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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 63, no. 1630: June 10, 1899

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June 10, 1899. Kocord and Guid« 1089 ESTABUSHEI)^ MJWpH fiU^ 1868, PRICC PER YEAR IN ADVANCE SIX DOLLARS Fubtith^d every Saturday. Tblbphomb, CosTLA:a>T 1370. Oom muni cations should be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street. J. 2. LIND& ET, Business Mmiager. "Bnter.:a a,' chi; fost-Osi'.e al If eiv Iork, N. T., as stoond-class matter." Vol. LXITI. JUNE 10, 1899. No. 1,630. THERE have been indications this week of a return of pro¬ fessional favor to the long side of the Stock Market; it cannot be anything but professional favor because the public has left the Street and will not return until the conditions are more attractive than they-are at the moment. Doubtless their more legitimate occupations fully employ the people who make the market in active times, and, generally speaking, this is as satis¬ factory a feature of the situation as can be found. But it makes the stock market dull, or moved only to liveliness by the spas¬ modic actions of the speculative element. The reasons for the strength of prices this week are those given last week in this column to show that a rally was probable, namely, that stocks are so scarce that shorts find it difficult to cover, that money is cheap and the condition of the country prosperous. In times like these bear operations are rendered difficult, owing to the confidence of the people in returned prosperity and the easy cir¬ cumstances of the community generally. This makes the process of bringing prices down, even when buying has been so overdone as was recently the case, a slow one. It also makes it easy for one party of operators to put the market up on another when short selling has been carried to the point of momentary impru¬ dence. That a beginning of a pretty heavy export movement in gold has only been made is apparent, but this need not necessar¬ ily have a disturbing effect on prices, though its mechanical con¬ sequences would tend iw that direction. While business is fiourishing and railroad earnings are now large, we have to face the prospect of a poorer agricultural year than the country has known for some time. The loss of product will to some extent be compensated by increases in prices for grain, but it never hap¬ pened yet that either the railroads or the agricultural communi¬ ties were benefited by short crops no matter how much they rehabilitated prices. However, whatever is unfavorable in the situation can only aftect values to the extent that they have been unduly inflated, in the belief that the exceptionally favorable circumstances of the country of last year aud the year before were to continue for ever. There is no need for pessimistic views. Whatever is sound will hold, and whatever is deserving will ad¬ vance as soon as the public has discerned its merits. The way in which Industrials respond to good news, while Rails are unaf¬ fected, is another proof of the soundness of our opinion that our prosperity affects manufactures most, and that in industrial shares, consequently, the most promise of profit is to be found. THERE is evidently confidence in Lord Salisbury's ability to dispose as successfully of the Transvaal difficulty as he has of other equally dangerous matters in the past two or three years. If this were noit the case the recently reported failure oC the conference at Bloemfontein would have beeu followed by a panic in "Kaffirs" at the three principal financial centres of Eu¬ rope. The fact that Paris and Berlin are deeply Interested in South African enterprises lends strength to the situation, be¬ cause it deprives the Boers of that "outside assistance" that was once the point of a celebrated telegram. It is lucky that this is the case; for, should matters become so serious as to paralyze tiie movements of the colossal capital invested in and around Jo¬ hannesburg, the disturbing effect would be felt all over the world. Regarding other matters of business interest we note that, notwithstanding a considerable strengthening of its re¬ serves and easier conditions in the outside market, the Bank of England maintains its discount rate at 3%. That the investing public do not feel quite easy either, appears to be the case from its failure to subscribe the Japanese 4% loan, of which, the cable reports, only 12% was taken and the rest left on the hands of the underwriting banks. Unless the outlook brightens, the Russian loan, about to appear, will receive similar treatment; not only is this loan open to suspicion, because of the low material condition of the Russian people, but it is also prejudiced by the political feeling of the people who are asked to make it. An Interesting: return has been made of the dividends paid upon 29 British steam¬ ship stocks in the past ten years. The average runs from 2ya% to 11%, the low record being made by the line we are most famil¬ iar with on this side of the Atlantic, the Cunard. Other transat¬ lantic lines do not appear in the list, being run by close corpora¬ tions. The most profitable of the ocean going concerns were', those trading with the far East and British colonies or posses¬ sions. From a maes of statistics relating to fiscal conditions in. Australia it may be gathered that the colonies there are slowly but surely gaining ground and recovering from their distress of a few years back. Berlin advices are full of the extraordinary activity in the coal, iron and steel trades and the consequent speculation and boom in shares representing those industries. At the same time Vienna advices are full of meanings over the apparent impossibility of reconciling the views of Austria and Hungary on the States Treaty, and the view is held that should the hope of an amicable arrangement really have to be aban¬ doned a catastrophe must follow. ■"T* HE work of the Commission on New Building Code is mak- ■^ ing satisfactory progress, and it is confidently expected that their report will be ready for presentation within the limit of time fixed by the terms of their appointment. The commission: has had for their guidance the report prepared by George B. Post„ ex-iVIayor Cooper, Cornelius O'Reilly, Stevenson Constable, theib Superintendent of Buildings in New York City; Samuel McMil¬ lan, Wm. J. Fryer, editor of "The Laws Relating to Buildings in. New York City," and Wtesley C. Bush, then Commissioner of Buildings for Brooklyn, a committee appointed from the Com¬ mittee on Revision of the Building Laws, of which Mr. Fryer waa also the Secretary. This report was based on the recommenda¬ tions of sub-committees of the Committee on Revision, the mem¬ bers of which were specially selected for their intimate knowledge, of the subjects to be particularly considered. The report, there¬ fore, contained specialized opinions upon every part of the build¬ ing laws based upon the practical experience of the day, which.- has undergone very little modification since. It was originally- intended that these opinions should be put into the shape o£ a- new building law and submitted to the Legislature. Meantime-, the Charter Commission was appointed and the Legislature, practically deciding that the matter was one for that commis¬ sion's consideration, refused to make any radical change in the; building laws. The report of the sub-committee of seven was- placed at the disposal of the Charter Commission, but that body in turn decided that the building laws involved practical detail/ rather than principles of municipal government, with which they- were most concerned, and relegated the whole matter to the Mu¬ nicipal Assembly by empowering them to appoint a commission- to draft a building code. The view taken in these columns at the time the commission was appointed and its probable work was being discussed,thatas the Tenement House Law was embodied in the charter and thereby made an act of the Legislature, the com¬ mission had no power to change it, has since been supported by the opinion of the corporation counsel and accepted by the com¬ mission. ONE important problem, for which the report of the com¬ mittee of seven does not provide a solution, has now come up for disposition. This is the extent to which the fire limits re¬ quire to be enlarged under present circumstances and those of a future of some years at least. Without wasting time to show- what was previously proposed, it is important to state the propo¬ sitions now offered to the Commission on New Euilding Code and which they have to consider. It is well to state, however, that the charter makes other provision for the establishment of flre lines than may be included in the powers of the commission. In Chapter II„ the Legislative Department.section 49, subdivision . 31, the Municipal Assembly is empowered "to enlarge or extend- from time to time the limits of the fire districts of the city, and. to establish additional fire districts, and from time to time ex¬ tend the same." It has been suggested by Mr. Fryer that the fire- lines should be made the subject of a separate ordinance, because if once placed in the building code they can only be changed at the request of the Board of Buildings, while if put into a sepai-ate ordinance they can be changed at the request of the Fire Depart- menit. However that may be, the Commission on New Building Code is now considering the matter. The proposed limits for Brooklyn, by including the northern half of the 29th Ward (Flat¬ bush), have aroused much local opposition. The Brooklyn, members of the commission will give a.hearing on the matter this evening in the ofiice of the Flatbush Water Company, at Lenox road and Flatbush avenue, and Borough President Grout has asked that the commission as a whole give- a hear-