Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

The Record and guide: v. 37, no. 954: June 26, 1886

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June 26,1886 The Record and Guide. 825 THE RECORD AND GU!D^ Published every Saturday. 191 Broad-w^av, l^T. HT. Oar 'telephone Call Is . . . . . JOMN 370. TERMS: OKE YEAH, in advance, SIX DOLLARS. Gomniunicatioiis should be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 191 Broadway. J. T. LINDSEY, Business Manager. Vol. XXXVII. JUNE 26, 1886. No. 954. The general busines^s of the country continues fairly good. Real estate here in New York is quiet, but holders and builders are con. fident of a good faU business. Although railroad returns are ghowing up very well there seems to be a halt in the bull specula¬ tion in Wall street. It is an open question, whether the prices in the street have not discounted the improved condition of things. The more prudent buUs were not quite sure that everything was lovely; for, in spite of the advance, the market was a narrow one, for not more than 300,000 shares of stock were dealt in daily, against double that number last fall, while frequently in 1879 and 1880 from 800,000 to 900,000 shares changed hands in a day. Then it was noticed that while an advance of six points was established in May in the principal speculative stocks not more than two points were added in June, which leads some operators to think that the bull movement is over for the present and that we may have a dull July in the stock market. Still the crops are large, business pros¬ pects are fair, and the railroads are all doing better than they were last year._______________ It is the labor spectre which is again affecting values. There has been a strike of switchmen ou the Lake Shore road, who claim that the company has not kept faith with tiiem in a bargain made some six weeks back. The Sheriff of Cook county says that their complaint is well founded. However this may be, there is every indication that the car companies in this city and Brooklyn, or at least some of them, are nullifying the agreement they made with their employes last March. Emboldened by the victory of the Third avenue company they are disposed to crowd their work, people and get more hours out of them for less pay. Hence there are fears of tie-ups and strikes. The lYibune warns the companies that if they seek by surreptitious means to go back ou their past promises that the public will not be with them. They are reminded that the community are quite aware that they receive large divi¬ dends on heavily-watered stock, for privileges granted them by the city, and they should at leasfc treat their employes with common decency. _______ _______ Months ago we gave warning that when the time came President Cleveland would use the veto power more freely than any of his predecessors. He gained so much applause when Governor of this State for "sitting upon" so many legislative enactments that be would be more than human if he could refrain from using the veto in national affairs. At firsfc he showed the bent of his mind by refusing to approve of pensions which had been rushed through Congress; but last week he sent in vetoes of appropriations for public buildings in certain Western towns. These last surprised Congress, for heretofore our Presidents have considered it no part of their duty to look after these minor matters, vetoes were con¬ fined to vifcal matters affecting the nation at large. The facfc is, our present chief executive is a common-place, welj-meaning man, whose instincts are those of an economical hotel keeper or owner of a country store. He works very hard over small matters, and were a really great subject called to his attention would deal with it as if he were disputing an exorbitant butcher's bill. income, and something must be done to add to the receipts of the Treasury. Mr. Morrison made a wise and sensible proposition when he declared thafc whenever a new outlay was decided upon, thafc a special tax should be levied to cover ib. Messrs. Reed and Hisoock did themselves and the Republican party no credit in opposing this very sensible proposition. There need be no doubt as to what new tax should be imposed. Ifc oughfc to be oae on incomes. The owners of personal properfcy ought to bear their share of the public burdens. Land is taxed altogether too much. Then the tariff forces the poor to pay almosfc as much as the rich, as ifc affects the price of clothing and other consumable articles; but as governments, armies, courts, and policemen are mainly employed in guarding property, that form of wealth which consists in incomes derived from bonds, stocks, and other evidences of corporate wealth should pay its share of the public burdens, and this can besfc be done by an income tax. A motion is before the British Parliament for the government to take upon itself the cost of necessary election expenses. These are rather heavier in England than they are in this country, and the amounts that may be spent are prescribed by law. As members of Parliament are nofc paid any salary, it follows that a long purse is needed to stand a parliamentary contest. One of the objections to Civil Service reform in this country is that ifc cuts off all the sinews of war in conducting elecfcion campaigns. If the spoils are not available, the funds for meetings, the support of party organs and workers on election day are not forthcoming, why should not our government provide halls for public discussions, print tickets, and meet all necessary election expenses ? If this were done it would meet the only valid objection to Civil Service reform. The veto of these building projects is unfortunate. The country is growing rapidly, and the courfc houses, posfc oflSces and custom houses of the nation ought to be worthy of its wealth and growing importance. Ifc is understood thafc from $15,000,000 to $18,000,000 is required by the bills before Congress providing suitable buildings in the chief cities of the country. These projects will now have to be laid aside until we have a new President. It is also very clear that no River and Harbor biU can be passed with Mr. Cleve¬ land in the White House, and hence there is little cbaucie of any improvement of New York harbor. -----------------------Qk----------------------- As the country grows ifcs expenses naturally^ become greater. This fact has been forgotten by our nafcional legislators, and they have been cufcfcing off taxes and using the surplus rey^nues of the nation in paying our govierniiient debts^before th^f ar^'- du«. The tim© isil^ar g-t liJtnd when otir Bati