July 13.  1907







RECORD  ANX>   GUIDE





Î47





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Preaident.'CLINTON  W.   SWEET                     Treasurcr,  F.  W. DODGE

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Copyrighted,




1907,   by




The




Record




&




Giiide




Co.















Vol.




LXXX









JULY




13,




1907.



















No




2052.





INDEX TO DEPAETMBNTS.
AdvertĨBing  Section.

Page..                                             Fage.

Cemeut   ......................xiv Lumber   ....................?;>:

Cons\iltĩiig Engineers  ...........v Macliinery   ....................vi

Ciay Products   ...............xviii   Metal Work   ...................xv

Contractors   and   Builders......iiĩ Quick Job DirecLory............x.y

Blectrical  Interests   ...........vii   Real   EstaLe   ..................ix

Fireproofing  ...................ii   Rooters & Roolĩug Materĩals. .xix

Granite   ......................xvi   Stone   .......................xvi

Iron and Steel  ................viii   Wood  ProducLs   ..............xxi

AHALT ín the advance in the Stock Market took place
durins tlie week and tliere was consternation among
sonie sraaHe; H.perators who had been led to believe that
a real hull.gg,;ĩ;gst was here at last. An -jíjmrafor of na-
tional notp' '^ £í wlio advertises íargely, niay be consid-
ered, t,o r-í^. ^Attíut, responsible for the change of senti-
iĸent^—that is to say his predictions failed to materialize.
But the sudden shimp was just as ĩogical and natural as
the rather too rapid advance of last week. In short, the
"pace was Itilling" and could not last. During the break
in the middle of the week prices fell rapidly as every weak
and stroug issue was attacked. AII the active sto'cks were
heavy losers. American Tobacco also suffered, holders be-
coming alarmed by tke reports of the Federal proceedings
against the Tobacco Trust, quotations declining from 315
to 300. There were many reasous for botli tlie halt iu tlie
predicted bull market and tĩie decline, inciudiug uew eu-
gagements of gold for export, hardening in time funds, a
call loan rate that touched 8 per cent., fomenting of the
war spirit ■with regard to war with Japan by the newspapers
and a dozen other things, to say nothing of the cloud haug-
ing over the Interborough merger and the unfavorable con-
ditiou of corn as certifled to by tlie Department of Agri-
culture for July 1. But after all tlie liurry, reviewing the
transactions o£ the week as a whole, did not last long. There
was later a better feeling in London and a considerable show
oÊ streugth in Paris. Two of the weakest issues during the
■week were Reáding and American Smelters. It was said
they were drĩven down to low -levels in order to facilitate
short covering. Naturally money, both time and call, has
been affected by the untoward course of events in Walĩ
Street tliis week, which fact is never encouraging to real
estate and building interests. Money rates fîuctuated wide-
ly, -which would go to show that notwithstanding all the
gloomy forebodings the condition of business throughout
the country is on a sound basis and that there is no sign
of a dimînution in our present prosperity, Wall Street may
be the pulse of the country, but sudden advances or declines
in stocks are by no meaus an unerring indication of the con-
dition of trade or the progress of the couutry.





ALARGE nuiuber of business men, owuing stores on
Fifth Avenue between Thirty-fourth and Forty-sec-
ond Streets have come out finally in favor of the wideuing
of that tboroughfare by pushiug back the stoop line, and
theír contention that such a wideuîug is necessary to the
easy moYement of the carriage trafiĩc eannot be contro-
verted. Years ago the Record and Guide pointed out that
the business future of the aveuue demanded the revocation
of the licenses under which property-owners have been per-
mitted to erect temporary structures beyond the building
line, and the conversion of the shopkeepers doing business
on Fifth Avenue to this opinion was only a question of time.
FifthyA.Ten^G  trade   depends   largely   upon   custoniers   who





journey to their destination ín carriagf:ablislimp-' oi\o
which promotes the celerity oE movemenMaĸr the 1 Su,
motor cars and carriages will promote tl.'& business AS-'^IJ^
ests of the aveuue and tend to maiĩé property thereon ní '"^■fÍ"
valuable. As we all know, the movemeut of vehicles '' w
and down the avenue during the winter months has bet ;?,
becoming more and more congested, 'until at the presen,
time during certain hours in the day bad blocks are not in-
frequent, and much time is ĩost. There is uo alternative
route anything like as convenienfc which carriages aud motor
cars can take, aud the only remedy for this congestion is
the widening of the carriage-way. In the course of time
ít raay also be necessary to bridge such important inter-
sectiug streets as Thirty-fourth and Forty-second Streets,
but for the present the widening of the carriage-way wîll
be sutficient. The revocation of these licenses can do no
injustice to property-owners, who still retain tĩieir stoops,
because these owoers have beneiited enormously from the
increased availability of Fifth Aveuue for business pur-
poses, and can afford to make some sacrifĩce to improve its
availability for the retail trade and its general public ser-
vice ability. There is only one objection to thê widening
which has any force. It is claimed that a wider avenue,
flooded with an increase of vehicular trafiîc, will be much
more diflicult to cross and that its iinpassability wĩll hurt
retaii trade. This objection should not be ignored, but its
force can be broken by a very simple expedient, When the
carriage-wayi is widened, islands should be placed in the
middle of the street, three to each block, which will,^,'^ ■
pedestrians an opportunity of safely and conveniej
the passage. Such islands wil! be absolutely j^lssary, in
case the widening is effected, antJ no plan should be adopted
from which they are opîíftéd.''





ĩ^iĸmg





THE City of New York is to be congratulated upon the
appointment of Mr. Waĩter Cook as consulting archi-
tect of the Board of Estimate and AppOrtionment. There
are other architects in New York whose work has been
more conspicuous and raoré original than that of Mr. Cook,
but there is none who is so well fltted, by his combiuation
of technical ability and sound general intelligence, to act as
architeetural adviser of the Board of Estimate. It is very
much to be hoped that the hoard will take his advice freeĩy
and act on it ioyally. Thé city does an enormous amount
of building. Many of the new structures, which are paid
for by the money of the city, are not erected under the di-
rect supervision of the Board of Estimate, but many of
them are so erected, and it is in reference to the design of
fchese sfcructures fchat Mr. Cook's advice should be most val-
uable. If. it is acted on, it will effectually prevent the
waste of the city's money upon buildings like the new Court
House or its perversion into such an unworthy pile as the
Criminai Courfcs. Ifc will nofc be Mr. Cook's function to
design the new municipal buildings, but it will be his busi-
ness to see that they are properly designed and economically
constructed. If a new structure sueh as the proposed
municipaĩ office-buîlding is to be submitted to public com-
petition, Mr. Cook's advice should determine the terms o£
the competition and the method of award. On the other
haud, if it is advisahle, as is freauently the ease, that an
architect should be commissioned to design a particular
buildings, because of his peculiar availability for that par-
ticular, job, Mr. Cook would know the name of the raau who
ought to be selected. His duties, consequently, will be
much more positive than those of the Municipal Art Com-
missîou. The Art Commission can prevent the erection of
architectural excrescences or aherrations by the City of
New York, hnt it can do uothing to bring about the design
o£ really beaufciful and appropriate buildings, Mr. Walter
Cook, OD tke other hand, i^ the Board oE Estimate takes his
advice as seriously as it would that of the Corporation
Counsel in a matter of law, should be able to bring about
the erectiou o£ a raucĩi better average of city building than
that which now obtains. His appointment is one of tlie
most praiseworthy and promising actions that any Board
of Estimate has ever taken in reference to the important
matter  of  good  municipal  architeeture.





ONE of the first unofficial but manifestly not unauthor-
ized reports from the headquarters of the Puhlie Ser-
vice Commission is that some of its members are iuclined
to permit the addition of a through third track on the Sec-
ond and Third Ave. elevated structures. The representa-
tive on the commission from the Broux is stated to be very
much in favor o£ this meaus of relief, and his associates are
o£ much the same mind.    They wiil not grant the required