December lo, 1904.





>^FrnT?T^ AND   GTJTDE





1269







_                                       ESTABUSHED-^JAHVCH Slil

DEV&ltiJTaRfJ^LE^yWE.BuiLDlf/G ^R.CH'n-ECTURE.KoilSDlOlDDEOfflifnDll,

Biistttess Alio Themes Of GeiJer^ IKterpst.
PR.ICB  PER YEAR IN ADVANCE SIX DOLLARS

Pablished etlerg Saturdan

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

J. T. LINDSEY, Business Manager                        Telephone, Cortlandt 3157

"Entered at tlie Posl Office al New Tork. N. Y., as second-class mallei-."





Vol, LXXIV-





DECEMBER 10, 1904.





THE action of the stock markat has been justifying the fears
of those people who believed that it was getting top-
heavy. The accumulation of stocks in the hands of speculators
had evidently gone too fast and too far and the Jiime was bound
to come when a slight jar would destroy the balance- The jar
came, the structure of high prices started to fall, and was only
saved by quick and prompt support. The incident showed
clearly both that the market was over-bought and that there
were plenty of strong men behind it, who would not let it en¬
tirely collapse. There can he no doubt, however, as to its mean¬
ing. It means that prices have again reached a point at which
securities are becoming "indigestible," and that a period which
ought to last for several months, should supervene before any
further advance is wholesome. The best thing which could
happen in the meantime, would be a slowly, sagging, receding
market, which would afford investors an opportunity of accumu--
lating stocks at somewhat lower prices. Then by the time the
. spring came the situation would have cleared up, so that it
could be judged whether or not conditions justified a further ad¬
vance. This is what ought to happen; and if it does not do so
we shall have more days such as Wednesday and Thursday of
this week-





ent builders, the members of the Employers' Association would
soon be in a positioa to secure all the labor they need from
the new unions, organized under thr= arbitration agreement, and
that building will be proceeding without any hitches within a
few we'eks. It may be doubted, however, whether the capitalists
who have been postponing important building projects for sev¬
eral years, because of the strike-terror will be brought to be¬
lieve that they can begin building operations with confldence
as to prompt completion. The fact Is patent that even though
the mechanics are submitting, they are submitting in a bitter
and discontented mood. Their state of mind is different from
what it was in the fall of 1903. They believe—or at least many
of them do—that they have tried the arbitration agreement and
that it works contrary to their interests. In this belief they
may or may not be mistaken; but it is necessary to reckon with
their state of mind, which means that while they submit when
they are obliged to submit, they will again protest as soon as
they feel strong enough to protest- The formation of a new
Building Trades Alliance, although still incomplete, haa ob¬
viously been dictated by a widespread feeling among the unions
Lhat the situation which the Employers' Association is trying
to bring about is vitally and permanently inimical to the in¬
terests of union labor. They believe, that is, not only that the
arbitration agi-eement does not work fairly, but that the refusal
of the Employers' Association to recognize an alliance of the
unions is an attempt to deprive the unions of an or¬
ganization as complete as that which the employers
themselves have made. That there is some justice in
this feeling the Record and Guide is coming to believe; and it
is to be hoped that in the interest of a settlement that may be
comparatively permanent, the Association will carefully review
its position and see what it can do to reraove this sense of
grievance, which will assuredly provoke reprisals in the not-
distant future- The strength of the arbitration agreement was
in our opinion that it offered the unions uo vital grounds for
protest; but it is not as strong in this respect as it was in the
fall of 1903—as Mr. Theodore Starrett so convincingly shows
in another column of this issue.





■^p HE speculative activity in vacant lots has suffered a sub-
^ stantial abatement during the past week. It is still very
considerable; but it is not at all as large as it was during the
several preceding weeks. About 220 sales are reported in the
"Gossip" column of the present issue against over 320 last week.
Thus the decrease amounts to about one-third; and in IVIanhat-
tan at all events it has occurred chiefly in the sales of vacant
lots. We report only 50 of such sales to-day, out of a total of
140 which is a normal proportion. On the other hand in theBronx,
out of a total of about 85, over 75 stii! are sales of vacant lots.
The Bronx sales, that is, decreased in about the same propor¬
tion as tlie IVIanhattan sales, but the decrease did not consist
as in IVIanhattan almost exclusively of vacant lots. It is natural
that the speculative operations should subside somewhat on the
approach of cold weather. In New York real estate there is al¬
ways a lul! early in the winter, until the time comes in February
and after actively to prepare for building enterprises which
start in the spring. The present lull will continue for a couple
of months; and the character of the spring busiuess will de¬
pend partly upon the changes which may take place in the labor
situation between now and then. There can be no doubt that
there is room for a great deal of high-class construction in the
middle districts of Manhattan, and that under normal conditions
sueh construction with its accompanying real estate operations
would be undertaken. But the great majority of them will be
postponed until the strike outlook is cleared up. In any
event the tenement house construction is likely to break all
records, and in addition there will be a certain limited revival
in the construction of small dwellings. It should be added
that the character of the buying has been excellent during the
past week, and gives every assurance that the existing move¬
ment has not as yet begun to run its course.





THE Tile Layers' Union has succumbed during the past
week; and its members have individually signed the arbi¬
tration agreement. This was one of the strongest and the
closest of the unions locked out by the Employers' Association;
but its ability to put a stiff resistance was weakened by the fact
that its members were employed chiefly upon the more expen¬
sive class of work, controlled by the members of the Employers'
Association; and they have not received any support, as have the
carpenters and plasterers, from the great activity of cheap forms
construction in the Bronx. It looks, however, as if in spite of
the heavy buiiding of tenement houses on the part of independ-





*T" HE situation as to which the city again finds itself in re-
■*■ spect to its borrowing capacity deserves the most serious
consideration on the part of the administration; and the object
of such consideration should be nnt merely to husband the city's
credit for the sake of making the most important pending im¬
provements, but permanently to do away with the cause of theae
re-current crisis. The city's borrowing capacity has fallen again
to about $50,000,000, which seems to be a large sum, but is really
a small one, in view of coming subway, schoolhouse, dock and
aqueduct construction. The improvements included under these
heads are indispensable to the growth of greater New York;
and if they are delayed or partially abandoned it will mean
serious loss to the city's business resources and serious incon¬
venience to its citizens. Yet unless some effective measures to
increase the borrowing capacity of the city these important im¬
provements will necessarily be either partially abandoned or
delayed. The increasing borrowing capacity obtained during the
Low administration by means of a higher level of real estate
valuations has been already used up to a large extent. This
expedient was at best only a make-shift. It did not touch ths
root of the trouble, which, as former Comptroller Coler pointed
out five years ago, consisted in the fact that the debt limit acts
in such a way that the raore property the city acquires, the less
money it can borrow. Subway, dock and water supply improve¬
ments pay for themselves. They cost the taxpayer nothing.
The spending of as many million of dollars as is necessary upon
them not only cannot do the taxpayers any harm, but will as¬
suredly be of enormous benefit to the property owners of the
city. The city should be free to borrow as much money as it
needs for such purposes. Inasmuch, however, as such freedom
can be obtained only by constitutional amendment, and as an
amendment to the constitution takes at least three years and
a great deal of agitation to bring about, it is time that a sys¬
tematic and persistent campaign was begun looking toward the
creation of a body of public opinion, which will support the
amendment. This is what should be done; but the difficulties
of the task are so great, and the life of one administration is
so short, that in ali probability the matter will be postponed un¬
til the shoe begins to pinch the city a good deal harder than it
now does.





The Editor undertakes to consider all literary contributions
that may be sent to him, technical or otherwise, and also original
designs, plans and photographs, so far as these deal with sub¬
jects which come properly within the scope of "The Real Estate
Record and Builders' Guide." Contributors wishing their MSS-
returned in the event of non-acceptance, must enclose stamps
to  cover  postage.