September 3, ÍMB





Récord  and   GuÍde.





387







ESTABUSHED^ MAKCH511!^ 1869..^
OeV&TED TO R,EAsL EsWE , BuiLũlflo AR,tHlTECTai^E ,H0USE:ĩ/0LD DEGOfl^Tltaít
BlI5Iî/ESS A^toĨHEMES Of CeíJeI^I 1^'T£I\ESĨ

PRICE, PER FEAR IS ADVÂNCE, SIX DOLLARS.

Pdblished every Satii.rda'y.

TKLKPHONE;   -   -   .   -   CORTLANDT 1370.

Commuiilcatlotis should be addressed to

C. W. SWEET, 14 & 16 Vesey St.

J". î; LINDSEY, Busîness Manãger.

■  "Enteredat the Post-offlce at Ifew Tork, N. Y., aa seccmd-cldss matter.".





VOL. L.





SEPTEMBER 3,  1892.





No. 1,277





THE cholera has the credit of causing the break ĩn prices on the
Stcck Exchange, notwĩthstanding that decline commenced a
couple of weeks ago, and tlie signa of iís cor.tinuaDce were appaient
last week. The choleta ecare, as it is verj- properly called, no
doubtcaused a good deal of selling. butit did not cneatetbe decline;
itonly liastened it. Thereal cause of Ibe fall in prices was tbe
unwisdom of putting a number of improved Industrials to invest-
raent flgures aod bolding them tbere by the sheer force of money.
Now thatmoney is in more demand tban it has been for a long
time tbat is no longer possibie, especially as the Street bas been
suspiciousof the movemenfc all along and the public bave certainly
not been buying. However, we have the decliae, and the thing to
coDSider is whether it bas gone far enough and a substantial move
in the other direcLioQ may be espected, We ibink not. The fact
cannot be lost tosight that duringa longperiodof very easy money,
extending over tbree or four montbs, railroad issues bave declined
ratiier than advanced. That they wiU go up wilh inoney rates
advancing under thedemands from the interior and the end of gold
exporta not determined is not to be expecled. The movement in
the Industrials bas been of tbe most speculative character ãnd has
appareutly scen its best for the time being. Finally, wĩth a page
or BO of choleranews in every daily paper, tbere wiĩ! be realizÍDg
rather tban buying, except on big breaks for the natural
reactive turn,          ■





in 1891 was only $'2,216,000. The bulk of the otber provmces also
have debta, the burden of which conaiderably esceed tbeir total
revenue.





LITTLE news comesfrom England exceptthat of depressiou and.
stagnatĩnn. The Federaiion of Masier Cotton Spinners' Asso-
ciations has been unable to agree on tbe proposal to reduce opera-
tives' wages by 10 per cent owing to tbe deí'ection of eroployers in
the Bochdale and títockport distrlcts. The Federation has flnally
decided to test Ihe feeliugs of the niembers as to 5 per cent reduc-
'tion. Ic is expected that this lacter proposal wili seriously bé talien.
up by tbe various districts. In themeantiæe cbe cûtton spinning
trade continues to be in a most depressed condition, and as tbere is
no immediate prospect of recovery, it is almost certain that wages
wiU in time be reduced. It is noticeable that this strong Federation
of employers goes abuut tbe task of reducing wagea very gingerly,
and that it is afraid to undertake such a etep uniil its members can
preseDt a united front to the trades unions. It is notíceable, also,
that tbe employes so far from apparently acquiescing in the neces-
sity of a decreased cost of production are discussing more seriously
tban ever the notion of making a demand on their employers for
a reduction of tbe working day to eigbt hours. Tbe iron
trade l.as been just as depressed. During the first half
of 1892 there bas been a decrease in the total output
amounting to 921,469 tons, Much of this decrease was
caused by the Diirbam sirike, which brought about a reduc-
tion of stocks amouniing to nearly 600.000 tons, but consumption
is very much smaller also. During the fiist balf of 18íj0 there were
4,493,468 tocs delivered; during tbe first half ol 1891 tbis had falien
to 3,e84,403, andduring tbe first hiilf of lb92 deliveries were only
8,3»3 745. It is expecfced that unless some great strike intervenes
Btocks will soen increase again, for production is running ahead of
consumption. Neitber are condiiĩons im]iroving for English
investora. The revival whícb showed itself in tbe first balf
of thig year was not a permanent revival. Tbe past
two montiis, so far froui sbowiug a permanent improvement
or even a mainleiiance of prices current in June, has wicueased a
decíded relapge, and that relapse bas now brought prices to as low
a level as that at which they stood at tbe close of last year, That
theie wiil at tbe end of the three yeats' rcspite have to be a largé
compuunding wiih the creditors of tbe Argentine Republic is now
more cleaily apparent than ever, and tbe present coudition of tbe
provincial debtd appears lo be litile sbort of iameniable. For
instance, tbe debt of ihe Province of Entre Kios requires for its
service some $8,400,000 annually, while the entire revenue collected





THE fall market forreal estateisusually supposed to begin tbe
flrst of September, but as a matter of fact October Ist
usually is with us hefore the flrst signs of returning activity are
viaible. The lengtheuing of the summer season by thirtydays has
had thîs effect upon the market. The ioevitable talk about " good
prospecta for an active fall market" is in tbe air now, and means
aslittle asever itdid. It is too earlytoprognosfcicatewhatthefuture
has in store for us, thougb there is not tbe slightest renson for
expecting anytbíng wonderful. There is a class of people who
are not satisfied witb anytbing lesa then a "boom." It is only
ín tĩmes of great excitemenfc ihat they regard the market as
aatisfactory. There'is no chance tbat people ■with tbĩs sort of
ideas will be pleased tbisfall. Speaking generally, there are very
few readjustments to be madein the interesfc of the seller. Ratber it
íg concessions tbat are in order, though these are more likely
to be forced from holders'of property by dullness and adverse
circumstances than yielded readily. The improvementof ihe lower
part of the city by the erection of superior commercial buildings is
lîkeiy to go on steadily. It wiU be conlrolledby causes, which,
strictly speaking, lie aomewhat outside of the real estate market.
T.ie supply of flats, tenements, residences is abundant, if nnt in
some cases and in some locations excessive. There is a great deal
of badly-placed property on the market awaiting purchasers, and
for some time to come the conditicn of tbis properfcy will give tbe
market a reputation for duUness, which may really not belong to it.
The Rapid Transît qupstion is, of coursc, still the great questioo for
real estate, and upon it depends the future of tbe upper wards, gnd
in a lesser degrée Harlem and tbe upoer West and East Sidee.
The next boom will be in property in tbese locations, but it ĩa, of
course, out of the question to expecfc a boom in property so loug as
it cannot be reached quickly and comfortably.





THE latesb convert to profit-sharing wiíl not, we fíar, do very
much to popularizethat method of adjustíng the disagree-
ments between capilal and labor. Fresident M. E. Ingalls, of the
Chesapeake & Ohio and Big Four Railroads, iu his annual report
just issued, states that the direcfcors bave defcermined to recommend
to the stockholders the consideration of a plan to establish "com-
munity of interesfc with the employes." The recDmmendafcion is
furtber máde that after tbe pruperty bas been put upon sm-h a
basis that ifc can safely be expected to earn its fixed charges, the
Bui-plus should be " equally divided" with tbe employes. At first
glance it might be uupposed that "equãlly divided" would mean
divided in half ; but Mr. Ingaíls has no such meaniog, as the
example hegives clearly shows. Ifthecapital of the road is $60,-
000,000 and the yearly wages of the employes |5,000,000, the pro-
portioQ between tbese two amouuts wouid represent the ratio of
division, Surplus earnings amountíng to $650,000 would mean 1
per cent—$600,000—for tbe stockholders and 1 per cent-$50,000—
for the employes, We very much suspect thatsuch a plan of profît*
sharing will fail to make tbe "growing difiSculties of the labur
problem" stop growing in tbe case of this railroad, The
community of interest which Mr. lugalls b:)pe3 to establish will
be a coramunity in whicb tbe eojploye has so small a share that the
prospect is he wiU be about as dlssatisfled as ever. Taking the case
cîted by Mr. Ingalls, an employe receiving a salary of $750 a year
vFould obtainas l.is share of tbe proûts the magnificenfc amouut of
$7.50, raising bia annual income to the large sum of $757.50, and he
wouldpocket it with the satisfactory thoughtthat if he had worked
a little harder he might bave earned $2.50 more for himself—and
twelve times tbat for the generous s'.ockholders. We do not belîeve
fchat the idea would have been very sootbing. Our employe would
prefer to sacrifîce such a large proportion of the profits in tbe hope
of obtainiDg sometbing additional in tbe way of wages. He would
certainly stick to his unions, keep on strikiQ^, and geuerally act as
ifhedidnot at all appreciate "communityof interest" between
himself and his employpr. Wheu such schemes of ' ■ co-operalive
production" are proposed, it is no wonder that ihe unions have not
taken kiudiy to it and to aimilar profit-sharing propDsals. In
truth, Mr. Ingalls' plan Ía no more co-operative production than it
is the institution of a communÍLy of interest. It ia simply the^
organízation of bonus-giving—scarcely more (to borrow (be words
of an Engliah economisl) than the "raisingof the practice of tip-
pinginto the dignityof aeystem."  .     '^   ■





THE hue and cry which the press is raĩaing agaÍDSt the World
because of ihe Sittt's dísclosures concerning its bogus iQti;r-
views with Bismarck, etc, more is curious than valuable. The
oÊEense committed by the World may perbaps be a little
stronger than usual, but theae particular cases do biic refiect in a
Bomewhat accentuated form the everyday vices and melhods of Ihe
majority of papera. "Journaliam" has become very largely a
matter of vulgar exaggeration, an affair  dominated by  the lying