Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

The Record and guide: v. 37, no. 940: March 20, 1886

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Marcii 20,1886 The Record and Guide. 345 THE RECORD AND GUIDE, Published every Saturday. 191 Broad^w^av, 3Sr. "ST. Our Teleplione Call Is .... . JOHN 370. TERMS: Oi\E YEAR, in advance, SIX DOLLARS. Commmiications should be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 191 Broadway. J. T. LINDSEY, Business Manager. Vol. XXXVII. MAECH 20, 1886. No. 940. The business situation is somewhat more clouded than it v^as last week. An uneasy feeling has prevailed in Wall street and stocks have declined; the Coalers very materially. The scheme of the Reading trustees failed to give satisfaction, and unless amended the coal sfcocks will continue depressed and the whole markefc will sympathize. The labor strikes have received a check by the resist¬ ance offered to the Knights of Labor by the Southwestern Railway companies. Aparfc from the stock market and the strikes, there is much thafc is hopeful in the state of business. There is a fair con¬ sumption of goods, the mills are all afc work, labor is in demand and the buUding trade never promised better. Real estate brokers have nothing to complain of, for fchis will be the greatest buying and building spring ever known to the metropolis. The supplement we publish this week gives the argument of a majorifcy of the Land Transfer Reform Commission, who favor the lofc system of indexing. Four weeks ago we published the argu¬ ment in favor of the block system. Ifc is to be hoped that the Legislature will adopt one or the other, for either would be a great improvement upon the wasteful and complicated system of trans¬ ferring real estate now in vogue. An eminent member of the bar gives ifc as his opinion that if this Legislature does not act on the reporfc of the commissioners there is no hope of land transfer reform for many years to come. This important matter is now before the Bar Association, but it is doubtful if that body's action will be helpful to land reform. We are still of the opinion that the true solution is to copy the land laws in vogue in the South Pacific colonies of Great Britain and in the Kingdom of Prussia, as well as other German States. This involves a government or a municipal guarantee of title as per diagram on map. This system is at ouce cheap, expeditious and certain. Under it there is no necessity for searches, no delay, and only a small fee to be paid, while there is never any doubt as to security of title. There is an agitation for just such a law in England, and ifc looks as if it will be adopted there before ic is here. In the meantime our readers would do well to carefully peruse the document signed by Commissioners South¬ mayd, Riker, Coggeshall and Strong. In view of the interest excited by the operations of the Knights of Labor, we publish elsewhere the platform and declarafcion of principles of that order. The Knights say they have no intention of forming a political party, which is probably true enough, as all that the great bulk of their members really care for is higher wages, better treatment and shorter hours of labor. The mass of the working people in any country have never yefc been interested in the so-called reforms put forth in their name by socialist theo- rizers and professional agitators. The English labor unions, which in the past were better organized than those in this country, have never been seduced into taking political action, though often urged to do so. In the Central Labor Union of this city, the mosfc power¬ ful local labor organization, political questions of all kinds are interdicted. In the platform of. the Knights of Labor, which we publish, will be found a number of proposed measures, some of which are good, others indifferent, and a few that are bad. There is a leaning towards the Greenback heresy, which would be mis¬ chievous were the working classes generally to take that ground. But so far the Knights have nofc entered the political field, yet no doubt they will attempt to influence the regular party organiza¬ tions. Their leaders have shown the possession of high qual¬ ities, for they have maintained discipline in the ranks of some of the roughest of the working people, and have in hundreds of instances prevented strikes by a resort to arbitration. The organi¬ zation has three perils to face—violence on the part of its members, a persistence in^njustifiable demands on employers, and a resort to political action. If either of these three mistakes are made, that wUl be the beginning of the end of the Knights of Labor. But the platform of principles we give are worthy of careful perusal. single district system, but is open to the objection that it would give the Democrats in any ordinary election a unanimous board. A legislative body composed entirely of the members of one party could never be relied upon for good public service. The Republi¬ cans who control some seventy to eighty thousand votes in this city would be practically disfranchised. The true remedy for abuse of powers by legislative bodies is the transfer of responsibility and authority from them to executive heads of departments. Boards of Aldermen and legislatures should be shorn of their present power for mischief. The source of all our governmental troubles is the great authority now lodged in irresponsible legisla¬ tures composed almost entirely of lawyers without practice or character in their profession. Now it is proposed by Senator Daly to elect the Aldermen on a general ticket. This would be an improvement on the present Henry Labouchere, editor of the London Truth, and a leading radical member of Parliament, in a letter to the Tribune recently, pays a high compliment to the American Senate. He says it is the ablest debating body in the w^orld. It was, however, some years ago when Mr. Labouchere visited this country. The debates this year are not creditable to our national Senate. Its time has been taken up with discussions respecting office-holding. No President has ever made fewer changes than Mr. Cleveland. Yet, although the vast bulk of office-holders are still members of the Republican party, the Senate, under the leadership of Mr. Edmunds, has spent the best parfc of its time in badgering the Executive on the subject of appointments. There are vital questions wbich need to be con¬ sidered, but they have so far received little or no attention, because of the intense interest of the Republican-majority of the Senate in certain office-holders. The course of the Vermont Senator espe¬ cially has lowered him greatly in the esteem of right-thinking men of both parties. Cyrus W. Field is making ifc hot for Governor Eobinson and his Council for awarding the bonds of the New York & New England road to a syndicate of his friends for a smaller price than was offered for them by a New York syndicate, composed of Field and his associates. The State treasury losfc some $94,000 in conse¬ quence, while the subsequent rise in the market value of the bonds pufc over $300,000 into the pockets of the syndicate who were favored by Governor Eobinson. The Boston Republican press are unanimous in defending the action of the Governor of Massachu¬ setts, but there can scarcely be two opinions outside of interested circles. The award could only have been made by officials who lacked sense or honesty, and.no one believes or says that Governor Eobinson and his council are fools. We are not among the admir¬ ers of Mr. Field, but if he succeeds in discrediting the officials who made this unaccountable award he will have performed a public service. -------------% The following is the substance of a letter sent to us by an officer of one of the largest corporations in America, if nofc in the world. For obvious reasons we cannofc give the name : Editor Record and Guide: Sir—It gives me every week a great deal of pleasm-e to read The Record AND Guide. I confess having much confidence in the suggestions contained therein. I am in full accord wifch your senfciments expressed in the article of last week respecting the Broadway Surface RaUroad Company. Every paper seems to recommend the annuUment of its charter, without seeming to care at aU for the interest of the persons who inno3ently invested in its securities. In fact some seem to think there are no innocent ones. Permit me to speak on behalf of a lady who bought in July last of Messrs. Ver¬ milye &.Co. $5,000 of its five per cent, first mortgage bosds at a premium of 111, as a good, safe and permanent investment, and who is now very much alarmed. I sincerely trust that the guilty parties be punished, bufc may the innocent ones be protected. g. The above expresses the sentiments of many clear-headed and sensible business men. No one who has any moral sense would champion the cause of Jake Sharp or excuse his conduct, bufc this wild outcry in the average newspaper of to-day to annul charters granted in accordance with law, and thereby punishing innocent holders of securities, is really an alarming symptom of the times. There is no security for property, if legislatures can punish people for taking advantage of laws which are on the statute book. The temptation for the ordinary editor to advise illegal action when anything goes wrong seems to be difficult to resist. It looks so vir¬ tuous to denounce evil-doing, but the suggestions made by the press for correcting an unfortunate state of things have very often a most mischievous tendency. There is not much in the pasfc history of the cable company pro¬ moters to commend. Some of the measures they have taken to accomplish their objecfc showed a want of business sense ; and then there is reason to believe that the company has used money in reprehensible ways. But the course of the press towards the cable enterprise is indefensible. If the company succeeds in carrying out its scheme New York city, will be greatly benefited. Five cents will give a passenger transfer tickets to ride to any parfc of the city, and then propulsion by cable insures transit at eight to