Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 48, no. 1227: September 19, 1891

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September 19,1691 Record and Guide. 339 ISKO)'*^ fWKCH 51'-^ 1868. De/oteD to F^L Estwe . BuiLDif/c %cKiTECTui\E .Household Deoofv^tioiJ. BasiriESS Atto Theme? of GeSeivI 1>t£i\est PRICE, PER YEAR IIV ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS. Published every Saturday. fELEPHONE - . . . Cortlandt 1370. Communications should be addi'ossed to C. W. SWEET, 14 & 16 Vesey St. J. 1. LINDSEY, Business Manager. Vol. XLVIII SEPTEMBER 19, 1891. No. 1,227 Subscribers should see that they are supplied in this number with a copy of the " Northern Railroad of New York Supplement." THE EXHIBITION OF ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS. One of the handsomest and most complete displays of architect¬ ural drawings vnll be opened next week in the exhibition halls of The Record and Guide, at Nos. 14-16 Vesey street, to which all who are interested in architecture are cordially invited. The exhi¬ bition is free. There are on view over two hundred perspectives of the latest work done by all the leading architects of New York City. So excellent an opportunity for any one io familiarize himself vrith tlie best work of the day has not before been offered. AT about the time when the gloomy-minded had confidently predicted injury to the com crop by frost we are favored with specially good weather for that cereal almost to the extent of a supplemental summer. It may now be expected that the gloomy- minded will in a few days be predicting injury to the corn crop from want of frost. Meantime stocks are advancing so rapidly that favorable opinions are hardly expressed before they are verified. There has been a brisk movement all along the line now, and the Grangers have entered on the second stage of the advance; this is not quite so extensive as the flrst for the very good reason that the first rise included a recoveiy from over-depression as well as some discounting of the situation. Still it promises to be substantial. Everyone knows, or should by this time know, the immense influence a great crop has on the business of the country, and, combined with an unusual demand for cereals from abroad, that influence is correspondingly increased. Everyone knows, too, that stocks have not yet discounted all the good there is in the situation, nor will they for some tune to come. We must of course, have reactions at some time or another, and the greater the pace the more speedily we will come to the point where a decline will be in order; but a reaction of any moment is no(, as a rule, heralded by such jumps in prices as we have seen for two or three days, but rather by hesi- tatory and indecisive fluctuations. Hence no important decline need be expected necessarily because of any increase iu values yet seen. The tide is so strong in one direction that it would seem that should any one attempt to stem it, let him be ever so powerful individually, he would deserve only a pair of long ears for his pains. The crowd for the time being is pushing one way and the indi¬ vidual does not count at all. Still the movement is rapid and can¬ not go on for ever and a week, hence we,may see a change, though there is now no waiting for time, tide or the opinions of newspapers. "^rO small part of the strength of the present buying movement -^^ in the stock market apparently comes from London, and operators on this side are depending more or less on that centre for support and assistance in the work of putting up prices. It has been believed, and with reason, that since financial conditions are insecure the world over, with the almost single exception of thib country, English investors would turn their eyes in this direction for the next few years, particularly since their holdings of Ameri¬ can securities are less now than ihey were a couple of years ago. Inview of this expectation, it is interesting to note what the English financial authorities have to say upon the prospects and standing of American issues. The Economist certainly cannot be charged with any prepossessions in favor of our railroads. Some of its recent criti¬ cisms have been not only severe, but un j ustly severe. Yet the Econo¬ mist recently, in an article on the wide fluctuations of our railroad stocks, said : "The future, however, is of more interest than the past, and what investors now seek to know is whether American rail¬ way shares are becoming more worthy to be regarded as investments, or, in other words, whether they are likely now to eujoy greater stability and prosperity. We are inclined to thitik they are, for several reasons." These reasons are that tho most virulent com¬ petition is exhausted, that the State Legislatures are beginning to be more fair to the transportation interests, and tbat the local trafiic is being'more consistently and successfully developed, and in closing it recommends particularly the purchase of bonds. This is an interesting indication of the trend of English opinion; and vt e shall doubtless see in the future substantial effects from the increased confidence. THE exasperating delays to which the local passengers of the Vanderbilt lines have been subject throughout this summer has, at all events, had the good effect of directing public attention to the matter; and so fast and free have been the criticisms showered on the management, that it is doubtless getting ready to mend matters so far as it can. Indeed, Vice-Presidenc Webb has said to a reporter "that elaborate and carefully prepared plans were under consideration for the relief of the congested suburban traf¬ fic," including a four-track bridge over the Harlem with entirely new approaches. Such an improvement would doubtless help to prevent much of the delay which now takes place in the uncomfortable tunnel and elsewhere; but quite obviously it would by no means meet adequately the needs of the present traffic, much less that of the future. The fact is, to use the emphatic but by no means exaggerated words of the Evening Post, " that everybody who lives above the Harlem River and has occa¬ sion to travel by the New York Central, the Harlem or the New York & New Haven Railroads is aware that the ' terminal facility,' known as the ' Grand Central Station,' has completely broken down and that the epithet ' Grand' applied to it has become more or less ridiculous. Not only is it inferior to the great stations of the lead¬ ing capitals of the world but it is equalled by those of many second- rate provincial lines." And it follows from this inadequacy that these corporations must do something more than build a bridge over the Harlem if they wish to make their service at all adequate to their traffic. What this crying insufficiency is may be gathered from the fact that after each has discharged its passengers it has to go back six miles on the main line, to be broken up and made up over again, and Las to be brought back six miles to resume its place in the time table. No wonder the New Haven Road is tryiog to find a southern outlet by means of the 2d avenue elevated tracks. It has been evident for some time that the Central officials do not intend any further enlargement of their present station. With any such intention in view they would never have permitted the erec¬ tion of the large storage warehouse lately put up between Park and Lexington avenues, 43d and 44th streets, on land formerly occupied by the company. It would be too expensive. Everything points to a shifting of the principal terminus north of the Harlem. After this is done, however, the difficulty of distributing the passengers throughout the lower half of the oity punctually and effectually will remain; and in order to compass this end, we do not see what better means the corporations coidd adopt than the controlling of the second route laid out by the Rapid Transit Commissioners. Such a connection would seem to be e,3sential to the proper working of their system. There are several minor ways, however, in which the service can be improved immediately. One is the uniform utilization of clean and neat cars; another is to follow the example of the New York & Northern and to burn only hard coal. It is peculiarly unfortunate for Westchester County and the 23d and 24th Wards that they are served by corporations that are very liable to neglect their manifest duties to their patrons. THERE have been some rejoicings in the Mugwump camp over what is known as the downfall of Hill. According to Sara¬ toga dispatches during the past week, the Democratic convention passed completely beyond the Senator-Governor's control. He was opposed to the nomination of Flower, but could not prevent it; he vsfas opposed to the nomination of Sheehan, but Chairman Murphy forced it on him ; he was in favor of straddling the silver question, but the Croker and others insisted on the adoption of a flat-footed declaration in favor of " honest" money, so-called. In all the matters, other interests dictated the action of the convention; and as the New York machine is his only support, it has been loudly stated that the end of Hill as a political power has come. It may be so; but every presumption, every argument from the man's past career, every circumstance of the ostensible defeat argues a very different conclusion. It will be admitted, we suppose, that very possibly the correspondents may have been deceived by a lot of carefully-prepared lies and incidents, that a little comedy may have been staged for the pur¬ pose of turning the campaign in another direction from that which it was taking and of eliminating Hillism as an issue. Obviously it is to the Governor's interest that the virulent attacks to which he has been subjected should be discontinued ; his candidacy at the Demo¬ cratic National Convention would be materially strengthened theieby, aud the only way in which this could be done