Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 29, no. 744: June 17, 1882

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EAL Estate Record AND BUILDERS' GUIDE. Vol XXIX. NEW YOKK, SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 1882. No. 744 Published Weekly by The Real Estate Record Association TERMS: 05fE YEAR, in advance.....$6.00 Communications should be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 191 Broadway. J. T. LINDSEY, Business Manager. We call special attention to a despatch to The Real Estate Record from a well in¬ formed correspondent now in Chicago. It seems to us of special importance to the real estate as to all other interests. E very- business in the country depend si upon hav¬ ing a good crop this fall. A deficient har¬ vest would depress our real estate market, while large crops would start afresh every department of trade. Our correspondent is a gentleman who has done business in Chicago and the West, but who now resides East, keeping up, however, his Western connections. He has no interest except to tell the truth, and we believe his sum¬ mary of the situation is the most trust¬ worthy that has yet been published. Un¬ less some untoward event occurs we shall have large crops, though corn, a very im¬ portant cereal, is in some doubt owing to the wet and late planting season. A new broom sweeps clean. Mayor Low, of Brooklyn, has given Park Commissioner Stranahan his walking papers and it really looks as if our sister city has opened a new set of books and that it really has a reform government. The new appointees may turn out bad, but Mayor Low evidently believes that good will come of all the changes he has made. The yovmg Mayor has cut loose from the politicians and it looks as if the experiment of lodging responsibility with the Chief Executive is successful, at least so far as this case is concerned. The curse of our local governments is the irresponsibility of the legislative bodies. a law, we hear there is a company ready to give 1^,000,000 for the charter and would not charge more than three cents fare. The stages should be banished from Broadway, but if the law goes into force the proper au¬ thorities should see to it that the highest bidder, who is responsible, shall get the franchise. Would it not be well for Mayor Grace and Comptroller Campbell to flrst read the bills they ask the Governor to veto? They demand of Governor Cornell that he should not sanction the Railroad bill, because, they say, it gives away the franchise of a Broad¬ way street railroad for $750,000, which stage owners and others would give $1,000,000 for. Now, the fact is, there is nothing in the law as passed by the Legislature, which will pre¬ vent the city getting $5,000,000 for the fran¬ chise if anybody is willing to paj it. The law provides that not less than $750,000 shall be taken for the right to run street cars on Broadway. The owners of the stages which lumber up Broadway have made the Mayor, Comptroller and certain careless newspaper editors believe that the bill does dispose of the charter for three-quarters of a million ; but it is not true, and as this is the only ob¬ jection to the bill urged, it must be a very excellent on— ■ There has been a spurt in the siock market as was to have been expected some time in June. D. O. Mills, his brother and a few other great operator.'?, are understood to be the manipulators of this new rise. Gould, it is said, has nothing to do with it, except that he agreed to support Western Union, but Vanderbilt and his friends gave their help. The market, it seems, was largely oversold, indeed the whole street was bearish; this was a splendid basis for a rise. It is to be hoped that the buoyant feeling will continue in the street, for if it does it would help our real estate market when the fall seasion commences towards the middle of September. --------•-------- And now another telegraph company is talked of. The capital is $21,000,000, of which $700,000 is said to have been paid in. It is the old postal telegraph over again. I Several well-known mining swindlers appear j among the promotors. It may be intended w to blackmail Western Union.