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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 34, no. 852: July 12, 1884

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July IS, 1884 THe Record and Guide. 739 THE RECORD AND GUIDE. Published every Saturday, 191 Broad-way, N. Y. TERMS: OEVE YEAR, in advance, SIX DOLLARS. Communications should be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 191 Broadway. J. T. LINDSEY, Business Manager. JULY 18, 1884. The nomination of Grover Cleveland after that of James G. Blaine settled the question that the great corporations will be taken care of during the nest presidential term. No one has ever charged the Republican nominee wiih being an anti-monopolist, and Mr. Cleveland, who made his fortune as a railroad lawyer, has never professed to be unfriendly to the corporations. This nomina¬ tion will make the contest in this State very interesting. A large labor and Irish vote will be eaat for Blaine, while some of the most reputable of the old time Republicans will for the first time vote for a Democratic President. The Republican vote in this city -will undoubtedly be largely increased, while in New York and the New England States tens of thousands of Republicans will cast their ballots for Mr. Cleveland. "Were the election to be held next month we believe that the Democratic nominee would be chosen, but the tide may change before November next. The contest will be an exciting one in any event. The platforms of the two great parties are sorry reading. They are both evasive, obscure and demagogical. Neither of them really mean anything. They both endorse the monstrous swindling pen¬ sion appropriations, and deliberately muddle the tariff issue, which ought lo have been a matter of distinct dispute between the parties. The Eastern presg^ and foreign banking interests Is ignored in* tlie platform of the two parties on the silver question. Both parties announce their belief in bi-metallism as the true policy of this country. The real issue will be the personal character of the two candidates in the field. It is what they and their party associates would be likely to do under a given set of circumstances, which will determine the voters in their choice on election day. "To-day," says Eraereon, "isKing." What the sage of Concord meant was that the present epoch was usually as fruitful of great events as any period in the past. There is now going on before our eyes a revolution in political parties of the utmost moment. A very respectable section of the Republican party with some of its leading organs is separating itself from the main body of the organization and marching into the Democratic camp. Then the Irish and some of the laboring vote which formerly could be depended upon for the Democratic nominee will this time cast their ballots for Blaine under the supposition that he will oppose a bolder front to British and other foreign powers than his opponent in case an international difficulty arose. How great the defection will be on either side it is not now possible to say. Accident will have a good deal to do with the final result. Had the last presi¬ dential election taken place in September or October, instead of November, Garfield would have been beaten. But Roscoe Conk- ling entered the field and, with General Grant's help, turned the tide of battle. Were the election to be held next week or next month the Democratic candidate would probably be chosen. But the temper of the voters may change towards the close of the can¬ vass. Should Great Britain be rude, Spain insolent, or Germany ahowherbaudin the matter of Cnba, it might so fire the American heart aa to advantage the Republican candidate. Governor Cleveland has appointed five very competent lawyers on tlie commission to draft the acts to reform our system of land transfers. Their names are Dwight H. Olmstead, Chas, F. South- mayd, Edwin W. Coggeshall, Chas. E. Strong and J. H. Riker, The laat named gentleman has given time, money, thought and study to this very important matter. His associates understand this sub. ject thoroughly. The one doubt in the matter is that they are all lawyers, aud, strange as it may seem, lawyers are the Jast persons in the world to draft laws or amendments thereto wliich are not ambiguous. The real estate interest will watch this commission closely. Its members will be open to criticism if they are not ready to report to the Legislature early in January next, so that prompt action can be taken. It is the habit of lawyers to potter and pro- crastftiate, and the powerful interest which demands this reform will be impatient if any unnecessary delays occur. What is needed is the ridding of deeds of unnecessary verbiage, the simplification of the indexes, and such changes in the laws sa will admit of quick and cheap transferaof property. le the alterations proposed do not aim to accomplish these ends, it will be charged upon the lawyers of this commission that they wish to retain what they can of the to them profitable abuses in tbe present barbarous system of real estate conveyances. Value of City Property. ^^| The comparison between the assessed valuation of city realty of the present with the past year is of course in favor of the former. The table itself will be perused with peculiar interesD by all who deal in real estate, as it shows what parts of the city are increasing in value and what sections remain stationary. The increase of over §1,500,000 in the First Ward was to have been expected. The Mutual Life Insurance building has just been finished, and the Produce Exchange, with a number of buildings adjoining, have added largely to the value of property in what may be regarded the toe of the i-sland. Next year there will be a still further addition to the valuation of property in this ward, for the assessment lists will cover the Astor office buildmg on Broadway, between Wall and Pine atrepts, the Mortimer building at the corner of Wall and New streets, the fine Union Bank building on Wall street, near William, the new office building on the corner of Wall and Pearl streets, and the great Standard Oil building on Broadway, adjoin¬ ing the Welles building. But whde these and other improvements are increasing the taxable property of the First Ward it may as well be acknowledged that the older buildings are not any more valu¬ able for business than they were in former years. Outside of the very large structures it ie doubtful if the rental of the First Ward improved property will be as large during the present year as it was last year and the year before. The large increase in the Twelfth, Nineteenth and Twenty- aecond wards was to have been expected. It is in these localities that the new buildings are being constructed. The assessors have dwelt leniently with property-holders in the Seventh and Tenth wards. Judged by the sales at the Exchanges, property near and below Grand street, on the east side, is more highly appreciated by a certain class of inveatorg than any other part of tbe city filled with a working population. The Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth warda show but a rela¬ tively small increase. They will do better from this time forth. The region beyond the Harlem is destined to be the sceue of very great improvements. It will surpass in building activity and in enhancement of values the Twelfth and Nineteenth wards. But here ia the table : Ward. 1..... 3 .... 3..... 4 .... 5..... 1883. .................... $6i,7Si,657 .................... 30,199,197 .................... b5,b8(i,351 .................... 13,108.108 .................... 43.713,203 ......;.............. 2a,437,Hja 7...........:.................... ]a.lti8,B4a B ............................... 87,377,774 9................................ 37,0;-2.9e4 10............................ J7.(I03,9S4 11............................... 16,2W,a93 12.............................. 103,430,854 -Assessed Valuation.- 13. 14. 15. 16.. 17.. 18.. U,9I),515 a.3,H6-J,543 64,390.440 35,146,j68 83,S9.i,843 73,4ii.45:i J8:;.ti03,!i48 42,mi,i-i2 87,(8 ■,443 8^i'83,16l 14,846,410 9,T5a,!JS3 18ri4. $6G,3r3,300 30,53il,881 35,988,871 13,3(12.006 4!),6:Jl),618 !i3,(ilil.u88 16,346.193 aB,fl3il,698 28,793,8'4 17.1ti7,934 16,50l';143 115,163,425 10,035,615 3i,9()4,79i 5S061,158 36,3a6,9l3 3:J,7i ',443 75,445 363 193,7!).i,9J3 44,-je9.773 88,19«,B9S 01,(lni.eu6 15,633.355 9,888,810 79,130,669 $1,119,761,597 1BS3. Resident......................... $137,678,543 Kon-resident.................... 10.7i5,.')33 Shareholders of banks........... 69,153.430 -Personal estate.- 197 ,.■146.495 Total real and personal estate., $1,276,677,164 1831. S141,03rn.4a9 10,6 lO 5 "3" 66,3.50,765 31K.53»,T48 $1,838,393,313 Increase. $1,6111,643 331,634 8 '3,530 193,900 91tj,4!6 224,360 177,550 643.934 830,850 ] 63,950 248,850 11,751,571 84,100 6n3,360 673.718 1,0-0,450 124,600 ■ 3,0:6,910 9,103,400 1.576,.15lI l,ll6.5->0 5,919.443 785,845 133, MS $40,630,938 Increase. $ia,9^S.8tiT * ■4,961 7,(193,313 31.045 313 $61,678,140 * Decrease. For lack of certain vital amendments to the shipping bill passed by Congress we shall, it eeems, lose the Australian, New Zealand and Oceanic tiade. This is supposed to be worth altogether $500,- 000,000. We were getting our share of it, but no provision was made for the mail service which has been maintained by the New South Wales government, which gave a subsidy of $300,000 to the mail steamers and agreed to continue it if the United States sup¬ plied one-third of the amount, but our New York press, always on the alert to damage this city, howled " job," and so the provision to do our just share for carrying the letters was stricken from the Dinglfy bill. About 13,000 letters originate in tlie United States for the Australian colonies besides an immense quantity of printed matter, samples and parcels of merchandise, the postage on which is retained in tne country, but the letters and parcels are distributed free in the British colonies; not only so but New Zealand alone p9ys $190,000 a year to the United States postoffice for railroad transpor¬ tation of its enclosed mail, although it exacts none for our letters.