May 23, 1903-





RECORD AND   GUIDE





1021







Basnfcss aiJdThehes Of GeiJer^ . iKraiFST.

PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS

Published eVers Satnrday

Communications should be addreased to
C. W. SWEET,  14-16 Vesey  Street,  New YorK

1. T. LINTiaEy, Business Manager                         Telephone, Cortlandt 3157





".Eslered at the Post Office at New York, JV. Y.. as second-class malter."





Vol.  LXXI.





MAY 23, 1903.





No. 1S36





A MAN wlio can afford to buy securities in a market such
as that of the past week is likely to make money—al¬
though he may not make it very soon. When a stock with earn¬
ings and praspects such as those of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company, is selling almost on a flve per cent, basis, it is ob¬
viously a time to take advantage of concessions in prices in
order to accumulate stocks. The abnormally high prices of a
year ago iiave naturally been succeeded .by a period of abnor¬
mally low prices. There are many people who doubtless be¬
lieve chat these low prices are simply an anticipation of what
actual values will be when the inevitable business reaction sets
in; but the effects of a serious business/eaction are still so re¬
mote that such an opinion is fantastic. The low prices in Wall
Street are due chiefly to local financial conditions; and it should
be added that the power of local financial conditions to keep
prices down is not yet exhausted. Prices may well go lower
yet. It is probable that the big 'banking houses which would
benefit mcst from a rise in the quotations of securities would
not encourage such a rise at the present time. They want the
revival to take place, when it does take place, on a thoroughly
wholesome basis, and wholesome financial conditions are still a
matter of anticipation, A steady rise iu prices, accompanied by
much speculative buying, would restore excessively liigh rates
for money; and under any circumstances there will be a severe
stringency in the fall. Consequently banking houses are dis¬
posed to be very conservative, and are willing to keep the mar¬
ket, if possible, dull uutil Congress takes action upon the man¬
ifest need for a more elastic currency. By that time also a good
many ambiguous elements in the general business situation will
have beccmt definite. So far, for instance, as there can be any
crop prospects at this period of the season tliey are bad, and
this fact preaches caution. Then there are undoubtedly impor¬
tant changes taking place in the attitude of 'business men
toward the general situation. Hitherto they have allowed no
obstacles to impede the expansion of their business and the
improvements which this expansion necessitated, but now a
different and more conservative spirit is coming to prevail. Im¬
provements are being postponed until labor conditions are more
favorable and the price of materials reduced, and this increased
conservatism will assuredly have its effect upon railroad earn-
icgs. In short, the whole business situation ia gradually chang¬
ing partly fcr the better and partly for the worse; and until the
effect of these readjustments can be gauged, there cannot well be
any very steady rise in values. Still the fact remains that prices
are low, even though they may go lower; and the men who go
about cautiously buying during the next few months are the
men who will make the money.





A NUMBER of prominent organizations on the East Side
have agreed to reccmraend certain amendments to the
accepted plan of the Delancey St, Bridge approach, which are
worth careful consideration. These organizations concur in that
part of the accepted plan which provides for the widening or
Ueiancey St. frcm Clinton Sl. to the Bcwery, and to the opening
!<P of a new street from the Bowery to Elm St. But they wish
the bridge approaches from the north and south to be made by
the widening of Clinton rather than Suffolk St., and the rea¬
sons which they urge in favcr of this change are not to be ig¬
nored. Clinton St, is the first longitudinal street to the west of
the bridge entrance, while Suffolk St. is the second, so that in
ease Suffolk St. was selected for widening, trucks going north
and south would have to remain cn Delancey St. for oue block,
which would unnecessarily increase the traffic using the block
nearest the bridge on that street. Then Clinton St. makes some¬
what better connections than does Suffolk St. with avenues north
o! Houston St. and south of East Broadway. While this proposed
change is not, we believe, a matter of any greatimportance, the





alternate plan suggested would not cost any more than the pres¬
ent ofiicial plan, and has certain small but obvious advantages
over it. The same organizations also have their solution to
offer for the problem of making an adequate approach to the
teimiinus of the Manhattan Bridge. They propose that Chrystie
St. be widened from Houston to Canal St. by taking 100 feet from
ils westerly side, and that the Bowery from Chatham Square to
the Canal St. Plaza be made 75 feet wider. These street changes
would provide sufficient approaches to the north and the south,
and would practically continue Second Ave. down Chrystie to
Cnnal St., thus relieving some of the pressure on the Bowery.
They also propose to settle the vexed problem of Allen St. at the
same time by having the Second Ave. elevated structure removed
from Division and Allen Sts. to the widened Bowery and Chryi-
r.e St., thereby killing two birds with one stone. Of course the
Manhattan Railway Company would have something to say
about this part of the plan; but it would probably consent, pro¬
vided it can get more trackage ou the widened streets. This is
only another of the many illustratio'ns of the. way in which
street opening and rapid transit improvement necessarily go
hand in hand, and how desirable it is that the administrative
machinery which is responsible for these matters should be re¬
arranged so that it will work better together.





T N this connection it is well to remember that the Beard ot
■^ Estimate and Apportionment now has the final word and
the authoritative decision on all these matters of street revisioii.
Never was an important and salutary improvement of adminis¬
trative machinery accomplished with less discussion, and with
less opposition. The cnly objections which were heard, natural¬
ly came from the Board of Alderman; but as long as the Board
uses the power it possesses in such a narrow and obstructinnist
spirit, it must expect public opinion to welcome every proposed
curtailment of its baleful activities. In the present instance the
withdrawal from the Board of Aldermen of any power ever
changes in the city map was a matter of peculiar importance, be¬
cause it is safe to say that at least during the life of the present
administration no important changes in the city map could bave
been made with the consent of that body. The truth is that even
if the Board were a much better disposed organization than it
has proved to be, its partial jurisdiction over changes in the city
rnap was an unnecessary complication of the legal machinery
for street revision. The Board of Aldermen, even at its best, al¬
ways represents local interests or merely a combination of local
interests—never the interests cf the whole city. But the local
interests affected by any proposed plan of street-closing or
widening are already fully protected by the local boards; and
to send these plans to the Board of Aldermen after they have
been approved both by the local board and the Board of Estimate
and Apportionment simply means at best to return them to the
local authorities, which have already passed on them, and at the
worst to a body whose only admiuistraticn policy is one of
senseless obstruction. Even as it is the local boards always
take an unconscionably long time to'reach an important decision;
but under the existing arrangement there is a fair chance thac
changes in the city map can be made, if not speedily, at least
with reasonable certainty. Moreover, whatever the Board of
Estimate and Apportionment does is well done—with full regard
both for local interests and the major public interests.





THE recent speech of Mr, Joseph Chamberlain, in which ha
committed himself unequivocally to abandoning the eco¬
nomic policy of absolute free trade, and to offeriug the British
colonies preferential treatment in the British markets, is of tbe
utmost importance. Hitherto the propositions toward such an
eud, made by the federal imperialists, have been rejected by re¬
sponsible ministers on the ground that any such arrangement
would mean the sacrifice of a larger to a smaller volume of
trade—which would be the height of unwisdom from a point of
view determined by strictly free trade principles. But the pro¬
tectionism of modern Europe is founded on an entirely conscious
sacrifice of economic to political advantage. The United States
is almost the only country that is protectionist chiefiy on eco¬
nomic grounds. And what Mr. Chamberlain proposes is, frankly,
the sacrifice of buying in the cheapest market for the larger
political purpose of uniting the British Empire together by bonds
of self-interest as well as sentiment. He evidently believes that
in case such preferential treatment is not given to colonial
products in the British markets, the colonies will inevitably drift
away from the mother country and tend to become separate
states. However that may be, his case is a very strong one from
any Imperialist point of view. If Great Britain were to post¬
pone tariff concessions to ber colonies, until they could be made
without any economic sacrifices, she would have to wait indefi¬
nitely;  and considering her isolated position in Europe, the in-