Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

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570 The Real Estate Record June L 1881 evening fares, or to diminish the commission hours. But there ought to be some re¬ organization of the Manhattan directory. The manipulators of the stock have man¬ aged to enrich themselves, and have skill¬ fully avoided personal responsibility by getting up a hue and cry against the roads, so as to save themselves. It would be no harm were the Manhattan to default in July; then a receiver would be appointed, and the road re-organized. Who can doubt but what there is a mag¬ nificent future before the elevated road system. Within a few years there will be tributary to it the suburban rapid transit systems north of the Harlem, Already is the Metropolitan a link in a new way of reaching Boston. Depots have already been pm-chased, and are fitted up in Ninth avenue and Fifty-third street for freight and passen¬ ger stations for the New York & Northem Railway, When th e excessive taxation is re¬ duced, and the 10 per cent, lease scaled, the elevated road system will be extended on this island and the stock be more profitable than that of the horse-car companies which it will replace. NEW YORK AND CHICAGO TO THE FRONT, Undoubtedly St. Louis and New Orleans, with the help of Jay Gould, are trying to di¬ vert the great traffic down the Mississippi on its way to Europe. Should this move¬ ment have any success, it would be a serious matter for New York, which would loose not only the profits on handling grain at this port, but the dividends on the stock of the railroads which now briag food products from the West, In that case New ^ ork re¬ alty would suffer and the progress of our city would be retarded to the advantage of New Orleans and St, Louis. There are two objections to the Mississippi route. One is the loss of time and extra in¬ surance in sending grain to Europe by the way of New Orleans, and the other is the impossibility of getting return cargoes in the vessels engaged in the grain trade. A con¬ vention is shortly to meet in Davenport, la., which may have important results. Itis called va. the interest of Chicago, which wishes to deepen and widen the canal which now connects the Mississippi with the lakes at Chicago, Of course the retention of trade by Chicago involves the use of the railroads between NewYork and that city for the transport of grain. While the Chicago peo¬ ple are agitating for an improvement in the canal which connects her with the Missisip- pi. New York is taking the toUs off of its canal and is building and opening a number of extra lines 'to Chicago. The Seney line, so called, is duplicating: the track of the Lake Shore road from Chicago to Buffalo. To that point from the east there are now three lines imder way, the Lackawanna ex¬ tension from Binghamton, the West Shore & Western, which is a practical duplication of the Central road, the connection wich New York being at the west side instead of at the east side of the Hudson. This new line will commence at Weehawken and is al¬ ready built to Haverstraw. It i.s now cut¬ ting a tunnel through West Point, ahd will continue up to Athens, from which point it will run weat to Schenf^ctadA- and on through aU the principal towns on the line of the New York Central road, except Rochester, until it finally reaches Buffalo. It will run on the south side of the Erie Canal. Then, the Continental Construction Company has com¬ menced the building of another parallel road north of the Erie Canal. This will be in the interest of Boston capitahsts, who expect to use the Hoosac Tunnel for their new line. Nor is this all. The Ontario & Western is rebuilding its road to Oswego, at which point it will receive the grain which comes through the Welland Canal, soon to be opened. So as to naake assurance doubly sure, the O, & W, will also have a western railway connection by way of the south shore of Lake Ontario, It will thus be seen that NewYork is vastly increasing the facil¬ ities for handling the traffic of the West. It is difficult to see how all these enterprises can pay; but whether they pay or not, they are tributary to the metropolis. Hence we do not think that the competition of either New Orleans or Montreal is likely to take away from New York the vast trade of the west and northwest. ABOUT MINING STOCKS. We have paid attention to mining stocks in these columns because it is easy to foresee that investors will be urged to take shares in this or that enterprise and that the mar¬ ket in New York is destined to be a very large one, James R. Keene is credited with saying that mining will be as important an interest as any dealt in on our New York exchanges. In other words, he believes the speculative public will take their "flyers" in mining stocks as regularly as they now do in the stock market, and that seats in the Mining Board may prove as valuable as those in the regTilar Stock Exchange. Be that as it may, it is certain that New York hereafter is to be the great mining centre, not San Francisco, Foreseeing the growth of this interest, we have paid some attention to mining matters for nearly a year and a half. Our readers will bear witness to the care we have taken to warn them against doubtful properties. We have really tried to teU the truth so far as we could !find- out; in other words, to be in the interest of the investors and not of the mine owners. With the exception of one other publication, this is the ouly paper which criticises mine management and mine operators. Those who have followed the advice of this paper in abstaining from cer¬ tain mining stocks have saved their money. And here it may be as well to say that in¬ vestments in mining property are not to be commended. Nine persons in ten who in¬ vest in mining securities will lose their money or suffer heavy losses. Our warning would be, never buy a share in mining prop¬ erty. There is an inside ring which can profit by marketing mines, but the buyer of the so-called securities is always the victim. It is true that people who have bought Homestake, Ontario, Standard, have made some money, but the end is not yet. In the various deals with other stocks the first in and the first out may have escaped with a whole skin. But, as we have said, nine per¬ sons out of ten who have dealt with brokers of mining boards have lost money. These, however, suffer for the profit of other peo¬ ple and of the country. The other people are the seUers of the mines, and the coun¬ try is benefitted when investors attempt to develop the mineral regions of the nation. The gold and silver production of to-day is something less than;.|80,000,000 per annum. It wiU not be many years before this pro¬ duction is quadrupled. We have a territory, population and a railway system to utilize our great mineral possessions, anii hence the growth of interest in mining mat¬ ters and the necessity for some journal which is pledged to tell the truth about mining matters, without reference to its ad¬ vertising columns. SOME DISTRICTS. Strangers who have visited the city since the 1st of May, are fairly amazed at the amount of building and repairing which is taking place all over the city. Every street and avenue and all sections, bear witness to the extraordinary activity in housebuilding and altering. In some of the older sections, it is as marked as in any of the newer quarters of New York. Take Grand street, from the Bowery to the East River. One would scarcely look for improvement in a business street surrounded by an East Side population. But th