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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 28, no. 718: December 17, 1881

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Real Estate Record AND BUILDERS' GUIDE, Vol. XXVIII. NEW YORK, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1881. No. 718 Published Weekly by Tlie Real EstateKecord Association TERMS: OJfE YEAR, in adyance - $6.00 Communications should be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 137 Broadway. J. T. LINDSEY'Busiuess Manager. Although busiuess has been dull on the Real Estate Excliange, the flgures given be¬ low show that while there were somewhat fewer transactions as given by the official record, the considerations show tliat more money changed hands in the transactions of real estate than for any week since the pres¬ ent season commenced. While the market has been apparently quiet in appearance, shrewd and far seeing investors have been quietly buying. It will also be noticed that the movement in the annexed district con¬ tinues. There is a good deal of inquiry for property in the Twenty-third and Twenty- fourth "Wards. Week end - ing. Sept. 14 21 28 Oct. 5 13 19 23 Nov. 23 30 Dec. N.Y. Am't. No. City in- Nom- Cons. volved inal 14 75 111 89 157 1.57 159 146 102 151 185 173 175 215 1G9 809,071 25 1,381,992 36 1,355,333 21 3.200,444 34 2,007.448 39 1,606,607 5iJ 1,720,325 44 No. 23d Am't. No. & 24th in- nom- Wards. volved. inal. S 12 24,450 16 4.5.9-28 6 19 90,593 4 3.10.3,469 2,9.52,416 3,078.525 2,010,389 2,284,165 3.377,768 4,089,162 15 21 18 21 20 14 35 22 12 14 15 15,400 38.289 64,000 213,871 25,725 71,300 i 6,9.53 174,385 55,202 36,077 70,250 Week Mort- end- gag¬ ing, es. Sept. 14 21 28 Oct. 6 12 19 26 Nov. Am't. No. in- Five volved. per ct. Am't. No. to Am't in- T. & in¬ volved. Ins Cos. volveii. 108 149 117 169 153 174 293 79S,153 1,159,231 1,076,874 224,700 17 235,681 28 469,100 27 227.900 464.4.50 562,500 1,310,932 35 1,531,?56 28 1,486,930 36 1,741,258 35 334,900 31 378.700 285.611 29 549,175 3;J4,038 30 480,250 377,632 51 687,000 2 241 1,866,805 55 466,500 41 375,000 9 204 2,:i;31,630 43 787.250 25 «ri,9iU 16 196 5,413,650 36 595,200 39 3,748,300 23 15*5 1,104.452 40 318,600 22 264,01'0 30 157 1,508,576 35 389,145 39 543,872 7 233 2,331,983 53 609,258 56 922,450 14 178 2,368,864 21 628.500 40 961,300 The railroad war has not ended after all. It was begun by Mr. Vanderbilt and he prac¬ tically refuses to close it. The point at issue is whether any allowance shall be made to Baltimore and Pliiladelphia in view of their shorter lines to Chicago, St. Louis and the other Western trading centres. Mr. Vander¬ bilt insists that the rate shall be uniform for the three cities, which of course means that the war will not cease until the Pennsylva¬ nia and the Baltimore & Ohio roads agree to give up all ihoir through business. On this basis the war will never cease. No doubt so far the trade of New York has been largely benefited by the war of the trunk lines. We have had more than our share of the grain and provision business of the West, but it is an open question whether the business of the country has not suffered more than New York has gained by the continuance of this war. It has unsettled values and created widespread distrust. Its baneful influence upon Stock Exchange values has been com¬ municated to other exchanges. As David Dows well said in an interview with a Sun reporter, it does not hurt New York really to have Philadelphia and Baltimore receive the share of the business which their geo¬ graphical position entitles them to. The me¬ tropolis has such great advantages that it can afford to be liberal. This is t03 big a country for any one city to do all its business. MATTERS IN WASHINGTON. Our national legislation affects prices of all kinds, including that of realty ; hence it is quite in order for a journal representing that interest to discuss the bearing of Exec¬ utive and Congressional action upon legisla¬ tion, so'far as it affects the market value of land. The interest of this city in what is doing at Washington is very great, and re¬ lates, among other things, to the following topics: First, there is the question of the security of our city in case of war. The millenium has not come as yet, and in the course of our future history we will probably find our¬ selves engaged in a conflict with some for¬ eign nation. What would happen to this city in the event of an international conflict ? There is but one answer. Without any ad¬ ditional defences, New York would be cap¬ tured within a month after the beginning of a war. The United States has no navy. This is the unanimous opinion of every naval officer, of every Secretary of the Navy we have had for the last ten years and of every one that has the slightest knowledge of the situation. Were every vessel that bears the United States flag drawn up to defend this harbor, they would be powerless against any one iron-clad in the fleets of Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain or Italy. Tliey could bs rammed and blown to pieces, while their return shots would have no more effect upon a foreign vessel tban so many peas out of a boy's blow-pipe. This enormous city, with its hundreds of millions of wealth, is absolutely defenceless against the weakest naval nation on earth. Then, we have no guns. The great Armstrong and Krupp cannon, which will send shot and shells ten and twelve miles, have no counterparts in America, nor have we the machinery to make them. New York could be blown to pieces by a fleet stationed out at sea, below the bar. We could erect shore batteries, but our smooth-bore, short-range cannon would soon be silenced by the enormous rifle guns of an enemy. Admiral Rodgers is upon record as saying that our Pacific Coast is ab¬ solutely at the mercy of the fleet of Chili. Much is hoped from our torpedo service, but there is no instance upon record where tor¬ pedoes have succeeded in protecting a har¬ bor. Then there is the shipping interest. The ^ coiomerce of America is gigantic. Our cot¬ ton, grain, meats, petroleum and numberless miscellaneous articles find a ready market in all parts of the world. This commerce passes through New York, but is entirely in tlie hands of foreigners. We have no mer¬ chant marine, we have no sailors. The race of American shipping merchants has become practically extinct. Did the metropolis make a profit out of a commerce which is right¬ fully hers, it would soon boast a class of rich merchants who would add to the wealth and importance of the city in which they made their money. To give New Yoilr a mer¬ chant marine requires certain modifications of the tariff and navigation laws, and, per¬ haps, liberal subsidies. It is to be doubted, however, whether the Western members will grant the uieans for a navy, or whether the friends of protection will allow any in¬ terference with the tariff, such as would give us a merchant marine. Then, finally, there is the silver question. If the views of President Arthur and Secre¬ tary Folger are carried out, and the silver coinage law repealed, we must expect a heavy break in prices. Any contraction of the currency, whether of silver, gold, or pa¬ per, is sure to reduce market values. This is the every day experience of Wall street. The great bulk of the human race use silver exclusively as currency, and its degradation to enhance the value of gold, which only a small fraction of the human race use exclu¬ sively, will always cause, wherever at¬ tempted, a rapid lowering of values. The reserve of gold in the world is decreasing at the time when the demand for it is increas¬ ing. As Prince Bismarck puts it, gold is like a scant blanket under which certain shiver¬ ing bedfellows are trying to warm them¬ selves. It is getting smaller as the need for it gets greater. The three topics above mentioned are of vital importance to this city. The action on silver may postpone the activity in real es¬ tate, which every one in the business knows is likely to come any day. Legislation that would start the building of ships in this country, sailing under the American flag, would be of great importance to this port, while it would add greatly to the comfort of owners of realty if our harbor was placed in such a state of defence that our metropolis *•' could laugh a siege to scorn." Dulness reigns supreme on the Stock Ex¬ change. Instead of between eight and nine hundred thousand shares being sold per diem, 160,000 or 170,000 is a fair average, and this decrease in business is in face of the fact that the number of securities dealt in has been very greatly increased. Only last Wednesday, in these dull times, new securi¬ ties to tho amount of $70,000,000 were put upon the list. This dulness undoubtedly has its effect upon all speculative dealings, and the real estate market sympathizes. Manu¬ facturing activity was never greater, as is shown by the increased exchanges in all the manufacturing centres. The metal trade was never so brisk, but stocks of all kinds