Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Please note: this text may be incomplete. For more information about this OCR, view About OCR text.

OotoberS 1898 Record and Guide. 439 Investinents.—&ooii aná Bad. Comparisons may, as tbe sayin^ bas ib, be odious, and do doubt are when too personally and pointedly eTpressed. but tbpycan be and aredaily made with many useful re?ults. In facb it would create a little surprise if it were thorougbly uuderstood how inucb the world's activity depends oa comparisons for its eiisterice, The crilic in art acd literature could not exiu wîtbout them, and ĩn commerce and nianufaciure there would be no incentive to iniprovement without thena. Compnrifousare jmt now, too, the st-ock in trade of tbe politician who, with tbe zeal of a bighly paid advo cate, lookgabroad oũly with eyestosee wbat is favorable to hia side of the (luestion. Among other places the politiea! eyes ai-e directfd bo the ĨTnited Kĩngdoæasapiace where eodlessar(;uæeiitouboth sidesof the queslinn of the day can be Cound, with results thatmustthorougbly bewilder thecitizeu wbo prides bimself oj u practice ot'heai'ing ail vfews, The prospect cf cprtaiu mBtal-workersar'd workers in t'abrics beiog driven to starvation excitesin certain quartci-sa jubilatioii sbort only of public thauksgiviug, and to irope that the Britií^her may be laid low in the dust of his own ruined commerce seems to be a pious as well as a patrio ic act. 0£ course part of thís helongs to ôlection fervor and wi!l b^ repented of after the retums are published nextmonth, but meantime those who bave no wish tos e the greatest consumer o£ Anierica's asiricultural and niechauical products and the sreatest investor ii American securities ruined pa't all hope, inay flnd signs that that day is still distant ftnd take courage. Oae of tbese sigos is the report made by tbe Board oí' Traae on the rail- road business in the United Kingdom for the year 18ÍI1, from wbieb it appears chat, whawver injury may bave been done in certain Itues aud whatever business recent legislation in this country may have transferred to tbis Bide of tbe Atiantic, tbe general business of the Uoiied Kingdcm was last year great enough to permit an increase in tbe railroad traffic reeeipts of 2,4 per cent, so tbat i£ any l'eel a naturally buman and christĩan alarm for tbe safety and weii being of theUnited Eingdom as a whole theycan flnd eneourag' ment from this fact and from the reasfnabie assur auce to be drawu thereírcm ihat tbe people of that countrv as a wbole are still "ble toafford the luxury of grain grown on the prairies and bave some savings to invest In tbe railroads built to carry that grain to the seaboard, In fact in some respects tbese Ecglish railroad retums compare quite favorably with similar figures found in the lastt îiBue of Poor's Manual, colltcted wiih tbe view of givĩng as íar as they could possibly be obtaioed tbe resuHs of operatÍDgthe reilroads of the Uoited Statts for tbe year 1891, In tbe case of tbe reiurns for ibe United Kingdom, they are offîcial and cover the whole mileege of Ihe country, while those f i)r tJe United Staleiare deficient of results on a large mile- age, 3,6i7 miles, whicb were then incompiete or for other reason con- tribute no returns, Such as tbey could have contribuied would iessen rather fchan ÍDcrease tbe geceral resuliÆ, for tbe reason that new road while usually burdensome hoth in ccst of capital and operation, does not usually contribute much iu the way uf relurns. The American roads show a larger growth of receipts tban tbe Eaglish road, 4 per cent agaĩnst a.4 per cent, as may naturally be expected from the fact thst this couotry is st.Il undergoing the process of settlement, Some other interestÍDg points of comparison will be found in tbe foUowirg table, tbe money flg- ures for the returns of tbe United Kingdom being reduce^l to Uniied Btates currency at the rate of $4.S0 to Ibe pound sierliug. _ The source of the results for the United States.bas already been stated, 1801. United KiDedom. Uniled States. Milesof railroad........................ ao,iBl iei,S61 Capĩtal .............................. $4,413,210,6811 *10,7lĩ5,6i6,i4t Cupltalpermile........................ ■ilS,-<7i 6ĩ MO Capitdl inc. for íear.................... n.04u,nu0 áST 080.936 EaruhiKÃ.............................. 39'Î9'V.91S l,i39.30 ,642 OperatiiiBexpeDSes................... Mi6694eiH Î8i îaB,5 6 Jet esrniiiíĩs........................ i;6,-a',yre ■Ífi7,ã-'i.>m Earuinísp-r mile.................. 1H.6;8 7,538 Optiraiiu^ expenses, p^^r cent.......... bH I 6110 JEnraed OO C-ipital. per ceut............. 4 00 4.i! Faid OQ capilal, per cent ............... 4.10 2 9 O^e íact in tbe foregoing fîgures cannot escapo notice, and that is bow much more heavĩly capitalized the Ecglieh railioads aretbantbe American. This isdue in part totbe greater cost of property acquired in tbeolder couutry, but also more largely toaddĩtions to cspital wbicb it has been found necessary to make to carry cut iũditpeiiEablp improvementB, aprocess that hasalfeady begun to a cocsideral'Ie exteiit on ihee^tab- liohed roads of tbis c ,unbry, not only iu tbe East, as, fcr evidence, tbe New York Central's bwo iast loans, but also in tbe West, wbere only tbis jear the Aicbison had to make.esbraordinary arrangements for improvemeDts it will nave to make for sorne yeara to coroe. Consequently ibe Ame ican Becutity-hoider will have in the future lo be contíut lo see lajge increaEes of railroad capitabzation without corre;pondÍDg growih in mileage. So far as the Englisb flgures sbow tbis is not a fact to be deplored, because it will he seen that there was paid ciut on the total railroad capitai of the United Kingdom 4 per ceut, agaínst 2.9 on tbe same cupital of the United atates, this latter being taken to be onîy tbebond and stockdebts, ibe current and ucfunded dehb beiag ratber regarded as probable than actual capiializaiion; tbey coneume alarge parb o£ net earnings. Were Ihey capilalized ihe resultj in the two countries would beou tbe whole about tbe same witb, if anytbing, asligbt diff-Teuce in favor of tbis, The operatic.g cost iu tbe two countriea shows a mftiked differeiice, in theonecase beÍDS ■''S.l percenb of the totsl reoeipts, and in this country 03 per cent. The low rate in Ihe Uoited Kingdom is the result largply of increasedefflciency produced by fcbe etnployment of new i'apitalfrom time bo time, and ih remains to he Boen wbether theeame palioy in ihe United títates can reduce the proportion of the woi klog cost, At íirst sigbt it eeetns hardly credible that i'> per cent i í fcbe lotel receiptu ,^ hbould be ouly equal bo 4 per cant ou tbe oapital employed io any ijuter- prÍBP, but tbih oiily shows to wbat au exfcent it baa been necessary to swell ihe funds enjplcfîed to bring ahout the reeults Feen ín the cperation of the raitroadB aí the ĨJnired KingdOm ard as i£ a reduciĩon ia the coĸt tíf workÍDg cán 'o'nly be pVt'du'ceií by ap ir'Qr<-Bte in the ainísVn't bif oalpítJsJ td ahkre tVe '■p-íoMB. M "*&■ ■siáâé; 'viå^ S^ i''e¥íírĩi CBn be secured ín this way it would spem to be preferable to a system in which floatiug debts are crcated which eventuaĩly becomp capi'alized, but meantime carry high rates of interes', aud debar stnckholder^ from Ihe enjoymentof the profitswbicharemade from timeto time lu theEnglish iSîstem the future is charged wilh its share nf the burden; fche American is an attempt to provide for the future. " bich is the bcst railroad experts are now trying to decidĩ. Tbere is od6 polnt ou wbic;h both counfcries are to be ccngralulated, and that is on the apparent readiness of their several investing pubiics to provide tlie cap'tal necesaary to build new roads or to imorove old ones. Tn the Urifed Kingdom the additions to railroad capitalizafion amnunted in 18Ĩ11 to more tban S71,OO0,0OO, and In the Unired States to more tban four times tbat amount. In the Ôrst tbe nominal increased capital bas not been included, and making allowance fov that in the íecord and for discouuts iu botb.tbese figures show a very satisfactory confidence on the part cf tbe puhlic on both eides of the Atlantio io railroad ÍDvestments in spite of falling rates and increase in the cost of labor and supplies. Archítectiiral League's House 'Warmĩiig. The Arcbitectural League took formal possession of its new quartera íd the new Americao Pioe Arts Building, in fi'^th street, on Wedoesdaynight, tbe occasion beÍDg the fi''st of the regular serles of montbly dlnnera since tbe summer vacatiou, The buildirg is uot quibe flDÍsh°d and some extra- ordinary worU had fco be done on Wednesday iu order to get the rooms of the Architectural League in order for tbe fuoc'îon of tbat BVfnirg But barring a shght odor of f reshness, with whĩch the memhers of the League are uotunfamiliar, tbe new rooms were ia excellent order aod their bright ard cheeriul Bppcarance elicited the admira'ion of evpry one present. Whenc^mp'eted thebuilding ist^o be the home of tho Society of Ameri- can Arfcis's Ihe Artists' Guild and tho Ait Students' League. as weĩi aí of the Architectural League Tbe students are alreaciy in possession of thpir portion of the new buiîd'ug There is a iarge eshibition gaiVry, o£ which tbe sccieties uamed wilî bave alternate use for their various esbibitions, besidesthe exclusive use of tbeir respective apartments Theintorior oE thebuĩlding ií flni-hed in buff and hlu°, wilh oalt waiuscoting and fine carved mantels of the same wond, AII the cor,1rituting -ocĩeĩies are wait- ing withbutsmallpatience thc complelion of tbe building, for they are ail anxious to get into Ít, The Architecĩtural Leagne bas appacious room in tbe son'hwest corner of tbe second floor, with two adj">iainĩ committee rooms. Tbe lareer room, in which the famous montbly dinners of tbe T.eague are tc be given bere- after, is to be bandsomely fitted np as a parlor and library, and bung wjth arehitectural drawings aud photogrBphs, and vsrious oiber forms of art work. Ib washere tbatthedÍQuerof CV=daesday nîsht was "praad, Tbemem- bers and their gu=sts, to tho rumber of over a bundrpd, were seateii at flve tables, Presi.ient RhsspII S'urgis occiipyiug (be seat of toa^t-roaslpr st the guHsts' t-ililB, Amrmg tbe o*hers preseut werp; President Rdward H. Ken- dall, of the American Instilute of Architects; Hoivard R, Butler, President of the American Fine Arts Society, H. J. Hardĩubers, wb"', wit.b MHSĸi-g. Huntiue & Jaeobs, designed the KioB Arts Buĩlding; Mootgimnry Scbuy- ler, C, Powell Karr, E K. Roísiter; C. A. Rich, Tbomis Tryon. J. WiUiam Fosdick, Chas. H. I-imeK John M. Car-ere, A F ri'0«oeh, Cre'ghton Withers, J. H, Taft, W. W. & E. B. R9..wick. Geo. Kei-ter, Percy Jack- son, H. L. Coulier, W. W. Ferguson, Horace Hradlpy, E. D. French, E. D, Franklin, Hamllton Bell, Hpnry Farri'h. F. C. Bntle", Jnsbua Harnum, Dr. Elwyn Waller. G. F. Post, G. P. Chifheîtor, O. Ma'eol.n Pi-ase', J. R. Schroeder, Thomas G, Hijlyoke, Walter S. Fullerton, Howard Van Lin- dererand P. E. Belt. Tbe toasts were ..II infnrmal. but pverybody ciUed upw had sompthĩng good to say, an'l said it j-jst as if the fpnpches had bseQ prepared for the occasion. Addressos were made by Presîdent Rnssell Sturgis, Edward H, Keuda'I, H. J. Hardenbergb, Montgomery Schuyler, Warren Briggs, Architect Nickerson, of Providence, R, I , and Wm, Coffin. Sale of Ihe Old G-reenwich Savings Bank, UNDKKaOING CONVSHSĨON INTO A LTTHOGtR*.PHĨNG BSTABUSmiENT FOR THE Kew TOEK BANK NOTK CO. The New York Bank Note Co , Geo. H. Kendall, President, has pur- chased the subitantial old Greenwich Saviogs Bank property, on bhesontb- west corner of 6th avenue aod Waverely place, aod is convertiog it into oneof themOíitcompl-'telithngraphiogaodengriviDceatabtishmentsin thc country. When the Greenwich Savij gs Pank abandonrd tbi.i comer, tbe scene of its many yeare of successful business. Tvuoh wonrter wa.s BTpríssed as towbat would tĩecome of theproperty. Tbe substaDiiai and imDOsing old sto e buildiog was spleudidly adapted to bmkiug uies, but was hardly supposed to be of usp fnr any otber kno^'n bosioess, For the purposes of ihe New York Baik Note Compauy, bowever, it is apparently well adapted. So far as tbe walîs ard general interioi' construction were concerred the buildirg on ibe ecrrer was suitRble in arrangement, and riquired ro raiiical alteratioDs. But there were two other p'eces besides the batk bui'dinĸ and lots, wbicb tbe bauk bad pur- cbased, for pro'cctive purpos°s, severat years ago. They were the four- sbcry brick store aud flĩt bu'ldme adjoinirig on fĩth B^eiiin', mBkÍDir tbe wbole of the.Gorcer plist 67 feet front on 6'li avenue by ^O on Wavnrley place, aud the bhree-stcry aud basement brick dwediDcr and lot, S'.x^CO, adjoÍDÍng on Waverley place. Tte prĩcc eîpi-fssed in i be deedi' Ifi $R7,,'il(i for the bank buildiug aod arijiiulne property and %%2,'6Q0 for fhe Wa.v- Rrley place property. But this prlcte is said to express somethÍDg leBn tbaii the aotual (îons-ĩderaHoQ. TheNew Tork Panlt Noto Co. will use tbebank buiiding and adjoin- inapri'perty on fith aveiue for its offlcesand engiBVÍng fnd litboĸraphing bu.=iness, and is at work uion tbo ucccs'ary alĩcralions. Arcbilecb Stephcn D, Hlatoh has drawn tte pian íor thp n'.tpi'etii ns wbich ncquire a m'^ijeri^ail s1|i<6u^'ening of b'cítb gtrucít'areii by^an iBlfffoí ctinsini'trtion tíf ^l írtoi'eVat'k mi*d ttiíi %tii^ cíf a graiAiIílhi'c 'iÍCor íu llve b'ai.feaĩ'fJDtl tb I