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48 The Real Estate Record. January 15,1881 of the southwestern roads. But one or two bad crops West would not now affect the permanent value of the trunk lines East which have their terminus in this city. Our country is so vast that the failure of any one of our great commodities would not mate- riaUy reduce the revenues of the eastern trunk lines, although it might prove disas¬ trous to the roads which traverse the stricken district. Our own judgment is, that the best invest¬ ments for profit and iiermanence are in real estate. But if one has a preference for rail¬ way securities, there seems to us to be more of a margin in the coal stocks, specially in Jersey Central, in Erie, in New Y^'ork Cen¬ tral, Lake Erie & Western, Wabash, Chesa¬ peake & Ohio, and in short all the roads which seek the seaboard.' There is undoubt¬ edly money in the southern roads ; the census shows that the Southern States are not loos' ing in population, and that vastly more cotton can be grown by free than by slave labor. Some of the Southern State bonds now in discredit will see a marked advance during the coming year. comj)laints it hears and heeds a great deal more than those of the solid merchant, who curses in the innermost of his soul a muni¬ cipal system under which he is compelled to transact his btisiness. SHAMEFUL NEGLECT OF BUSINESS STREETS. Elsewhere we have alluded to the manner in which the city refuse, on the pretence of being "snow," is disposed of along the docks of our rivers. This, however, is only a par¬ tial expose of the careless manner in which this pretentious Street Cleaning Bureau is doing work for which the city of New York pays annuallj'' over two hundred thousand dollars. During the past week, while snow, ice and slush v,"ere accumulating in all the avenues, streets and lanes of our city, an ex¬ traordinary attempt wafj made by Captain Williams to secure the good will and abund¬ ant j)raises on the part of our citizens. He did, it must be acknowledged, remarkably well along the Fifth avenue, Broadway, Thii-ty-fourth, Twenty-third and Fourteenth streets, all leading thoroughfares, through which those capable of "hurting" the Captain Avere apt to drive, in coach or sleigh, during the severe storms that have followed one another tip rather smartly during the week. The plain business men, however, who are neither fast drivers nor politicians, who are not in the habit of showing themselves "on the road," were entirely neglected. They had to pay for the piper by loss of time and in¬ creased expenditure, caused directly by the i wUful neglect with which their streets were treated by the Street Cleaning Bureau. We aUude particularly to the streets crossing Broadway, below Canal street, where firms doing the very heaviest of business were un¬ able to load, unload or forward merchandise, owing to the scandalous accumulation of snow, ice, filth and dirt before their respect¬ ive establishments. Worth, Pearl, Frank¬ lin, Leonard, Walker, White, Church and Lispenard streets show to-day the neglect which characterizes the doings of this ex- })ensive municipal bureau. And yeb, the iuerchants who require more than the fast :sports the use of^their streets for the purpose ■of fiUing orders that reach them from all sec¬ tions of the Union, are overlooked and ne¬ glected by this would-be street cleaning de¬ partment, which apparently, has not the least idea of the immense value centered in that dry goods district, but has, as far as we are led to believe, a very keen perception of the loads that are to be trotted over by the poli¬ ticians, the sports and the "oflElcials," whose SOME FACTS ABOUT MINES, The Hibernia is the name of a new organiza¬ tion in which dealings are permitted on the New York Mining Board. We advise investors to leave it alone. It is situated on Fryer Hill, in a good location, and some highclass ore has been taken from the mine; but the officers and promo- tors include the names of several old Leadville mining-sharks, vrho have most unsavory reputa¬ tions. Honest investors should not in any way encourage the people whose names are associated with Little Pittsburgh, Chrysolite and the other Leadville stocks in which the public have been deceived. In dealing in Hibernia, you are play¬ ing against gamblers whose cards are marked. Silver Cliff had a '' spurt" upward during the past week. This is a mine with immense pos;ibil- ities, and the stock may yet s(:ll at high figures, for there are vast quantities of ore on the dump. But so far it has not been worked profitably. The new mill, on which so much depends, will not be in operation for a couple of months. And, then, the mine is in debt to Mr, James R. Keene, its largest stockholder. Even if the mill should prove to work well, we do not see much chanc? for dividends this year. But the stock will be subject to fluctuations aud will be profitable to speculators. Bull Domingo has got a black eye. The insid¬ ers, who promised dividends in February, now hint that perhaps none may be paid until a couple more levels are opened. There are three theories for the break iu the price of Ihe stock. One is, that a large holder, with whom the com¬ pany has had some dealings, is found to be in so many operations that his credit is precarious. So, with the amiable intent to slaughter the weak, some of his associates are going for him to get their stock at the lowest possible price. Another .story is that a well known California ruining operator had given calls on the stock at 6 and that he broke dowu the price, so as not to give any profit to the caller. But as this break occurs after President Barnum has returned from the mine, it looks suspicious. The ciitics of this mine says that, in the lower depths, the boulders increase in size, and the silver beaiing ore, though richer than above, is limited in quantity. Indeed, it is hinted that more concentrators may be required to work the mine profitably. Standard of Bodie has appreciated in market value recently. According to the officers and in¬ siders, all the dividends from this mine come from one level, 385 feet from the surface. Tho ore on this level runs from $400 to $60D a ton. It is claimed there is enough of it in sight to last four years and insure the payment of 75 cents per- month, per share, for that time. Ore is taken from half a dozen other ore bodies in the mine, none of which are really profitable, but it is wise to work them, to see if they may not develop into richer ore. The shaft is now down to a thousand feet, and before the ore body on the 385 foot level is worked out other rich bonanzas may be discovered in the mine. But cautious inves¬ tors will doubt. The Cooks, who were in the famous Alta deal, are officers in this company, and perhaps some one may think it worth while to slaughter the Eastern stockholders, Sfcormont has been reorganized. We warned in¬ vestors against dealing in this stock, both before and after it is put on the regular board. The owners of this mine were very rich Philadelphians and New Yorkers. A. J. Johnson, the wealthy publisher, was the principal promoter. Presi¬ dent Barnard and Professor Newberry, oi; Col¬ umbia College, Presidept Knight, of the Bound- brook Road, President Palmer, of the Broadway Bank, and others, equally respectable and well to do gentlemen, were the principal stockholders" But, from all accounts, they made a bad bargain and got "stuck," There was an eager demand ifor shares at $5,50, when first organiieed, but so certain were the promoters of having a good thing, that they would not sell more than 10, 000 out of the 150,000 shares. But they finally found that they were deceived. They tried to get up a " boom " by gutting the mine, and they succeeded in paying three dividends; but finally one had to be passed and the stock broke from 4% to less than 2. Nov/ there is a reorganization and some of the stock was sold at higher figures, because of the change. The Silver Reef region, of Utah, is a peculiar one but very treacherous. We give the same advice as heretofore, dont touch Stormout. The prices on the Comstock lode are getting worse and worse. There does not seem to be a ray of light from any part of this famous lode. The north end stocks are a lamentable failure so far. Prof. Morgan Draper lectured before the Bul¬ lion Club last Tuesday evening on the San Juan region of Colorado. Undoubtedly Southwestern Colorado is destined to be the great mineral re¬ gion of that state. The ores I'equire to be smelted, and hence reduction works are necfs- sary. A young man, in good health, with a few thousand dollars and his wits about him, ought to be able to make a great deal of money in Color¬ ado, New Mexico or Southern Arizona, Until railroads, however, run near the mining region, people would do well to avoid investments in those distant territories. Mines may be ever so rich, and yet bo value¬ less in the absence of cheap transportation. THE MA.DISON AVENUE EXTENSION, The proposed extension of Madison avenue, first suggested in the columns of TheEecoed, is being discussed favorably by the daily press. It is more than likely tliat the Legislature-will be appealed to by interested property owners, so as to smooth the way ior the actiongof the Board ofjStreet Openings, composed of the President of the Board of Alder¬ men, Comptroller, Mayor, Commissioner of Public Works and President of the Park Department. In the meantime property owners as well as officials have thus far expressed their opinions somewhat in the following strain: Mr. S. L. M. Barlow thinks that property owners along the line of the "cut and those owning property on Madison avenue, above Madison square, could easily afford to pay the whole cost of the work and the property to be condemned. Property along Fifth avenue above Madison square is worth more than property along>Madison avenue, because It is an artery which the flow of business naturally enters. Comptroller Campbell says that, if the persons owning property along the line of the proposed cut, and those persons owning property along Madison avenue above Madison square, which would be available business property when a stream of travel could be turned from Broadway directly into Madison avenue, were willing to bear the cost of the change, he cees no objection to the project. It would certainly be ro detriment to the city. Commissioner Thompson, of the Department of Public Works, had no doubt as to the value of the work, conceding that Broadway at that point was very crowded. If the citizens owning properly in that neighborhood thought that it would pay them to make the improvement, he would help them to the best of his power. Perhaps the city might even pay something toward the cost of widening Broadway, between Nineteenth street and Union square, but it would certainly, in his opinion, do no more, Mr, E. H. Ludlow says that [it would be neces¬ sary to condemn about twenty houses of an aver¬ age value of $60,000, The increase in value of ad¬ joining lots would nearly cover the whole cost. He considers this a good time to appropriate this property, as the houses are mostly occupied by families who want to move further up-town, and the present valuation of real estate is low com. pared with 1870. • LET IT GO THROUGH, [From the New York Sun ] Tha plan of extending Madison avenue from Twenty-third street in a direct line toward tho 'south, until it strikes Broadway, has been revived, and is discussed iu yarioas quarters.-