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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 70, no. 1815: December 27, 1902

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December 27, IQ02. RECOKD AND GUIDE 96s ESTABUSHm ^ fc\Wpa 21V^ 1868, .BirSIliESS AtbTuOIES Of GiEtiafi IftTZI^^i PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS Pubtished eOerg Saturday CommunlL'ations should be addroased to C. W. SWEET, 14^6 Vesey Street, New YorR t, T. LINDSEY, Buaineas Manager Telephone, Cortlandt S157 "Entered at the Jtost Office at Neio York. N. Y.. as second-class malter." ate conditions, but another weeli wili see that disposed of and there will then be—with the usua) reservations against the un¬ seen—nothing in the way of a forward movement. Vol. LXX. DECEMBED 27. 1902. No. 1815. BUT for the continued scarcity of money and the high rates consequently asked for it, the tone of the stocli market this week would have been more certain and the advance greater. It is, however, much better as it is. There has been a fair rally from the extreme depression, and there now is a decided inclina¬ tion to take a more cheerful view of the outlook, but the supply of money available for stock market operations is small and must remain so for the short balance of the year. Under these circumstances any attempt to l^oom prices would only end in trouble with the final losses greater than the intermediate gains. The monetary situation is favorably affected by the in¬ terior movement and treasury operations and, also, by the greater freedom with which shipments of grain are being made, so that altogether matters are shaping themselves weii and will do best if least forced. If the Venezuelan negotiations close sat¬ isfactorily aa they now seem certain to do, there ought to be no bar to an advance in quoted prices. Yesterday's market move¬ ments certainly confirm this idea, because notwithstanding high rates for money prices moved upward without hesitation and showed that people are willing to buy as the difficulties of the situation—dear money and political complications—are re¬ moved. DAY hy day we receive information of improvement in the condition of business in Europe, and the financial press takes quite a hopeful view. One of the indications of a change was contained in the announcement by cable of the com¬ bination of the big German electrical concerns which readers of this column are aware has been in negotiation for some mouths. It takes the form of a reorganization of over-capitalized con¬ cerns, and is one among many such though smaller readjust¬ ments to new conditions. The cheerfulness of tone is more pro¬ nounced in business circles of Creat Britain than in other coun¬ tries. It is natural that Great Britain should take the lead in the process of recuperation because of its great wealth and be¬ cause there industrial speculation in the boom did not go to the lengths that it did in the countries of Europe, and such as there was met its fate sooner. Besides tne last three years have, owing to the salutary influence of the Boer war. been years of retrenchment and conservatism and it happens now that other parts of the Empire that contribute materially to the prosperity of the centre and that have been depressed for a long time, are now looking up again. India has had good crops and will soon be exporting its staples in volume to make it probable that it will again be a large purchaser of silver. Australia. that has suffered from droughts for four years 'past, during which it imported in place of exporting grain and millions of cattle and sheep died, has plenteous rains. Africa, as we already know, instead of being the scene of an expensive war, has se: about recuperating. The area of gold mining is increasing, out¬ side districts now making substantial contributions to the output of the Rand proper. These outside districts reported 4,626 oz. in November out of a total of 187,375, which compares with 181,- 439 oz. in October. The labor difficulty is yielding to corrective measures, though still one of importance, because not only was native mine-labor dispersed by the war, but the wages paid dur¬ ing the struggle by both contestants have made the natives dis¬ satisfied with their ante-bellum remuneration, and the new rail¬ roads and other works are competitors with the mines for their services. Another country which has considerable connections with both London and Berlin, is in better shape commercially than it has been for many a long day. This is Argentina, which has good crops and can dispose of them at fair prices. As a result of the revival of activity Argentina has not only drawn gold from New York, but from South Africa and Australia also. Of course, the year-end demand for money tempers the immedi- Real Estate Sitjation. The announcement that John Wanamaker is to build a twelve- story department store on the Mock which he has partly occu¬ pied for several years immediately south of his present build¬ ing, is one of the utmost importance. It defin¬ itely puts a quietus upon the rumors going The Newr about that he was seelving another and ampler Wanamaker situation for his business further north. Mr. Store. Wanamaker is evidently well satisfied with his present location, and if he is satisiied at pres¬ ent he should be still better satisfied with his prospects for the future. He will have the great advantage of a local Subway station immediately connected with his property: and an express station will be situated at 14th sti'eet, only a few blocks away. These stations will not only make it sufficiently convenient for residents of the West Side, the Bronx and eventu- allyof the EastSide to reach his shop.but it should not be forgot¬ ten that these subways will connect directly or indirectly with three Brooklyu tunnels, so that he will be in .1 better position than any other store to get the Brooklyn trade. Furthermore, it is possible that a broad avenue will be opened up from the terminus of the Williamsburgh Bridge to Cooper Square, which would also be of the utmost assistance to hira in securing Brook¬ lyn shoppers. Astor Place has of late years been gradully be¬ coming a very important local centre, and is destined to become in the future still mere frequented, for the district to the east of it is building up rapidly and many causes will combine to make it prominent and popular. In this connection it is gen¬ erally overlooked that Mr. Wanamaker has also acquired tlie northeast corner of Broadway and Astor Place, and that before he gets through his building may cover three blocks instead of two. It will be distinctly a good thing for the city in case this large department store, which 40,(}\ji} people more or less fre¬ quent every day, can be kept where it is. Business in New York tends to be too much concentrated, and local centres are good things, because they distribute traffic, values and real estate im¬ provements. The more of them we have the better. The new business reported this week, while not as great in volume as that for the same week last year, is still of a very sat¬ isfactory character and contains several items of very general interest. The O'Neil sale, which we reported exclusively sev¬ eral weeks ago, is spoken of in another column. The Wana¬ maker deal, which all of the real estate fraternity have known of for a long time and which it is has taken several years of negotiations to complete, is announced this week, as is also the sale of the Parmley building and the Smith building on Cort¬ landt street, which Mr. Corn acquired just one year ago in a trade with Dean Hoffman. This latter transaction is announced as a sale to the new Broadway-Cortlandt Co., but in view of the great secrecy maintained by the interested parties, it would not be surprising to find that the new company is one organized by Mr, Corn; in any event it means the erection of a large new building, and this in itself is nf interest, as it certainly shows that there is still a demand for office accommodations south of Fulton street. Another announcement of interest is that of the sale of the northeast corner of Columbus avenue and Slst street, which, next to the Brady corner at 79th street, was the most conspicuous unimproved corner on the avenue, and leaves only the Clark holding between S5th and S6th streets as almost the only unimproved plot on the avenue. HE Board of Examiners have lately given a good deal of i- consideration to the question of the use of tie-rods in steel construction. Architects object to them in very many cases, claiming that in most of the systems of construction generally employed in this city they are unnecessary in that these sys¬ tems of themselves supply the connections and thereby the added strength which the tie-roads were originally intended to furnish, and the latter have now become superfiuous. i\Ioreover. they claim, the projection of the tie-rods under the beams is unsightly and, while making treatment of ceilings always more difficult, sometimes prohibits an artistic handling ct that important feat¬ ure of an apartment. The Board have given the matter serious consideration and have, in the several cases brought hefore them, as a general thing, allowed the omission of the tie-rods wherestabilitywasnotthreatened thereby. Taking their decisions as u whole, including those most lately made, their position now may be taken to be this: Where the fioor beam is framed into tbe girder beam and both ends are rigidly fastened to the girder beams with angle-irons and rivets, no tie-rods will be required