Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

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1172 The Record and Guide. September 25, 1886 however, which makes the gentleman seem like a less harmless theorist. Imagine all the titles in the city of New York, a city where men are strug¬ gling almoSb desperately for the mosfc elligible sites for busines purposes or dwellings, placed under the control of our Board of Aldermen. No, that would be a too horrible idea even for imagination. Tlie members of the late board are generally under indictment for the manner in which they disposed of the last franchise that was subject to their control. Imagine these titles placed imder the control of a ring of land agents appointed by the State. Then imagine ex-Mayor George, after he had retired from office, endeavoi'ing to lease a site on Central Park on which several other large capitalists had cast covetous eyes for a new dwelling. Before he had escaped from the throng of political heelers that he would be compelled to placate, there is good reason to fear that he would be ready to change front and advocate the abolition of all government except the whipping-post. The second estate of Mr. George, it will be seen, is even woi'se than his fir.st. Economically his theory is vapor, aud politically and constitu¬ tionally it is vicious. The truth is, land is too much nationalized already. The great disability that land labors under in comparison wifch other property is due to the control already exercised by the State, a control which has been exercised with various modifications since tho soil was all the property of the Crown, and which interferes with the freedom of transfer. Mr. George, like all of his class of thinkers, is a man who deals in generalizations, but who never looks into details. Of what use are abstract theories on the right of private property in land, the creation of the Almighty, as he puts it, when a man cannot help holding the property that he occupies until he either leaves voluntarily, is disposessed by legal process, or driven off by a bludgeon. How is it possible to distinguish, morally, between a title in fee and a leasehold title since both would give precisely the same rights ? Land is rarely sold and carted away, lifcle is the object transferred, and, morally, one kind of title is just as wicked and subject to transfer for a consideration as another. A curious bit of cant has grown out of the discussion of this and kindred subjects. It has become common to speak of whatever is placed in the hands of the government is the property of the people. Since when and by what strange revolution in philology did the words, government and people, become synonyms ? The distinguishing feature of property belonging to the people is found in the freedom wifch which it may be bought and sold on the market. When it has lost this feature, whether the control be vested in King, Kaiser, Republican Bureau or political heeler, it is no longer in the possession of the people, and only to a very limited degree within their control. It is a curious combination of events that had made Henry George a candidate for Mayor. W. B. N. Prospects of the Coalers. Mr. Austin Gallagher is an expert in the coal busines, and he thinks the reorganization of Reading will put the iDrice of all the coal stocks much higher than they have ruled during the past week. " Do you not think," says the writer, " that Lackawanna is selling rather high at 140 ? Is it not relatively too high as compared with Delaware and Hudson ?" " My judgment," was the answer, " is that Lackawanna may sell for 175 before a year passes around. It is an immense corporation with many diverse and profitable interests. Dm-ing the worst times we have passed through it has met all its fixed charges and paid 7 per cent, on its stock. Now there is only 128,000,000 of the latter, and ten cents additional on every ton of coal it carries will be equal to a dividend of IX per cent." "Then the following facts are to be kept in mind," continued Mr. Gallagher. " During 18S5 Lackawanna carried gross tons of coal as follows: To Hoboken.........................................2,235,000 " Local points.......................................1,773,000 " West............................................. 740,000 *' North of Oswego.................................. 240,000 Total.............................................4,988,000 '•Much of the larger part of the shipments to Hoboken were made by individual operators who paid on the average $1.63i^ per ton for carry¬ ing an average distance of 160 miles and for shipping at Hoboken, the latter costing the company five to ten cents per ton. During the first six months of this year this charge averaged $1.43 per ton, which is a remarkably good rate of freight and would be highly acceptable to any road In the East. The company controls most of the 1,773,000 tons of local business for its own coal, and upon this trade the profits are large and steady. The coal which goes to the West is usually shipped at a time when the other markets will not take coal or there is no profit in shipping to them. The coal is stocked, and during the winter, when the lakes are closed, the cost of transportation high and the demaud good [ t is sold at a good profit. No other company possesses the advantages for doing this business profitably that the Lackawanna has. The com¬ pany's general freight and passenger business is constantly increasing. Its trunk line business is much more profitable this year than last. The movement of iron ore from the New Jersey mines over the Morris & Essex road has greatly increased this year, and the same may be said for the main linegf The United States Express contract is worth from 1 to IX per cent, -per annum on the stock. This important matter appears to have been forgotten by most people, although it was but recently made." " But is there not likely to be a break after this heavy rise ?" "It is not in sight as yet," says Mr. Gallagher. •'! am also a great b3Uever in Reading. I have made a study of that property, and I know that with flrst-class management the revenues of that company could be improved nearly $5,000,000 per annum. What I mean is proper economies and management would so lessen its expense, and incriease its revenues as to make that company $5,000,000 annually better off than it is to-day. . I wish that the president would be somebody hke Mr. Cossat." Mr. G-. says there was not tbe utmost confidence felt ia Mr> Austin eoFbte^is goal eiTQlts, The Master and Journeymen Plumbers, both present a statement,of their claims on the question at issue. The complications between the Association of Master Plumbers and the Union of Journeymen Plumbers, coming at this time, is especially unfor¬ tunate, as is instanced by the sudden withdrawal of a large quantity of work for which plans had been partly made or completed. There are but few architects who do not feel the loss caused by this state of affairs. In order to present to our readers a thorough and intelligent reporfc on the subject, a representative of the Recced and Guide interviewed, on Wednesday last, Alexander Low, the secretary of the Master Plumbers' Association, and also William Flood, the secretary of the Journeymen Plumbers' Organisation. the masters' version. " The nutshell of thia difficulty," said Mr. Low, " is that this association, which includes some 300 masters, declines to accept the i-ules laid down by the journoyinen's organization, more especially rules XI. aud XII. To facilitate an accurate knowledge of our position, and that occupied by the journeymen, I will give you a copy of uur rules and also those of the journeymen. Ours are as follows: Rules adojited by the Association of Master Plumbers. 1. That all apprentices learning the plumbing trade shall serve five (5) years. 2. That no boy shall be taken to learn the trade until he shall have attained the age of sixteen (16) yeai-s. 8. That all apprentices shall be able to read and write the English language, and uuderstand aiithmetic—addi¬ tion, subtraction, multiplication aud division. 4. That master jilumbers shall have the selection and entire control of apprentices. 5. That each member of the association send the names of all boys taken to learn the trade, to be .registered in a book kept by the association for that purpose. 6. If auy employer has not work enough at intervals to keep all his appren¬ tices employed, he must use his besfc endeavors to procure work for them in other shops. 7. All members of the association shall furnish a certificate to each apprentice taken to learn the trade, with the dateot commencement, age, and the residence of said apprentice thereon. 8. At tho expiration of five yeprs the apprentice shall receive a. fall discharge aud his kit of tools, his name as a journeyman shall be enrolled in a book kept for that pur¬ pose by this association. 9. No member shall employ any helper or appren¬ tice who has previously worked for another plumber without the written recommendation of the latter. 10. It shall be the duty of every journeyman plumber, when an apprentice is placed under his charge, to instruct him in the practical branches of the trade. 11. It shall be the duty of every jour¬ neymen absent from his worlc one or more days to report at the shop on the day following, before resuming work Mr. Low then produced a copy of the rules adopted by tbe journeymen's organisation. It is not necessary to publish them in full as they are very lengthy, but as the main objection made by the master plumbers is to rules XI. and XII., we reprint those, as they strike at the main root of the difficulty. Extract from the Rules of the Journeymen Plumber\