Novémber 2, Ĩ907





RECORD   AND   GUÎDE





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Communications sĩiould lie addressed to

C. W. SWEET

Tublished Etíery Saturday

By THE RECORD AND GUIDE CO.

Presldent,   CLINTON  W.   SWBBT                     Treasurer,  F.  W. DODGE

Vice-Pres. & Genl. Mgr., H, W. DBSMOND        Secretary. F, T. MILLBR

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Copyrighted,   1Ũ07,   hy  The  Record   &   Guide  Co.





Voĩ. LXXX.





NOVEMBER 2,  1907.





No, 2068.





INDEX TO DEPARTMENTS.
Advertisiũg  Section.

Page.                                              Page.

Ceraent    ........................xv Lumlier    .....................xvii

Clay   Products   ................xiv   Machinery    ...................xv

Consulting   Engineers   ........xvi  Metal  Work   .................xĩii

Contraetors   and   Builders   ___iv  Quick Job Directory  ........xviĩi

Electrical   Interests   .........vii  Real   Estate   ..................ix

Fireprooflng    ...................ii Roofers & Roofing Materials. .vii

Granite    ......................xix Stone    .......................xvii

Iron and Steel ...............viii Wood Products   ..............xvii

THE FINANCIAL PANIC, írora -which the country is par-
tially recovering, may prove to be an awful blessing,
. provîded it results in sonie practicabĩe and aûequate scheme
of currency reform. It is ridiculous that a business com-
munĩty should have itself exposed to panics of tbis kind,
when their acuteness could be very much mitigated by the
adoption of a sound and elastic currency system. The dis-
couragîng aspect of the situatĩon is, however, that the meas-
ures of reform proposed by the bankers themselves are
by no means either as elastic or as sound as they should
be. The plan for a so-called asset currency, which could
be issued when money was in demand and automatically
retired when it was not in deiuand, is not in accordance
with sound banking prînciples, because it provides for an
increase of promises to pay while at tbe same time doing
nothing to increase the reserve of ĩawful money. It is
rarely brought out in the current discussions of this prob-
lem that the fundamental difficulty consists in the char-
aeter of the currency issued by the national banks. The
national bank notes are issued irrespective of the actuaĩ
demand by the buainess world for currency. Their amount
is not dlminisbed in times of easy money, and now when
there is a famine in the money market, the Comptroller
has to beg the banks to issue as mueh currency as tbey
are iegally entitled to issue. The conseiiuence is that in
periods of inactive business, specuĩation is encouraged by
an excess of currency, while in periods of stringency,
liquidation ís necessitated by the absence of any automatic
increase in the eirculating medium. It so happens, how-
ever, that both the government and the national banks
would be unfavorably affected hy any change in the method
of issuing tbese notes. The government obtains much bet-
ter prices for its bonds because of the demand on the part
of the national banks, while the banks, which bave pur-
chased bonds at high priees for currency purposes, stand
to lose a good deal, as a result of a change in the curreney
system. Tbe dĩíĩiculty will remaín as long as the present
system endures, and public opiuíon should begin to under-
stand that under these conditions important faankîng in-
terests are engaged in the conservation of a system which
is opposed to sound banking prineiples, and consequently
to the pubiic interest.

—----—•-----------

ANOTHEE, RESULT of the flnancial crisís should be a
different attĩtude on the part of depositors towards
national banks as compared to trust eompanies for banking
purposes. The trust companies bave been increasing enor-
mously in popularity, because of the interest which they
paid for accounts, but depositors must realiae that when
they need their mouey most they may have to pay too dear
for such interest. In all the trust companies which were,
or were supposed to be, in difflcuîties, an ordinary depositor
practicaĩly could not get his money, so that even if tbese
companies did not nominally suspend, their condition was





for bis purpose equivalent to a suspension. But a national
bank, as a member oE the Clearing House Association, was
obliged either to settle up or really to suspend; andifitwere
soĩvent it found means to settĩe up. Its depositors could
get tbeir money, in case they needed it, and the depoaifcors
in tFust companies should be placed in a similar situation.
Either the trust companies should be admitted to the Clear-
ing House Assoeiation, or else depositors should transfer
their accounts to banks that cannot be placed In the
equivocal position of partially suspending payment. For-
tunately it looks as if tbis seeond alternative wiU not be
necessary. It is probable that the trust companies will
anticjpate corrective legisĩation by Joining the Clearing
House, and by conforming to every condition tbat is de-
manded by such a change of policy. If this change is
brought about it will enorraously strengthen the organi-
zation of the banks in this city, and improve the city's stand-
ing as the financîal eentre of tbe country.





THE 'SALE of the Port Chester and the Westebester roads
to tbe New York & New Haven has passed almost with-
out notice during the excitemeut of the week, but it is
none the less an event of prime importance, These roads
were both planned for the particular purpose of competing
with the New Haven, and obtained their franchises from
the local authorities with that express purpose in view.
Now that they have been absorfaed by the railroad corpora-
tion with which they were supposed to compete, it looks
very much as if the inhabitants of Westcbeater County and
tbe Bronx, who had worked hard for the purpose of en-
couraging the proposed competition, had been dished. Cer-
tain it is that the New Haven company will under exîsting
conditions enjoy a virtual monopoîy of the rapid transit
privileges of ■ the eastern part of the Bronx and West-
chester; but we doubt whether the interests of the resi-
dents of that vicinity wiU suffer thereby, The Record aud
Guide has never believed in the value of competítion in
improving the transit service in and near a iarge city, Tbe
New Haven eompany will be in a position to give the people
who live along the line of the two roads a better servîce
tban would an independent company. It may not be quite
so eager to huild; faut when the tîme for building comes, it
will control larger resources and can afford to ínaugurate
a better service. In one respect particularly sbould it be
able to supply its patrons with more adequate means of
rapid "transit. The great defect of tbe plans, both of tbe
Port Chester and Westchester companies, was tbat they
failed to make any provision for the transportation of their
passengers south ôf the Harlem. They terminated at the
beginning of the Lenox Avenue Subway or a little further
south, and theĩr passengers would have been obliged to
transfer to the Subway or elevated road. Under these
conditions their value to their patrons would have been
very mucb diminĩshed, Such roads cannot give their pass-
engers genuine rapid transit without a four-track line all
the way to tbe City Hall. It is true that tbe New Haven
Railroad is at the present time as incompetent in tbis re-
spect as is either the Port Chester or Westchester com-
pany, but it is inconceivable that it wiil remain so. Surely
the purchase of these roads means that the New Haven
company wiil become a bidder for a four-track Bast Side
Subway. Sueb a Subway, or even two such Subways, are abso-
lutely necessary for the development of ita system north
of the Harlem River. It may be predicted with confldence
tbat the New Haven company will within tbe next ten years
build a Manhattan subway, and tbat ĩt wiĩl own an inde-
pendent terminus in that borough, Tbe management of the
road is too capable and too enterprising to overlook the
neeessity for such a development.





THE BFFECT of the flnancial crisis on tbe real estate
market îs, of course, for tbe tirae beĩng, practically
to prohibit business, But its ultiraate effect will probably
be to hasten the day when real estate and building can
resume tbeir normal activity, because its ultimate effect
wiĩl be to acceierate the proeess of busĩness contraction.
if no crisis bad occurred, tbe tide of general business would
have receded very slowly; and it migbt bave heen a year
or more before money would have beeome released ín suffi-
cient quantity for real estate and building operations. Now,
however, a sharp contraction is necesaarily taking place; and
painful as the process is, it will at least bave tbe effect of
relieving the strain on the money market very much sooner.
Probably money will be extremely plentiful in a few
montha,   and   wben  ít   becomes   plentîful   agaia,   it   is   not