Decsmber 10, 1893





Record   and   Guide.





757









ESTABUSHED''=^WWtHÍI'>ie6í».

Oetíltû ]o R£a| EsrvE 9uiLui,r/G Aĩít.r^iTEajRf.,KousE:ifũ!DDí:'JCiwnai„
PRIOE, PER TEAR IIV AOrANOE, SIX l»OLLARS.

Pttblisheã every Saturday.

TBLSPHONB,      ....      COETLANDT 1370.

GoiiunuDÍeatĩona sbouid be addresaed to

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

J. 1. LINDSEY, Busmess Manager.

"Entered qt fíie Fost-offlce at NeiiJ York, N. ¥., as ĸecond-claas lĩiaííer."





no arguQieiifc is needed to demoũstrate tliat an addition of sucli
proportions to tlie Worid's gold supply cannot be without a pro-
found iiifluence upon tlie status of tlie silver quefition.





VoL. L.





DECEMBER 10,  1899.





NO, 1,201





Euo-yboãi/ interested in architecture and in bnilding shovid reaã
the Architectural Record. 25 ceiiís a copy. Eecord and Gtvide offiae,
Nos. 14-lt) Vesey street.





IN spite of alarmist stories, tlie absence of ffold exports invited a
buyitjg movement at the end of the week, whtch does not
appear to have wholly spent itself. The buyiog in the Gould
stocks is saîd to have causes outside of sympathy with the general
movement, and in fact it even Inoks as if they will set the pace and
the others will follow their lead. It wouid, however, be unwise to
look for any large speculative moveraent, íor the reason that the
banks have ah-eady given indicationa of an inteution to check it,
slîoiild one proniise toarise. The undercurrent is very strong, as
can be seen from tlie quickness with wliich prices rally from
depression. This will protect values ao long as the calaniities with
which well-koown houses threaten the market as a result of cur-
rency conditions do not occur; but the best that can he hoped for l'or
some time is a see-saw motion dominated rather by strength than
weakness. unless the punlic should take fright at the prophecies of
evil that are now being made.





PROFESSOR ANDREWS' apeech oa Thursday before the Inter-
national Monetaiy Conference wae admirable, but it
expounded rather what the position of tbis country on the
silver question shouiii he, than exaccly what it is. Certainiy, it
had a very ditferent riug froni that of the utlerancea most fre-
quently heard upon our silver policy; and, too, it looked in a
dift'erent directioti. It lacked particularly the dramatic bravo
spirit, whicb frora tinie to time urges thia country to take an
isolated position regarding ailver. Said Professor Andrews : " We
wiil parc company with Asia and South America ralher than with
you (Enrope). We wiU not forever continne aione the task of sns-
taing tbe price of silver." In Irnth this conntry has nothing to
gain, either in this matter of silver, ur in commerce, or
In immigration by isoiation from the rest of the world.
It is foliy to preach the doctrine; and w§ regret to say
it is apparently gaining in some quarters a pernicions
popularîty. Tlie United States is not an Asiatic country,
and caiiuot aft'ord to tolerate an Asiatic policy. The civilized world
at present has pronounced positively against Bimetallísm. Great
Britaiu is monometallic beyoud conversion. Germauy stands íirmly
with her, Austria only recently at a great cost placed her mone-
tary system upfin a gold basis, France has no support to give ns,
and uow tliere is taik of even India reverting to goUl. Correct as
the position of the Unĩted States may be on the silver question,
what cati we do in the face of adversecouditions such as these'i' Is
notProfessor Andrews' position the wise one—to stay with Europe
for the time being, leaving the probieui to be workcd out by inter-
national experienceî We can certainly sland what Europe can.
As Professor Andrews said: " The evils of a fluctuating exchange
which beaet England in her commerce with Iĸdia we also exper-
ience in our trading witli our nearest neighbors, hut we are deter-
miũed not to acccmplisb a desirable end at tlie lerrible cost of
opening a similar chasm betweeu oureelves and the nations
of Europe." This is tlie wise coucse; particularly so
as even this country within itEelf is radically divided
in opinion about silver. Neither should we overiook the recent
great increase in the production of the South African gold mines.
The Record and Gufde pubiished statistics on this point the week
before )ast, which showed that the Randt ia now producing at the
rate of $95,000,000 worth of goid annually, while conservative
expercs place the probable production tîve years lience at twice that
amount. Duving the last ten years, the gold production of the
United States has not averaged over thirty-five millions. Indeed,
om- own silver tuines oan scarcely show so great an enlargement of
output in 80 short a time as the South Airican gold mines doj and





THE recommendation which the Preaident makes in liis message,
for the control of quaraniine hy tlie national authorities, is
one wbich should receive hearty popular support. Onr e-vperi-
ence last summer surely made it quite clear that au efĩective
qiiarantine could not be maintain'^d in the case of a severeepidemic
by the number of unrelated S ate and local Boards of Health, eacli
working according to aomewhat difĩerent niethod,-j, and al! wíth
unequal eíĩiciency and unequal re :oiu'ces. Seaboaril quarantîne is
not a local affair. The health of Ihe enttre country is con-
cerned in the efBcîent administration of adequate protective
regulations at even the smallest port of entry. Sutlicient medical
skill, and ample resources, properly directed, shonkl be avaĩlable
wherever needed, independent of any merely local rcquiremenls.
But more than all this, to secure the utmost efHciency, tho quaran-
tine systeni of the country should be a unifîed system, all its parts
co-ordinated and in direct relation with a central anthority. We
pointed out last week what was the proper field for local activity
in quarantine matters. Local Boards of Health should exist even
in small towns, and these could complete and secure the work done
by the national government, by keeping strict surveillauce on
imniigrants that have been allowed to pa.'is the .seaboard line, until
all danger of disease is paesed. This is really thc most importaut
work of quarautine. As things were last summer, if cbolera bad
broken ouc in any one of hundreds of our cities, smail towns and
villages of some sîĩíe, the disease would have had the fulJest scope.
No medical or hospital organiz^tíon of any kind existed; no
ambulance, no equipment for fumigation. The safety of the
country depended upon the worb of a nuniber of inefficient, local
medical oíBcera at loggerheads with the national authorities.





A Oitj's BusiuesH.

ASPECI.vL commĩttee of the Glasgow corporation lias, it Í8
announced, been appointed to consider how far the corpora-
tion can wilh advanlage to the city înstitute a departinent for
receiving deposits on short notice bearing a moderate rateof interest.
Thi8 is, wc believe, the first time il haa been seriously proposed that
munĩcipalities should add banking to IheJr other services to the
public, and the proposal baa aroused cousiderable discussion in
England. Strange aa it must seem to people íii this city, the pro-
poaal has not been denounced as '" uudemocratic,'' " tHicialistic," or
as outtíide the proper sphere of municipal action. Euglish people
believe aeriously that a municipal eorporation is like any other
corporation—organized not for the piirpose of acting ou ■■'demo-
cratic," and avoiding '" socialisiic " priiiciples, but for the purpose
of being of financiai assistance to the shareliolders. Consequently
the proposal is being discussed by its advocates in order to show
that it is based on aHrue economy, and by its opponents in order to
show tbat it is based on a false economy. Ifc seems to us worth
while to summarize the/liscushion in one of the leading English
newspapers in order to >bow ĩn what spirit a niatter of this kind
ought to be dealt with.

Presumably it is with iheamall savings of the laxpayera that it ia
proposed to deal: and it is obvious that unless the municipatity is
prepared to pay a higher rate of inteiest thau is obtainable from
fche savings banka, they can confer no greater advantage on these
peopie than ihose they already enjoy. In one respect it may be
aaid that the municipality can afford to pay more than the savings
banks. When it has to borrow l'or public works it has to pay 3i^
per cenfc for its loans, and if ifc couid supply its needs by borrowiug
from the taxpayers it could pay ihat rate—subject, of course, to a
deduction for the working expenaes of its banking department—
without incurring any loss. The government, on tbe other hand,
does not pay the savings banks luore than 2''^ per cent. becanse it can
go into tbe iiiarket and borrow at tliat rate. So far, therefore, it
would appeai as if the municipality could outbid the aavinga
banks. Other thiugs, however, must he taken into account. The
municipality could under no conditions sink tbe wbole of the
deposita lodged with it in public works, for which ithasnowto
borrow money. A certain percentage would have to be kept io
band to meet possible demands for repayment. In the case of tbe
savings bankstbis reserve of unused mouey is exceedingly small,
the in-inciple acted upon being as Cousols can be sold at any
momenfc they are practically equal lo casli. The municipality
could uot act upon auch a priuciple. In tbe event of a run its
securitiea would be almost unmarketable. Ii it ia to do deposit
banking business. therefnre, it must do as all other privale deposit
banks do—keep a certain portioii of ita drposita in cash
and iîi government securities. Anil if llie rcniaĩnder weie
emplojed for city purposes, the ainount eanied upon the
whole funds would not enable it to pay any appreciably Iiigher
rateslhanthe governmert savings banks now do. The journal
coucludes consequently that n municipaliLy acLing aa a bankpr
would not be able to do for small depositora moie than the govern-