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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 24, no. 615: December 27, 1879

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Real Estate Record AND BUILDERS' GUIDE. Vol. XXIY. NEW YOEK, SATUKDAY, DECEMBEK 27, 1879. No. Bir> Published Weekly by ^bt Mtd (Estate Eetarb ^ssonalioii. TERJIS. ONE YEAR, in advance....SIO.OO. Communications should be addressed to C. \V. SWEET, Nos. 1-35 AND 137 Broadway THE REAL DAISGER TO THE COUNTRY. It is not the habit of The Record to discuss politics, but, representing as we do conservative property holders, there is one aspect of national affairs which should be seriously ponderetJ. We allude to the growing willingness of politicians of both parties, while in power, to cheat one another out of the results of an election. It must be ap¬ parent to all who have closely watched the ten¬ dencies of the times that there is less and less sacredness attached to the verdict of the ballot box. The "ins" are quite willing to set aside the verdict of the people, if they can thereby retain power, and the "outs" are willing to resort to any¬ thing short of actual violence to get iuto the places of power. There is an attempt now in Maine, on the part of the Democrats and Green- backers, to reverse the verdict made at the polls at tbe last election, on what seems to be good technical grounds. The liresent Democratic Congress have in several cases, deprived Repub¬ licans of their seats, who were fairly elected, on purely fraudulent issues, but for this they had the example set them by the Republicans who, during their possession of the power, never scrupled to unseat a Democrat, if there was the slightest color of pretense for doing so, wholly without regard to the actual vote cast at the polls. The return¬ ing board wickedness was invented by the Re¬ publicans, and now tha Democrats are using it, and the real peril to tbis country is not the found¬ ing of an aristocracy or a kingdom, but the in¬ auguration of a reign of force following a reign of fraud, and what may be (»lled moral violence. We are cursed in this country with rulers trained in but one profession, thatof the law. The very business of a lawyer makes him oblivious '.to nice moral distinctions. A technicality, if he can win his case, is as good for him as a fact or an equity. Now the infusion of a few lawyers into our legislatures would do no barm had they not such a monopoly of the whole governing busi¬ ness of the country. They are cur legislators executive officers judges; they swarm in ever}' department of the public service, and it will be found that even the ofticjers of our great corpora tions have been trained in the legal profession. Take the case ofthe president of the Reading Road and the present receiver or president ot the Erie Road. Much of the prevailing corporate immorality is due to the large infusion of lawyers into the control of the affairs of the great trans¬ portation lines. We do not mean this as an attack upon the whole legal profession. Some of our most eminent and patriotic citizens belong to the lawyer class, but it is never safe to give a monopoly of power to any one guild. Probably still greater evils would be in store for us, were our rulers all soldiers or all'mercbants. Ours should be a representative government and every large class in the community should have its rep¬ resentatives in our national councils. Notwith¬ standing the imminent peril of civil war which we escaped at the last presidential election, it has so far been an impossibility for our lawyer states¬ men to seriously consider the question of properly conducting and counting the result of a Presi¬ dential election. The late Senator Morton fore¬ saw the difficulties likely to arise, and exercised- all his powerful executive abilities to try and in¬ duce Congress to adopt some scheme for electing a president that would be practicable and avoid the danger of a civil war. But neither the press, the public, or Congress seems to be aware of the volcano upon which we rest. It is incredible that we can continue much longer without a collision, without a civil war, far more dangerous than that which was waged between the North and South. Indeed, there is some reason for the extraordiuary canvass, made in behalf of ex-Presi¬ dent Grant. Some of our people believe that what is needed at the head of the government is a soldier to preserve order. No such apprehension would have been felt if the lawyers who have the monopoly of governing us would give us snch legislation as would prevent the scandals connect¬ ed with the counting of votes and the determining of the results of an election. The people of Maine are human, and if there is no way of redressing an outrageous wrong but by violence, that will be re¬ sorted to at last. As we said, both parties are to blame in this matter, one no more than the other. We do not believe that another presidential election like the last would have any such happy result. In case there is suspicion that the returns have been tampered with, that fraud involving the politics of the country for four years has been attempted, we will soon see the partisans on each side flying at each others throats. An era of swindling and corruption is always followed by violence, and that is the real peril of the republic to-day. People are not looking for any such re¬ sult but then it is the unexpected which always happens. SUBURBAN MAP. We call the attention of o-ar readei*s to the map ill tbis number of The Record, and the article on rapid transit acconipanj'ing it. We are satisfie from investigation that the stockholders of the Suburban Rapid Transit Company intend in good faith to build the routes comprised in their franchise, unless the Commissioners lay out com¬ peting lines, such as the Railroad avenue route, which maj' destroy the system of routes embraced iu the Suburban Company's line and give the district but one rapid transit road instead of three. We hope the Commissioners v^rill not inflict tbis injury upon the Twenty-third and Twenty fourth wartjg, but stand firm for the Suburban routes and the greatest good to the people of the whole district. THE NEW YORK OF 1900. The future is wisely hidden from us, but there arc some indications which enable the sagacious to see what may occur upon certain portions of the earth we inhabit. It is very evident that the New York of 1900 will differ very greatly from the New York of 1879. By that time our system of rapid travel to all parts of the surrounding country will he fully uuder way. It is not unlikely that our pojnilation instead of beiug dense will he much more scattered. There will he no need of houses built so closely together. This is au afje of travel. People move very olteii and very rapidly from oue part of the country to another. It is probable that a thousand persons take jour¬ neys to day where oue did a hundred years back. Bnt will not much of this journeying he rendered unucccssiiry wheu our tclef;ra])h aud telephone systems have reached perfection? Slowly but cer¬ tainly telephones are getting into all places of business. They will limiUy reach our private resi¬ dences aud a system will bo devised whereby a gentleman or lady sitting in their parlors can converse with their friends or busiuess rcjiresenta- tives through a telephonic tube. We now converse with more or less readiues.s hy telegrajili with people iu all parts of the earth and this system will have reached great perfection within the next fifty ye.irs It will in a measure do away with the necessity of personal conference except by this means. Thou, undoubtedly by that time our houses, will be •n-armed by steam or heat from tlic outside as gas aud water arc now supplied. This will do away with frequent tires; it will diminish the cost of fuel: help to prolong our supply of eoal aud w-ill w-ork many important economical changes. In¬ surance companies will not be so mticli needed, as there will be less danger of coullagratious. There w-ill also be a saving to the community uot only from the actual loss hy tire hut from the tax which tho whole commuuity uow pay for protec¬ tion against couthigrations. It iyjeius to he settled that Edisoifs electric light is uow a .success and a very few- years will do away with gas aa the latter has practically dispensed with tho tallow candle and the whale oil lamp. Our cities then will be lighted hy artitical suns, moons and stars wliich will make night as available as day is for active business. Glorious as is the aun at noon¬ day, in a clondlesss sky, the night etfects produced by artificial light and perhaps other agencies that electricity may employ will he very picturesque and pleasing and the dark places of the earth; at least in our larger cities, will he dark places no longer. All this will bein the direction of ecouomv. also. Coal will be no longer needed for iliuniiuat- ing purposes. By 1900 there will be several britlges across the East River while there will be tunnels and bridges also across tho North River, Onr population will he scattered nil over the sur¬ rounding country for scores of miles. The com¬ pact built cities of the present day rendered neces¬ sary by the impossibilities of living far from place:' of busiuess due to lack of rapid transit will give place to houses and villas surrounded by shrub bery. This will improve the health of our cities for our system of sewerage and drainage by that time will have heen perfected. Bu.sines.s will be centred in certain localities easy of access to large stretches of country inhabited by families. There will, doubtless, be a specialization of industries. Hore the great w-arehousos, there the financial in¬ stitutions, in another place the importing hu.siuess. In other words our whole commercial interests will be 80 localized and organized as to give the greatest facilities at the cheapest price. But it may appear too extravagant to'follow- out this line of thought, yet it is within reason to suppose that marvellous as have been the changes which have taken place