Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 47, no. 1205: April 18, 1891

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8l(5ji/E3s (Mo Themes of Ge;^eraL i;Jt£i\,esi PRICE, PER YEAR IN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS, i*ublished every Saturday. Tklephome, . - - Cortlandt 1370. Commimications should be addressed to C.W. SWEET, 191 Broadway. J. T. LINDSEY, Busineas Manager. ___ Vol. slth APRIL 18, 1891. No. 1,305 THE stock market betrays a commendable tendency towards strength in spite of news and conditions which would m'dinarily be most depressing. The continued shipments of gold to Germany are caused by the sale of American securities held in Berlin which have been realized on by bankers for the sake of pro¬ tecting tbemselves in case of more weakness in Italian and Argen¬ tine securities. This is shown by the decline in Northern Pacifies, in which the Deutche Bank is interested, and which were very strongly supported by that institution during the panic. These securities are no raore and no less sound at the present time than they were three months ago, and their present decline must be laid to the account of the selling of those who in the past have been their principal supporters. General business ia not at all good just now particularly in the West. The busy season started very early with large orders from the lelaileis, who, however, because of strikes or declines in wages, have not been able to dis¬ tribute tbeir stock to advantage, thus causing a slackness of the demands on mauufaclurers and wholesalers. In the course of a month or so, this will be felt in the returns of railway earnings. Nevertheless, the year is likely to average very well; aud there is but littte cause for discouragement in the outlook. It must be remembered that we are depending almost solely on our own resources. Generally, in the case of a rise in prices, much of the buying comes from abroad, whereas the foreign factor at the present juncture is a depressing one. We may be sure, however, that this money will return as soon as Europe can feel herself secure from past indiscretions. If there had been less chicanery in the management of our own railroads in the past, investors abroad would make this country their favorite field of operations. In the news column of tbe 81171 of yesterday there is a statement tbat there will be a meeting next week in Philadelphia of the stockholders ^of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St, Louis Kailroad Co. and the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Company, adding ; " Ever since lhe consolidation was effected and the name of the Pan Handle Eoad was changed to the Pittsburg Cincinnati, Chicago & St, Louis there ha? been considerable strife among the stockholders, many of whom objected to the change. It ia now propcsed to make an amicable settlement of the relations betwcn the different lines, and thereby stoji any further disagree¬ ment among the stockholders." AU tbis is rather vague, but prob¬ ably means that the Pan Handle stockholders are not as meek aud patient as tbe shareholders of theChicago,|,yt. Louis & Pittsburg R. R. This much may be predicted, that whatever is conceded to the Pan Handle shareholders to stop their energetic opposition will not be conceded by the Pennsylvania Co., but will be at the espense of the shareholders of the C, St. L. & P. R. E. That bluff railroad brigand, Jim Fisk, always resented the term robbery as applied to wrecking a railroad and then gathering it in. He called it " rescuing property from its owners;" but noth¬ ing ever done by Fisk and his associates equals the raal-administra- tion of the C, St. L, & P. property from tbe time the Pennsylvania Company took it over as the C, C. & I.e., dowu to the present day. The late consolidation with the Pan Handle, while its terms were uot regarded as at all favorable to the Chicago, St, Louis & Pittsburg, was humbly accepted in the belief and hopethatitmight mean a change of heart, aud that after two decades some liitle income would be accorded them, but if tbe matter is going to be juggled with again, it would appear as though nothing is left them but a suit for au accounting, and, in tbe interest of tbe investing public, we hope auch proceedings will be begun and firmly pushed to a finish. THE Bank of England has been compelled to raise its rate of discount because of tbe actual or threatened demand in the market for gold on the Gei-man account—that is for the same reason that has caused the large withdrawals of the same metal from New York. It is scarcely likely, however, that the demand will be so persistent and urgent thafc more stringent measures will be necessary. Tbe conditions of the London market itself do not change, the Stock Eschange business remaius in that limp and lifeless condition wbich has been its tooat important characteristic since the beginningof the year, and fhe proepectsao not encourage hopes for much improvement in the near future. Great masses of securities are being temporarily financed, pending their realization, or are in weak hands, and the knowledge that thia is the case does more than anything else to restrict speculative activity. The stagnancy may be shown by the banker's clearances, which have decreasedduring the flrst three months of this year from the figures of the same period during 1890 by £5. ,575,000, or 15i^ per cent. The prices of commodities during the same quarter do not exhibit any important changes. Coippared with 1890, some of them show a decline, but a compaiison with previous years leads to different results. The most noticeable variation is that in iron, the decrease being due to the esceptioual depression which has so long overhung the industry, and which caused the cessation of work in Scotland. Most of the testile prices have either improved somewhat, or have been almost stationary ; raw cotton is cheaper, and food products are generally higher in value. As far as the movements, iu the'prices ■ of commodities may he used aa an index to the condition of trade it ia considered that there is reason for gratification ; that the effect of the rude shock to finance and commerce experienced during the latter parfc of last j ear has not been more marked. In Berlin no sign of improvemt nt is visible. The opinion is spreading that any hope for a rising movement during the next six mouths ought to be quite abandoned. The backbone of the home market, the shares of the iron and steel trade have completely surrendered to the receding movement, and the reduction in prices in those commodities have not gone far enough to bring relief to the trade. Official reports of the condi¬ tion of the croiJs both in Hungary and Austria have been drawn up. Wheat has borne the long winter well, because during nearly all tbe time it was protected by a thick covering of snow. Rye and oil aeed are not iu such a good condition, but are improving daily, The retmn to specie payments is still under discussion between the Finance Ministers of Austria and Hungary; but the present unset¬ tled parliamentary situation precludes any decisive steps. IT has been curious to watch the gradual disintegration, by £1 process of inner logic, of the arguments against granting the Manhattan Company the needed strip of Battery Park. When the proposition was originally advanced by Jay Gould some years ago, all that was thought necessary by the newspaper editors everlast' ingly to condemn it was a mass of loud verbosity against monopo¬ lists and affirmations ad libitum about the sacrednesa of our parks. They could not afford to go into details, because their reasoning rested on a process of judicious abstraction, and wind \\as not wanting to fill in the many empty spaces. Furthermore,, they depended largely on the assertion, which no one in his senses will deny, that the elevated roads cannot give us the kind of transit required by more exacting future conditions, and that consequently a more elastic and more eflEcieut system waa needed; but they utterly ignored the true reason for granting the increase of facilities, viz., fche necessity of immediate alleviation. When the rapid transit bill was passed they probably thought that the flght was over; bufc the fact that it has been kept up so sturdily by people uot at ail interested in the Manhattan Company, is proof positive that the demand for au im¬ mediate improvement of service has a logic of its own. So the newspapers retm'ned to their good old arguments about the abso¬ lute sacredneas of parks and the deteatability of monopolies, etc., etc. Now, this sort of easy and airy reasoning does very well for a time, hut its emptiness palls even on those who force it ou the public. The mere fact that it is advanced by people not without rational faculties, leads in time to an sndeavor to reinforce it by filling in the bare abstractions with a little common sense detail. The first effort, however, in this untried field, was pitifully weak. Gould, from this new point of view, did not want iiis strip in order to run more trains; he would not improve the service of tbe roada at all, in caae he got it. He simply desired the extra space for tbe unhallowed joy of " grabbing " public property and preventing the poor working mau from enjoying the fresh sea breezes. It took two or tbree days to realize that thia argument was not even specious, but, on the contrary, waa downright silly. Nevertheless, since the assertion has been n^ade that the service would not be improved, it must be stuck to ; but with their tele¬ pathic knowledge of the inner workings of Mr. Gould's mind, these writers decided to vary bis motives. From the latest accounts, his real purpose iu desiring the strip, and spending untold thousands at Albany in order to obtaiu it was the need of the company for additional storage room. This may be simply an ingenious way of insinuating that Mr. Gould is a fool; for if it is supposed tobeaserious description of the movement of that great man's mind, itis not very successful. The writers bave not taken advantage of theu opportunities. They cau make him " think " anything they want to; but if it is necessary to read his thoughts in an imaginative way the imaginative efforta ought,