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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 25, no. 617: January 10, 1880

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Real Estate Record AND BUILDERS^ GUIDE. YoL. XXY. NEW YOEE:, SATUEDAY, JANUAEY 10, 1880. No. 617 Published Weekly by d« 'Mmi Estate Betarb ^ssadEttatt. TERMS. ONE YEAR, in advance.. ..SIO.OO. Communications should be addressed to C. -W. SWEET, Nos. 135 AND 1"W Broadw.w OUR INDEX. Our subscribers receive with this issue the Index to Volume XXIV. of The Real Estate Pi,ECORD, covering the period of six mouths from July to December, 1879—oue of the most import¬ ant in the history of New York i-eal estate. This Index is the Icey to the vast treasure of informa¬ tion given week after week in these colimius, and at once enables all those iuterested to ascer¬ tain with promptness the value of a certain parcel of property at any particular time during said pei'iod. In addition to the references of this exhaustive Index regarding al! the transfers filed in the Register's offices of New York aud Brooklyn during the past six months, its pages also furnish the same facilities for ascer¬ taining all information about the new buildings in the two counties, the Mechanics' Liens, the various topics discussed editorially aud the new projects tbat liave engaged the attention of owners, architects and builders during tlie past year. Wlien it is remembered that, for the purpose of getting at all these facts so valuable to purchasers and sellers, there are no other sources than the volumes of The Real Estate Record, now properly indexed almost up to this A^ery date, our fi'iends will share with us the pride we take in pointing to the labor and care \^'hich have been bestowed upon this Index without which the mass of statistics gathered during the past six months would indeed constitute a labyrinth which might ruffl.9 the .temper of the coolest Pine street broker. Completing, as this Index does, the histor}^ of the marked changes for the better which have come over values during the year IS79—a year that in time to come will be studied with as much avidity as it has been closely watched during the past twelve-month—we do not see how any one at all desirous of investigating before investing can be without The Real Estate Record. Its more than thousand pages printed in 1879 present in cold and hard figures the true inwardness of a market, which, after all, is the true test of a people's prosperity. It is the value of the soil that reflects a nation's wealth, and our columns have teemed from week to week wifch the fiucfcuations of these values. Of course New York and Brooklyn, wifch its myriads of sfcreets, avenues, parks, places, squares, lanes and roads do not in every instance show a marked variation from previous values, bufc whafcever the spot, whatever the alley even, the Index will readily direct the investor and broker to the page refiecfciug the transactions in said spot or street. BROKERS' COMMISSIONS. To the Editor of The Real Estate Record. Please answer the following question, as I think it is time the matter should be finally settled: A parfcy leaves with me a piece of real estate for sale afc a certain price; negotiations are com¬ menced by making au offer for same; finally, on the 24ch December, I again see the ov.'uer, coming to his terms all bufc !?59, and then on the 2Bfch December, about three o'clock (Christma^s day intervening), I notify the owner my party will take the property on his own (the owner's^ terms, and that the contract is already drawn, ready for signature, whereupon he informs me the same is sold. Under the circumstances, am \ entitled fco a commission ? Gof.ootka. ANSWER. A broker employed to sell, in the ordinary course of things, can do no more than find a person who is able and willing to purchase u})on the owner's terms. When he succeeds in doing this, his brokerage is earned, and the owner who refuses fco sell on the terms given to the broker, or disables himself from conveying, becomes liable for the brokerage. This is the general rule which, like every other, has its exceptions. If the owner revoked the broker's authority before the purchaser was introduced, or if hepre-^erved the liberty to seiJ, himself or through other brokers, upon the tmdersfcandiug that he was to be liable oidy to the person who made the firsfc acfcual sale, the owner would not be liable. Of course, every owner may sell his property whefclier he employs a broker or not, hut if he does, he ouglifc fco notify lus broker so as to relieve him from further labor or efi'orts. If he fails to do this, or, in ofclier words, to revoke the broker's authority, it would be manifestly unjust to de¬ prive the broker of his commission, who, ignorant of the sale by the owner, continued fco labor and incur expense uufcil he had accomplished fche objecfc of his emploj'menfc. While the owner has rights the brokei-, after employment, has rights, too, which his employer must respecfc or pay the penalty, which in this case is the brokerage. PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS. On Monday evening, the Municipal Society met at 67 Madison avenue, Thatcher M. Adams, Esq., Pre.sident, in fche chair. The committee on amendments fco the Charter of New York (Messrs, Myer S. Isaacs, Dorman B. Eaton and Arfcemas H. Holmes), presenfced a pre¬ liminary reporfc suggesting the principles which should underlie municipal governmenfcs, the spec¬ ial defecfcs of the present charfcer and the proposed I'emedies. The reporfc recommended: (I) a triennial elec¬ tion of the Mayor and Comptroller, fche election of Aldermen for three years, fco be classified, one- third to be chosen annually on a general fcickefc; (2) fche appointment of inspecfcors of election to be taken from the Police Board, and vested in a super¬ visor appointed by the Mayor; (3) the appoint¬ ments of heads of departments, to be made by the Mayor, without confirmation by the Alder¬ men, fche Mayor fco have fche power of suspension and removal; (4) subordinafce officers fco be appointed by the head of the deparfcment, to hold office during good behavior, to be promoted for merit, and liable to suspension or removal for in¬ efficiency or dishonesfcy; (5) appointmenfc in the fire and police department, fco be made firsfc for a probafcionary term, p^'omotion to follow after competitive examination; (6) the discipline in the police and fire deparfcments to conform as nearly as pracfcical fco the sysfcem of the army or fche militia; (7) an increase of the power of the Board of Apportionment, so as fco provide for the reduc¬ tion of salaries, consolidafcion of bureaus, etc.; (8) supplies forthe departments fco be purchased affcer the method adopted for stationery and prinfcing; (9) the sfcreet cleaning fco be taken from the Police Board, and vested in a special officer, with sfcricfc limitations as to contracts for cleaning in sections. removing ashes, garbage, etc.; (10) fche fixing of responsibility b.y substituting single heads of de- parfcmenfcs for commissions, excepfc in the case of the Board of Education and Board of Health. The report deals with fche great evil of muni¬ cipal administration of this cifcy, the apparently uncontrollable power of the polifcical machines: and insists that the city should be governed on business principles, the service to be regulated as a great financial corporation should be conducted, and absolnfcely divorced from State or national politics. injllemai-ks upon the reporfc were made by Messrs. Sinclair Tousey, Geo. B. Butler, R. C. Hawkins and ofhei'.s, and fche committee were in¬ structed to I'-ivsent, .-'.t the nexfc meeting formal amendments to fche Charter, to be printed and considered ])y the Society. OUR ANNUi\.L MAEXET REVIEW, lu the regular market columns of this number of The Record will be found an exhaustive re¬ view of all descriptions of Buildin.g Material for the year 1>^TU, with comparisons of price.-, statis¬ tics of receipts, shipments, &e. Upon the major- it3' of fche articles enumerated, it will be found that the firsfc half of tlie j^ear brought sfcill further shrinkage in values, uncerfcainty respectin.g fche future and coinpefcifcion among sellers generallj' acfcing as decidedly depressing influences. Dur¬ ing the final six months, however, fcliere was a change for the better, with fche improvement rather slow until v,'ithin aboufc six weeks of the close of the year, v.'hen a sudden Hurry sent prices up wifch a whirl in many cas?s, and January Isfc found a verj^ sfcrong, confident feeling over fche XJrospecfcs for spring trade. In view of a very full consumpfcion during fche fall, and even up fco present writing, consequent upon the open weafclier, dealers are carrying comparafcively small accumulations, and this wifch fche belief that building operafcions will open early and freely, inspires buoyant hopes for the commencement of the incoming season. THE WEST SIDE PARKS. I'liESiDEiST olmstead's addhess befoke the west bide asscciattox-->'ecess]ts: fob impeovino the P.VBKS. The West Side Association held a most interest¬ ing meeting last Saturday evening, when the room was crowded with members who paid close atten¬ tion to the proceedings. President Olmstead was in the chair, and upon calling the meeting to order stated that the tonic for consideration that evening was the improvement of the West Side Parks. He then said : Gentlemen of the Asscciation : The topics for consideration this evening are tho improvement of Manhattan Square. Moi-ning- side and Riverside Parks. These are the onl.v unimproved public parks within the section of the city covered by" the operations of our asso¬ ciation. Manhittaii square was taken for a xnil)- lie park nearly forty years ago, and ever since then has lain until recently entirely unimprovec., except by the construction upon it, at a largo ex¬ pense, ot a single interior wing of the Museum of Natural History. In September and November ot lastyear, two large meetings ot influential owners of properly in the vicinity were held at the JMu- seum Building, which resulted, througli the active endeavors of the comnittee appointed to prosecute the matter,-in an appropriation by the Board of Estimate and. Asssssmenfof the sum of $20,000 to¬ wards the improvement of the square. It has been drained, .and ia now ready for surface work, some of which has been done. I regret to say, however, that in November last S2,000 of the appropriation