June 30, 1906





RECORD AND  GUIDE





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PRICE   PER   YEAR    IN   ADVANCE    EIGHT   D0LLAR3
Published   eVers   Satardag

Communlcatlona should hs addreased to
C.  W.  SWEET.   14-16  Vesey  Street.   New York
t                                    Telephone, Cortlandt 3157





"Entered at ths I'ost OJUce al New York, N. Y.. as second-clais matter.'





Vol-   LXXVir,





JUNE   30.   190lj.





No-  1908.





INDEX TO DEPARTMENTS.
Advertising Section.

Page.                                           Page.

Cement   ....................ixUi   Law.........................xl

Consulting   Engineers   ..........x   Lumher..................iivlll

Clay Products  ................xiU   Machiuery   ...................iv

Contractora and  Builders   ......v   Meta!  Work   ................xvll

Electrical   Interests   ..........vlil  Qul^^k Joh Directory ........xxvii

Fireproofing   .................ii  Real Eslale  .................xiv

Granite   ....................xxiv   Roofera & Rooflng Materials.xxvl

Heating   ....................xx   Stooe   .....................xxiv

Iron  and Steel  ..............xviii  Wood Products   ...........xxviii





PESSIMISM in Wall Street this weelt may be said to reign
supreme, in spite of generally favorable conditions, Tbe
marltet is lower, and there bave been feeble rallies, only to be
succeeded by sbarper and more serious brealcs. As has been
previously stated in these columns, tbe market acts in a way
tbat is not consistent, for, logically, prices sbould advance
instead of declining. If tbe promise of excellent crops, increas¬
ing business, large railway earnings and nothing disquieting
about tbe money situation sbould not form the basis for a bull
market, it is difficult to say what is demanded by Wall Street
■with that end in view. Tbe brealv in St. Paul on Wednesday
was little short of startling under tbe circumstances. It bad
sold as bigb as 17G% during the day and lost about five points.
It loolved lilie real liquidation. Interborough, Amalgamated,
Reading, Union Pacific and tlie Steel stocks ail suffered severely.
Anaconda declining eleven points. The causes given for the
break, were far from satisfactory. Everybody bas a different
reason. Corporation baiting, the regulation by Congress of
trusts, the exposures in the investigations of railroads and tbe
political unrest were all assigned as factors contributing to tbe
decline. Yet putting an end to the system of secret rebates has
increased railroad earnings, and there wil! certainly be more
money for distribution among the stockholders in tbe way of
dividends. It is not a bear argument that because the Federal
Government will enforce tbe law and tbat there is to be honest
management in corporations that stocks are really less valuable.
But what is to be said or done in the face of the actual senti¬
ment as it at present exists'.' Veterans of tbe Street are puzzled.
The most tangible evidences of prosperity go for naught.





SOME bankers are of opinion, however, that the new low
level which prices bave struck cannot but be attractive to
investors, and that money wili be forthcoming from the public
at the right moment. But if dividend announcements are to be
followed by weakness aud by selling movements, it has been
suggested by some that tbey be withheld. They seem to depress
ratber than stimulate tbe market. The increased declaration on
Baltimore and Ohio last week, tbe higher rate on Anaconda, the
regular dividend in Norfolk and Western and the increase in
the Ontario and Western Wednesday have apparently had this
effect- As to tbe dividend on the latter, some of the lowest
prices in stocks of tbe session were recorded after its announce¬
ment, although the stock itself showed a net advance of the
day of % per cent. The authority on Iron and Steel tells us
tbat the flow of orders in the finished trade continues very
iarge and that during the first twenty-two days of the current
month the United States Steel Corporation booked orders at tbe
rate of 37.000 tons per day. This is more than double the quan¬
tity during the corresponding period of 1905. Money rates are
practically unchanged, but in the present situation money condi¬
tions seem absolutely a negligible quantity, just as may be said
of tbe smouldering volcano in Russia. Tbat there Is public dis¬
trust of the market cannot be denied, and the refusal of the
public to buy stocks is loolved upon by the pessimists previously
referred to as absolute and conclusive. Little or nothing more
is to be said on the subject of the market. It "passes experi¬
ence," showing that ao rules can be laid down and that "all





signs fail in speculation." No one can prophesy or Indicate
the outcome of the paradoxical situation. Probably the market
'may become steady when what is known as the public is satlsr
fied tbat prices are low enough to enable stocks and securities
to be purchased at a figure with a prospect of a fair margin of
profit from a speculative point of view or for investment pur¬
poses, bul the attempt to predict under present circumstances as
to the course of tbe market is impossible.





'T^HE property owners on Madison avenue, between Thlrty-
J- fourth and Forty-second streets, are beginning to make a
concerted effort to keep that part of Madison avenue residential
in character, and there is no reason why tbey should not suc¬
ceed. They bave tbe money, and it is wortb tbeir while. There
can be little doubt that Madison avenue, from Twenty-sixth to
Thirty-fourth street, will eventually be devoted to business pur¬
poses, and a similar fate is likely to befall that part of the same
avenue between Forty-second and Fifty-ninth streets. Business
will also creep in for a block south of Forty-second street and
for another block north of Thirty-fourth street, but the summit
of Murray Hill can very well be protected, because those two
blocks are really more desirable for residential than for busi¬
ness purposes. They are occupied by rich people who can
afford to pay as much as it is necessary to pay in order to pre¬
vent the intrusion of business. Prices in that part of Madison
aveniie have already become so high that very few business
houses could afford to keep such good society, and this fact In
itself simplifies tbe wbole problem. Moreover, it is a good
thing that the residents of the vicinity have been willing to
spend tlieir money for tbe purpose of protecting the surround¬
ings of their bouses. Tbey certainly live in the most convenient
and attractive neighborhood in New York City, That part of
Madison avenue has no electric cars; it is much nearer the
most important centers of business and amusement than Is the
upper East Side, and it wears an air of quiet distinction which
upper Fiftb avenue entirely lacks. Eventually, no doubt, it will
be swallowed up by tbe imperative demand for more space by
important business interests, but there Is no reason why thia
demand should become too insistent during the next twenty-five
years. Farther tban tbat no man can look in seeking to pierce
the outline of Manhattan real estate. By that time the popula¬
tion of New York City should be double what it is to-day and
its business should be three times as large. The attempt to
transact three times as much business on Manhattan Island as
is transacted there at present would cause a demand for avail¬
able space which might be too much for any obstacle which Mr.
Morgan and his associates could raise.





MANY fine private houses are now being built on the upper
East Side, The district bounded by Madison and Third
avenues, Sixtieth and Seventy-third street is now fast merging
into what may be called an aristocratic residential section. That
Third avenue should be embraced or even mentioned in connec¬
tion with this favored section only goes to show the tremendous
strides the city is making and bow limited and valuable the
whole area of Manhattan Island is. Tbe growth and develop¬
ment of the district in question was undoubtedly aided by
Secretary of State Root's purchase a few years ago of the old
flats at the Southeast corner of Park avenue and Seventy-first
street. On the site of tbese flats he built a handsome house,
and tbe result has been to improve the character and tone of tbe
neighborhood. Others have now followed Secretary Root's ex¬
ample, and doubtless in a few years the transformation that has
taken place will be little short of startling to those who were
familiar with the surroundings a decade ago. There will be
tearing down, improvements, building and rebuilding all over
this section during tbe summer and autumn. The feature of all
this construction is that there is nothing speculative in It. It is
being done exclusively by private individuals who wish to make
their homes here and join the colony of prominent persons who
live in tbe immediate vicinity. These include some of New
York's wealthiest and most eminent citizens, which fact alone
will make the section a fashionable and restricted quarter for
many years to come.





WHEN the flve boroughs were consolidated, forming Greater
New York, it was said that many otber cities would
speedily follow the example. Now we have Pittsburg and Alle¬
gheny, in Pennsylvania, falling into line, a majority of more
than 25,000 in a popular vote having decided to make tbe two
municipalities a Greater Pittsburg. There has always been
opposition to this consolidation In Allegheny, the fight having
been going on for more than half a century. The new greater
city will boast of a population of upward of 500,000, It Ig a
logical and natural step, the merging of the two cities with ong