September i8, 1897.





Record and Cjuide





379





VRĸia—





•i.^    íú.^:/-.^  ,^<i^.tl.







^. ..u.»





^                             EsTABUSRm^ííjwpHgyi^ieee.

,OeM> P f^ ESTATE.BuiLDĨĩfe ApCÍÍITEenfflíXOJSEIÍOID DEOOlflOft

.BifsDÍESS aiÚiThemes OF CEĩfeRjViKiCTf*!:^

PRICE     PER   YEAR     IN   ADVANCE,   SIX   DOLLARS.

Publisheã every tiaiurday.

TBJ/ÍPHONE,               ...        -               CORTLAKDT   1370.

Communicatlons should be addressed to

C. W. SWEĨET, 14-16 Vesey Street.

J. 'I, LINDSEY, linsiiiess Manager.





■ Eii.tcred al Ihr, Posl-O.I)icc at Xeiv l'ork, X Y., as secoiid-class mtitler."





VOL. LX.





SKPTEMBEli 18, 1897,





No. 1,640





TIIB temptation to organize operatious ou the short side of
tlie stoclí mai-Iiet uaturally grows with tlie advanee in
jjrict's; tbis accounts for the existcuce of combiuatious which are
seeking for weal: places in which to make an impression, aucT
to flnally bĩ'ing aboiit a general decline- So far prices have beeu
well maiutained, in spite of these things, with also some con-
spieuoiis advauces here and there, so that "shorting" has beeu
anythiug but a pastime in the past weelí. Reasou may point to
lower qnotations, but, iu the preseut temper of the public, rea-
sou counts for very littie, Some stress is laid upon tlie recently
published trade statement for August, showing a very large bal-
aiictí iu favor of this country, and of the probability of early
imports of gold as forming a basi.s for a new bull moveraent,
The favorable balanee is due to the reaction from the heavy
buyiug uf last Spriug, just as we shall see a reactiou from the
Ueavy Angust buyiug of grain by ISurope, siuce the agricultural
reports from India and Argentiua liave become so good. Gold
imports, uuder the circurastance of our trade, have only been
kept baclî by the fact that better use could be found for money
tibi'oad than here; this having beeu líuown for some time, their
aetual advent would have very little influence. What the ad-
vocates of liiglier quotations really have to rely upon mostly is
the fãet that t!ie public are in a buyiug mood agaiust which uo
pi'ofessional combination to operate in the other direction can
have auy appreeiable efCect, aud tliat, as there was uo reasou
íor a large part of the old advauco, it Is uot neeessary ío bave it
reasou for a uew oue.





StXCE uur last issue, in which we pointed out tlie uecessity
l"or. aud tho yrubability of the Goverument of Great
Britaiu takiuy actiou iu regard to silver, ít has transpired that
ĩt has opeued uegotiations with the Bauk of Eugland to learu
uuder what couditlous the bank would be willing to avail itself
of ils cliarter right to keep a flfth of its reserve iu that metal.
Tlie i;ouditÍons as stated by the Governor of the baulí ou Tburs-
dĩiy are uuerous euough to niake it doubtful whether the mau-
agenieut seriousiy coutemplated the makiug of auch a chauge.
Tliey amount aluiost to a demand for a guarantee against all
rlstĩs, The important point, however, is the evideut seriousness
with which the British Treasury is takiug the raatter up, and
the cousequeut probability that in the eoming wiuter an ar-
raugemcut will be perfected that will advance the price of sil-
ver aud give it stability. It must be borne iu mind thut it is nut
the bauk but the goverumeut that is taking the initiative, aud
that the problem it has to soive is to preveut the further depre-
i'iation of silvei', uot in the interest of the TJnited States or oC
France, or of any other counti-y, that produces silver or has a
unweildly load of that metal on its hauds, but în the interest of
ĩndia, whieb uses it exclusively as a tradiug medium, and of
British trade with thc far Bast. The solution of this problem
lies in the larger use of silver money, and circumstances have
so bronght it about that Great Britain must assist tbis process.
Tbe Indiau Treasury has to face the pi-ospect of a deflcieney in
revenue, whíeh cannot be smail, for some time to come, Al-
ready a temporary loan of $12,500,000 has beeo raised, for that
îs what the reeent purehase of cxchange for that sum amouuts
to, and others will have to be raised from time to time, probably
in inereasîug volume, in order to meet tbis deficieucy, uiiMl the
marketiug of new crops and improved commerciiil conaitions
place the country again in a sound financial eondition and re-
lieve it of ĩts distress. A measure that will materially Increase
the value of the metal in whieh ludian produets are pald for,
and of whieh large stoeks are held in the country itself, would
be of great servlce and immensely aid the government in thé
task it has to perform. The fact that Great Eritaln benefits so
largely by the Eastern trade requires that it should, without
iDiperiIling [ts own curreucy standard—of whlch no rational be-
lĩig îins iliH sllghlcst expectatlon-be wiHlng to do íts part In the





work. Turning to another matter, about whose successful eud-
iiig so many doubts have been expressed, there is reasou for
niucli gratifieatiou iu the couclusion of the tedious peace nego-
tiations at Coustantiiiople, în that ít is a triumph for the Euro-
pean concert and of civilized means for arranging internatioual
dĩfferences. Some fiue day those who could ant believe that in
formiug the coucert the several natious of whĩch it was com-
posed had auy other pui'pose thau to hoodwiuk each other, will
wake up to the fact that a better spirit permeates modern diplo-
maey, and that in spite of huge standing armies aud fioating
uavies,reason will more and more decide coutroversies between
uatiou and natîou.





"P*]^SE\VHKRE iu our í'olmiins iii tiiis issue we print the íirst
■^ ofaseriesoE papcrs on the Meehauies' Lieu Law, pro-
pared ior m by Mi', Edward L, ĩleydeeker, ol! the the "bar of this
city. Mr, Heydeeker is a uative of New York aud has watcbed
the growtli of the real estatc operations of thc Greater New
Yorlí. His uuiversity traiuing Liusbeeu suppleuiented by twelve
yearíî' e.-íperience at the "bar aud ho hatl the advautages of
Ijcgiiiniugiiisueh officesas tlioseof Coudcrt Hrothei's aud Judge
Charles F. MacLean, Hiĸ practiceaiid Liw tastes hare ledbim
tu tlic rcal estate side of Ihe liiw and soine ot'the result of his
pi'actiee and study are iiow pi(;senled to our readers iu cleai',
condensed. sententes, whicii luake plain the rules whieh buîlders
aad operators shi)uUl kiiow, The recentehauge in the Lien
Law makes such a review of the htw very tiraely. Mr. Hey-
declíer's oííices are at 111 Btoadway.





The  New Lien Law.''

lu effect September 1, 1897.

A Hiiiiimai'y of Its Provisious and of all Legal Decisions Con-

struiog It,

By Edward L, Heydeckor of the New York Bar.





CHAPTER I.
WHO   MAY   HAVE  A  LIEN AND  WHAT  IT  MAY BE  HAD FOR.

I-IE ob.ieet of the lieu law, from the enaetment of the first
slatutc on this snbject, has been to give some seeurity to
llu' mochauie or materialman, whose labor or material has
pa.-:i.-ied from Iiis possession by the very act of doing the labor
or furuisliing the material, The opei'ation of the rule of law
which provides that everythiug attaehcd to the land passes to
the owner of the laud has preveuted aud must always prevcnt
tlie full realizatiou of this secui'ity to the I.tborer aud raaterial-
Jiian.    (See second papcr ou this poiut.)

Tu the early statutes the beuefit of tbe act was.confiued to the
i-oiiti'actor and those in immediate couíract with hiui; but now
iho rule is established that auy oue who performs labor or
fumishes material for the improveraont of real property with
the. consent or at the request of the uwner thereof, oi' of his
agent, coutractor or sub-contractor, shall have a lien for the
principal aud ĩnterest of tho value, or the agreed prÍeCiOf such
labur or materials upon the real property improved or to be im-
proved and upou such improvement, from the time of filing a
uotice of lieu as prescribed.

We raay classify all possible Iienor.s as (a) cuntractors; (b) sub-
eoiiti'actors; (e) niaterialmeu; (d) laborers,

Anyone niay be a conti'actor, whether he be regularly in tbe
busiuess ur eugage iu ií spccially or for the fli'St time; in faet,
the act defines the eontractor to be a person who enters into a
coutract with the owner of real property for the improvement
thereof. He is free to employ any of the usual buslness methods
and so may act through au tigeut in takiug the contraet or doing
the work. lu fact, the ageucy of the agent need not be dia-
closed until the filing of the lien, and if the lien be filed in the
name of the priucipal. and proof of the ageney be given at the
proper time it is sufficient. So a womau may be the principal
and act througb her hnsband as agent. But the proof uf agency
must be elear, aud there must be no taiut of fraud. It matter.s
not where the lienor reside.s, whether in the state or out of It,
ur where the work is to be done or the material is to be fur-
nished. or where the payment is to be made, or where
the contract was made, provided only that the work
or material is actually used in the improvement of the
real property. Again, it matters not whether the Jlenor be a
corporation, furelgn or domestlc. or au unincorporated assoelã-
tion, or a person or two or more persons, the same test of the
actuaĩ use of the work or material in the improvement is all
that is needed,

-V sub-contractor is now defined to be a peraoo who has eon-





*CoiJj'rleht,  18ti7,  by  "ĩTie Record and  Gulde,"