Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 55, no. 1405: February 16, 1895

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Febmary le,-"??? Record and Guide. 245 Dev&teD io Rf^LEstate.SuildiKg AR.crfrrECTURf >(ousEaouiDE3ffliftni, Bifsit/Ess AifoThemes of GejIeriI Ifftraf*!, PRICE, PER YEAR IN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS. Fublished every Saturday. TELEPHONK,.......COBTtANDT 1370 (DonununloatlonB ahould be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Veaey Street. J. 1. LINDSEY. Buainesa Manager, Brooklyn Office, 276-282 Washington Street, 0pp. Post Office. " Entered at llie Posl-office al ffew Tork. N. F,, as second'Class matter." the state of financial affairs at yiennn. The new ITuugaiian Minister of Finance, Herr von Lukace, however, when asked recently whetlicr ho feared an economical aud financial reac¬ tion, replied that there was no grouud for apprelien.sion. It is hardly possible to conceive of a liuance minister openly ad¬ mitting Ihat such ground existed. The Austrian sugar industry is certainly iu a bad way and is seeking to obtain au increase of tho bounty in order to overcome its difficulties. Vol. LV. FEBRUARY 16, 1895. No. 1,405 For additional Brooklyn matter, see Brooklyn Department immediately following New Jeraey recm-ds {page 273), AN earnest endeavor is beinp made to make the best of tbe commeicial situation, and because of that we learn fi'om trade sources that business will be better this year if only peo¬ ple will issue their orders. Some iron and steel centres are working themselves up into a very hopeful state, apparently because they do not see how the lailroad compauies cau keep out of the market for rails aud other supplies much longer; but the compauies themselves have shown no disposition to buy largely. In other lines there are no better grounds for expect¬ ing improvement. The stock market has got iuto a rut because it is too narrow to peiiuit of extensive professional operations either one way or the other, and whatever else the public is willing to buy it is not willing to buy stocks aud bonds of rail¬ roads or of industrial enterprises. The complete want of response by prices to the favorable side of tbe Government boud sale shows this very completely. People interested iu the Groveru- ment loan have told their friends that the public has uot yet ap¬ preciated the importance of this operation to the business of the couutry aud the values of securities. The public appre¬ ciates fully one thing, however, aud that is the immensity of the task the Admiaistration has undertaken iu maintaining gold payments in the face of the indifference, if uot of the hostility of Congress to commercial needs expressed most emphatically at the polls, aud by resolutions of representative commercial bodies. As for the action of the Seuate and tHouse it is more charitable to believe that some climatic or other uusetn condi¬ tion makes tbem uot responsible for their acts, than to judge them by auy accepted niles for the examiuatiou of conduct. What is becoming impressed upon the helpless people is the length of the time before it will be possible to obfcaiu a Con¬ gress more iu accord with the people, aud the dangers that may arise at any moment from the anomalous features of the situa¬ tion iu the interval. Wo have hitherto oulv had to sell our grain and cotton at bankrupt prices ; now our bonds, ouce the first security in the world, aud that uot very long siuce, are to go on the bargaiu counter, through the pigheadeduess c f oui' misnamed representatives. \\f ESTWARD gold movements and the question whether the ' ' open market can supply all the requirements of the new boud issue without trenching on the stocks oE the banks, are now exciting Eui-ope raore than anything else. Sir William Harcourt has given the latest instance of the superficial view takeu by politicians of trade conditions. Speaking iu the House of Commons tbis week, he claimed that the cottou in¬ dustry was in a thriving state because the imports of raw and exports of manufactured cotton were larger in 1894 than the average of fifteen years. He evidently had not seen the returns of the cotton manufacturing companies which shoiv that the incorporated cotton manufacturing business at least had beeu carried ou for the whole year with practically uo iirofit what¬ ever. So far as bids for new capital in England arc indicative of reviving activity, the statement for January is satisfactoiy, inasmuch as it shows that the uew offerings iu that mouth were more thau double what they were in either January of last year or of 1893. Ttie high prices of South African gold mining shares are giving rise to fears of a big break, but as stated hei e before, if the advance is due to gambling tbe lisk is almost wholly th.it of the gamblers imlividually, the banks having acted with extreme caution toward this movement and limited their advances witbin the safety line. The buying and selling of Rentes through the agents of the French Treasury still shows much more capital seeking investment in that form than realiza¬ tion. Gennan (1894) imports increased by .$100,000,000 over those of 1893, and the exports for the same years are $8,000,- 000 In favor of last year, Berlin continues apprehensive of MAYOR STRONG is justifying cTei-y reasonable expectation of his friends aud upsetting the balance of thecrondof neutrals aud doubters who feared that his good intentions would be rendered largely iuoperative by the tyranny of "politics.' The exercise of the appointing power is the crucial test, and the Mayor, by his first selectious, has made certain the substantial reality of his pre-election promises. His appointments, it cannot tiTithfully be said, are in any sense ideal, nor, perhaps, are they quite free from a touch of political consideration. They are, however, so immensely superior, ou the whole, to auvtbing that the city has had for years tbat it would hi' ungracious, ungener¬ ous aud even unjust to criiicise them. The last election, though revolutionary, did not clear the field entirely of tbe multitude of obstructious that existed to straightforward business manage¬ ment of municipal affairs. It undoubtedly weakened the force of party spirit, but our people are yet a long w.iy off from complete emancipation from "politics." The Ma.yor is still hampered by the dirty tradition of the past. The best men will uot serve tbe city in any department. Its service is tainted, its salaries are inadequate, and reform itself is not so firmly founded as to guarantee to any one permauence of posi¬ tion and just appreciation of houest aud intelligent work. We are iu an experimental stage. Progress, cousequentl.v, is lim¬ ited. We bave yet to build up clean traditions and prove by indubitable example that the administration of the cily's affairs is Tf-ally to be conducted ou business methods upon which offi¬ cials may place as much reliance as they might upon those rul¬ ing iu auy large commercial concern. It may be said, we think, that Mayor Strong's appointmeuts are better thau the conditions warrant. They constitute au immeu.-;e step forward. If ade¬ quately suiiported 'by citizens they will undoubtedly lead to a complete reconsti-uction of tbe municipal machinery. Mayor Strong is creditably performing bis duty, and" if his work does not lead by aud by to higher results the lault will be with the people. Purification of the city's governraenfc cannot be doue by oue mau. He cau only assist, and further a truly jnipu- lar movement for better thlugs. Mayor Strong bas doue this, aud deserves the unstinted thanks of this commuuity, pHE ridiculous teuement house bill received a hearing this ■* week at Albany, witb the result, we may say for certain, that it will undergo radical reformation before it is put on tho statute books. The committee that spoke against it had no difficulty in making plain its many comical requirements. The measure is au example of how humorous au animal the reformer can be in spite of his well-intentioned earnestness. He shows himself at times as lawless and as anarchical as any professional disrupter of society. This ca.se clearly demoustrales how rebel¬ lious the feelings may be to facts—aud the reformer works chiefly \vith his " feeler." The tenement house bill iu tbe main is a manifestation of .seutimeut. It is difficult to detect any¬ where a clear, hard recognition of facts. To force this bundle of feelings, this documeutaiy evidence of nervous discomfiture about the coudition of our teuement-house population iuto a law, would be ridiculous. It would work a great deal of injus¬ tice aud would do very little good to anybody. The commission apparently were ignorant of the fact that clean personal habits are the best sanitary appliances. Without these, the most solic¬ itous legislative requirements in the coustruclion, plan and equipment of tenement houses would be largely inoperative aud result in saddling useless burdens upon some one. THE advocates of a general iucoipoiation of New York realty with a view to active trading in real estate stocks aud bonds on an exchange have recently found au addition to their numbers iu the New York Herald. So far the arguments of that journal in favor of tliis scheme, if the movement has as > et coherence enough to entitle it to be called a scheme, have not been many. In fact it has uot put forward auy arguments at all, but, with a bumptiousness so charmingly characteristic of its columns, has simply announced its acceptance of the idea and has dismissed our modest lunt that real estate secimties if ever issued will be subject to the same manipulation as other securi¬ ties as, "uot worthy of cousideratiou for a moment." Real estate corporations are all to be so honestly managed and the values of tbeir securities are to be so accurately fixed in propor¬ tion to capital thatthey will always go up aud never go down. Such S' curities we are sure will be much sought after, though the brokers will not make many commissions out of them because when once a man is lucky enough to get hold of auy he will