Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 64, no. 1653: November 18, 1899

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November i8, 1899. RECORD AKD GUIDE. rM Ifllil. ESTABUSHED^ ffiARpH 21«> 1B68. ÛEvfritD p Rea,l Estate . BuiLoiffe A^RCrfiTEcrui^ ,t{ousz«ou> Deûûr^tioiI, BLfan/Ess Affo Thèmes ofGetJei^I !STïr(.ESi. PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE SIX DOLLARS. PuMiihcd everj/ Saturday. TBLBFHOKfl, CORTLAin>T 1370, CommuntcatlouB ehould be addressed ta C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street. J. T. LINDSEY, Business Manager. "Sintered at th* Fott-O^iee at New York, N. T., as secona-etage matter." Vol. LXIV. NOVEMBER 18, 1899. No. 1653 THE improvement of the local business situation is very ■well illustrated by the following sentence in the forth¬ coming annual report of the Charity Organizatlon Society; "Ap¬ plications arising from lack of employment, irregular employ¬ ment, or badly paid employment hâve been comparatively in¬ frequent," The practical organization that makes this state- menjt can always usefully employ any funds sent tc them for tbe relief of worthy indigence, but it is évident that in one direc¬ tion tbe claims upon them bave been lessened through the de¬ mand for labor of ail kinds, and, we may infer, down tO' the in¬ ferior kinds of labor. Tbis is one of the best signs eommer¬ ciaily that caa be obtained, because it means that the communi¬ ty is fully and profltably employed, and that money is circulat- ing freely. This impression is fuily sustained by technical re¬ ports from trade centres, and while there is indication that prices of materials may ease off somewhat there is none of an abate¬ ment of the manufacturing or commercial activity of tbe coun¬ try. The money market situation is the one that still gives most anxiety, though that bas been allayed to a considérable extent by the Treasury's offer to buy government bonds. Tbe funds re¬ leased to trade as a result of tbis offer bave not as yet prom¬ ised to be large, but a sensible effect is produced by the intima¬ tion, that the offer conveys, that Secretary Gage is alive to the disabilities thrown on the business publie by our defective eur¬ rency System and Treasury régulations, and is watchfui for op¬ portunities to do what he ean to mitigate them. All his per- vlous acts in this direction bave been followed by good results, and there is no reason for supposing that this one will not also bear good fruit. ït takes a little while for the effects of any movement, good or bad, to mature, so that it îs too early to say what those of this one will be, except that we expect them to be good. Another hopeful idea of the home money market is that expressed in the following paragraph, respecting the Euro¬ pean, that the warning has been so complète that most require¬ menta for the near future bave been provided for. If that is the case, as money will, probably, then be returning fast to this centre from the country, at the close of the year, instead of pre¬ dicted stringency, rates should be easy and the activity in the stock market correspondingly stlmuiated. AS we gradually obtain a fuller idea of the military opéra¬ tions in South Afriea, it Is becoming apparent that the Boer plan of eampaign has been a failure. This, with the severe losses they hâve sustained and the completion of the British plans, will soon place them on the défensive, when the war will take another aspect. This may bring the end sooner than we bave antiei¬ pated. because the Boers are not wanting in good sensé, as their appeal for peace after their Majuba Hill victory showed, and they may see the wisdom of sulng for terms before tbe full force of the armament now being prepared is thrown at them. If they do tbls to save the useless sacrifice of the lives of tbeir men, they will be then as esteemed for good sensé as they now are and always wili be for valor. Going from the political to the flnancial fleld, we flnd that a comparative ease in money prevails in the great centres of Europe, though the typical rates bave not been reduced. It may be, and it is by no means unlikely, that the woret ln this direction has been seen for a time. There has been so much alarm raised about money that those who hâve heavy commitments to meet at the end of the year may bave al¬ ready secured the necessary accommodations. Presuming this to havebeenthecase,t'hepredictedsqueezeforthe close of next montb will not mature. Tbe gênerai monetary condition of London is affected by the radical changes that bave taken place in the bank¬ ing System there, without altering the relation of the Bank of England toward the other banks. Twenty years ago no other one bank held deposits to nearly the amount that the Bank of England did; now two others, the National Provincial and the London and County, each aetually bave larger deposits, and two or tliree more are begluning to tiead ve^y ciosely upon its heeis. At the samje lime tue Bank of Jiugland aione is looked to to main¬ tain a reserve to meet any emergency. This is somewhat of a hardship upon it and one that it is seeKing to mitigate through a public opinion that will compel the joint-stock bauks to increase their individual reserves. Among other items of iuterest we note tbe following: Prices for commodities were on the average higher at the close of Ociober tban they hâve been for any time in four years. Keconsiruction goes on siowiy in Australia; for example, reaiizaiious on ihe asùeis of one of tne bauns reoigan- ized m liitiS amouat lo ouiy about 3Vo per annum for the pasL two years. New iiusiuess shows some progress, however, and the output of gold is couLinuaiiy incieaaing. 'ibère is a gênerai im¬ pression that Hussia is in extrême nnaueial siraits, aud that with her it is a case of borrow or burst, and perhaps of borrow and burst. Another estimate of the foreign money invested in the Transvaal places that of France at $ùDO,OUO,uOU and that of Ger¬ many at ?15u,tJÛO,000. The Paria municipal loans for building an underground railroad, the flrst secûon of which is considerably advauced, bears only 2% iuterest, but there is attached to it some chances of securing premiums with quarterly drawings for redemptiou, The boom in tne German iron and steel trades con¬ tinues, and leading concerna in those lines are confident that it will Iast for some time ta come yet, Vienna is recovering from the panic couditious tbat prevailed two weeks ago, though a direct sufferer from an acuie crisis in RLumania, due to the par¬ tial failure of ihe harvest, which is said to be only one-third of the average. X T a moment when the industrial share business on our ^~^ stock excbange is in suspense, awaiting the development of results and the crystaliaing of public opinion upon this form of investment, it is interesting to note the results that bave at¬ tended Lhe experiment of trading and manufacturing by corpora¬ tions elsewhere aud the l:onunes of their shares in lhe markets. Some of these results, so far as Great Britain is concerned, can be found in a list of industrial shares which bave paid dividends for three years or more, and which yield from 6% to 7% upon tbe investment given in "The Economist," of London. This list includes no less than eighty-four stocks. Of tbis total of eighty- four, sixteen are predicated on brewing, four on gas, electric iighting or water supply, ten on coal, iron or steel, six on shipping and ship building, four ou telegraphy, nine on tea and coftee planting and thirty-five scattered among almost as many trades or occupations, including dry-goods, flrearms, warehoua- ing, hôtels, milling, rausic halls, ete. Not only is this list con¬ fined to stocks that bave paid dividends for three years, but it includes no less than fifty-six that hâve made returns to their holders in each of tiie past seven years, aud fifteen that make averages over the period of divided payments of over 10% per annum. Some also paid intérim dividends which were uot taken into aceount. As a rule the highest returus were made on brew¬ ery, coal, iron and steel shares. So far as this goes it makes an excellent showing for industrial sbares in the bauds of the public. What proportion of the aggregate of such shares it represents we bave no meaus of knowing. For a good many years now the British public bave had a large -appetite for industrials and bave been badly bitten in numerous cases, as, for instance, in some of the Hooley issues; but lt is évident, from the statement sum¬ marized above, that they bave had their good things, too. In presenting ita return "The Economist" says that it is very easy to find numbera of securities which give a yield of as much as six or seven per cent., and even much more in the cases of new companies that bave paid only a first dividend, or of undertak¬ ings that bave paid one dividend only for a number of years and for the low prices of whose shares there would be very adéquate reason, The inquiry is, therefore, confined to securities having at least some claim to stability. Care having been used in the sélection, the result is a fairly long list of industrials having more or leas claim to admission to the investment class. It shows, too, that by the exercise of judgment and discrimination more money cau be made by purehases of the uew shares than can usually be found in the old ones and also that whoieaale con- demnations of industrials or manufacturing and commercial shares as such are unwise. There is very little doubt that the development of our own share business in the next few years will be along these lines. It will be necessary to provide new chan¬ nels fer the employment of the capital whlch must be accumu¬ iating fast through the revivification of business three years ago ago, owing to the old ones being practically fully occupied. Tbere is no other source from which these channels can run than man¬ ufacturing and trading, and it is Important that we should b%