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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 57, no. 1465: April 11, 1896

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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. ---------■--------- 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. ---------■--------- 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. ■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-