Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 79, no. 2025 [i.e. 2026]: January 12, 1907

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January 12, 1907 RECORD AND GUIDE 47 ESTABUSHEE^MARpHSlu^ieea. De^teB TO RfKL Estate.BuiLDii/c A;ftGifiTECTUi\E,KousEaoiLDE6aRAnof!, BlTsii/ess AffeThemes of GejJeraI It/TCRpi. PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE EIGHT DOLLARS PubUsf)ed eVerg Saturday CommunlcationH should ho addi'fissed tn C. W. SWEET Downtown Otfice: 14-16 Vesey Street, New York Tolephono, CorthiuiU 3157 Uptown Olfice: 11-13 East 24tii Street, New York Telephone, 4430 MaillBon Square ''Entered al the I'osl Office al I^eiK York, jV. I", as second-da us maUpr." Vol. LXXIX. JANUARY 12, 1907. No. 202D. INDEX TO DEPARTMENTS. Advertising Section. Page Page Cement .....................xvll Lumber ......................xxii Consulting Engineers .........viil Maciiinery .....................v Clay Products ..................s Metal Work ..................xvl Contractors and Builders......IU Quick Job Directory........xxlll Electrical Interests ...........vl Real Estate ..................xl Fireproofing ..................li Roofers & Roofing Materials.. .xx Granite ....................xvlii Stone.....................xviil Iron and Steel.................Ix Wood Products ......■.........xxii The Index to Volume LXXVIII. of the Record and I Guide, covering the period between July 1 and De- j cember 31, 1906, will be ready for delivery on ^ Wednesday, January 16. Price $1. This Index in | its enlarged form is uow recognized as indispensable | to every one engaged or interested in real estate and | building operations. It covers all transactions— s deeds, mortgages, leases, auction sales, building plans | filed, etc. Orders for the Index should be sent at | once to the oflices of publication, 11-15 East 24th St., | and 14 and 16 Vesey St. | ii^^ffi^B a>«ij» EXTREMELY difficult it is to write about the stock mar¬ ket this week. It is a tangle of contradictions anom¬ alies and paradoxes. Every day it acts in a way calculated to give the impression that great things are about to ensue and, lo, in an hour the ticker stops and stagnation follows. On Monday of this week commission houses were almost unanimously bullish and for the first time in a long period took hold with a will. By Tuesday noon they all grew afraid at the same time, by reason of the market dullness and threw their stocks overboard. They seemed to balance between exuberant bull conditions existing in the country and the dread of something to happen in the financial world, and so the commission house operators hesitate to take any decided position in the market. As soon as they buy stocks they have the shivers, and if they sell "short" they see ghosts of possible corners. It does appear though, that the bull side must win. The apprehension growing out of the fear of Federal investigations, in -other words, corporation baiting, has the effect of calling a halt on everything in the way of kiting and promoting, so that there will not be any bubbles to be pricked and all this may save depression and panic later on. If money should work easier or even normally from this time a creeping market upwards should be a certainty. As it is now price movements are unimpor¬ tant and many speculators fear that'the market may be left to take care of itself for the time being, which is dis¬ couraging to those who like to see activity one way or an¬ other. Money has unquestionably been plentiful since Jan¬ uary 1, and those of what ia called "the public" who are in the market do not understand why some brokers should have had to pay exorbitant prices for loans. Thus the money question again has had the effect of limiting busi¬ ness. The only fact regarding stocks worthy of mention is that there is a growing feeling that Atchison may soon pass under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Another matter that has caused rejoicing in Wall Street is the an¬ nouncement that the Stamp law which required the same tax on a sale of ?1 par as on one of $100 par was uncon¬ stitutional. THE term of the Steinway tunnel franchise having ex¬ pired, the city's engineer found upon investigation that the work is incomplete, that the underwater section is pot pierced througb, an4 that the boring has not proceeded as far as the public had previously been led by bulletins to think. Much as the population of this congested town needs this new gate to the suburbs, it is regrettable that the pro¬ prietors do not stand before the city in a better light. If there is one thing more than another that the American people have sickened of it is the game of deception and trickery as practiced by so many corporations engaged in the business of rendering a public service. We need this tunnel, but let us have it honorably, and on terms as fair to the public as to the builders. Now that the franchise has expired—if there was really a franchise—these terms should be the condition for an extension of time and the privilege of finishing and operating the line. Mysteries should be unveiled and the plans unrolled before the Mayor aud the municipal cabinet, that a full understanding may be had concerning the service which the proprietors of this enterprise propose to render tha public, and the fare which they hope to exact for it. No answer to the effect that the fare is already fixed by statute should be accepted, but a precise and definite agreement should be extracted from this very secretive corporate body not only iu regard to tolls, but also pertaining to connections, transfers, train speed and personal comfort. Upon these particulars es¬ pecially depend a satisfactory adjustment of real estate elements aud balances between various parts of the city, and no doubt the people are more anxious about these mat¬ ters than concerned over the weightier matters of finance, to which the Mayor must also give thought. It would seem to us as if the city had Mr. Belmont's tunnel project in chan¬ cery, A cartoon picturing the figure of the official head of the corporation caught in his own tube (trap) is suggested to our illustrated contemporaries. Another aspect of the case is the disclosure of the probability that the line will not be in shape to operate for fully two years, during which further period real estate interests in Queens must continue to hold their breath. And not only in that quarter, but in other quarters also—in South Brooklyn, Flatbush, the Jerseys—wherever there are expectant speculators discount¬ ing a predicted exodus from Manhattan, there will be a longer time to wait than has been advertised. We are, in a word, extremely sceptical of the predictions fixing early dates for the last stroke of work on any of the rapid transit Hues now under construction, and of startling losses in pop¬ ulation, and recessions in values and rentals. We have no idea that any of the changes will be more ab'rupt or disturbing for this old island city than any that have gone before. Water will always overflow the living fountain, but always there will be more people wishing to live here or required by their business to do so than available habi¬ tations can comfortably contain. The Message of Mayor McClellan. THE ANNU.'VL MESSAGE of Mayor McClellan did not re-, ceive the attention it deserved from the daily news¬ papers. It contained' a number of new recommendations of the utmost importance; and it outlines a general plan for the future development of the resources of New York City and the improvement of its administration which, if carried out, will provide for almost all the important aspects of our municipal welfare. The Mayor makes some reference to every question of immediate moment connected with the government of the city. He refers to the necessity of equal¬ izing salaries and to the work already accomplished to that eud by the Commission he has appointed; and he urges the Board of Aldermen to adopt the resolution already passed by the Board of Estimate establishing various grades and posi¬ tions and fixing salaries by grade. This is one of the most important of the many questions connected with the eco¬ nomical administration of the municipal government; but we are afraid that it is the sort of reform, in the execution of which no assistance can be expected from the Board of Alder¬ men. His references to the transit problem are brief and to the point. He states that "the city is now acting and will continue to act in the best of faith to carry out the provisions of the Elsberg bill," and he asserts that any statement that the terms of the Elsberg bill will make the contracts for the new subways unattractive to bidders is premature and ill- advised. It was only to be expected that the Mayor would take this stand; but it is encouraging to find him declaring so emphatically against the prophecies of evil, which have been coming from different members of the Transit Commis¬ sion and their counsel. He calls attention to the work that is being done and planned in order to secure relief from congestion on the Brooklyn Bridge, to the rapid progress that is ^t last being made botb on the tunnels, the Black-