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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 55, no. 1423: June 22, 1895

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June 22,1895 Record and Guide. 1037 Devoted io Rej^l Estate.BtnLDif/o %^i(rrECTUR.E .HousofoiDDEOO^jm^ Bi/sn/ESs Atfo Themes opGEiJERfcl Irfrtftfil, PRICE, PER YEAR IN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS. Fublished eveiy Saturday. Telephonh,.....- COBTnANBT 1370 Oommunloatlona sliouId be artdreeaed to C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Veeey Street. J. J. LINDSET. Bnainess Manager. Brooklyn Office, 276-282 Washington Street, Opf. Post Offiob. " Entered al llie Posl-office at Ifew Tork, If. Y., as second'Class malter." Looking beyond the mere fact of this loau, it is hard to imagine that the great houses will approve a loau whose form at least is, in some respects, frowned upon by Downing street and the Chancellei at Berlin. Vol. LV. JUNE 22, 1895. No. 1,423 ' ■■ AN IMPOUTANT ANNOUNCEMENT. The Record and Guide will furnish you with daily detailed reports of all building opei-ations, compiled to suit YOtm business speeificallij, for 14 cents a day. You are thus Icept informed of the entire market for your goods. No guess ^vork. Every fact verified. Abundant capital and the thirty years'experience of The Record and Guide jtiiaraRte the com¬ pleteness and authenticity of^lhis service. Send to 14 and IG Vesey street for iiiformation. ONE of the causes for the strong stock market aud the con¬ tinued reports of expansion iu trade and manufactures is the evident weakness of the silver party in the couutry. The conventions held in the South must have been bitterly disap¬ pointing to that party, because they uot only did not show that the people who favored silver were eveu niiuierically stronger, but did show that they were decidedly iufluentially weaker than those who declared for the maintenauce of the preseut staudard. Equally disappointing must be the efforts of the silver men to obtain party or political indorsement iu auy ef the State con¬ ventions of either party. In fact, it looks very much as if the ranks of the .silver men are thoroughly disorgauized except iu Nevada, Montana aud Wyoiniuir. In view of this exhibition of its weakness it is not surprising that iuvestors and business men are beginning to discount the entire defeat of tlie silver party in the coming elections. It would be too much to hope that Congress when it uext meets will accept the situation and pass a cuiTency reform measure that will be acceptable to the business interests of the couutry, but there is the additioual en¬ couragement of the fact that the administration stands in the way of any legislation adverse to them. If foreign investors and speculators cau also be made to see that this "Ifi to 1" bogey will surely be laid whenever it is presented to the votes of the people, we can look for further activity both in the seciuity markets and in the great tields of industry. ARMENIA is apparently not to seriously disturb cither the political or tiuaucial world. It is gettiug fcn be a matter of wondei- how ea.si]y war is avoided in these days of big arma¬ ments; though, of course, the reason is largely in those arma¬ ments and scientific destroying forces which could iu a campaign of half a year do more damage than was done iu half a century's lightiiigm the old times. No ministry eould enter on war with the gayety of former conflicts, knowing that whether its country should win or lose, the loss iu brain and brawn, which no in¬ demnity could replace and no science could tind a substitute for, would carry consequences nob pleasant to contemplate. Since 1871 there have beeu many political complexities, eaeh one of which would have been a sufficieut cause of war iu auother age, but all of whieh were peaceably arranged. If this should coutinue to be the ease war will be looked npou as an impossibility, and the nation tltat gets the best of an awkward situatiou, say as England did in Egypt, will feel safe and .secure from interference. Because of an apparently geueral view of the European powers that only uatioual existeuce would warraut Betting loose the modern forces of war, the markets are showing less and less sensitiveness to political crises. European trade continues to improve; mouey continues, however, to increase rather than dimiuish. It is lookiug a good way ahead to see the world's resources well employed, and it may be accepted as cer¬ tain that the standard of interest ou investments, as well as of current loaning rates, has undergone a permanent change. The market is not stimulated by the aunouucemeut that China ■will enter it as a borrower, under a Russian guarantee, aud as a matter of fact it is highly probable that no such loan will ever be offered. It has become an axiom that political events are decided by the financiers; tbis event will likely attord au illus¬ tration of a reverse actiou, the politiciaus ruling the financiers. rriHE Board of Estimate must have a very indistinct notion -*- of what the public feeling in the matter is, if its hesitation to supply the money requiied for the Department of Street Cleauin is due to the belief that such a coiu'se would not be sanctioned by the taxpayers. The citizens of New York have become accustomed to cleaner streets, and will not tolerate for a moment any relapse iuto the old dirty and sloveuly ways. They know, too, that clean etreets mean the expenditure of money, bnt so loug as the money is expended in cleaning the streets they are not only williug that it should he spent, but ■ will insist upou it beiug spent. There is sense enough in the commuuity to know that the largely preponderating expendi¬ ture iu this work is for manual labor, and it knows that Ihe fact that that labor costs the city double its market value is not due to the Department, but to an old state of thiugs fi'om which we are experiencing a momentary relief, though still paying the pecuniary penalty of its previous existence. However, clean streets are a necessity, aud must bo had no matter what the proper and reasonable cost. If any taxpayer feels aggrieved, as all naturally will and should, tbey must apply to their rep¬ resentatives iu the Legislature to get repealed that piece of legislative brigandage by whieh two dollars and fifty cents are taken out of the taxpayers' pocket, to pay for a dollar and twenty-five cents' worth of work. THE Sinking Fund Commissioners held no meeting on Wednesday la.st, aud so the conference with the Fu'e Com¬ missioners relative to the removal of the Buildiug Department frora its existing locatiou, coruer of 18th street and 4:th avenue, to the Fire Department headquarters buildiug on East 67th street, with a view of saving rent to the city, goes over to the next week's meefiug. It is understood that the Fire C'ommis.sion- ei's will strenuously oppose the puttiug back into their buildiug the Building Department, as it is claimed by them that there is no surplus room therein, beyoud what is required for Fire De¬ partment uses. The existing possibility that the Buildiug De¬ partment may be removed from a convenient locatiou to an iuconvenieut one, naturally suggests the questiou, why should uot the city erect a building for the exclusive u.se of the Build¬ iug Department^ The Buildiug Department is a perinauent in¬ stitution, and its pre-seut necessities are gi-eat, and will iucrease with the growth of population and the number of buildings hereaftererected. Leased aud cramped quarters ueither gave to the Department adequate facilities for tiie work of examina^ tion and inspection, uor to the public proper facilities for traus- acting busiuess with the Department. A buildiug, covering say two lots and four stories in height, would not furuish more room than is absolutely required, looking fairly ahead to the future. The city provides special buildings for fire engine com¬ pauies, for police stations, for minor courts aud other purposes. The importance of the Building Department and the necessity for the safe keeping of the valuable plaus and records relating to buildiugs, require that a commodious building should be pro¬ vided by the municipality, and iu a locatiou convenient for the buildiug trades to reach from all quarters of the city. The entire cost for land aud buildings need uot exceed say .1>150,000. An effort to secure such a building from the city must start from some source, ami we call upon the various building trade organ¬ izations to move iu this matter, aud make knowu their desires to the proper city authorities and secure such legislation as raay be needed to accomplLsh the object sought. TVTE are glad to be able to announce that that objectionable ' ' trade measure, known as "the bill to regulate the prac¬ tice of architecture " in New York State has failed to become a law, uot having received the approval of Goveruor Morton. Oue may rest assured this is not the last we shall hear of this project. Certain architects iu New York City are possessed with tbe idea that their professiou bas something to gain by be¬ ing made a State affair, regulated by parchment and big seals and other legal solemnities. They desire to "professionalize" by every extiiu.sie means possible a vocation which, indeed, is fast becoming a. met^hanical business. Tbey want tbe State to take a haud in their affairs and manufacture dignity for them by establishing, at the public expense, au examination—of doubt¬ ful utility, to say the least. Natnrallytheymakctheirappealinthe name of the "public good." It does not do in these matters to tell the truth. It would never pay to make a frank confession some¬ what as folio w.s: We want to lim it competition as much as possible amoug ourtselves because there is scarcely enough business to go anuind aud we tiud that the public (uyou whom after all depends tbe real vitality of art) prefer tawdry andshowy designs (at low prices) to exquisite classical work (for which we have au exclu¬ sive but more costly recipe). We admit that with every class of