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January a3j IQOS
RECORD AND GUIDE
183
DiViriED to RfA,L EsTWE. BulLDI^'G AfK^tirEcruRE .Household Deg(huidi(.
BosiiiIess aiJdThemes Of GeiJer^ IHter^si.
PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE SIX DOLLARS
Published every Satardas
. Comnmnloatlons should lie addresaod to
C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street. New YorH
J. T. LINDSET, Bu-ilupsa Manager Telophona, Cortlandt 3157
"Entered at Hie PjsI OjSi^e al Neui York. N- Y.. as second-class matter."
Vol. LXXV.
JANUARY 28, 1905.
No. 1924.
The Growth of The Record and Guide and
the Resulting Changes.
T X TE spolie recently in these columns of the growth of the
* * Record and Guide and the necessity which that
growth has thrust upon the management of the paper to pro¬
vide some plan whereby the vastly larger mass of legal records
can be handled mechanically and otherwise with the least in¬
crease of financial pressure upon our readers. It must be per¬
fectly clear to every one of our subscribers that it is commer¬
cially out of the question for the Record and Guide to go on
augmenting in bulk year by year, accompanied by the printing
of thousands of additional legal papers annually, without in¬
creasing in some manner or form the cost of its service to its
readers, A real estate agent, who should undertake to manage
a certain estate for a fixed sum of money, could not permit
the owner to go on indefinitely enlarging that estate, thereby
increasing the agent's labors and expenses, without demanding
increased compensation, A builder, who should contract to
erect -a ten-story building for a fixed amount, could not permit
the owner to add story upon story without demanding an in¬
creased cost. The Record and Guide, however, has been in the
position of this hypothetical real estate agent and builder for
many years past. It has steadily increased the size of its issues
while rigorously maintaining the quality of its service. It has,
without any stint of money, enlarged its mechanical establish¬
ment so as to deliver copies to its readers as early as possible
on Saturday mornings, and in this effort it has increased its
force and its expenses very nearly four-fold, until-to-day the
Record and Guide is the most costly trade-paper of any kind
whatsoever, and prints nearly five pages of reading matter for
each page of advertising.
As we pointed out some weeks ago, this is tbe result of con¬
ditions peculiar to the real estate field. The Record and Guide
is loyally supported by the interests it serves. It possesses one
of the largest circulations of any trade-paper extant, and a cir¬
culation that, locally .considered, is in its concentration and
completeness; quite unique. "Printers' Ink" accords to the Rec¬
ord and Guide the "double bull's-eye rating" for "extraordinary
excellence of circulation." The Record and Guide undoubtedly
occupies its field, but attached to tbis fleld are peculiar circum¬
stances—circumstances that compel the continued printing of
more and more reading matter without any possibility of re¬
striction or curtailment, unless, of course, the value of the
paper's service were at the same time to be impaired. The
latter is out of the question. It only remains that the situation
should be fairly met by all concerned—by the Record and Guide
itself on its part, by its subscribers on their part. No one can
sell an article below cost or at an unfair commercial price with¬
out disadvantage ail around. After carefully considering the
situation, it has seemed to the management of the Record and
Guide that the most desirable way out of tbe existing difficulty
is to separate the matter that now appears in the paper into
twQ parts. Nothing, it would seem, can be lost were all the
matter that, pertains to IVIanhattan and the Bronx printed in one
paper or edition, and were all the matter that pertains to Brook¬
lyn be printed in another paper or edition, and then the two
be charged tor separately and at a fair price.
Our readers must have noticed the improvements that have
recently b,een made in our paper, and these improvements are
only the initial steps of a well-defined progressive policy. Here¬
after the Record and Guide will be issued as two papers:
1, The Record and Guide—Manhattan and the Bronx edition;
2. The Record and Guide—Brooklyn edition.
The former will be supplied to readers and subscribers, as at
present, for $6.00 a year, or 15 cents per copy. The latter will
be sold for $3.50 a year, or 10 cents per copy. Those who desire
both papers will be supplied for 58,00 a year.
Working on the supposition that all subscribers who receive
the Record and Guide to-day at an address in IVIanhattan or the
Bronx, are interested solely in information pertaining to those
two boroughs, the Manhattan and the Bronx edition alone will
hereafter be sent to those who dwell in IVIanbattan and the
Bronx; and on a like supposition, the Brooklyn edition alone
will be sent to those who dwell in the big borough beyond the
East River. Any subscriber, however, whose paid subscription
is still current, may by dropping us a postal card stating hi3
(â– "esire, obtain both editions without any extra charge whatso¬
ever during tbe life of his existing subscription. Of course, at
the end of the subscription, it will be open to him to elect which
edition he needs, paying for one or the other, or both as the
circumstances may be.
In conclusion, the Record and Guide would like to assure its
old friends that this new step has been taken only after the
greatest patience and with the utmost care for every interest
concerned. It is most emphatically not a one-sided move.
Moreover, it is not a solitary move, but one that haa been
fully prepared for by the management, and by the careful adop¬
tion of a wider policy that will surely give our readers, when
il is completely worKed out, a very much superior service both
in Manhattan and the Bronx, and in Brooklyn.
A WEEK ago the stock market showed that speculative con¬
ditions in Wall Street did not favor any general rise in
values. The lesson of tbe past week appears to be that tbey also
do not favor any general or persistent fall in values. A sharp
movement in either direction, except in specialties, provokes a
prompt reaction. This is not a condition of things which en¬
courages speculation; but tbe holders of securities can regard it
with reasonable equanimity. A dull, strong, steady market is
favorable both for investment sales and purchases. We do not
see why there should he any change in this condition for some
months to come. No doubt special stocks will here and there be
sharply advanced, and the general tone will be strong; but the
conditions either of speculation or ousmess hardly favor any
radical or general changes. If such occur, they will be caused by
changes in the groupings of railroad systems rather than by any
other probable reason. ;,
THE furious real estate speculation which was raging aroond-
Tliirty-fourth Street and Fifth Avenue last week has,
been less conspicuous during the week just closed. Only one im¬
portant sale has been consummated in the neighborhood men¬
tioned; nevertheless it would be dangerous to assume that the
movement has even temporarily come to a close, or that it is an
aimless speculation without some very definite object in view.
On the contrary, there is every reason to believe that throughout
the rest of the winter and the coming spring the accumulation of
property cn the block opposite the Astoria will continue, and
that it will culminate in several improvements which will in
cheir total effect do as much for the neighborhood as was done by
the altman purchase, A fact which is likely to have considerabla
influence on the real estate market is tbe success with which the
Century Realty Company and other speculative corporations
have disposed of their existing holdings; and we may expect
consequently to find these companies liberal buyers during the
coming spring; but whether they will continue to buy in tbe
Bronx or will find a use for their capital in Manbattan, remains
to be seen. We should like to see one of these big companies start
to build up some really fine residential district on Washington
Heights or in the Bronx. There is every reason to suppose that
conditions are favorable for such an enterprise. The demand for
lesidenccs of a good grade by occupiers is much larger than it