August 10,1895
Record and Guide.
181
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Vol. LVI.
AUGU.ST 10, 1895.
No. 1,480
WALL street is undergoing one ot its periods of dullness.
The comuiissiou houses ave doinj? practically nothing ;
in fact, if it was not for the professional tradiug element the
Stock Exchange might just as well imitate the fashicnahle
churches and close up for the vacation time. The lemarkahle
thing about this situation, however, is that while the only active
party in the market is largely bearish, prices are really .strong.
The conditiou of general business iu the country and the crop
prospects keep holders of securities, whicli, owiug to the abund¬
ance of money, can be carried very cheaply, encouraged as to the
future, and iu consequence unwilling to partwith their holdings.
Short sales, therefore, do not bring out loug stock, aud
the seller has to cover promptly, aud so luaintaius the very
quotations he is anxious to break. While the geueral public
is so satisfied with the outlook, there are uuder the sur¬
face some unsatisfactory features. Besides the adverse
positiou of exchauge, it is reported that nearly all the large
foreign houses are borrowers of stock against sales made
abroad. This borrowing is for the purpose of keeping the stock
sold iu Europe there iu order that it may imt have to be remitted
for froiu this side, as would be the case if it should be shipped
here. This is as artiticial as was the exchange market under
the mauipnlatioo of the managers of the syndicate and must
sooner or later be paid for. Very strenuous efforts are being
made to iuiluce European fiuauciiil centres to iuterest them¬
selves iu Americau securities, and for this purpose Loudon is
likely to get most of the plums to be had in reorganizations.
The Atchisou underwriting, which has up to Ihe present been so
successful, went there aud the Erie plau is now beiug offered
there. Keadiug aud Northern Pacific will probably go iu the
same direction. If this plan should succeed it may go a long
way toward cbanging the position ot exchange, aud conse¬
quenfly mitigate the worst evil from which at lea.st the tiuancial
branch of the business of the couutry ia now sufFeriug.
MR. GLADSTONE'S speech on the Armenian question puts
the uew British administration on its mettle in dealing
with that knotty problem aud auy action intended to force
the Porte iuto doing something to relieve the intolerable posi¬
tion of the ('hristiaus withiu its dominions will hasten the reac¬
tion in government securities. This has already begun iu the
low-priced issues aud wiE uot end uutil it has worked lower
figures iu the high-priced tines too. Events aro working toward
au explosion in the Balkan provinces, the eud of which, owiug
to the jealousies of the great powers, uo one cau foresee. The
awful news from China is also full of trouble for tbe future.
Coming at another time it would be merely a question of demand
for redress aud compensation from the countries to which the
victims of these outbreaks beloug and a prompt compliance ou
the part of China, but uow with the Russo-Cliinese-Japanese
perplexitystilluudctcrmiuedtheieisdangerof uew complications
in every movement. There is oue thing that Lord yab'sburycan
congratulate himself ou aud that is that the recent elections
have turned out so that the power to enforce the policy of his
goverumeut, if it goes to the unprecedented length for a Tory
government of having a policy, cannot be endangered by any
coalition of the minorities. Not ouly is this the case, but his
party is the one that has the more willing support ot the upper
chamber and the sympathies of the Crown. There never was
a governmeut since the beginning of free pariiameuts that had
its held of operations so clear of obstructions. Tliat the ener¬
gies of this governmeut will be absorbed in foreign aud colonial
affairs there is no doubt whatever, but how such affairs will
stand when the inevitable day comes wheu it must .surrender
i^ontrolof theui it is impossible t.i say. It is equally impossible to
say what effect proximate events will have on trade. The rea¬
sonable conelusiou, however, on this head is that should the
problems that now present themselves to the diplomacy of
Europe be settled without recourse to war, the improvemeut we
have seen iu trade and commerce will continue to grow, and
should sterner measures be resorted to a temporary interruption
would be followed by greater activity than ever.
THE property owners iu that section of the city lyinghetweeu
Ninety-fifth and Oue Hundred and Fourth streets and
Fifth and Park avenues, have a grievance from which they
ought to be relieved, aud that very promptly. A great deal of
money has beeu expended there of late years iu putting up ex¬
pensive buildings; but, while the property-owner has beeu
doing his best to improve the locality aud briug it iuto use for
decent people to live iu instead of leaving it to the hopeless
destruction of the squatter and his geese and goats, the city has
done uothing to help him. Repeated attempts have been made
in the last two years to get the streets paved without avail. In
consequence there is still within sight of Ceutral Park aud a
mile or more below the well-paved and efficiently-administered
amiexed district, roadways thatwoulddisgrace an impoverished
couhtiy Yilla2:e—dust heaps in dry weather and quagmires in
wet. The district to which we are referring has suffered con¬
siderably by having ouly very limited communications with the
avenues to the east of it, the streets between Ninety-sixth and
One Hundred and Second streets being cut offhy the railroad.
This is a great evil and a bar to the proper development of the
property, but it eau be borne with more patience than can the
greater evil of nupaved streets. The property-owners are fully
justified iu raising their most vigorous protest against this
policy of neglect ou the part of the city authorities towards one
small section of the city which has, while excluded from fidl
benefits, to share the burden of the cost of general maiutenance,
Kailroad Privileges on the Ifew Bridge,
We are glad to see that tbe new East River Bridge Commission is
prepared to aet witli extreme deliberation before appropriating the
bridge yet to be built to the use of the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad
Company or to any similar company or companies. It will bere-
membered that a private corporatiou known as the Ea.st Kiver Bridge
Company—which was really tbe Brooklyu Elevated Company, dis¬
guised because it could not by auy means obtain the privileges it
sought openJy and iu its own name—induced the Legislature at
Albany to grant it a franchise to conueet tlie cities of New York and
Brooklyu by a bridge across the East River and to operate a rail¬
road tbereou, in spite of the protest of tho people of bo+h the cities
aft>eted, OE course this bridge was never built, the owners of the
frauciiise never intended to risk their own money in the enterprise,
although some petty show was made of acquiring property. But in
the last session of tho Legislature another bill was passed empower¬
ing the two cities to build a bridge at a"co3b of $15,000,000. into
which measure was inserted a clause giving power to the Commis¬
sion created to carry the work through, to purchase from any eom¬
pauy—there was, of coiir.se, only one—a franchise for bridging the
East Eiver within certaiullimits, which'embvace all the territory
withiu which t.Iie Commission eonbl build its bridge.
In due course the companv having the franchise comes forward
and professing much publio spirit offers to dispose of it to the Com¬
mission at cost, with a little provision added that if accepted would
make the cities of New York and Brooklyn expend $15,000,000 to
carry tbe lines of the Brooklyn Eleyated Railroad Company across
the East River to the exclusion of every other means of travel. Such
a proposition would have astounded even the Legislature if it had
been squarely put to it, notwithstanding the uuholv trailic tbe rural
metpbers carry ou in tbe rights oE Ihe large cities, aud would have
beeu doomed to certain defeat. It is gratifying to see that the mem¬
bers of the Bridge Commission show uo di.sposition to allow this
scheme to succeed, aud although the Brooklyn Elevated Eailroad
Company is represented as covertly threatening to obstruct the
building ot the new bridge unless it obtains what it wants, it is not
possible for the scheme to succeed if the Coiumis.sion takes a firm
stand against it. We do uot want to be understood a.s opposing
riilroad eonveuieucea of every kind npou the uew bridge, but we do
moat emphatically oppose, aud ill doing so kuow that wo represent
the feelings aud wishes of the property-owners, residents aud busi¬
ness meu on both sides of the river, the placing of tho privi¬
lege of caiTyiug passengers across the bridge into the hands
of any one corporation. What is wanted and what only
jnstities so eiioruioiis au e.\pendituro aswillbeuecessary to.coustruct .
thi.s bridge is free commuuieatioii botween the two cities. It wilL^g^,,
a great advantage to the people if the railroads from either si^'Spring
Brooklyn Elevated among them, are allowed to make c<ig'jiQigj,j^„
with the bridge tracks aud carry iiassongeis through t^pg_ Eetimateu
nations without change of cars and for moderate far jjp_ Treu'a offlce
leges sliould. however, be subject lo the control o"
withdrawal for cause, as well as to payment a.''
to the companies upon which tbey are besti-DiNG.
right to one company would uot ouly r.>l(,Q ^j^^ ,,ggj^,, building work
of the income they have a right to expi;-^,^^^ j^ ^^^j^ j^g^j,. ^^ j_ y^^
chise, but it would also condemn tho^^,^_ ^^ carpenter, builder and gen-
oxtortion aud further limit th,- _;.'g, oj^porjeuce who has carried out
should cansf to very narrow bnii;,.^i,jt^i„i^g ^ g^od reputation for
The building of tbis bridge a' .^ j^j^ ^^^.^^ Mr, Mifiihell has iuat
immense advance in the taciliti
similar structure haa ever be^
taken iu the character of tiu
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