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January 9, 1897. Record and Guide 3-1 DEATEBloRf;
Western failures would bring out securi¬ ties has been so«tiougand so well maintained, that instead of declining, prices have r'sen all along the line except for luev- ■ liable exceptions. Demaud for intcrest-beaiing seeunties is - steadyaud isreachingduwn below thebest classes. This isalways a lorernnner of au upward move in the purely speculative lines. There isno reason iu tbe world why prices shonld.not advance, and every reason why they should. We have had severe aud widespread liquidation, we have a great foreign demaud at .'ood prices lor wheat and floiir, which we are fully able to meet, the requirements of our rapidly lucreasiug population have for a long time been kept down to bare subsisteuce, a point where it is not ill the nature of our people that they should stay. Only a bad break in Congress would give a set-back to the impiove- luentthat has now begun, and even that could, in our opinion, ouly create a set-back of small proportions, so argent are the home demands iu various directions to say nothing of our trade abroad. ^______ THE It-port of Wesley 0. Hush, Commissioner of Buildings for IJrookiyu. for the year ending DecemberSlst last, has ^ Ijeeu submitted lo Mayor Wurster with the promptness and completeness characteristic of this Department, The trade will he glad to learn from so good au authority that, although the business depression of la.st year attected building operations to a considerable degree, the great increase in the number of per¬ mits issued during November and December, .iustifies the belief that a much larger number of buildings will be erected this year. Some .-ontirmation is given to this view by the fact that ou December ?ilst last, thebuildiugsin proeesMof erection were one more than ou the correspoudiug day of 1S95, and tbe estimate of theircost, $1,4-08.^L'--'. or ;ibout seventeen per cent. more. The following is a tabular summary of the work covered by the Brooklyn Departmentlast year set in comparison with the same torlS9;>: ^ggg jgg5_ Inc. orDe_c. No. o£ permits for buildings......^i. 1.1^'542 S14 217 941 .n,082.399 Estimated cost,.................* '■^'■^■*^'to^ ^ ' A 417 310 i^il.S^^'^o^^^!":*"""^:■;::::; i.Tsg 2,24.;^| 4«.,n6 ^^T^'-:"''..■■.■.■.■.■,■.■,.::: 11,23: 11,93 :| u^^is ^^u^^^'^^^^^:"'-"'.''":.'':: o,US s^&^ 1,408,322 The following statement of the results of a wise change in administrative tactics introduced by Mr. Bush is submitted to the consideration of Hie heads of departments in New York City: " The intiodiiction of courleous letters addressed to those violating the huv, or disregarding the permits issued, in lieu ol the formal legal notiee herefol'ore used, has been very accept^ able and satisfactory , resulting in lessoflense to those concerned and the accomplishment of the purpose intended. The compar¬ atively few cases not remedied in this manner, mostly of a gravecharacter, have been referred to the Corporation Counsel for settlement, and Ihe prompUnul iutelUgent attention given fhem has quickly secured a stilisfactnry adjustment of the same. leaving fewer cases tinsel tied at Ihe end of the year than ever before iu the liislovy of lii«^ Dipartmeut.'^ ------------■------------- T X TE note au iunovation in the manner of advertising W property for sale under forclosure that is deserving ol attention in view of the prevalence of complaints that sucli property is usually insulticienlly dtfciib''d in cidtr to meet Ihe understandings of people unacquainted with tecliiiical terms and descriptions, 'i'his innovation made by a lawyer of large cxpeiience iu realty matters, cousists of .a small diagram dis¬ tinctly locating the property, just as is ordinarily done in auction mnps, placed at the hend of the legal announcement. For in¬ stance. Nos, 410 and ^112 West 13th street are to be sold. The diagram places them on the street and gives thc-ir distance from Ninth Avenue, depth and width, accompanied by the statement that the walls are party walls. In another case, a diagram of the noithwtst corner of West fs.'jth street atd Broadway is given with dimensions, etc. This is a veiy effi-ttivc and .«iniple way of removing complaints, which hrve ouly too good a ground for esislence, aud it should be universally adopted, ----------•--------- Tllb: Rapid Transit Commission is deep iu another "Public Hearing." This eternal talking we suppose is not only unavoidable, hut in a sense uecesaaiy. But is useless and fear¬ fully wearisome. The "babble" of the last ten years about Kapid Transit, transformed into effective energy, has been nioie than sufficient to build an underground road and operate trans- ])ortation on it for a considerable time. Talk is an excieise of force. It would be interesting for some one to compute the "mechanical equivalent" of the long palaver about transit in New York.______________ THE difficulty is there is no strong pecuniary iuteiesL behind Kapid Trau.'?it. There is nothing but a di-sorganized i)ublie, without real mind about the matter, without any real knowledge, without efficient organization—the result is confusion, clash of opinion and talk. The opposing party, on the contrary, knows exactly what it wants. It is organized, if not iu foim, at any rate hy harmony of interest, and is it intenslypecuuiary. We fear that on the present lines. Rapid Transit is about as remote as ever it was. Of course Rapid Transit in New York City ought to be a public atiair. In any olher country in the world but this it would he a public atJ'air, with a city situated as New York is. lUit the Public with ns is a very ineffectual body for action. Most of our work is accomplished by organized personal interests. It is curious, that iu a democratic country like ours, it is the Few and not the Mauy that control and govern things. The Political Boss, the Caueas, Corporations—these are our ef¬ fective instrumental it ies. Speaking of Bapid Transit, as au example of this, see what has been done in a few years by cor¬ porate enterprise with the cable roads. While the Kapid Transit Commission have been .stiiviug to tinally dot the i's aud crots the t's in a report on a decisive plan, a few corporations have been able to ramify the entire city with cable lines aud thus to furnish, iu some measuie, the very transportation service that the Coininissiou is striving to provide. ■---------- T X /i- don't wish to belittk' the work of the Comiuissiou, but VV it does seem to us that its process of procedure must necessarily be veiy slow, and possibly, in the end, inettective. What we need to get behind the Rapid Transit problem to make it move is a pecuniary force; aud apparently we can put thnt there only hy falling back upon the companies now operating lines of transit iu this cily. We may not get, in this way, perfei-t facilities, but we can commence to improve those we have. For instance, the Manhattan Company certainly cau do a great deal that would be profitable for them and of advantage to the public. Witli better terminal facilities, certain extensions, n third track or similar additions, an im¬ mensely better service could be given. The obstacle~-or one of them—to these iiupiovements is the unnecessarily hostile altitude of public opinion towiird the Manhattan Com¬ pany. It is all very well to pay ott grudges—but in this particular case the payment is a double sided affair, fcio far as real estate is concerned an expansion of speculation and operations is so closely related to this extension of Eapid Transit service, tliat one is hardly possible without the other. The West Side movement which has given the trade its oppor¬ tunities for years has now spent itself. New iields can not be entered in a large way until better railroad facilities are pro¬ vided. The Board of Brokers'Diary. The dlai-y wliiuh the Board of Brokers have prepared will be ready for delivery early next week. We have already given in detail the contents of this volume, which is undoubtedly a book oi high value to every real estate broker. It is not only in Its ii'ialn contents a much needed pubiicatnion—for a dairy is a nec- ,',-sfllty on '■-very desk—but it presents a mass of Information wlilch has iiowiierti else been put in a liandy form. The Real Uslate Board ol' Brokers are openiug tlieir New Year's campaign in a vigorous way, and in many excellent directions. The lead¬ ing spirits in the organization are lieenly aware of what their confreres need, ami in publishing this dairy tiiey have hit one of the necessities which every broker has long felt.
