Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 26, no. 662: November 20, 1880

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Real Estate Record AND BUILDERS' GUIDE. Vol. XXYI. NEW YOKE, SATUEDAT, NGYEMBEE 20, 1880. No. 662 Published Weekly by TERMS. OIVE YEAR,, in advance___SIO.OO. Oommunications should be addressed to C. W. SAVlSET. JJo. 137 Broadway There are so many of our friends and sub¬ scribers who own shares in the various ele¬ vated roads, in fact, there are in our midst such a large number of enterprising citizens, who have, by their cash investments attested their conJELdence in our present rapid transit system, that we deem it but a simple duty, on our part, to give them all the information we possibly can in regard not only to the financial status, but also the legal relations existing between the various elevated rail¬ way corporations. We publish, therefore, in its entirety to-day the lease as recorded, between the New York, Metropolitan and Manhattan roads during tlie jpast year. By the terms therein expressed and printed can be gauged the importance, more or less, of the recent decision rendered by our Court of Appeals. Every stockholder, whether in¬ terested in New York, Metropolitan or Man¬ hattan, can, by studying the various arti¬ cles—which, by-the-bye, see the light in public print for the first time to-day, in our columns—see for himself in how far the corporation to which he has entrusted his surplus fund, can at all be affected by the legal decision, surely to be enforced, and re¬ cently rendered by the Court of last resort in this State. A GREAT MARITIME FEATURE FOR THE EXHIBITION. It cannot be too frequently impressed upon the minds of those having charge of matters connected with the World's Fair, that the great and imperial City of NewYork must, ill the very conception of this vast enterprise, rise superior not only tc Philadelphia, but also to Paris, London and Vienna. It must not be forgotten, -".vhile arranging the details, tlvat the commanding position we occupy to¬ day, as the financial centre of the American continent, with fair prospects of becoming the financial centre of the entire civilized world, is due mainly to the concentration of a vast commerce in our midst, fostered not only by the energy of our merchants but favored by om- unparalleled geographical position. Our grand harbor has been the mainspring of New York's good fortune, and our mari¬ time trade has made Manhattan Island the great depot of the products of South America, the West Indies and trans-atlantic countries. Our river and harbor traffic stand to-day siecond to none, and thousands upon thousands of merchants are indebted to the natui'al facilities vouchsafed to this port for the successes which have followed their respective enterprises. In inviting therefore, the nations of the world to compete with us for the crown of superiority during the great Fair, we should make the maritime branch of the exhibition the great distinctive and novel feature. It is a vast undertaking, but if any one shrinks at this early day from the vast proportions which the great Fair must of necessity assume, he had better step "down and out" of the committee, and leave the arrangement of the various details to those men of broad views who will not tolerate an exhibition of secondary merit. We want no ordinary country fairs or circus pranks to act as precedents. The entire enterprise must be on a grand scale and such for which inland cities like Paris and Vienna offered no opportunity. The maritime feature thoroughly elabora¬ ted upon will briag to our harbor the models of crafts of all nations, anything in the shape of a steamer, a tugboat, a ferry or river boat, a yacht, a shell, a canoe, wiU come here from every section of the world. A Great Eastern as well as a twenty ton craft will seek re¬ cognition at om- hands. Marine engineering as well as nautical instruments, oars as well as fishing tackle, iron rams as well as paper shells will compete for superiority along the banks of the Hudson, and the entire world will watch, with the closest scrutiny the progress made not only in marine and naval architecture, but in the thousand and one articles that are required to make up either the war vessel of the future, the ocean steamer of the period, and the floating palaces of our coast and rivers. Hambm-g, not by any means such a pre¬ tentious city as NewYork, had, about a year ago, a maritime exhibition wliich had a wonderful success; vessels built even in Aus¬ tralia having been brought over especially to take part in the contest. We, here, with¬ out this feature, can only repeat what Phila¬ delphia has done. With the maritime fea¬ ture here suggested, we wiU surpass in grandeur and excellence anything ever at¬ tempted at an international exhibition, either here or in Europe. It is upon our broad, magnificent Hudson, where must be congre¬ gated all the vessels entered for exhibition, and this can be done without at all interfer¬ ing with the ordinary traffic of the river. The buildings containing the other features of the exhibition can easily be constructed ' along the banks of the Hudson, so as to be con¬ tiguous to the great maritime display. Any number of sites can be found all along the Hudson, say from One Hundred and Twenty- fifth street up as far as One Hundred and Seventy-fifth street, and the unitiKl display, both on land and water, wiU, indeed, be one that will challenge the admiration of the en- til'e world. Whatever may be the idea of those whose recommendations will have to be passed up¬ on by the permanent executive committee, when appointed, we trust that this maritime feature will at once be taken into serious consideration, and by its adoption by those in authority, secure for the great World's Fair of 1883 the adherence and applause of all who have the greatness of our country and the pre-eminence of our • own city at heart. NEW TELEGRAPH COMPANIES. Unknown to the public, new and important telegraph lines are in process of construc¬ tion. A company has been formed to erect very substantial poles, and to lay wires be¬ tween New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, as well as intermediate points. The right of way has been secured in Boston and New York, but not, we understand, as yet in Philadelphia. The poles are already erected, but all the wires are not yet up. There is this novelty about this new com¬ pany : The wires are not designed for the general public, but are to be hired to firms, corporations and private persons. Those who use the telegraph know how vexatious are the delays under the present system. At the utmost, one cannot send more than a few messages during the day to any point out¬ side of the city. Between the desi)atch of a boy, the taking of the message, the writing it out and the delivery, there is a waste of time not noticed, perhaps, for ordinary do¬ mestic business, but when it is a matter of immediate raoment, involving large com¬ mercial transactions, it has been found to be a very great drawback. But this new com¬ pany proposes that Jobn Smith, in New York, shall communicate directly with Tom Robinson, in Boston. There is to be no de¬ lay, but the transaction can be completed within the moment, and a thousand mes¬ sages a day, if necessary, can be passed to and fro. The importance of this means of communication will be at once apparent to those especially who deal in stocks. If any broker in New York, receives an order in his office from a person at the other end of the wire, in Boston or Philadelphia, he can fiU it immediately. There is no time lost. All the really large brokers, such as Prince & Whitely, Vermilyea, O'Connor, Trask & Francis, and others, have already opened branch offices in Albany, Schenectady, Sara-