Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 32, no. 808: September 8, 1883

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September The Record and Guide. 661 THE RECORD AND GUIDE. 191 Broadway, N. Y. TERMS: one: tear, in advance, SIX DOLLARS. tCDinmunicatioiis sbould be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 191 Broadway. J. T. LINDSEY, Business Manager. SEPTEMBER 8, 1888. wasted, hundreds of millionB should be honestly spent in making those great internal improvements without which the United States can never fulfill its imperial destiny. A Hopeful Outlook. The autumn opoDs anspiciouely. There ia at present writing not ■a. cloud in the^skjTt' Tiixere was never so much vegetable and animal foo4 in the country as torday. The deficiency in winter wheat has been more than made up by the abundant yield of other cereals, the root and the grass crops. We are harvesting and marketing the greatest corn crop ever grown in the United Statea. The larg- «at previous crop was in 1880, when 1,717,434,543 bushels was raised. It is now settled that the crop of this year will be in excess ■of that of 1880, and may reach 8,000,000,000 bushels. No wonder that atocks are buoyant on Wall street, and that there is new life showing itself in every department of trade. We start this fall on the lowest range of values ever known in our history. Manufac¬ tured products of all kinda were never so cheap—the country is toare of goods—the farmers have had two years of abundant crops, and they will not only be tempted but forced to purchase at the rgreatly reduced price of all they wear, eat and uae. There will ^be lesa railroad building than for two years past, and this will affect other important industries, but in tbe meantime our population is increasing rapidly and the natural growth of the country will soon .overtake the recent excesses in railroad building. Owners of realty have every reason to feel encouraged. While the prices of stocks and goods have shrunk, real property has held its own. The centres of population continue to increase steadily, and there is more house building to-day than ever before, taking the whole country through. In this city and Brooklyn there is no question as to the future value of all property accessible to business localities. The Stock Exchange Warned. According to Poor's new Manual the actual cash expenditure on all the railroads of the country for the last three years did not exceed $1,050,000,000, while the increase of share capital and indebtedness during the same period amounted to $3,033,646,843; in other words securities were manufactured nearly $1,000,000,000 in excess of the actual sum invested. This tells the story of the recent distress in WaU street. A typical case is that of the Ohio Central, a road four hundred miles long, which issued $23,000,000 of stock, $10,000,000 first mortgage bonds, $7,000,000 of incomes, $3,100,000 car trusts, and $600,000 bonds. This was done by the famous "Seney syndicate," the builders of the Nickel Plate Road and other enterprises of a like unsavory character. Is it not about time to call the Stock Exchange to a stem account for its endorsement of the swindling schemes which it allows to be foisted on the investing public? The Securities Committee of that organization is open to the suspicion of being in collusion with the makers of these worthless securities. Had the Stock Exchange fifteen years ago adopted a resolution declining to list the shares of any company which did not furnish full and accurate reports of all its doings, disbursements, receipts and every other item which would throw light upon its affairs, we would hiuve been saved thia avalanche of watered stocks and the distressed condition of the trade of the country which has had to support them. Indeed the Stock Exchange ought to have in its pay experts who should keep brokers and their customers informed of the status of all the com¬ paniea whose shares are dealt in on Wall street. The brokers may as well understand that the general public regards them as par(i- ceps criminis with the swindlers who have robbed their customers. The business of the Exchange to-day would be twice as large if the rotten companies were eliminated from the list. When G-ould and Fisk added to the number of shares of Erie when they were fight¬ ing with Vanderbilt, the Stock Exchange was forced to pass a by-law threatening to cut off any road which increased its share Hat without giving previous public notice. But even thia salutary precaution is evad«d, for the great railway swindlers first sell the stock on the market for future delivery, aud then notify the Stock Exchange. This has heen done repesledly in Denver, Texas Pacific and other so-called securities. There has been something of an upward movement in stocks during the past week, but we venture to say that never again will there be so many shares sold as during 1880, unless some provision is made by the Stock Exchange itself to save the customers of the brokers from being swindled by rail¬ way managers. The Russell Sage of Nations. What preposterous rubbish is this in the daily papers about the necessity for the sternest economy in the conduct of the Federal 'Government. Mr. Randall must be elected Speaker, it is urged, Ibecause he will look after "tbe cheeseparings and candle-ends," land besides put a stop to all improvements. We must, it is said, tstill further cut down our revenues and save every expense. But how are we to fulfill our imperial destiny by any such line of ipolicy ? Oura ia potentially the richest nation on earth, but to tprofit by our opportunities we need great public improvements. Economy ia all very well, but it should not be at the expense of -our country's future. There ie the Mississippi to be leveed, the Tatherof Waters should also be united with the great lakes by a ship canal yet to be constructed. The Erie Canal should be deepened and widened ; our rivers and harbors call for generous appropriations to utilize them for the mighty future commerce of the country. All New York laughs at Russell Sage because while dealing with millions he is reputed mean and petty in smali things. He hungers for free lunches, and thinks more of twenty-five cents than the poorest boy he employs. Yet from the way some of our newspapers talk the endeav,' Jl be to make Uncle Sam a gigantic Russell Sage, rolling in wealth, but contemptibly mean in all his dealings with his own household. New York is suffering for want of the Hell Gate improvement and the Harlem River Gi nal. Work on these, aa on all the inlets and harbors near New York, have come to a stop because of the lying and idiotic howls of our news¬ papers over the laat River and Harbor Bill. Needed public improve¬ ments have been summarily stopped, as Congressmen do not dare to vote for appropriations vital to the commerce of the nation. In the meantime our treasury is fuU to overflowing, and the newspaper fools can think of no other recommendation but to abolish internal taxation and so curse the country for all time with a tariff that cuts us off from all the markets of the world. It is not niggardly economy which this nation needs ; it is wise . expenditure. We require a navy, a merchant marine, harbor defence, a more liberal tarilf; &ad, while not a cent should be Bradstreet's of last week is quite right in saying that there is no longer any danger of a " credit storm and wide-spread disaster." It adds, " the need of the day is some form of investment in which to place the funds which have been forced out of government bonds and other like securities. Railway stocks should meet this want, but the thimble-rigging of our chief railway managers stands in the way." Why should notjreal estate now have its turn? There is money constantly seeking investment, and those who have surplus funds want some assurance of safety. What can be more certain than property in a growing city like New York and Brook¬ lyn, or the district beyond the Harlem ? There are many real estate people who believe that real property is certain to advance within the coming year, in view of the doulst about other forma of invest¬ ment. If a panic were impending it would be folly to anticipate a belter feeling in real estate, hut the merest tyro in finance knows that none of the conditions now exist for wide-spread disaster. That key to the industrial situation—iron—is stiffening in price, and there is now every assurance of a reasonably prosperous season. Population is pouring into New York at the rate of about thirty thousand or more per annum, and as every property owner and real eatate dealer knows, the close of this century will see but few vacant spaces on this island. The most certain, the most stable of all investments is New York realty. Why should not Secretary Folger now retire the one and two dollar greenbacks? The postal notes just issued will take their place in ordering packages from distant points, paying newspaper subscriptions, and for other conveniences in the way of payments of small sums of money. Tbe postal notes have the additional advantage over small bank bills of being available for fractional or unequal amounts under five dollars. Under the national banking law it was provided that when resumption occurred the one and two dollar notea were to be withdrawn. In January, 1879, the banks accordingly withdrew those issues. This provision in the law was to leave a place in the currency of the country for gold and silver small change, similar to the state of things in Great Britain, France, Germany, and other specie-paying conmiercial nations. Had not John Sherman, then Secretary of the Treasury, interfered,