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April 11, 1 806
Record and Guide.
607
4^
< \ (rcT](DT(cumO^. uSiorHPIir^lBB^
ESUBUSHED'^ fW-CH 2iu> 1868.
Busiitess Alto Themes of GEjto^A 'Krenfaj^
xvice. »*feR \r£AN IN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS.
Published every Saturday,
rKLKPHONB,......OOBTUINDT 1870
Ooiouiunicatlons shonld be addressed to
C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street.
' » Clf^'DSfY. Husiness Manager.
" Bnttred at thi Potl-otHce at Ifetv Tork, If. X., a* seeond-etatt matter."
Vol. LVII,
APRIL 11, 1890
No. 1,465
The Rkcoud a.vd Gvid^ will furnish you with daily detailed reports
of all building operations, compiled to suit your business spec'ifically, ,fo)
14 cents a day You arc thns kept informed of the entire market for your
goods yo guess ivork. Every fact verified. Abundant capital and the
thirty years' ixiniiencr of TOK Rkcord and (Icide (/iKO-dHto: Ihc com¬
pleteness and anlhenticity of this service. Send lo 14 and IG Vesey street
for information.
WITH tiUPFLEMENl.
TIIKliE is littlo or iiotliiii,«- loiidd to the view oxiiicsNi'd lost
\vi'ek uf tlie business .situation, 'i'litrc is iierluips ;i little
increase of activity in several lines, tliereb.y iiicreasiiiK tlie
iif'-fliefir.ito volume of trade, aud even where rtulliiess rontiimes
iiiiabaled prices contimie firm. 'J'he wealhor has not encouraged
biiyiii.u-, nor has the action of ('ongres.s doue anythiufr to re¬
lieve tlie aiixielien of the coustitneneies. Hut it i.s a jsood sign
Unit the thibnii resolutions have I'allen so flat. If the. ;idiiiiiiis-
tration minds ils own lej,>-itimat(' business and keeps out of the
hole opposiii,u- Senators and Coii.ni-essnien have dii,tr for it, what¬
ever niodieuni i f bad iulliK^ncc these resolutions possess
will be soon dissiiiiited. The l(',2islalive mind itself does nol
seem to think that the President will feel conipellcd by
the.se resolutions to take any .iinyroish step, because the
Washiii^;l(iii orders in the stock market are on the loiiR-
side. Talking of the stock market, it may t,o remarked
that of all Ihe dull places this is the dullest. Yet, apart from
that from Wasliington, the news likely to inHiieiiee, stocks has
not been bad. .^oiiie gold has been exported, but onlv on spe¬
cial orders, and, while exchange is perilously near the shipping
point, it is satisfactory to no*e that gold hesitates to go out at a
peiiod of the year when it has been cnstomaiy for it to move
eastward except when checked by ;ulilicial barriers, such as
were ere. led last year by the lloiid .Syndii-ate. The retention
or export of .uoio is to-day sub.ieit only to the usual demands of
trade. An export movement is still probable this spring, but
the hesitation witnessed to-day shows that the couditions wliich
rule such nioveiiients are begiuning to b.» more favorable to this
couniry, and Ihis iu turn proves that the general commercial
situation has iniproveil.
"piiOTECTIU.NLST.S in Fiance are urging that the encloisure
-*- of the mother countiy aud the colonies and dependencies
by protective taritts be completed by tho exclusion of otlier
countries from .Madagascar and Tunis, uotwitiistaiiding any
coininercial tieaties auy of thom may have. As far as Madii.niis-
car is concerned that may probiibly be easy to arrange, but with
Tunis it is another matter. Italy and Gical Britain are the only
liowers having lieaties wilh ihe native government dated prior
to annexation by France—carried out it may be remarked in vio¬
lation of a luuidied promises and declarations thai annexation
was not intC'ided. Italy's treaty is tenninable on a year's notice,
.which Jias already been given and half expired ; (4reat liiitaiir,s,
however, is a tieaty in perpetiiily, and in dealing with it dilli-
culty may arise, Some French iournalists are setting nji the
claim that every treaty is termiiiable upon due and proper
notice; if this view should b',icomc the ottii-ial one, Ureal Hritain
will probiilily :isk that it be applic! to the French lishery rights
in Newfoniidlanil. 11 the (pieslion should take auolher direc¬
tion the occiiinitiou of Tunis and the altempt lo exclude Great
Hrihiiii from its trade, or putting obstacles in her way, may be
made the basis for bringing France to terms upon the ipiestion
of the occupiUion of Egypt, A return made iifi in Herlin shows
only a very small amount of the Italian debt to be carried iu
London and a very large amount, estimated as high as two
milliards of francs, in Germany. Hegaiiliiig the ability of Italy
to bear new biu-dcns, il is claimed lli.it tlieni are yet iindevef-
oped sources of tax powers iniismuch as hitherlolhe liurdens
have all been iiii|iosed upon the poor, and tliat the rich, who
wield the iiiiliticil power, can conliibute to the public resources
on a miicli lii-g.r scale than tliey do at present. The parlinaiis
ot silver have met another overthrow by the refusal of .Viislria-
Himgar-y to make a move wheu lequested to do so toward
securing an international agreenieut for the free coinage of
silver. There was no prospect that the Govereinent would make
such .1 move and the proposal appears absurd unless it was
intended to back un similar moves in Herlin and London and
.give an air of spoiltaneit.v as well as of perv.asiveness to the
agitation. However, the Austrian and Hungarian press attacked
the matter al once and well-known financiers, both in and out
of oHi(-e, jiolnted out that the dual-country was pledged to the
gold stiindard by the measure of currenc.y reform which is now
being carried out and, therefoi-e, was not iu a position to make
the desired movement.
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THE exposure that has been given of the obnoxious nature
of the Wray Mechanic's Lien Law has not dismayed its
friends in the Legislature. A bill similar to that iutroduced by
.Senator Wra.v into the Senate has been presented to the Assem¬
bly by Mr. Guider, which shows that its sponsors have strong
hopes ot seeing the bill become a l.iw. hy they should want
to do so passess all understanding because thoio is no one who
could possibly be benelited by the provisions of the bill, the
workiiien and laborer least of all. The suggestions it makes to
secure the claims of the latter upon work on whicli he has put
in his time have been tried in Now Jersey. The only result of
them was to efl'ectiiall.y check building activity, and last year
the law was repealed without a fraction of opposition coming
fidiii bibor (jiiartiMs or anywhere else. Why any one shimld
want to impose conditions ou New York which have proved
mischievous in New Jer.sey is a conundrum which none but a
legislator can answer. However, that the thing is mi.schievous
and iiDsurd will not prevent it from passing, as we know by
experience, and the building interests of the State ought to take
the matter up with all necessary vigor, otherwise they may tind
in the crush that precedes au ad.jourument that they have had
solium very embarrassing leg.al restrictions put uixiii their
activities. The defeat of this bill would be a good work for the
New York Stale Builders' Association to undertake. This asso¬
ciation was formed last December, but little or nothing has been
heard of it since, and it might ver.y well commence a career of
active usefulness by coucenlriitiiig all its influence against
this bill.
---------â– ---------
SOME steps should be taken to secure to tho city the delivery
- of land bought for park purposes in the sh.ape best suited
to its ultimate use. This is not the case at present. We are
informed that it is not an nucommou thing, after damages have
been assessed, but before title has been transferred, for land so
dcstinid lo bo deiiiidid of its trees and often turned into a com¬
mou dump for the disposal of all manner of rough material.
The loss of the trees is the greatest evil of the two. Every
standing tree on a park site is worth a great many dollars to
the city. In the cases of mature forest trees their loss is ouly re¬
parable at the end of a generation of time and by the expendi¬
ture of iiiiicli iiioiuty and of work on the part of the gardeners,
which also re|iresonts mone.y. It would be easy to prevent the
destruction of trees so situated and so v.aluable by a little super¬
vision on Ihe part of an agent of the city, aud where much dam¬
age is doue to the trees after property-damages have been as¬
sessed the city ought to compel a revaluation of the site. The
dumping of refuse on land about to become city pioperty ought
also to be provided against, because it simply means that tho
city must, ou taking possession, clear the surface of rubbish
which has to be carted to dum|)s. Some instances of this kind
are more serious than otlieis. The site of Colonial Park is being
made unsightly and its successful treatment by the landscape
gardener endangered by the accunimulations of the ma.sses of
refuse. This land is also beiu.g despoiled of its trees, many of
which are line specimens of their kind .and would if spared give
the park at ouce the character tlesired, and that'will take years
to create without them. We hope that steps will be takeu at
ouce to prevent furl her destruction in this direction. It is, of
course, somewhat difficult for the city to move until it has taken
title, but uo doubt a way can be found to prevent the loss of the
trees. Auy appeal to the public would bring the strongest kind
of support, because the wisdom and propiiety of preserving the
arboiial features of a, park site are patent to every one.
â– fXT'lIlLl''. we are nil interested in seeing the communications
' ' between New York and Brooklyn made easier, theio is
a great otijeclion to giving the elevated railroads of the two
cities hard and fast control of the at present aud onI.y bridge over
the East Uiver. As this seems to be the principle involved in
the bill introduced into tho Legislature by elevated railroad
interests, the measure must be considered au ob.jectionable one
and oue that is calcubited to create mischief in future. Tho
sort of dual-control iutended, the railroads controlling the rail¬
ways and llie tnistees relaiuing the foot and carriageways is a
clumsy conlrivaiice and in fact impracticable. Prom the poiut
of view of the public, ils obvious intention of keeping the sur¬
face lines ott' the bridge, makes the bill an undesirable ono iiioa-