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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 62, no. 1592: September 17, 1898

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September 17, 1898 Record and Guide '379 De^iteB td He^l Estate.SaUjitto A;R&KrrE(rruiiE^ousDioij)DE8CHfiiat Bl'5i>^ss Alio Theses of GeriBvA Ii^tovesI., PRICE PER TEAR IN ADVANCE SIX DOLLARS. Published every Saturday. Telephone, Cortlandt 1370, Con.munications should be addressed to C. W. SWEET. 14-16 Vesey Street. J. 7. LCNDSEX, Business Manager. " Entered at llie Posl-Ofticc at New York, A'. Y., as second-class matter,^' Vol. LXII. SEPTEMBER 17, 1898. 1,592 T-^ROEABLY New York City to-day is the most cheerful city -^ in tbe country. There are indications of a good trade move¬ ment right here in our midst; exports from this port are large, the hotels are crowded, suggesting the presence of a larger num¬ her of buyers from out of town than usual, retail buying judged by the crowded conditions of the suopping districts must he very large. On tbe whole there are pecuniary reasons for cheerful¬ ness in New York City, to say nothing of the exhilarating effects of contact with Rough Riders and other specimens of gallant military manhood now being mustered out of service, who feel compelled to visit New York and contribute something towards its prosperity before dispersing to their homes all over the coun¬ try. Tt may be that these things account for the renewal of the buying movement on the Stock Excnange; the cheerfulness being so irresistible that a man cannot but buy. So far the new buying has selected the Grangers, which are now occupied with crop business and have made excellent reports for the past year, and specialties for its objects. Notwithstanding this sign of sense and discrimination, wonder would arise as to what the movement is really based upon, if it were not known that popular buying movements need nothing more to stand upon than a feeling of confidence and a plentiful supply of reports and rumors of coming prosperity. The prices of the majority of the speculators' favor¬ ites can have no basis supportable by arithmetic, unless prudence is a useless virtue and experience no longer a guide to judgment. Stocks that have never paid dividends and have no reasonable probability of paying them are selling at substantial prices, simply because thej' are manipulated for purposes of speculation, to which the public is a. consenting party. Each one that buys thinks he will get out with a profit before the break comes, and to those who wish to do business on that principle, the stock mar¬ ket to-day offers good opportunities. EUROPEAN stock markets have moved variably, according to the trena of the political news of the day. There was a rise upon the issue of the Czar's disarming proposition, but a decline on the new developments in the Dreyfus case, and there is now some nervousness on the announcement that a French force is at Fashoda and that General Kitchener, with a large force, has gone to meet it. That this will be the occasion of war between France and England is highly improbable, especially in view of the iso¬ lation of France at the moment, despite the Russian treaty. As a matter of fact, the Marchaud expedition has never been ofBcially acknowledged by France, such acknowledgment being reserved for the event of its successful establishment in the Nile Valley, which does not now seem possible. The end of the expedition, if fqiiiKl at Fashoda, will probably be a polite conduct up the Nile to Alexandria, and a courteous dismission into the Mediterranean toward home, to the accompaniment, of course, of belligerent utterances of the French and British press. The Argenti^ie-Cbil- ian boundary dispute seems finally disposed of by an agreeraent to arbitrate. The dispute hangs upon the question, whether the peaks of the Andes simply, or the peaks of the Andes dividing the water shed, shall constitute the boundary. The latter is the Chil¬ ian contention based upon an admission made by Argentina some years ago and the probabilities point to arbitration favoring Chili. The Kaiser's threat that a bill directed against labor agitations would be introduced into the Reichstag, can only be taken to mean that Germany's industrial development requires the con¬ tinuance of the present low rate of wages within the Empire. The working people hearing .so much of the country's growing trade and wealth are, doubtless, wondering why they do not benefit from the improvement, and moving toward securing what they may consider to be their share. Now cheap labor has been one of the chief means of putting the German manufacturer where he is to-day and enabling him to compete with his British and Ameri¬ can rivals. The Kaiser has, doubtless, been led to believe that the national development requires this advantage to be continued to the manufacturer, hence his threat to use force to repress any movement among the workmen. At the same time over-specula¬ tion, in industrials particularly, at Berlin, has created anxiety and a money stringency of some dimensions. The improvement in United States issues and South Americans, and the excellent crops help the markets and European trade conditions generally are improving, though they have at no time recently been bad. THE NEW BANKRUPTCY LAW. AS everyone knows, after years of discussion and theintroduc- tion of and rejection of several bills that were not accep¬ table for one reason or another, Congress, in its last session, passed an act "to establish a uniform system of bankruptcy throughout the United States." This act took effect on the date of its approval, July 1st last, but it fixed the date when the first petition in voluntary bankruptcy could be flled at August 1st, and provided that no proceedings in involuntary bankruptcy could be commenced before November 1st next. Some voluntary petitions have already been filed with the Clerk of the United States Court for this District, the Southern District of New Tork, but furthar proceedings are awaiting the formulation of rules of procedure by the United States Supreme Court, which are expected to be issued during next month. The main provisions of the act ^re those that a business man ought to know, that is to say, those de¬ fining bankruptcy and providing relief either for insolvent debtors, or for creditors, as the case may require. The most important feature of the act is that it attempts to deal with and prevent the giving of preferences and the transfers of property to the prejudice of either all or the general body of creditors. For either of these acts a man may be made a bankrupt within four months of their commission. Tn the first place, acts of bankruptcy by a person consist of Ms having (1) conveyed, transferred, concealed or removed, or per¬ mitted to be concealed or removed any part of his property with intent to hinder, delay or defraud his creditors, or any of them; or (2) transferred, while insolvent, any portion of his property t-o one or more of his creditors with intent to prefer such creditors over his other creditors; or (31 suffered or permitted, while insol¬ vent, any creditor to obtain a preference through legal proceed¬ ings, and not having at least five days before a sale or final dis¬ position of any property affected hy such preference vacated nr discharged such preference, or, (41 made a general assignment for the benefit of his creditors: or (5) admitted in writing his inabil¬ ity to pay his debts and his willingness to he adjudged a bank¬ rupt on that ground. Within four months after the commission of any of these acts, the date in the case of transfer or assign¬ ment, to begin from the recording or registration, or the notori¬ ous exclusive or continuous possession by the beneficiary of the property transferred or assigned, three or more creditors who have provable (valid) claims aggregating J50n or over, or if there are not more than twelve creditors, one whose claim equals that amount, may file a petition to have the debtor declared a bankrupt; but, if less than three join in petition, others may come in subsequently to make up the number. Petitioners must file a bond with two sureties to he approved by the Court, conditioned for payment of costs, expenses and damages in case petition is dismissed. Death or insanity of bankrupts will not abate proceed¬ ings. Solvency is to be a good defense against a petition in bankruptcy, but the burden of proof rests on the debtor. Ab¬ sconding bankrupts may be recovered by extradition. Bankruptcy proceedings are to act as stays to suits foimded on claims to which a discharge would be a release. Bankrupts are required to attend meetings of creditors and examinations, producing books, vouchers, etc., as required hy the Court, but not at a place more than one hundred and fifty miles distant from their home or prin¬ cipal places of business. After examination in open Court,, or at a meeting of creditors and the filing in Court of a schedule of property and creditors, the bankrupt may offer terms of com¬ position. When composition is not accepted hya majority of credi¬ tors in number and amount and confirmed by the Court, the estate is to be administered in bankruptcy as provided by the act. Bankrupts are allowed exemptions provided by the law of the State in which they have resided for six months-previous to the filing of the petition. Any person who owes debts, except a corporation, is entitled to the benefits of the act as a voluntary bankrupt. Any natural person, except a wage earner (defined as an individual who works for wages, salary, or hire, at a rate of compensation not exceed¬ ing ?],500 a year), or a person engaged chiefiy in farming or the tillage of the soil, any unincorporated company, and any cor¬ poration engaged principally in manufacturing, trading, printing, publishing, or mercantile pursuits, owing debts to the amount cf $1,000 or over, may he adjudged an involuntary bankrupt upon default or trial. So, too, may a partnership, during the continua¬ tion of the partnership business, or after Its dissolution and be-