet discarded horses are chiefiy crosstown lines, many ol
them situated in the lower part of the city, aud the substitution
of electric power will be most beneficial, and may have a certain
limited tendency to distribute population in the congested
district of the East Side. In any event the substitution will in¬
troduce life aud movement into many comparatively dead parts
of the city, and will increase very much the serviceability to the
public of the whole street railway system.
The most important question of all is. however, what chance
is there, for the street railways of Manhattan to reach a still
higher degree of serviceability? In what respect is their service
lacking at present, and how can the defect best be remedied?
These are. or soon will be, critical problems, because it is evi¬
dent tliat with the increase of traffic, the street railway machin¬
ery is not working as smoothly and as efficiently as it formerly
did. We believe that any man accustomed to use the cars of the
Metropolitan Company, particularly during the rush hours, must
have noticed that these cars are more crowded, that delays are
more frequent, and that communication is consequently slower
and more uncomfortable than ever before. Indeed, at times it
is almost intolerably slow and uncomfortable, and hence it is that
of late a certain share of the traffic, of which the Metropolitan
formerly deprived the elevated roads, has been recovered by the
Manhattan Company. So far as we can observe this compara¬
tive inadequacy of the service of the surface roads is not due
to any decrease of efficiency in the management, whose chief
fault is a stubborn refusal to run sufficient cars to prevent over¬
crowding at other than rush hours. The real trouble seems to he
that the increase of street trafflc, both on and off the surface
1