Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 46, no. 1167: July 26, 1890

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.i July 26, 1890 Record and Guide. 109 DwfeiED TO I^ Es WE. BuiLwffe Apiu^iTECTaup >{c«S£3lou) Deoor^tioiI, Basii/Ess Alb Themes or CeHerjiI Ij(tci\est ESMUSHED^ MWPH 2iu^ 1869.^ PRICE, PER ¥EAR IN ADTANCE, SIX DOLLARS. Pidilished every Saturday. TkLBPHONE, - . - CJOBTLANDT 1370. Commumcatians should he addreesed to C. W. SWEET, 191 Broadway. J. T. LINDSEY, Business Manager. Vol. XLVI JULY 26, 1890. No. 1,167 THOUGH investors have not had much to complain about, the past week has not been a happy one for the brokers. The seven devils of dullness have settled on the stock market. Grood news could not awaken it to activity, and of bad news there was substantially none. The very strength of the market, however, under such conditions, is an encouraging symptom, and other good signs \rere not lacking. Among them may be noted the amazing celerity in which investors gobbled up the shares of the new Procter & GamU^ Company. Money and the disposition to invest it cannot be lacking when so much of it could be con¬ centrated at one time on one point. It is true the securities of the company were floated under exceptionally favorable circumstances. Being a somewhat novel form of investment they were well advertised; and they had the advantage of being recommended by some of the most conservative and substantial banking houses in the city. In this respect the conditions were very nearly as auspicious as those under which the shares of the H. B. Claflin Company were placed on the market, the difference being that tbe employees and the customers of the concern, in this instance, were not given exceptional privileges. These privileges were so far appreciated by the large number of people in the service of John Claflin and his associates that they absorbed nearly all the stock; and the corporation is run practically on a profit-sharing basis. It is the public that have taken the shares of the Procter & Gamble Company, and the ease with which they were sold may well lead to a considejable increase in this class of securities. As English experience has shown, however, corpora¬ tions of this kind are difficult successfully to manage and are liable even to wider fluctuations between surpluses and deficits than railroad companies. Investors consequently would do well carefully to examine schemes of this class, or they may be caught out in the way that a too confiding public were caught on the shares of AUsop's brewery. The future of prices in Wall Street will depend almost entirely on the buying of our own investors and speculators. Little or no assistance can be expected from London. English cap¬ italists are heavily involved in South American securities, which have depreciated largely of late, and which are in a precarious condition at present. Their bankers, consequently, are in very much the same condition that ours were a few years ago when the effect of the railroad over-building began to be felt. Furthermore, the large increase in Images makes more money necessary for the transaction of business in that country ; gold is scarce with the Bank of England; and the conti¬ nental money markets are hardly in a better condition. The new French loan has been postponed until next November on account of the condition of the money market, and even so strong a banking house as the Rothschild's asked the Egyptian government to delay the conversion of the Daira loan for a few months—a request that has been refused. Thus we may see that Europe v/ill have little money to send here, but will rather be in a condition to draw gold. It is quite possible, however, that we shall need no assistance. Money is not tight, though apparently not over-plentiful, and a bull move¬ ment is due on account of the crops. The failure of the English crops will help us to obtain bettor prices for our own products than we did last year, so that even though the production and exporta¬ tion be smaller in amount, its money value will probably be larger. One Qf the most encouraging aspects of our financial situation is thecontinued prosperity of the South. The last two cotton crops, sold at good prices, have comparatively cleared the fanners of all 'debts and have left them free to undertake the production under improved circumstances, so that tbis year, for the first time since the war, the South will have a large surplus to spend for luxuries. WE do not believe that the Citizens' Committee could have drawn up a much more suitable platform than that on which they propose to stand. It has the one great advantage of simplicity and definiteness. They have drawn the line clearly between business methods in the administration of municipal affairs and political methods. A man who sincerely believes that the finances and patronage of the city departments should be managed just as those of any other corporation are managed, that fitness sbould be the sole ground for selection to office, that satisfactory work should be the sole giound for retention, that incapacity should be the sole groimd for dismissal, and that the money of the municipality should be expended with a wise liberality for the accomplishment of desirable ends and a wise economy in means and methods, has no alternative, so far as we can see, but to support in word and deed the committee's candidate. There are no vexed questions of policy involved. The single issue is there, and a vote against it is a vote in favor of purely political administration. Unfortunately there is no indication as yet that the public appre¬ ciate the singleness of the issue, and unless it is appreciated the committee is powerless. But there is no use predicting failure. Few were the prophets who expected this time four years ago that Henry George would poll the vote he did. A good candidate and a vigorous canvass, hampered by no mistakes, and aided, perhaps, by diAosion and confusion among the politicians, may well serve to bring out a number of votes which will make the committee a power in our city affairs, if not the rulers thereof. A very sensible step has been taken in enrolling the supporters of the platform, for it will not only help to consolidate the vote, but it will give the reformers some idea as to the amount of their following and how much they can accomplish with it. THE present disagreement between the city authorities and the electric-light companies about prices should turn the attention of Mayor Grant and his fellow officials to the question whether it would not be wise for the city, so large a consumer of electricity, to own and operate its own electric plant. The wisdom of such a course is now not a matter of theory. Some few years ago it was, and conservative and cautious people had excuse for hesitating to approve of the extension of the functions of municipalities into more or lees new fields. Since then, however, in this country and abroad, city after city has assumed control of " natural monopolies " such as the supplying of gas, electricity, water, ete., with a meas¬ ure of success that puts the wisdom of the step entirely beyond question. To-day New York City pays private corporations from 30 to 50 cents per lamp per night for electricity. The same service is obtained by Chicago, where fuel and labor is dearer than with us, for 15 cents,—but Chicago owns her own plant. There is no theory about this; it is a fact, which, surely, it is the duty of our officials to carefully consider. What Chicago does. New York can do, and clearly the course for this city to take is to cease perpetually disputing and dickering with a combine of private individuals and deal with the problem thoroughly. If the municipality is com¬ petent to supply the city with water, why not electricity as well ? If Chicago can supply her citizens with electric light at 15c. per lamp why cannot New York, and. let us add, why should not New York do so ? The idea of going back to gas is absurd. The city cannot tolerate this retrogression eventhotigh the companies should demand $1 a night for every lamp. The electric light companies know their strength in this matter. They would, however, dance to quite another tune if the city decided to establish its own plant and be forever independent of them. THE article, " Hints for a Rapid Transit Bill," published in The Record and Guide two weeks ago, has received considerable attention. Many commendations and criticisms have been sent to this office, and some of them show clearly that our correspondents entirely miss the point of the suggestion. The bill we propose is not a time-loser. Work can be begun under its provisions just as soon as under any bill which affords opportunity for political deals. The opponents of the bill say falsely that it is a time-loser, and to assert that they, in proposing some hasty measure, are the true friends of the people is far from the truth. But there is, in fact, no such thing as a quick measure. Nothing at all can be done without legislative action. A simple, plan-making bill, with a strong backing of public sentiment, might be passed early in the session ; but a bill to doctor the elevated roads would give rise to a deal of wire-pulling and delay, and if passed late in the spring would doubtless lead to litigation, and a good deal of time be lost before the actual work of construction were reached. And possibly it would be work thrown away. The pro¬ posed expert board |will certainly consider whether the elevated roads can or should be ^extended and provided with additional tracks, or whether these roads or some of them should be entirely reconstructed. It will obviously be embarrassing for this board to find preparations under way to make these roads other than they are. The whole spirit of the proposed bill requires that the hands of the expert board should not be tied in any way. The public should understand this, and oppose any plan to authorize construc¬ tion independently of action by the board. AMONG the very aims and objects of the bill are that all men, who are hot engineers, shall be relieved of necessity to decide intricate pstkAocas in railway science, but, at the same timei,be