Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

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February 2, 1918 RECORD AND GUlDii 10/ to fight the war, giving it his persona support and participation in its national solidarity of action and placing him un¬ flinchingly in the ranks of patriotism, to stand four-square in the fight to up¬ hold his country*s glorious traditions of the past, to maintain its honor in the present and to make secure its safety in the future. Coal on Premium Basis. Editor of the Record and Guide: I have read your editorial on Battle- of-the-Hudson with interest. I feel it is a much better solution of the problem than the one offered by the authorities at Washington. I do not think these Monday closings are working out the way they antici¬ pated. The fact that the day has been declared such a general holiday is more or less contagious. The people that it was hoped would put forth an extra endeavor on that day evidently do not wish to work and therefore take the day off. If coal could be put on some premium basis for all that was mined and delivered to the consumer during, say, the month of February, I believe^ it would go much further toward helping the situation. Allow so much more per ton for handling it where the congestion was greatest, and allow the dealer here in New York so much more per ton for delivering it for all he delivers within a certain time. Let the consumer pay the additional price except where he buys by the pail. u i- -4. *u In that case alone I would limit tne price. I think you can trust the munici¬ pality to see that that class of people get coal, provided it is reasonably abundant, even if the price is low and let the others pay the additional ex¬ pense of getting it out in such times as we are having at present. WILLIAM H. BROWNING. To Relieve Realty. Editor of the Record and Guide: High rentals, complete stoppage of building operations, and few vacancies should logically result in enhancing real estate values. This condition, however, is not reflected either in public or pri¬ vate sales, and real estate prosperity is still a thing of the past and not espe¬ cially attractive to the ordinary inves¬ tor- 1 , J Brick and mortar are stable and per¬ manent, and real estate with its rent- producing income has an intrinsic value that cannot be affected by the many extraneous occurrences that shake the investments of "Wall Street" like the delicate reed in a gale of wind. The cause is to be found in a lack of faith in governmental regulation and over¬ taxation. It is the bulwark of our Gov¬ ernment, and largely supports both State and municipality, providing al¬ most 90 per cent, of the taxes. A number of attempts have hereto¬ fore been made, from time to time, to alleviate this abnormal condition, yet all plans and suggestions proved abor¬ tive, and of no practical value. Legis¬ lators seem imbued with the belief that the solidarity of real estate is such that it can endure an excessive burden of taxation without a strain, and as a re¬ sult each year adds an increased impo¬ sition. We have a personal tax law on our books which is honored more in the breach than in the observance. Its en¬ forcement has been farcical in the ex¬ treme, and by clever misstatements the good intent of the law has been frus¬ trated so that the results are inconse¬ quential. The returns have been out of all proportion to the possibilities, so that its repeal has been repeatedly ad¬ vocated. Unless some provision is made in law, providing adequate punishment for an evasion of personal taxes, there can be no relief in this direction. _A law should be passed providing penalties similar to that in the case of smugglers. In Europe the decedent's estate is ex¬ amined with great care, and if any false returns were made prior to his death the proper taxes are re-imposed with an added penalty. The State appraisers could certify any additional facts which might be of service in securing for the State or municipality its just rights. The exemption from taxation of Man¬ hattan real estate is excessive, and should be reduced to proper propor¬ tions, or entirely abolished. In 1917 real estate exemptions totaled $1,796,- 620,000 out of a total of $8,000,000,000. A commission of expert business men should be appointed to properly classify exemptions so that injustice may be avoided. A bill has recently been introduced in the State Legislature known as the Boylan bill, which limits the rate of taxation to be imposed on city real estate at $1.75. The passage of this bill would prove acceptable to real estate interests as fixing the ultimate liability of real estate at that figure. Property owners would not be menaced by con¬ stant increases of taxation, and real estate would be freed from alone meet¬ ing the enlarged needs of a growing municipality. Should this bill be enact¬ ed, it would be imperative for the Gov¬ ernment to raise additional revenue by opening other sources for taxations. It is idle to speculate what commodities" should be taxed to meet this deficiency, but the ingenuity of the United States Government in raising war taxes can well be patterned. The Mayor has appointed a commis¬ sion to devise ways and means to seek additional revenue, so that real estate may be relieved from an intolerable con¬ dition. This committee, composed of such well known citizens as Nathan Hirsch, Bryan L. Kennelly, William Ran¬ dolph Hearst! and others, will act in con¬ junction with the Tax Commissioners, and will be prepared to receive sugges¬ tions from any and all sources, with a view of increasing the revenues of the municipality without adding to the bur¬ dens of real estate. The President of the Tax Board, Jacob A. Cantor, expresses himself in favor of ameliorating? the condition of real estate by any and all constitutional and just means. He favors a stricter en¬ forcement of th- Personal Tax Law, and is considering the advisability of tax¬ payers filling out blanks similar to the routine provided for in income tax pro¬ ceedings so that an examination can be had, if desired, and the proper penalty inflicted in case of falsity of return. The amount of personal property, sub¬ ject to taxation for our local needs, can be vaguely estimated, when we consider that our local residents subscribed nearly two and one-half billion dollars in two Liberty loans without creating a ripple of excitement in banking circles. It is incumbent at this time for real estate interests to be on the alert, and offer such suggestions to the new Tax Commission as they may think service¬ able so that a decisive result may be reached without the interminable de¬ lays that characterized prior commis¬ sions. JOHN FINCK. This department is intended to be of serv¬ ice to all interested in the real estate market, whether as broker, agent or property owner. The readers of the Kecord and Guide are in¬ vited to send in questions on matters per¬ taining to real estate, building and building management, though legal questions will not lie answered in this column. Questions should be stated as fully but as briefly as possible so as to allow intelligent answers. Arrange¬ ments have been made through which the questions will be answered by a Committee of the Real Estate Board,, including 1 le following , I E. A. Tredwell. real estate broker. Frerlenck D. Kalley, real estate broiler. Robert R. Rainey, real estate broker. B. E. Martin. , WilUam Douglas Kilpatrick, builder. . H. H. Murdock, arcliitect. Question No. 301.—The stock of a vegetable and fruit store is sold by the Sheriff or Mar- shalj who, in view of the perishable nature of the aoods, permits the purchaser to sell goods at retail in the store that day instead of remov¬ ing them. When night comes the landlord de- nres to lock up the place but the purchaser of the stock refuses to allow it or to surrender the key, declaring he trould leave the remainder of the goods overnight and sell or remove it next day. How can the landlord secure possession of the premises that evening f '- 8. F. Answer No. 301.—It is impossible to answer this question without additional facts. We know of no law> which gives the Sheriff or a marshal the right to allow the purchaser to retail the goods which he has bought in the place in which he purchased them. The general rule is that purchasers at these sales must remove the goods from the prem¬ ises immediately. The question does not state whether the lease of the store was sold or not. It also does not state as to how the purchaser secured pos¬ session of the key. Surely the Sheriff or marshal would have no right to give it to him. If the landlord is entitled to possession of the property he could re¬ move any goods he found therein. Fire Menace in New York. Editor of the Record and Guide: The fire menace in New York, in¬ creased as it is to an alarming degree by the considerable impairment of auto- 'matic sprinkler protection by the recent unusually cold weather, is a grave prob¬ lem, as the Record and Guide says— grave beyond the conception of the aver¬ age person. Some conception of the gravity of the problem may be gained from what prominent underwriters said at the New York Fire Insurance Ex¬ change meeting several weeks ago. This meeting was held to consider meas¬ ures of relief from the perilous condi¬ tion and was the beginning of public interest in the question. In remarking the possibilities of "a conflagration of the first magnitude jn the city of the world which has ' greatest concentration of^ values, prominent underwriter said Uiat could mean "a conflagration the ' a this loss amount of losr. would have^ to be pro¬ vided promptly "and not in promises but in actual cold cash," which would "exhaust our treasuries so far as cap¬ ital and surplus are concerned. And if we have that conflagration and we should be called upon for a sum of three or four or five hundred millions of dol¬ lars, where are we to get the replace¬ ment of that fund? Can we go into the open market today and borrow, the money from our banks upon depreciat¬ ing securities? The very occurrence of such a conflagration would increase de¬ preciation of our securities, and .we have nothing in our hands which could appeal to the investing public at the present time to come back and fill our depleted treasuries in the event of oiir meeting with such a catastrophe. It is not money we after after, it is security. The whole basis of credit would be shattered should the companies be brought to the point where they are not prepared to give the blanket of indem¬ nity to the rest of the country if their resources should be sucked dry right here." As is well known, the reason for the underwriters' apprehension of a confla¬ gration is the considerable impairment of automatic sprinkler protection. In remarking the importance of this pro,- tection. it was said: ' "Modern conditions have brought about buildings of immense areas, crowded with a value which in the time of our grandfathers would have been value enoueh almost for a whole city. These conditions are largely made oos- sible by the automatic sprinkler. With all due deference to the powers of the Fire Department—and the power and efficiency of that department are mag¬ nificent—we still have to come back to it that modern conditions in a city like New York would hardly be po<>s^ible apart from the sprinkler eqniomerit." , And because of this condition. Cmfet Kcnlnn himself, and for the first time. frankly admitted at this meeting a fear of a conflagration. IRA G. HOAGLAND. amounting to $500,000,000," and that RBCORP AND GUIDE IS IN ITS FIFTIETH YEAR OF CONTINUOUS PUDLICATION.