Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

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36 1 he Kecord and Ijuide.l January 14, 1888 Senator Stewart, of Nevada, and other silver doctrinairesjRre desirous of replacing all our gold and silver coin by paper certifi¬ cates, issued upon the depositor of the precious metals. The Salt Lake Tribime puts the case thus : There should really be no passing of coin, except for change, among people. Paper is tbe money of civilization, only tbe paper should have a metallic backing. The loss by abrasion of both silver and gold, annually, is a tremendous sum, and there is no sense in the waste ; and these large amounts of either metal are expensive to transmit from point to point. But the reserve of silver in the Treasury is not an element of the slightest trouble. It happens to be just as good a reserve as gold itself ; it is the money of two-ihirds of the world, the money of the Constitution ; the money that stood, after the mutations of four thousand years, at a premium over gold. This seems very plausable, and undoubtedly the drift of public sentiment favors the use of paper to either gold or silver. But if people see nothing but paper, year after year, will there not grow up a belief that gold and si verare not needed in the business of the world? Why, it will be asked, keep on piling up the precious metals in the Treasury vaults, when the only use will be to give value to a circulating medium? In time an irresistible demand will be made to utilize the vast storea of gold and silver in the Treasury vaults. The fact is, we produce about half of the precious metals of the world, and we ought to make use of them in the retail trade of the country. In passing a judgment upon the disputes between the railroad corporations and the miners, the average citizens bhoutd keep in mind what proportion tbe miners wages bears to the total retail cost of a ton of coal. On tbis point we quote from Ihe Pioneer Press of St. Paul: The wages paid to the Pennsylvania miner for digging a ton of coal range from 38 to 65 cents. By the time it got to Bnffalo it was valued at $4.50 for grate and egg and $4.95 for stove and nut on the first day of January, and *4,60 and 14.90 for the same on the first day of Octo¬ ber. It is in this interspace that tbe tremendous royalties to monopoly are paid. The lake freight from Buffalo to Dulutb, these figures are for 1886, was 35 cents on May 5^nd $1 by the middle of November. W-here tbe rest of, the money goes tne consumer must calculate for himself. This same paper goes oo to say : The wages of miners in Pennsylvania, the centre of the coal industry and the paradise of labor, are lower tban anywhere else in the United States, the majority of districts there pay from 40 to 50 cents par ton. Peoria, Ills., pays 70 cents; Indiana, from 65 to 80; Iowa, 9J cents aud 81; Colorado, 8;iJ<, and Oregon, $1. There is here the same smgular difference between wages fiast and West tbat appears in other occupa¬ tions; a difference which, in the absence of taiitf regulations between the States, is wholly inexplicable by the protective theory of wages. The fact should never he lost sight of tbat the $6 or more which the consumer pays for a ton of coal, barely 50 cents represents the total wages received by the miner. Seventy-five cents a ton is about the average profit of tlie retail dealer; the other $4.75 goes to the transportation company, which, under our present system, owns the mines, aud makes a profit in addition as a wholesale dealer and common carrier. The intolerable greed which demands this monstrous profit and which to get it is willing to cut the laborer and the miner down to the last cent, is what gives point t© tbe complaints of the anti-monopolist, the Socialist and the Com¬ munist. The Eecoeo and Guide has only recently been justifying the formation of Trusts, but there is no excuse for extortion or for the greed of corporations which takes advantage of its position to rob alike the producer and the consumer. Congressman Holman, the great objector, is out in favor of liberal appropriations for public buildings. It is to be hoped that other Congressmen are of a like mind. We could spend all the surplus in supplying buildings which are really needed, but the appropriations ought to be made after some well-devised pro¬ gramme. The new buildings are now a matter of log-rolling, in which the most aggressive and rapacious representatives get the largest appropriations. There ought to be some bureau which would apportion the new public buildings to the localities that most needed them. -----------c-----------, The Catholic Apostolic Church. Editor Record and Guide: Dear Bia—In your issue of the 7th, commenting upon the Catholic Apostolic Church in 57th street, jou refer to Mr. Potter as the architect. As ene of the Building Committee, I think it only pi'oper to inform you tbat tbe arabitect was Mr. Francis H. Kimball. I am sohcitous to correct your misinformation in this respect, not only because we appreciate the fact that we are entitled to tbe congratulations you speak of for Mr. Kimball's success in the architectural treatment of tbe build¬ ing, but for the additional reason that we are conscious that Mr, Kimball was equally successful in the exceedingly economical and advantageouB manner Ik which be applied the limited amount of money which we were able to furnish him for the purpose. Yours truly, John S, Davenport. Concerninq Men and Thinas. *'* Two new clubs have recently been organized in this city. Oae is called a " Player's Club," and ia composed of actors and their personal friends. One of the objects of tbe now organization is to get together a great dra matic library. The membei-sbip is limited to men, which is rati-er unfair to the women in the profession, who certainly divide the honors and the profits with those who cater to the amusement of the general public. Merely pro¬ fessional clubs are not uniformly successful. It does not do to have too much shop in a social gathering. There ought to be a sprinkling of many different professions to make things pleasant. Actors and journalists get along pretty well together, the only drawback being that a good many of the members of both professions are not very good pay. The " Lambs " and tbe Lotos CluO contain a good many actors, indeed tbey were both originally intended for artists and JDurnalists. Tbe new Players' Club started w^tb many very good names. ** * The other new club is called the Reform Club, and, as its name imparts, is intended to help on political reform. It ought to subserve a useful function. The most successful of tbe London clubs are those that have political objects in view. Our Union League Club is the only one which has an -honorable history back of it, but of late years it haa not done much to purify politics. Tbe Manhattan Club started off well, but it never was of the slightest value to tbe Democratic party, municipal or national. There are some good namesassociated with the new tteform Club; butwill they pull together? Time alone can tell. *** New York is a polyglot city. There are many large German centres of population which have fewer German places of amusement than New York. During the post three weeks we have had playing to large New York audiences an opera company equal to tbe best in Berlin, an actress equal (o any on the German boards, and a leading star who has no superior ' iu faiherland. It is not creditable to us, however, that French compa¬ niea are not more successful in this city. French is taught in all our fash-' ionable schools, and ao many New Yorkers visit France during the summer season, tbere ought to be an audience fit, and not few, for a good French comedy company. Bernhardt did well here, and so will Cocquehn when be comes. ---------•--------- The Proposed Fast Drive. The meeting held at the Chickering Hall on Monday evening, to organize a movement with the object of creating a fast drive ou the western boun¬ dary of the Central Park, waa attended by some cf the wealthiest and most influential of New York's citizens, in which a number of well- known society ladies should be included. Scarcely a person present but was a taxpayer, soma of them very large ones. Tbe meeting resolved to send a deputation to tbe Mayor, asking him to further the movement, and as men like J. D. Rockefeller, Robert Bonner, Russell Sage, Roscoe Conkhng, Frank Work and others are strongly interested, no doubt sfflne- thing will result from the action taken. Are presentative of The Record AJSD Guide called upon Lawson N. Fuller, one of the projectors of tbe plan. He has driven fast horses on "tbe road" for the last thirty-five years and knows every rod of the ground as well as he does bis own garden, Se said: "What we propose is to take a strip of ground, commencing at the western wall of the Central Park and running eastward lUO feet, beginning at 59th and ending at 110th street. Thiii land is now absolutely useless to anyone and is not wanted specially for any purpose. We propose to turn it Into a splendidly well-kept macadamized road, with a row. of trees in the centre along tha entire distance, which shall divide the riders going north and south. This will give us just as much service as though the road were 300 feet wide without such a dividing line, where vehicles and horses would go pell-mell like on the Seventh avenue Boulevard. Tbis dividing line will avoid accidents. We don't require 150 feet, as the Times suggests, 100 feet being ample on tbis plan. It is a mistake to think that tbere will be any accidents. Only fast driving will take place on this new drive, and I have found that the accidents, when they do occur, are between vehicles driven by inexperienced hands in most ca^es. Men who own horses worth from J5,000 te $40,000 are not going to risk, them, as well as their own personal safety, by reckless driving. A man who drives a fast horse generally has a good eye and a sure rein, and he can easily aee any impediment in the roadway hundreds of yards ahead in time to avoid it. The grades can be used to breathe the horses. New York requires some fast drive. Ameriaa is the couutry of fast horses, aud we ought to have some place where not only our citiaens aud countrymen, but foreigners from all parta, could come and see what we can produce in that noble quad¬ ruped. It must not be thought that the men who are in this movement have entered into it on tbe spur of the moment, It has been talked over for the last two years. Of course there will be objections raised. There always have been to these things, But the Central Park belongs to our citizens, and it should be utfiized for their benefit. Tbe strip of ground we ask for isnot required for any^special purpose, and it would improve the Park wonderfully. The drives now are principally taken up by broughams, coup6i and other heavy wheelers, and light vehicles and fast horses have no chance to put in any good work. The boulevards are not quite as good for this purpose as they were. Besides, they are public thoroughfares for pedestrians and too fast trotting on them cannot always be indulged in. One has only to notice the thousands of workmen, clerks and others, with their wives and children, who turn out on Sundays in the Central Park and the boulevards to see the driving, to appreciate the interest which all, poor or rich, take in seeing a display of horseflesh. If tbia new drive is made we will have seats placed along the eastern and possibly the western side, so that tbe people' may occupy tbem by tbe thousands, and witness the beautiful sight to their intense delight. It would also greatly improve, and infuse new life into, the property on Central Park West and the abutting streets. In fact no one is going to lose much by the change and everyone wfil be benefited," L.