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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 55, no. 1399: January 5, 1895
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^nuary 5, 189 Record an 'DeV&TH) jo RE\L Estate . SuiLOi,\'o ^Rp.K'iTECTUIl,E",Ho-USEll01D DEGOflfcTKIlt Bt;s[t/Ess AtiD Themes ofGEflERiil lirtEREsi. PRICE, PER YEAR IN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS. Fublixhetl every Saturday. Telephone,......Cortlahdt 1370 Communleations should be addiessed to C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street. J. I. L1:NDSFY. Business Manager. Brooklyn Office, 276-282 Washington Street, Off. Post Office. " Entered at t-he Fosl-office at New Tark.N'. Y., as eeeond'ctass matter." Vol. LV. JANUARY 5, 1895. No. 1,399 WE are soplimgfed ioto cuiTeney disciissiou, and there ie siicli a strong feeling throuf>'hoiit the commercial world that things cannot mend until our emTenoy is reformed, that move¬ ments in Coiigrc^R! will ht; closely watched. No doubt tlie iufluenee, of our monetary condition on actual trade is exagger¬ ated, much as the influence of silver was. It is the nature of the mass to select out of several and sometimes from many con- ti-ibutiog causes, one which they hold responsible for a particular condition of things simply because of its prominence. Just now it is the currency. Xo doubt this is a serious impediment in many way.s, but eveu if we had the best of currency, busiuess would be light in th;; corn-belt, aud tlie continuance of five-cent cotton would cause dissatisfaction in the South and limit the buy¬ ing powers (d!fanuei's and planters, Tlie chavacterot'the money iu circulatiou does not immediately increase the (■onsninptivii pow¬ ers of the nation and prices of manufactures .show that demand is not equal even to the limited output of the day. These things uotwithstaudiug, if Congress does not show promptly a disposi¬ tion to at least i)r<)tect the Treasury from the worst effects of our monetary system, the consetiuences cannot be pleasant ones, because of the importauce the public attaches to the question. Outside of this fe-ai", business shows no change; there is no activ ity iu any direction nor any indication of prices rising. So far as the prospect for the new year can be gauged it should, with the currency matter satisfactorily disposed of, be one of improve¬ ment. This is doubtless the hopeful view in which the wish is father to the thought. Its fouudatioii is slight, and, as Mr. Car- ueffie says of the iion trade, geneial business cannot be much worse in 1895 than it was in 1894. LONDON Stock Exchange secmities made a fairly good record during the past year. Arranged in thirty groups they show declines in the market values of only four, two of which were American railway stocks aud bonds. In fact, railway issues of Canada and the United States represent a vast amount of the total losses. The home government has at last consented to the extension of the Indian live per cent import duty to cotton goods, subject, however, to an excise duty upon the higher counts of Indian made yarns. A recent decision in the courts, if maintained on appeal, will have a very wholesome eftect in checking the carelessness of directors and auditors. Thi.s de¬ cision holds that in surrendering their judgments to managers— that is to say, in acting prefnnctoriiy—directors and auditors are responsible for what is done in their name by the managers. In the case in point the directors autl auditors of one of tite Balfour group of banks are required to refund moneys paid out in divi¬ dends whicli were not earned. The operations for the return of the Italian silver token money by France have been comiileted. The total taken up amounted to about -^30,000,000, of which only about $ 100 was spurious. From Berlin we learn that the feeliug shown among the smaller bankers and the brokers against the Bourse reform measure is very high. One banker and the editor of a financial journal were recently mobbed on the Exchange because of their position toward the measure. Unfavorable reports come from the iron centres of the empire. Outside of these matters, there is a tendency to look upon the situation as an improving one. Sugar interests are moving every way possible to create antagonism to the United States because of its sugar schedule. Austrian journals are urging the Minister of Finance to make interest on new loans 3^2 per cent instead of 4 per cent. This, it is claimed, is warranted by the success of the recent Russian loan. Taken as a whole, the out¬ look in Europe is a cheerful one, because money is hardening slightly and trade promises to improve, though to the outsider the indications are not very pronounced. prising to find that the reverend gentleman has again to fight a battle for general recognition of the validity of his views. It will be remembeied that when lie commenced his crusade against i>olice conuption the public, which has always so qmck an eye for realities, debated with charming candor whether Dr. I'arkhurst was a charlatan or one of those loose minded fanatics which the ecclesiastical atmosphere nurtures freely Opinion r.ather leaned tow;ird the charlatan theory. The Doctor, it was said, had set out to join the army of notorieties, and the peculiar lines which he had adojited to that end added a salacious piquancy to the public attention given to his efforts. A clergy¬ man tramping about in the paths of vice tickles the popular sense of the burlesque. In time, however, as we know, Dr. Park- hurst vindicated himself, and made it clear that he was not a hunter after sensationalism, but a. "practical politician," '• a man of the world" iu the high and better meaning of the terms. The change that occurred in the mood of his fellow- citizens toward him, after they had made this discovery for themselves, must l)a.vti been extremely gratifying to the Doctor. Popular approval 0f his course was blatant and extreme, as all things popular are. This and the remarkable success, of a spectacular kind, obtained by the Lexow Uommitt^e, the direct result of the clergyman's personal effort.*, were enough to turn the head of any ordinary man. Indeed, the cry to-day is that .success has afflictcil the Doctor with "swelled head" and other similar diseases ^hich lurk in great popular achievements. Here, again, it seems to us the people go astray in parting com¬ pany with Dr. Parkhiust. His attitude toward the closing pro¬ ceedings ot'the Lexow Committee has very little in it that the judicious will esteem personal. His hostility to compromise, to Ijolicy, to sly temjiorizing, far from arousing criticism sharp¬ ened by impertinences, should strengthen the public confidence in the man and hi^ purposes. The system of corruption made visible by the Lexow investigation was fostered by the low ideals of the community and bv the public sentiment so fre¬ quently expressed in favor of half mea.sures and tricky dealings with matters wherein conscience should rule supreme. Dr. Parkhurst is right. The Lexow Committee broke down in pur¬ pose at its last ses-;ions. It abstained and hesitated where it should have advanced and fought hardest with lascaldom. Its labors must strike \ he thoughtful as being tantamount to failure when it is remembered that the core of the corruption that exists was not even touched. The reorgani/ation of (he police force, if that be bri>ught about, will be a good thing—for a time at least—but the pity is tliat the areh-oti'enders will be allowed to go scott free with the. "boodle."' The city did not need a scapegoat or two in the form of a. couple of captains sent to Sing Sing. Has the moral indignation of the public played out, or have we been witnessing merely asurt of circus, amnsiug enough while it lasted ? If the latter is the case, reform—the real thing —has small chance in thi.s city of bearing its real fruits—cle-in, dignified, wholesome public life. Reform in New York ought to be added to the ] lereunial jokes in the funny papers. THE suggestion that Mr. Cyrus Clark be appointed to fill a vacancy in the Park Board is one that wil! bi' liighly approved wherever Mr. Clark and the requirements of tlie office are kno%vn. He would certaiuiy make an excellent Park Com¬ missioner. He is a man of honor aud integrity, of long business experience, and has been to the fore in all things that concerned the West Side since it had a history. His share in the work of bringing about the improvement of that .side of the town has probably been greater than that of any otlier individual. This included much in the nature of the Park Board's work. Mr. Clark has not oidy the experience necessary for the office of Park Commissiouer. but he has also ample leisure which he can give to the performance of the duties belonging to it. Mr. Clark's name will be brought before Mayor Strong backed by the best indorsements that the City of New York can supply and his appointment will be regarded with universal satisfac¬ tion wherever the improvement and embellishment of the city is a. matter of either concern or intei'est. rpHE people of New York, as the saying is, don't know a good -^ thingwhenthey seeit. Apparentlcrtbepublicisretnrningto its critical attitude toward Dr. Parkhxr mv It would not he sui- THE Arehitectur:;! League aiipoiuled a committee to guide the League's conclusion as to whether Ihe lu-iglit of build¬ ings iu the City of New York should be regnbite*! by law. But, although it was expected to report last fall, nothing has jbeen heard from it yet. .hidge