Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

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844 RECORD AND GUIDE December 29, 1917 Devoted to Real Estate BuUding Construction and BuildinfiManagement in the Metropolitan District Founded March 21. 1868. by CLINTON W. SWEET Fuhiished Every Saturday Bj THE RECORD AND GUIDE CO. F. T. MILLER, Piesident J. W. FRANK, Secretary 4 Trcasarer S. A. PAXSON, Business Manager A. K. MACK. Editor 119 West 40th Street, New York (Telephone. 4800 Bryanl.) yEntered at the Post Office at New York, N. T., as second-class matter." CopyriEht. 1917, by The Record and Guide Co. TABLE OF CONTENTS (Section One) Why Duplication of Work Exists Under Present Law; Edward F. Hammel and Leslie V. Huber....................... 839 Supervision of Federal Labor Necessary.. 840 Sales in Manhattan and The Bronx Com¬ pared with 1916........................ S41 Reconstruction of the Fire Alarm System. 842 Activities of the New York Building Man¬ agers' Association.....................843 Editorials............................... 844 Query Department....................... 845 Real Estate Review of the Week.........846 Legal Notes Affecting Realty............. 846 Business Firms Make Inroads Into 57th Street.................................847 Unique Competition at Auction Sale......849 Proposed Brooklyn Public School.........859 Wages and Hours of Labor in 1916........S59 Building Material Market................ 858 Classified Buyers* Guide.................. 869 Current Building Operations.............. 858 Departmental Rulings...................867 Leases................................... 853 Personal and Trade Notes................ 860 Private Sales of the Week...............850 Real Estate Notes........................ 856 Statistical Table of the Week............ 857 Trade and Technical Society Events...... 866 Wholesale Material Market............... 859 NOTICE. IN accordance with rule LXXXVI of the Supreme Court General Rules of Practice, the Record and Guide has been des¬ ignated by the Appellate Division of the First Department, for the publication of all legal notices, and such insertion in the Record and Guide will be accepted as ful¬ filling all requirements of the law. Night Sessions. A movement to have sessions of com¬ missioners in street and park opening condemnation proceedings in Queens held in the evening, so that prop¬ erty owners may attend without loss of time from their business, recom¬ mends itself as one which would per¬ mit a more general participation by property owners to the benefit not only of themselves, but to the city. If the night sessions of the local improvement boards, inaugurated a year ago by Borough President Maurice E. Connolly, may be taken as a precedent they should prove popular. Hunc^reds of property owners attend those meetings, and the theory is that if matters are fully discussed before a decision is reached there will be less dissatisfaction afterward. The civic organizations to make application to the new city administra¬ tion, that action be taken to the end that street condemnation proceeding sessions be held at night, include asso¬ ciations of real estate men, and this shows how keenly they are alive to the interests of property owners and of the city. There is some doubt as to just what action may be necessary, as it appears to be uncertain whether the city offi¬ cials have authority over the commis¬ sioners, who are representatives of the Supreme Court, and it is possible that application would have "to be made to the Supreme Court should the commis¬ sioners not be agreeable to the pro¬ posal. It is argued that the proceedings are held under the direction of the Cor¬ poration Counsel, and that the Board of Estimate could direct that official. However, the plan itself is a good one, and it is well that the matter should be brought to official attention. The exact status may thus be determined. Liberty Loan Activities. A conference was held recently in Washington between Secretary McAdoo and other treasury officials and repre¬ sentatives from Liberty Loan organiza¬ tions all over the country, which in¬ cluded officials of the Federal Reserve Banks. Plans for future Liberty Loan campaigns were perfected and an organization at once wider and closer was arranged for. Rural communities and small towns and small cities par¬ ticularly will feel the effect of the new campaign plans. Failure of rural communities to sub¬ scribe relatively as liberally as the metropolitan districts was generally ascribed not to lack of patriotism, but lack of thorough organization and in¬ tensive campaigning. In future cam¬ paigns every agency will be used in the rural districts as well as in the cities. The women's organizations will be very active and hearty cooperation between them and the other organizations is assured. Educational work in the schools of the country is to be stressed, and through the schools generally, there¬ fore, educational campaigns are to be carried on all over the country not only during Liberty Loan campaigns, but in the intervals between. Coa! Card System. Too much stress cannot be laid upon the necessity for the conservation of coal, and, though most people think that they are conversant with the situation, still, unless present signs fail, the situ¬ ation will become more acute as the cold weather continues. The Government took over the rail¬ roads this week and Secretary of the Treasury William G. McAdoo was ap¬ pointed Director-General of Railroads. It is felt that this move will stimulate the movement of coal, for it has been contended that there is a large quantity of coal already mined, but is located in "bottle-neck" yards, which make ship¬ ments delayed. It is certainly essential that all the supply be made available to consumers, the Government require¬ ments having priority. Nevertheless, the householder must be considered, for heat is an essential to good health. Building managers have been cogni¬ zant of the situation for some time, for they have been face to face with the facts for several months past. The danger lies in those who have a supply on hand not conserving their fuel, for it is doubtful whether they realize the difficulty which will be encountered when they desire to replenish their empty bins. The Government demands are going to be met. It is proper that they should be. The war now waging in Europe is dependent upon supplies of men and materials from this country, and condi¬ tions such as existed the past week, when 100 ships were prevented from leaving port through lack of coal, must not occur again. New York City will feel the weight of the Governmental regulations. Talk will cease and action taken, so property owners and agents might well be pre¬ pared to face the inevitable. State Fuel Administrator Albert H. Wiggin rec¬ ommended this week that a coal card system be put in operation. This, or another drastic measure, is proper at this time, for then it will be fully de¬ termined just who is entitled to a sup¬ ply, and hoarding will be eliminated, at least to a considerable degree. It is proposed that every prospective purchaser of coal fill out a card stating how much coal he wants and why he needs this amount, how much he con¬ sumed last year and how long he ex¬ pects the supply to last. Other cities have adopted this system with success, and unless present plans miscarry, it will be put into effect immediately throughout New York State. More coal has been mined this year than last, in fact than during any year in the history of the country, but the fact remains that the demand has been far greater in proportion than the pro¬ duction. There is no large reserve sup¬ ply in any part of the country, and we are now living on ? practically "hand-to- mouth" basis. We are now facing a crisis dependent on freshly mined coal. The obligation will not alone rest upon the buyer of coal, for the distrib¬ utor must also take his share of the responsibility. Penalties have been provided for dealers who do not co¬ operate and assist the Government, and the word has been passed along that they will be dealt with severely. Mr. Wiggin is reported as having said: "We are going to proceed slowly and thoroughly. Our method will be educa¬ tional, reaching every consumer of fuel, showing why he must do his part to help the city conserve it; fuel supply. If this fails we are going to use the 'big stick,' and will take drastic measures. The present program is that the con¬ sumer will be warned and if he persists, his supply will be cut off" These are not idle words. Everyone will do well to heed them and act in co¬ operation with the Government, for per¬ sonal inconvenience will not be consid¬ ered. The Government is going to win this war, and will use every proper means in its power to accomplish this result. Skilled Mechanics in the War. To the average lay mind it has been difficult to fully realize the complexity of modern warfare. Only after much thought and consideration of contem¬ poraneous history is it possible to vis¬ ualize the vast forces of skilled man¬ power required to maintain a large field force at the maximum of military ef¬ ficiency. In order to attain this end great bodies of almost every type of skilled workmen are essential, not only for the necessary work at home but also for actual military duty at the foreign bases or immediately in the rear of the fighting fronts. The conflagration that has now em¬ broiled the greater portion of the civil¬ ized world might well be termed a war of the builders, as the building industry, in all of its respective branches has been called upon for such a substantial part of the work involved. The side that is in the position to mass the greatest force of engineer and mechanical troops and furnish to them the best materials and most modern equipment, with it will rest the balance of power that will go far in insuring ultimate victory. Effi¬ ciency in the Quartermaster's Depart¬ ment of a modern army is fully as essen¬ tial as highly trained and equipped combat units. At the present time the recruiting service of the United States Army is making a strong plea for the voluntary enlistment of a great force of skilled mechanics for practically every line of industrial work. In this group of men the major portion desired are workmen familiar with the building trades in al¬ most all of its manifold branches. Now, the nation needs highly skilled mechan¬ ics as badly as it needs machine gun¬ ners, sharpshooters, aviators or other first line troops, for these mechanics are desired for work that will make pos¬ sible efficient maneuvering of the ac¬ tual fighting forces. Without an ad- quate number of skilled men behind the fighting lines, the strength and ef¬ ficiency of the combat troops would be greatly impaired. RE^CORD AND GUIDE IS IN ITS FIFTIETH YEAR OF CONTINUOUS PUBLICATION.