Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 54, no. 1395: December 8, 1894

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DeCi^mberS, 1894 Record and Guide. 83 f> ESTABUSHED-^ WARpH 21*^ 1868. 61111. upiir^ipfiR. Dented io Rea,lEstate.guiLDir/o ApptfrrEeTUR.E"i{otisEHomDECQHAiioii, .Bifsif/ESs Afi) Theses ofGejJer^I lr/TEi\ES7. PRICE, PER YEAR IN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS.I Published, every Saturday. TfiLEPHOSE,......0ORTLANI>T IS70 Communicatfona should be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street. J. 3. LIA^'DSET, Busineas Manager. Eeooklyn Officr, 27ti-282 Wasuinqton Street, Oer. Post Office. " Entered ai the Post-office at Xew York. y. Y„ as second-class matter.'' Vol. liv. DECE>[BER S, 1894. No. 1,39.- For addilional Brooklyn matter, see Brooklyn Department immedialely following .Xew Jersey records {gage y02;. rpHE week close.'i iu .tlie Stock Miu-ket with very lieavy pur- -*- cliase-s fov the short iiecoimt, aud inasmuch a.s the hear (lieads favoiahle uews a?; uinch as the hull dreads tiufavor- abie uews, these purchases aro some iudieatiou of a condi¬ tiou of aiJaivs which sliould he pleasant to commercial- iuterests as a whole. The mere intimation that a hill to permit pool- iug amoug the railroads might be i)assed has caused a good deal of covering in railroad stocks aud the .somewhat better advice-s of the couditiou of trade whicii have appeared this week have given au impetus to the industrials aud other classes of securities to advauce. There is, too, a considerable aud geueral buying movi-iiieiit iu bonds iu anticipatiou ot! the demand whicli should arise at the opening of ue.-it year heeanso ot tin- .laiiuai'y disburseiiient,s. It is argued also, though ]ii'ihap.s wiili more voufidence tlian the circum¬ stance.^ justify, that the uew year will.see the Governuient relieved of its embarrassments so far as the tleticieucy ol' reveune to meet rertuirements is concerned aud, further, that the prospects for currency legislatiouare belter than was antici¬ pated wheu Cougre.'^s luet on :\louday last. Reliable informa¬ tion from the AVestern anil .Middle State.-=; is lo the ettect that iu the former bu.siness i.s much improved, aud iu the latter that it is very good for the time of year, tio far as speculation is con¬ cerned, as that will be dominated by news from Cougress, flnc- tuatiousin pi-ioes are likely to he shai-ii aud of considerable extent. rpHE efflux of gold from tlie ISank of England has had the ef- -^ feet of hardening discount rates, wliich, while still low as compared with normal rates, are more indicative of returning business activity than for some time. The compauy which has been formed to take over tho remaining Bariug a.ssets has is¬ sued ¥."1,000,000 4 per cent lii'st debentures aud !t^2,500,000 r. per ceut seeoud debenture.^, the proceeds of which are to he used ill payiug off the unpaid advances of the Bank of England to take up the remaining assets, which have a market value of !ji8,500,000. Ill additiou, the liaring eonnections provide a. guarantee fund of ^2,.">00,000. This, with the ])riva.te estates of the members ofthe film, whieh were turned over at the time of the failure, aud which are said to he worth auother t}41>,500,000, makes a total of assets with an estimated face value of nearly double the preference shares. This no dimht amply secures these shares, aud il may be taken that this unfortunate liqiiida- tion is at last placed where it eau do uo further mischief. As the as.s('ts are mainly South Americau .securities, these have im¬ proved as a result of the coutidence shown ill them by the uew company. The lesults of ojicrating the Englisli railroads for the second lialf of Ihe year, .so far as now ascertained, do uot warrant tlie expectation of a general udvauce from pres¬ ent low dividend rates. The iiiHated conditiou of the Paris and \ ienna markets is causing lii'sifation iu other speculative cen¬ tres. .So far, fhe suspected markets have held their own, but as everyone knows that is uot enough. If prices cannot advance they must inevitably fall, and there is no reason whatever why French aud Aiisfriau aud Huugaiian securities should follow the tirst course, aud very good reasons to .iustify their takiug the seeond. Advices from A'ieuna, it is true, indicate that lueas ures have heen successfully takeu to prevent a crash, hut with ■ that fact established it would prove (hat a period of liiiuidation has begun, in whii-li, of cour.se, prices eaunot fail (o sufter. The eonversiou of the Indian 4 per cent rupee loau has been a great success. The governmeut cotton report, for the seasou of 189-1 shows a decliue in the area sown, anil fair to satisfactory pros¬ pects for the crop throughout the peninsular. Deposits in the saviugs bauks of France for the eurreut year are expected to ex- '. jieed withdaawals by $10,000,000, as agaiust au opposite result of about .'p4.000.000 in 1S9^, showing that the conlideiue of depositors in these bauks has completely returned. Xet im- pojtsof gold iulo Frauce for the first teu months of the year auu>unfca to$lL',000,000. From Germany reports come that business iu fhe Khenish-Wesphalian iron aud steel districts is shrinking so that shutting dowu has beguu and may go farther. Theoulylineof the iron trade iu which business eoutiuues in any way satisfactory is lu the making of coustruction h-ou. The Rheui.sh silk trade is improving somewhat. ----------•---------- "JV/rR. CLEVELAND intimates that a hond issue will be -^'J- resorted to by the Treasury whenever it is uecessary " to maiutain a .sufficient gold reserve, aud in abundant time to save the country and make good the financial declaralionsof our gov¬ ernment." The events of tho week seem to .show that the decla¬ ration has had a very favorable intluenct' upon busiue.=s and upon the markets of the countiy, and has not fallen as Hat as mauy olher .similar declarations from the same source, because business meu hope Mr. Clevelaud is now talking from the card. If, however, the Treasury i.s obliged fo come into the mar¬ ket for gold at frequent intervals, it will be at an increasing cost, The way iu which the syndicate that took the last issue of bonds wasmade up shows how difficult it is becouiiuy: to reach the gold iu private hands iu the country. The example set by the subscribers to the syndicate and tlie reward t hey have obtaiued for their foresight in providing themselves with gold is not likely (o be lost on the rest of the community. The banks are exercising great care iu the kiud of money they pay out, keepiug silver issues as much as possible iu the hands of the public and retaining others in their own. Tn the liscal year of 1893 this coimtry exported $50,000,000, uet, gold in excess of what it produced, aud while for the tiscal year of 1894 the net exports were uot iimre than ten or twelve per cent of the esti¬ mated productiou, they were much more thau was warranted hy the seen couditious of our foreigu trade ; on auy sign of jnob- able ciinency disturbance here gold would go out rapidly. Onr Goverument, which a few years ago reuewed matiiriug bonds at two per ceut, sold the $50,000,000 issued last Fehruary at 117.22:t for about $40,750,000, and at higher figures for the balance. Again last moutb it sold the whole issue at 117.077. If Cougress fails to afford relief to the situation aud the Gov¬ ernment has to come agaiu iuto tho market, it will be morethan ever on the buyers'terms. The i>o.ssession of the gold iu hand secured the last i.ssue to the Stewart syudieate; ou future oc¬ casions it will be more than ever necessary for the Secretary of the Treasury to deal only with those who will not draw on his departmeut for the proper kind of currency to pay for the bouds. It is easy, therefore, to see whither we may drift and the dutv that lies upou Cougress to at ouce throw out the life-lines. ----------------M------------------ /^F all the mauy decisions made in the courts in the last year ^"^ on labor ijue.stions, that of Judge [Dallas, in the United States Circuit Court, at Philadelphia, is likely to be most accept¬ able to the commuuity. It in a sense couipletes the rule laid down by Justice Harlan last summer, upholding the right of the workman to leave his employmeut at the moment of his owu pleasure when not affected hy coutract obligation, .liulge Dallas applies the same rule to the other side by holding that the employer, similarly unaffected, canuot be compelled to employ or retain in his employmeut any ijerson whom he considers iiuHt from any cause for such employment. The case inwhich this decision was reudered was affected by circumstances which but for the good sense and independenee of the court might have ended in the temporary establishment of a rule bearing uujustlv 011 emph)yers instead of the one that is so obviously the just and fair one, that of equal liherty to both parties. The case was brought by several; of tlie Reading employes agaiust the receivers of the property to prevent the dismissal of the complainants because they were members of a union, iu detiauce of a rule of the Reading service. Tu addition, oue of Die ofticials of the uuion iu question aud not aReadinf^ employe iit all heeamo a petitioner. The Attorney General thought it uot indelicate to teuder the court his advice, and some attemi>t was made to set up the claim that the times permitted the discussion iu eourt of socialistic xtroblems. But the court was indifferent to these influences, remarking that its functions were limited to ai!miui.sterii)g the will of the Legislature as embodieil in the law. The uniou official was ruled oiil of eourt as haviug no standing in the case, aud the petition of the Reading emjiloyes was dismissed. TCven the petitioners are to be con° giatulated upou this outcome because what they sought—the invalidation of contracts requiring that employes should uot be members of auy trade union—as an infringeineut of the employer's powers and discretion could uot have been main¬ tained for any length of time and ill the interval would; have been productive of endless mischief. ----------■---------- 'HENEVEEthe dividend ou a railroad stock is ]ijis.sed Or reduced, discussion is reuewed upon tlie nature of the .surplus whieh tlie companies as a rule carry iu their aceouuts. To W