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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 32, no. 822: December 15, 1883

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her 15, 1883 The Record and Guide. 995 THE RECORD AND GUIDE. 191 Broadway, N.T. TERMS: 0\E rSAR, iu advance, SIX DOLLARS. Communications should be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 191 Broadway. J. T, LINDSEY, Business Manager. DECEMBER 15, 1883. The announcpment made lasfc week that the price of seats would be advanced in the new E.tchange after the firat 250 members were secr.red, was made upon the authority of the committee of organi¬ zation, but it seems upon a farther consideration of tho matter It was decided for legal and other reasons that all the 500 members should be treated alike. It might be said there was favoritism if one-half the members of the proposed Exchange paid less than the others. Now they will all be put upon an equal footing, and the 500 subscribers will iiave all the "privileges now possessed by Mr. E. H. Ludlow, who was the flrst to affix his signnture. At the meet¬ ing of the members, which is to be held next Thursday, ali will have au equal votn iu organizing the Exchange, in decidiug upon its constitution and in electing its officers. The committee have done a great deal of very hard and thankless work. They have held sessions during the pant three months almost daily, and have negJeoted their own private buainess, to attend to that of the Exchange. The real estate interest owes them a heavy debt of gratitute. Their success eurprises themselves. It shows that they have not misjudged the situation, and that the times demand the organization of a new real estate centre. Messrs. Charles Coudert, Franklin Edson, Wm. R, Grace, Jas. D. Fish and Robert A. Chesebrough, who with some thirty other gentlemen were organizing a rival Real Estate Exchange, have concluded that after all it is better to abandon their organization and join forces with the committee of brokers in founding the "Real Estate Exchange and Auction Room, Limited." This was done in a graceful and well-considered letter addressed by Mr. Coudert to President E. H. Ludlow. All is well that euds well. The full compliment of 500 members will soon be secured, and then there will be only one great Real Estate Exchange in New York. Architects and Their Clients, It has been the practice of thia and other journals to criticise witli more or less severity the shortcomings of architects in the work entrusted to tiiem by their clients. It has been assumed as a matter of course that anyone who desigus an imposing public edifice invites criticism. The painter or sculptor may violate every canon of art, but hia bad work ia not obtruded upon the public, and if exhibited no one is forced to see it. Not so with the work of tlie architect. His churches, public institutions and private houses are ever exposed to the fierce rays of daylight. If good, his archi¬ tecture educates the public taste ; if poor or defective, hie short¬ comings cannot be passed by unnoticed. There is, however, a factor in the case which the architectural critic ia apt to overlook, and that is the person or persons who order the work or presume to modify the plans. Sometimes it is a rich man, at times a lady, or more often a committee representing a church or corporaiion. Now it happens, unfortunately, that art education iu tbis country is not very general, and that rich men and their representatives are often ignorant and opinionated, as welliaa iutolerably mean. To begin with they require too much for the money they are willing to spend ; then they interfere with the plans and wish impossible things done. Frequently they are in a hurry and will not allow the architect time to think and work out his happiest conceptions. Apartment houaes, for instance, are a comparatively new thing. There are a number of factora in their construction which require to be carefully studied out in view of the limited experience avail¬ able for those who design them. There are models for all kinds of churches and public buildings which run back for centuries, but the great apartment and oflfice building is a thing of yesterday, and the conscientioua architect desiring to do his best finds a difficult task before him when he receives an ordev to prepare the plans for Bucb a structure. There has been much complaint on the part of investors because of the difference in the sums called for in the architect's plana and the actual cost of the building, but for this the owners are largely responsible. Theyrequire an edifice which ia pretentious but cheap. It must be showy in ita interior as well M exterior, and yet must not cost over a certain sum. The arcbi¬ tect does his best, but hia employer has his whims, and v/hat would be a noble building ia often made ineffective because of some vagary on his part. There have beeu serious difficulties in connection with tbe building of nearly all our apartment housea, due in great part to the imposstWe conditiona imposed on architecta by the owners. But the former has to bear the blame ; the critic ia bound to point out the shortcomings of his design, as he is responsible to the public. An exhaustive work on apartment house building, with plans and the result of the experience of the last len years, would just now be very useful. The popularity of the elevator has completely revolutionized office and residence building iu all the large cities of the world. Hereafter the ten aud fifteen-story incombustible dwelling will be in demand by thoae who chose to live in great cities. Their construction offers agreat field for the architects of the future. Theae great abodes of humanity are exppcted to combine splendor with comfort, and they wil) give even finer opportunities to the architect of genius than the temples and mosques of the agea of faith. Already they outvie in magnitude and oost the palaces of eraperora and kings. The Future of the Real Estate Exchange. As over three hundred and fifty realestate owners and dealers have joined The Real instate Excliange and Auction Room (Limited), we may expect that institution to be organized, its officers chosen and a site selected witliin a very short period. Jt is in order uow to point out some of the changes which may possibly be effected iu real estate dealings by the agency of this new factor in the buying and selling of really. Ia the first place, it will make New York, in time, the main centre of the real estate interest. The negotiations for the trans¬ fers of large blocks of property in every part of the country will naturally come to this market, for here will be found the largest number of purchasers and Lhe most money to be omploj ed iu such dealings; this will include large estates, hotels, theatres aud important buildinga. Foreign investments in American realestate, especially in unimproved lands West aud South, will naturally work through ageucies established in New York and connected with this Exchange, The market price of rea! estate will, for the first time, be defi¬ nitely known. The reporta of private dealinga are often mislead¬ ing ; the official record of conveyances is not to be relied upon, aa no legal penalty ia imposed for faUiTying the deeds. Even the records of uur auction sales sometimes need verifying, as property is often bought in or bid up when no real sale is effected. But the quotations in this new Exchange must be accurate, or they will be fatal to lhe prosperity and even the very existence of the iustitu¬ tion. There can be no fraudulent bidding or "Peter Funking" permitted. Tben, again, commission rates can be established just to the aellera and purchasers and satisfactory to the brokers. Now all is chaoa. The seller is apt to be charged more than o.ie commission, and the broker ia often defrauded of the results of hia hard labor. The arbitration committee of the Exchange will see that justice ia done, and thus prevent a great deal of ill feeling aa welt aa litiga¬ tion. In some quarters it is feaied that the brokers wno have con¬ trol of this Exchange may charge too much for their services, but this, if attempted, will co.'rect itself. Dealera will make their profits rather in the number of their transactions than in the ratea they will charge. With the guaranteeing of titles, either by the Exchange itself or by some subsidiary company, will come a new era in real estate dealings. It will help to mobilize realty, tbat is, make it available as an asset upon which money can be borrowed quickly in the bank. When a money lending institution is satisfiad that there is no doubt aboufc a title, aud that an Exchange exists which furnishes a ready market, there will be no hesitancy in acceptiug realty as a collat¬ eral for borrowing money in the same way that advances are made on railroad bonds. To-day not a dollar would be advanced on allthe houses on the island, hence raerchanta who are embarrassed find iheir real estate unavailable to help them to tide over their difficulties. But the secured titles and a ready market wilt render available to property owners the money now lying idle in our bank vaults. The establiahment of a Real Estate Exchange will effect other changes. It will, in time, deal in the shares of land and improve¬ ment companies. These are now being orgauized far more gener¬ ally tlian ia understood hyreal estate dealers. Under a law passed last winter a corporation dealing in houses aai lands can linld property amounting to three milliona of dollars, Wiien the next movement in real estate occurs it will be found that hundreds of such companiea have been organized, thesharesof which will uaiurally be listed upon the Real Estate Exchange. The operator in these secu¬ rities can deal in real estate without being troubled about judg¬ ments against former proprietora, dower rights and the other armoyances caused by defective land laws. Incorporated capi-