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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 26, no. 663: November 27, 1880

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Real Estate Record AND BUILDERS' GUIDE. Vol. XXVI. NEW YOEK, SATUEDAT, NOVEMBEK 27, 1880. No. 663 Published Weekly by TERMS. ONK Y£AK. in advance....SIO.OO. Communications shoidd be addressed to C. W. SAVEKT, No. 137 Broadway The purchase of several parcels of real estate by leading capitalists during the past week, reflects the opinion, now steadily grow¬ ing among investors, that vacant lots or im¬ proved property, in and around Manhattan Island, yield better and more permanent returns than ordinary securities. Real estate is, indeed, just now, the very best purchase in om' markets, as, notwithstanding the con¬ siderable increase df activity, there has as yet been no corresponding increase in values, with every prospect of higher rates after the New Year has been turned. When gentle¬ men like Mr. Fish, the President of the Marine! Bank, Congressman Hewitt, Mr. Munoz, the shipping merchant, and Mr. Iselin, the banker, put their surplus fund in real estate, all within a few days of one another, we may indeed look forward with confidence to the infusion of still more new blood in the market. Again, every builder, who sells a block of houses, such as, for instance, Mr. Hewitt has purchased, of course is at once looking around for new lots of ground, as he cannot afford to sit idle, and between the slight resumption of speculation already noticeable, and the actual demand for lots requu'ed for immediate improvement, the continued activity must ere long be accom¬ panied by higher prices. THE USE OF THE PARKS BY THE WORLD'S FAIR. It appears by the following section of our State Constitution, that the city of New York is prohibited from giving away its property for the use of a private corporation, and that the Park Commissioners will base their opposition to the use of Central Park by the World's Fair upon this section : Art. viii. Section.H. No county, city, town or village shall hereafter give any money or prop¬ erty, or loan its money or credit to or in aid of any individual, association or corporation, or be¬ come, directly or indirectly, the owner of stock in or bonds of any association or corporation, nor shall any such county, city, town or village be al¬ lowed to incur any indebtedness, except for county, city, town or village purposes. Tnis sec¬ tion shall not prevent such county, city, town or village froni making such provision for the aid or support of its poor, as may be authorized by law. And, yet, it is claimed that the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Arts, both belonging to private corporations, are actually located in the Park by and with the consent of the department. It appears, how¬ ever, that everything turns upon the word 'give" in above section, and that the commis¬ sioners may " loan " the use of the ground for the purpose intended. In how far the seeming difficulty may be overcome, it is ap- I)arent that the use of the lower end of the Park will certainly not be granted. A small portion of the north end of the Park above the reservoir may possibly be ceded temper, arily, but, then, the fair grounds may have to spread over Morningside Park, and the hill that stretches from One Hundred and Tenth to One Hundred and Twenty-second street. That such a movement is contemplated by some of the commissioners is apparent by the anxious study they have made of the plans for Morningside Park, recently prepared by I. Wrey Mould, and the further fact that all the authentic maps of that section have, during the past few days, been removed to the headquarters of the International Com¬ mission ,in Broadway. THE NORTHERN PACIFIC. We have repeatedly pointed out the ten¬ dency to vast riailway combinations wliich might perhaps sometime include the entire railway system of the country. The latest and most startling of these combinations is the syndicate which has been formed for completing the Northern Pacific road with¬ in three years. Drexel, Morgan & Co., August Belmont & Co., Winslow, Lanier & Co., Seligman & Co., and Morton, Rose & Co., of London, have agreed to form a syndicate and furnish $40,000,000 for the completion of the Northern Pacific road in three years time. So much has been told by the newspapers—^but this does not tell the whole story. From private sources we learn that the new combination wiU in¬ clude the Oregon Navigation Co., the North¬ ern Paciflc and the St. Paul & Milwaukee. Mr. Mitchell, of the St. Paul company, is to take a seat in the combined board. Among the gentlemen largely interested is Mr. George Pullman, D. O. MiUs, Henry Villard and the other large operators, weU known in con¬ nection with the St. Pauls and the Oregon Navigation Co. Of the $40,000,000 loan, more than half wiU be placed abroad though the subscriptions will be made in New York City. Immense quantities of iron have already been contracted for, much of which will go around Cape Horn. The grade of the Northern Pacific is completed to the YeUow Stone, and the rails are laid to within thirty miles of the great National Park. Next summer, it is supposed, that a large business will be done in conveying parties to that most extraordinary of aU the regions of the world. By next spring we shaU have two Unes to the Paciflc ; for, by January, it is an¬ nounced that the Santa Fe road wiU effect a junction with the Southern road coming to meet it from New Mexico ; and in three years time we shaU have three weU equijjped trans-continental Unes. It is almost safe to predict that, by the year 1884, every raUroad in the country wiU be a part of three, or at most four, great combinations of roads. The three Unes from the Paciflc to the Atlantic being the great stems or trunks, to which aU the other roads wUl be tributary. How in¬ credible aU this would seem twenty-five years ago. ««> HINTS, POINTS AND FORECASTS. The impression is prevalent in the street that the late "boom" in the, market was not originated by Jay Gould. Indeed, it is believed that he was unprepared for the advance in prices. His own stocks were steadUy sold down upon every advance. The real authors of the boom are said to be D. O. Mills in conjunction with Boston and the CentralfPacific people of San Fan- cisco. In other words it is aUeged that dur¬ ing last summer certain EngUsh capitaUsts had put up large sums of money for building raih'oads in this country, in connection with the new line to the Pacific, and tributaries thereto. This transfer of capital from Europe to the United States for the purpose of buUding raUway property, occurring simultaneously with the demand for Ameri¬ can securities is the real cause of the drain of gold to this side, as weU as the sharp advance in high priced raUway stocks. Jay Gould was not a party to these negotiations and was not prepared for the great advance in Central, Alton, BurUngton and the other high priced stocks. It is predicted that Delaware & Hudson wiU be selling at par within sixty days. The road is said to have a surplus of $3,000,- 000, has no floating debt and is doing an enormous business. The point has also been given during the past week to buy Canada Southern for $90. Lake Shore $130 and Michigan Central $135, are the figures. Omaha preferred, it is said, wiU go to $95. Erie is on the cards for $55, A very prominent New York Central Rail¬ road official says, there wUl be no scrip div¬ idend on Central, no doubUng of the stock and no increase of dividends. He says aU the surplus money wUI be used in making improvements and providing terminal facUi¬ ties in the city of New York, and it is nota¬ ble that every advance of the stock brings out a great deal of " long " stock. Marietta & Cincinnati, first preferred, is said to be good for 30, but we don't advise any one to buy it.