Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 43, no. 1099: April 6, 1889

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April 6, 1&89 Record and Guide. 457 •^/.^ ESTABLISHED-^/AARPH 5|ii^ 1868. Dev^TED to R,EA,L EsrWE . SuiLOlf/o At^.crflTECTJ[^E ,h(0USEH0LD DEGORATiOtJ. BLfsjt/E5s aiJd Themes of GifjERAL 1;Jtei\est PRICE, PER YEAR IN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS. Published every Saturday. TELEPHONE, - - . JOHN 370. ffomirm nicatjons should he addressed to C.W. SWEET, 191 Broadway, /. T. LINDSEY, Bu.^ness Manager. Vol. XLIII. APRIL 6, 1889. No. 1,099 We persist in the expectation that President Harrison will soon call an extra session of Congress. The business of the country is now without chart or nidder. Our bankers, brokers, merchants, mauufacturers, are without any guide as to tlieir future operations, Tlie sm-plus in the Treasury is still accumulating, and uutil Con¬ gress meets there will be no legitimate means of getting rid of it. The country will not tolerate the policy of giving it away to the national creditors without an equivalent consideration. Secretary Blaine is on record in objecting to the policy of putting the surplus into the banks without interest. If Congress met for only two months, it could start the business of the country on a prosperous basis by voting for liberal intenjal improvements and the rehabili¬ tation of OUI' steam marine. This would furnisli a productive outlet for the Treasury surplus. If Congress met May 15th, it could take a recess from July 4th to October 1st, when the tariff could be acted apon. But, however fixed, ^e want an early session of Congress, so that means may be provided for disbursing theTi-easury surplus. For years past this publication has been pointing out the change wbich has taken piace in public opinion and in government action on the subject of competition. Tlie political economy of the nine¬ teenth century, wiiich was born of the negative philosophy of the last half of the eighteenth century in every way magnified competi¬ tion, " Let us alone," the cry was, and "supply and demand," "self- help," "a fair field and no favor" will set all mattez's right. It was in this school we were all educated, and our editors aud politicians keep on enunciating the old axioms right in the face of their every¬ day experience. Herbert Spencer has lent his great talents and lucid style to the advocacy of government abstention from all inter¬ ference with men's pursuits, aud in trying to show that the free play of huinan forces cannot but in the end bring about the best results. The working classes were the first to revolt against ruthless com¬ petition. -They declared that its effect upon them was ruinous ; ifc was the struggle for life which played such havoc in the animal world about us transferred to the sphere of human activity. It led to the massing of wealth in a few hands andthe starvation of many —so the trade union came into existence to get rid of competition by uniting among themselves. The history of these organizations in Great Britain and this country shows that in a measure they have succeeded in putting a stop to competition in theii" own ranks. The employers liave generally been beaten until recently, when they discovered the value of combination, thus benefiting by fche experience of the working people. The Record and Guide has looked upon the formation of trusts as a striking evidence of a general desire to get rid of competition and to put the commercial operations of man on a co-operative basis—a wasteful struggle for life in industry to be replaced by asking and conceding a fair price for a good article. In this con¬ nection the following document, which we take from the Times, is very significant: The Wew York Nationalist Club was organized last evening at tbe Everett House ua tho roo^ns of Stewart Merritt, who was iiistruefced by the Boston Nafcionalist Club to (orm a local branch of its organization. Among the prominent members of the present branch iii Boston ai-e : Edward Bel¬ lamy, author of " Looldng Backward ;" Edward Everett Hale, Col. Thomas W. Higginsou, Rabbi Schindler, the Rev, Philip S. Noxon, Sylvester Baxter, of the Boston Herald, Mrs, Mary A. Livermore, Miss Auue Whitney, and others. The meeting waa called to order by Stewarfc Merritt. Jonathan Sturgess was elected chairman, and Mr. W. C. Temple, secretary, A declaration of principles was unanimously adopted to this effect; " So long as competition continues to he fche ruling factor in our indus¬ trial system, the highest development of the individual cannot be reached, the loftiest aims of humanity cannot be realized. Those who seek the welfare of men must endeavor to suppress the system founded on the brute principle of competition, and put in its place another basis ou the nobler principle of association. But in striving to apply this nobler and wiser principle to tbe complex conditions of modei'n life, we advocate no sudden or dl-cousidcred changes, we make no war upon individuals, we do not censure those who have accumulated immense fortunes simply by carrying to a logical end the false principle on which business is now based, " The combinations, trusts aud syndicates of which the people at present complain demonstrate the pi'acticabiUty of our basic principle of asso¬ ciation. We merely seek to push this principle a Uttle further and have al industries ojDerated in the interest of all by the Watiou—the people organ izcd—the organic unity of the whole peopls. "The present industrial system proves itself wrong by the immense wrongs it produces; it proves itself absurd by the immense waste of energy and material which is admitted to be its concomitant. Against this system we raise our protest; for the abolition of the slavery it has wrought and would perpetuate we pledge our best efforts." And so the leaven spreads. While Herbert Spencer is wasting his time in trying to demonstrate that government should only be a police force, that ueither national nor municipal efforts should be made to improve sanitary arrangeuients or get rid of squalid tene¬ ments, but fchafc it should be left to individually directed movements, all fche great governments have been interesting themselves in model lodging-houses, sanitary systems and otber measures for improving the health and other comforts of the populous districts. The world is certainly moving; but it is away from the Jeffersonian scheme of government and fche doctrine of free competition as urged by the English scliool of political economists. Oonyeyances, Mortgages and New Builclinge. THE QUARTERLY RECORD. The figures given to-day showing fche filings of the pasfc three mouths will he read with interest by all who own or deal in realty as well as by those who are considering investing iu the soil of this great city. It will be noticed that the figui-es for this quarter of 1889 largely exceed those of last year and, with fche exception of the buildings projected, also surpass the wonderful record of 1887, The figm-es are displayed in a manner which enables the dullest mind ti\understaad, and we shall therefore refer more pai-- ticularly to some of tbe facts which bave brought about the iucrease, as well as some of the transactions which form a part of the March business. 18S9. Couveyg. January...... J,ai3 Febi-uary..... 1,185 March........ 1,413 Total...... 3,810 168S. January....... 1,033 February...... 001 March........ 1,154 Total...... 3,087 losr. January..... 99G February..... 088 Mai-ch......... 1,4^1 Total..... 3,415 CONVEYANCffiS. Amount. Nom, 23d & 34th W. Amount. 820,377,405 22,16U,835 25,937,16? $68,484,407 $ir,aes,29o 20,02^,935 19,871,780 $57,182,995 $17,581,862 17,746,213 28,101,783 SG3,439,857 325 288 335 _948 226 197 272 695 IIJI 192 233 606 207 172 274 $754,225 665,331 1,093,734 653 $2,513,390 $583,926 4-14.145 1,066,493 178 113 173 463 $2,094,663 182 167 211 $874,937 035,097 1,359,160 560 $3,669,194 Nom, 64 41 71 166 33 21 53 107 87 103 Estate Sales. ■ These are some of the large estates which changed hands dming March, together with the amoimts involved for tbe parcels conveyed: Joshua Jones............ 3 parcels. Kinsslaud............... 6 " Vau Nest...........___17 " Lorillard Speucef, Sr___in " Walter F. Brush......... 3 " . Sidney Smith............ 5 " EetaeyA.Hart......... 8 " $425,000 391,400 333,32? 232,100 412,650 128,250 302,400 TotJll........................................$3,314,135 From the foregoing it wili be seen that the division or sale of seven estates involved property vahied at S3,214,135,eyual to one-tlm-tieth of the total 1^68,484,407, the consideration embraced iu 3,810 convey¬ ances recorded during the past month. The Jones esfcafce makes the lai-gest showing, although only thi-ee parcels were conveyed, against some twenty wbich were recorded the first days of April, The amount mentioned in connection witb the Brush estate needs explanation because the property was really sold for ^330,660. A conveyance of part at $192,000 to a third party, who reconveyed to the heu-s, accouuts for fche difference. More than two-thirds of fche sum paid for the Kingsland estate properfcy was bid by aud secured for the heirs. The Van Nesfc esfcate embraced vacant lots only, and by far the largest portion does not leave fche family. Large Sums Involved. Here follows a list of the largest transactions recorded during March: WiUiam st,Nos..l0 and 18. n e cor Beavei-.. .Farmei-s^ Loau^^Tmat Co.. 1f25o!ooo Broad st. No, .13, aud 38 New st-...........Lewis S. Samuel !o"^nu Trinity pl, Nos. 70-76........................J. W. £ L. N. Levy. '"'' ]r-''>ou Same properfcy..............................Aug. D. Shepard,. Madisou av, Nos. lOiI-1017 iforeclos.).......Exrs. Effiugham Towusend' niadiaou av, No. lOil (pai-t of above)........Dr. Octavius A Wliite 2d av, a e cor I03d st, live tenem'ts Total 175,000 153,000 55,000 107,500 ......................................-.................. $1,014,000 The flrst plofc in the list wiil no doubfc be improved by the erection of a fine office building. Parcel 2 was formerly occupied by the open Board of Brokers, and although sold at auction some time ago the deed was only lately ijlaced on record. It may interest our