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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 27, no. 690: June 4, 1881

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Record AND BUILDERS' GUIDE. Vol. XXYII. NEW TOEK, SATURDAY. JUNE 4, 1881 No. 690 Fuhlished Weekly by The Real Estate Record Association TERMS: ONE TEAS, in adTance - - - - - $6.00 Communications should be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 137 Broadway. J. T. LINDSIEY, Bushiess Manager, The prosperity of the times is shown by the laxge demand for skilled labor. We hear that some architects and builders have come to a stop, due to the scarcity of work¬ men in certain branches and to the fear of advancing prices. Many builders are an¬ noyed by the tactics of their workmen. The latter find out when a loan has been effected and a lien niade against the property, and they make a demand for higher wages. The builder is forced to submit pr he cannot get his money. But then, in addition, there is a scarcity of reaUy good workmen, and this is true of all the trades in the country. "When the telegraph lines were consolidated, a nuMber of telegraph operators were thrown out of employment. So great is the increase of business, that not only have they all been te-employed, but there is an actual scarcity of good, tiraiiied te(legraphers. The trades Unions are hot making much headway, but there is an advance in prices along the whole line. This in time will react favorably to the real estate interest. It is the laboring class aifter all who do the spending and who occupy most of the houses. Increased wages mean increased rents and a more ac¬ tive deinand for houses. The real estate in¬ terest leVies tribute on the entire working class, and the higher the wages the greater the tax in the way of rent. Mr. Samuel R. PiUey's statements anent the improvements going oh in the Twenty- third and Twenty-fourth wards vsdll attract attention. It seems the rapid transit com¬ pany has nearly got through its preliminary work of securing title and the buildiug of the bridge over the Harlem River at Second avenue may be commenced any day. Work on the road itself, once it has properly be¬ gun, will probably be finished much earlier than the public anticipate. The eleven miles of roadwill be substantially built, and we are promised real ra^id transit; no such slow performances as we have had on the elevated roads. The tracks wiU be run un¬ der and over the streets. Iron pillars wiU not be used, aiid the undergroimd track will be Md upon an dpen cut. Mr. Filley is of the inipressibn: that the central and eastern portion of these wards will be the home of -working people. Whatever malaria there may be in this region is due to the damming Tip of thfe haturEtl water courses. When these are reopened, as they soon will be un¬ der the draihage act, the Twent5*--third and Twenty-fourtW wards wiU be as' free from foulair diseases 'as any ^pdrt^ of the paved portion (tflSfewYdii CJity. ''' ' It is surprising that "the Riverside Drive is not more frequented by carriages. The river views are superb just now. Shade, however, s needed, and property holders would do well to urge the Commissioners to plant large and rapidly growing trees, so as to give the needed shade on hot summer days. When the Morningside Park and drive is completed so that carriages can be driven directly from the Central I'ark past Morningside and up One hundred and twenty-second street, the Riverside will be much more frequented, es. pecially in the early morning and on cool summer evenings. Some riding schools ad¬ vise their pupils to take the Riverside for their early morning rides, as it is well shaded during the early part of the day. The Park Commissioners should widen the roadway just east of the reservoir in the Central Park, The throng of carriages be¬ tween four and five in the afternoon is ex¬ cessive, and on holidays, like that of last Monday, the delays are annoying. This road¬ way has been widened once and should be again. The original constructors of the Park never realized how great a throng of car¬ riages and vehicles of all kinds would be driven through this portion of the Park The interview with A. B, Mullett, pub¬ lished elsewhere, contains several points of interest. That gentleman believes that New York is destined to be a city of very large houses. He thinks that down town will, in time, be filled with immense structures, twelve and fourteen stories high, and that magnificent suites of rooms in them wiU be occupied by merchants and others, who will dispense with large warehouses and stores, and transact their business, as merchants do in London, by means of samples. There may be something in this. Why should uot many of our wholesale houses seU by sample, and telegraph to the factories or distant ware¬ houses to ship the goods direct to the cus¬ tomer? There seems to be no doubt that steel will hereafter be used very extensively in the construction of large edifices, and that, taking into consideration its • light¬ ness and strength, it is really cheaper than iron. Mr, Mullett believes in an under¬ ground railroad on Broadway, and says he constructed the Post-Ofl&ce with its founda¬ tions on the water liae, so that the mails could be delivered directly to and from the cars of an underground road into the base¬ ment of the Post-Office. He is of opinion that the underground road should commu¬ nicate with a tunnel under the North River, which should be constructed from the Jersey shore to the Battery, and that the com¬ merce of this port demands an elevated road running round, the city on the East and North rivers, the tracks being laid upon the tops of warehouses, so that freight could be taken from or deposited directly, into the vessels engaged in our foreign trade. This, if, practicable, wotild certainly save drayage and waste, and place New York in the front rank of the commercial cities of the world. The reduction of the rate of interest on Government bonds from 5 and 6 to Zy^ per cent, is affecting very seriously the incomes of insurance companies and banks. Gov¬ ernments were and axe likely to be the fa¬ vorite investment' for large incorporated companies. But doubtless an effort will be made in the Legislature of next winter to permit the permanent holding of stocks and bonds which are secure but pay better inter¬ est than the evidences of debt of the United States. The reduction of interest will also be a serious matter to tens of thousands of widows and orphans who have been depend¬ ent for a living on the returns of Govern¬ ment investments which yielded from 5 to 6 per cent. It will force many people to go into business who had thought they had left it for good, and wiU. much reduce the num¬ ber of our idle class. OUR ELEVATED ROADS AGAIN. We have never believed that the Manhat¬ tan lease of the elevated road system would finally lapse, even though there should be a default iu the payment to the leased lines on July 1. The Manhattan scheme was an exceUent one for utilizing to the full our elevated road system. Messrs. Field, Na¬ varro and Garrison made a great deal of money out of it, but the investing public lost heavily, and in equity, if not in law, Field and his associates are morally responsi¬ ble for pecuniary injury done to innocent in¬ vestors; But because the present innocent holders of Manhattan and elevated road stock have so far lost money by the manipu¬ lations of conscienceless stock operators, that is no reason why the public should complain of the roads, or that the city should unjustly tax them. The assessment is outrageous, especially so in view of the immense benefit the elevated roads have been to New York, and the increased value they have given to low-taxed city property. Up to this time the press has very faithfully reflected the public feeling in abusing the elevated roads. But there is a sober second thought abroad, as is shown by the following extract from the Tribune: The elevated roads have found an alternative to the threatened bankruptcy—^but the remedy will be worse to the public than the disease. The company proposes to pay the amiual tax of $762,- 000 which has been imposed, and to earn the money by increasing the current rates of fare— diminishing the daily five-cent hours from six to four, and charging for a ride to Harlem River eight cents instead of five in the "conunission hours," and seventeen instead of ten the rest of the tune. This the company is allowed by its charter to do, and this, it estimates, will earn nearly enough to pay the taxes, which are 16 per cent, of the gross receipts, and which they regard as exorbitant and unjust. The remedy is an un¬ pleasant one, and it ought to be avoided if possi¬ ble. Tlie elevated roads, if not all our fancy painted them, are a convenience and a benefit whose value is not likely to be overestimated. If their taxes are, as alleged, greater than that of any other piece of property in the city or any manufacturing establishment anywhere, there ought to be some means by which an equitable readjustment can be reached, without directly transferring the burden to the poorest class of travellers—^the early and late workers. It is to be hoped that the companies will not be forced to increase the morning aud