June 2,- 1906





RECORD   AND   GUIDE





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DE^■IEI) 10 fHL Estate,Biiildi|/g %:i(iTECTtn^ .K'^seUold DeeaR^Tiott.
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CommunlcatlonB sliould ba addressed to
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Vol. LXXVII.





JUNE 2, 1006.





INDEX TO  DEPARTMENTS.

Advertising Section.

'!                                           Page.                                                Page.

Cement    ....................xxiii  Law.........................^i

Consiilliug   Eugiueers   ..........x  Lumber..................xxviii

Clay Products  ................xxii  Machiuery   ...................ly

Contractors and   Builders   ......v   Metal   Work   ................xvii

Electrical  Interests   ..........viii  Qui:li; Job Directory  ........xxvii

Fireprooling   ..................iii   Real   Eslate   ................xiii

Gi-anite             .............xxiv   Roofers & Rooflng Materials.xxvi

Heating   ....................x.-i  Stone   .....................''xiv

iron and Steel   ..............xviii Wood Products   ............xxix





THERE have heen three contributing elements to the
growth of land vaKies and of rentals on Manhattan Isl¬
and dining the past eight years. The first and perhaps prin¬
cipal one of these has been the general prosperity which has
increased all husiness and reaidenlial requirements, by offering
the opportunities.for gratifying the latter and tlie necessity for
extending, tbe former. The City of New York, and particularly
Manliattan Borough, has during the last few years attracted a
large amonnt not only of the conntry'a business but of some of
the business of other countries as well. The chief railroads, for
instance, having tbeir principal offices in cities served by
tbem, have generally moved to New York, Tbe chief manu¬
facturing concerns, wherever tbeir factories may be situated,
have tbeir main offices bere. Tbe banking business of tbej
United States is practically centered in New York, and there
has been a large and important addition to New York's popula-;
tion from men of lai-ge wealth from otber cities. The third rea-j
sou for tbe increase of land values and rentals in Manhattan bas!
been found in tbe larger utilization of tbe land, consequent upon;
tbe newer methods of building construction. Where, a few years'
ago, perhaps, a building devoted to a single residence would!
have a value of twenty-five thousand dollars—twelve thousand
five hundred for tbe bouse and twelve thousand flve hundred
for the land—tbe same site may now furnish an opportunity for
a new building renting on tbe basis of an investment of $100,-
000 or over. As tbe opportunities for the use of a site are en¬
hanced by the increase of tbe number of stories possible upon
it, the value of tbe site itself is enhanced aud this has carried
up all Manhattan values in arrears available for improvements.





No. 19W





STOCKS and tbe stock market are acting pretty much as have
been indicated recently in tbese columns. Wall Street still
drifts and is dull, but obtains an appearance of strength from
sporadic advances bere and there. Reading was tbe feature last
week and Tennessee Coal and Iron and St. Paul give some evi¬
dence of strength this week. It is altogether too true that there
is no public in the market, but, given a sharp advance all along
tbe line, a public following may be relied upon. It is all very
well to say that commission bouse customers were crippled or
cleaned out in what will be known as "the San Francisco panic,"
but the cripples will stay in the game to recoup themselves, aud
those who were cleaned out become touters to secure new blood.
The players may die, but the Wall Street game goes ou forever
with increasing ratber than lessening intensity. Tbat money
will be easy seems now assured. The banks and all lenders bad
settled down to the belief that tbe end of May would see bigb
rates. Instead of wbicb tbey bave been easy and presage still
easier money for Juue, When brokers see a profit in the interest
account tbey are apt to urge customers to buy stocks, and cus¬
tomers seeing tbese scattering advances are in a receptive con¬
dition for the tip as to tbe next one marked for movement up¬
ward.





CROPS aie being closely watched from Wall Street
and reference to tbe situation is seasonable. There
are and will always be complaints about tbe weather. The fact
is, however, that the weather this season taken as a wbole bas
been extremely favorable all over tbe country. There is no rea¬
son yet to expect otber tbau big crops of all the staples, particu¬
larly cotton—our great exchange maker, its export value in tbe
past year averaging about one and a quarter million dollars a
day. It was only a few years ago when tbe average commercial
value of the cotton crop of this country was $300,000,000 a year.
Tbat was before tbe utilization of tbe cotton seed. Now cotton
and its by-products approximate in value nearly nine hundred
millions or three times as much as formerly. No wonder tbe
Soutli is growing rich and its feeble single-track roads of a dec¬
ade ago are now being double-tracked and reconstructed to the
highest standard of tbe North. Tbe shares of a.l Southern r:iil-
ways will be beard from in tbe next great advance and it is
bigbly probable tbat profits are to be made in all low-priced
railroad issues, as presenting tbe cheapest form of improved real
estate. There might possibly be a sectional failure of some of
tite cereals, but it has been repeatedly demonstrated tbat in
sucb a case larger railroad earnings of tbe agricultural
roads freciuently follow. As an illustration, if tbe corn crop
in Kansas were a failure bogs would be shipped to Nebraska or
Iowa to be fed for tbe market, or corn shipped into Kansas for
feeding purposes, both movements constituting business addi¬
tional to" tbe normal traffic for tbe railroads of those States.
Tbe'Sifterence between normal and boom business for most
r.ajJrbads is" only about ten per cent, consequently anything
wbJ|Cli causes them .to earn one or two per cent over and above
tb%.t§p.jp.er-eent may be said to give tbem.a boom.





TIT tbe question is naturally being asked, is uot tbe max¬
imum commercial value of land in Manhattan being at¬
tained? Though tbe population of tbe borough is increasing, it
is by no means increasing at so rapid a ratio as population is
iu tbe otiier boroughs. Brooklyn, Tbe Bronx and Queens, in all
three of wbicb there is a marked boom in real estate values.
Tbe cost of material buildings is bigb; tbe wages of labor are
unusually bigb and tbe rate of interest on money is generally
higher than a year ago. The concentration of business inter¬
ests in tbe city of New York may for a short time to come be
less rapid than it bas been recently, and while tbe steady in¬
crease of the city's bonded indebtedness is undoubtedly'for the
city's benefit, in development of the means of transit, tbe beau¬
tiflcation of loealilies, tbe extension of conveniences and tbe
improvement of sanitary conditions, tbe chief burden for
tbese changes falls, and must continue to fall, upon Manhattan.
Two-tbirds of tbe real estate and more tban four-flftbs of tbe
personal property assessed for taxation are withiu tbe Borough
of Manhattan, and wbi:e, of course, a!I great improvements in¬
ure to tbe benefit of tbe city of New York generally, the tem¬
porary burden of tbeir adoption falls chiefly and heavily upon
Manhattan, All these considerations perhaps account for the
slackening recently in some quarters at least, of the growth of
values, though there are, of course, many sections of the city
which have yet to secure their appropriate share in the beneflts
of the general improvement. Manhattan property values never
go backward, but after active periods of boomed and booming
values there has been known to be a cessation of increase, and
we may be near one of those periods at present in tbe case
of property that has advanced greatly during the last few
years. Much, of course, will depend upon tbe genera! financial
state of tbe country at large, A continuation of "bumper"
crops accompanied by flnancial conservatism will necessarily
prolong "good times" and continue the advance of real estate
prices.





IN OKDER lo develop this great city it daily becomes more ap¬
parent to reil estate owners tbat additional rapid transit
must be pushed without delay. Tiie plans for tbe new subways
are now before the public and it is gratifying this week to learn
from Mayor McClellan's able message that a large amount can
be borrowed this year for "special improvements." Thus if the
city is called upon to build the projected subways in the event
of capitalists refusing to invest their money under the short
time operating periods of the Elsberg bill, it is in a position
to raise the money needed, Aa far as real estate interests, and
tbe welfare and convenience of New Yorkers generally are con¬
cerned, so long as tbe subways are built it is not important
whether tbey are constructed by private or public funds. The
demand for quick transportation throughout the city and its
vicinity has become a question tbat is more urgent than all
Qthei'S, It would seem as if tbe present subway had only
awakened tbe public to their needs and necessities in tbe way
of transit—and had given a Sort    of    fillip to    their   .pressing