Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 43, no. 1094: March 2, 1889

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March 2, 1889 Record and Guide. 271 DeVojeD to Ke^I- Estate , BuiLoif/c Aj«,ct(iTE.crrgi^£ .HouseiIold DecohatioiJ. Si/sitJEss pAd Themes or GeHeraL !j^t€i\est ESTft8US[lEDW«W5;H51'-^^l868. PRICE, PER YEAR IN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS. Published every Saturday. TELEPHONE. - - - JOHN 370. iCommimlcatioiis should be addi'essed to C. W. SWEET, 191 Broadway. T. T. LINDSEY, Business Manager. Vol. XLIII. MARCH 3, 1889. No. 1,094 The market for railroad securities dm-ing the past week has been a waiting one, as neither investors or speculators care to do much until something is known respecting the financial policy of the incoming administration. The inaugura! address on Moudaj- may give a hint that will make or n^ar the market. But President Harrison is more Hkely, in that document, to indulge in vague generalities than in specific recommendations. A call for an extra session of the new Congress would probably depress prices, aa it would be interpreted as leading to another tariff debate and a con¬ sequent disturbance to the business of the couutry. The general business situation presents several unfavorable feat¬ ures. The abundance and cheapness of money in Wall street shows that it is not being used in the channels of trade or in opening up new enterprises. The bank clearances indicate that there is a reasonably large trade going on, but it does not seem to be profit¬ able. The slow sale of coal, the shutting down of the collieries and the enforced idleness of so many« miners tells its own story of the check given to manufacturing industry. Yet the picture is not all dark. Railroad returns are improving, because rates are being better maintained. Wheat is being marketed in larger volume than bas beeu the case since the season's crop lias been gathered; nor did wo ever ship so much corn abroad as we are now doing. Should the administration decline to call an extra session and stop the accumulation of surplus by very liberal bond-buying, there might be a revival of stock speculation; but the pohcy would not be a wise one, as we want all our accumulations for works of needed public improvement. This might not suit "Wall street, but it would be of immense benefit to the country at large. row. The idea of jeopardizing this at the dictation of old enemies on any "boundaries" scheme, or on the pretence of adding a few dollars to the city ti-easury, is ludicrous. The people have not even seen the new parks yet; and there wiU be plenty of time to peddle them oiit by-and-by, if it must be done. In another column the action of the Legislative Committee of the Real Estate Exchange upon the Ives Park Boundary bill is given in full. It will be seen tliat the warning uttered in The Record and Guide last week bore good fruit, and the resolution indorsing the scheme and committing the entire Exchange nominally to its support was "tabled " on the motion of its most industrious advocate. Any further consideration of the bill should be of a condemnatory character; for euough is already known to stamp the measure as one of the moat impudeut and disgraceful that has emanated from Albany for a considerable time. The question of " motives " is always a difficult one to decide, even when they are quite apparent, and in the present case it is perhaps sufficient to say, what no one who has read the sweeping, unrestricted pro¬ visions of the bill will deny, that if an act had to be drawn that would jeopardize the new parks and place them permanently in tbe power of old opponents, like Mayor Grace and ex-Com¬ missioner Crimmins or others that may yet appear, the Ives bill could not be improved upon. It is perfect. It need not even be asked whether legislation of this kind is either wise or proper. Acta like the Ives bill, of a "blank check" kind, which give the power to entirely dispose of valuable pubKc property into the hands of a few individuals, desei-ve on the score of "proba¬ bility " alone to be considered unwise aud ti"eated [as such. Un- con-upt legislation seldom adopts this giuse. To say the least, it is to be regretted that the Ives bill should have come from the Corporation Counsel, and at the same time received the approval, if not the support, of some of the highest city officials. It is an unpleasant beginning for a new administration, and cannot but create distrust aud a sus¬ picion that the Mayor does not fully appreciate the force of public sentiment against any curtailment of the park area of the city. At the next meeting of the Legislative Committee the bill should receive the most pronounced condemnation, so that there may be no longer any doubt either in Albany or in the municipal offices as to where the real estate "interest" stands on the subject of the new parks. After years of agitation, effort and struggle against the most bitter opposition, the people have acquired a magnificent system of parks in the new ward.3, which will be a benefit to the community to-day, and a blessing to-mor- Two bills'are before the Legislature at Albany to amend the Arrears la\\ of Brooklyn. They have created a gi-eat deal of excite¬ ment on the other side of the river, and dm-ing the week bavebeen the principal local topic of discussion in the press. There can be uo doubt that the Brooklyn law is one of the most severe, if not the severest, in the country: but under its operation the finances of the city have greatly improved, and they are now in excellent condi¬ tion. Much of this is undoubtedly due to the'Ai-rears law. The penalties on " delinquency " are so heavy, amounting even to con¬ fiscation, that it does not "pay" to be inthe debt of that city, as it often does elsewhere. This, of coiu-se, is an objectionable feature to some speculative holders of property, who, if occasion requires, would like to defer payment of what they owe the city until they make a "strike ;" but it is a good tiling for the rest of the tax¬ payers. The interests of real estate are \mdoubtedly great, but the interests of the entire city are gi-eater. Experience has shown that the worst thing that can happen to real estate is to be tax-encum¬ bered. It has not only a special effect but a general effect, as old holders of property in the outside wards of Brooklyn well know. We beUeve the people of Brooklyn will regret any impairment of the vital parts of the present law. What should be done is to pro¬ vide some more certain way of informing property-holders of their indebtedness, for assessments, than at present prevails. The amount might be put upon tiie tax bills, or widely advertised in the papers. The question as to the need of a national banki-uptcy law has again come up for discussion, this time at the meeting that opened tills week in St. Louis under the auspices of the Wholesale Grocers' Association. No one who has had any experience in trade will deny that the laws that we have for the collection of debts are not only inadequate but positively miscliievous. They invite dishonesty and undoubtedly are the cause of a vast amoimt of fraudulent trading. In this State it is not necessary for a swindler to cheat his creditors illegally; it can usually be fully accomplished strictly according to law. The real service, however, that a bankruptcy law would perform is not generally recognized. The experience of countries that have stringent bankruptcy laws iu operation is that they are of more value in deterring reckless and fraudulent ti-ading than in transfer¬ ring to the creditors the assets of insolvent debtors. In Great Britain, in spite of the strictest legal safeguards, it has been found that bankruptcy proceedings fritter away so large a proportion of an estate in fees to the assignee, lawyers, accountants, etc., that the assets are little better than a Barm ecide feast to the creditors. Upon failure there must be some one appointed to take charge of the debtor's property, collect indebtedness to him, perhaps instigate law proceedings, dispose of merchandise, etc. Creditors, as a rule, cannot give the atteution and time necessary to the performance of these duties, and besides are usually distrustful of one another. Au assignee has to be appointed, and then the phmder begins. To obviate tliis is a problem which no banki-uptcy law has yet effec¬ tively solved. Its solution seems to depend upon discovering a means to make men honest and self-disinterested. On the other hand, the knowledge that a law exists enabling creditors to take possession of the property of a debtor, investigate his accounts, pmiish fraud and carelessness, deters either reckless or criminal con- ti-action of debts. The creditors may not gain everything by bank¬ ruptcy, but the debtor knows he certamly loses nearly everything tbat he has. The adoption of a bankruptcy law is a long way ahead yet, and while such meetings as the one in St. Louis are steps in the right direction something should be done to immediately reform the laws we have. The Mas?achusetts papers are congratulating themselves over the passage of a law by the Legislature, rendering the duty of giving quarterly reports obligatory on the railway companies of the State. " The wisdom of such a course," says the Boston Advertiser, " will be apparent to any one who investigates the subject." No one will deny that it is very desu-able for a person who i^ investing money in the securities of a company, to know, if possible, on imtmpeach- able authority, its exact financial standing. But the real question is, can this standing be ascertained with any certainty from reports rendered by the company itself? Not only are the methods of bookkeeping often misleading, but certain corporations have been known to falsify theu- accounts. The Baltimore & Ohio was sup¬ posed at one time to have a cash siu-plus of l!;40,000,000, but when the facts came to be known, it turned out that this surplus merely represented certain improvements made, and it was no more cash than telegi-aph poles, stations and cars are cash. There ia no