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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 71, no. 1821: February 7, 1903

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February f, 1903. RECORD AXD GUIDE ^zz fe g^ ESTABLiSHED-W^v"«.-"— ------ iJB&IED TO Rea.!. Estate . BuiLoijJc Ajvij^itecture .Household Dego^aiidiJ. .BusutessAib Themes OF GeiJer^ iKTERfsi, PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCi: SIX DOLLARS Published every Satardag Communications should, tie addressed to C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street, New YorK 3, T. UKDSET, Business Manager Telephone, Cortlandt 3157 "Entered al the Fost Qfflce at New York, if. Y.. as second-class m%tter." x-t>ijx>.uAitl I, iaua. 2'ke Index io Vviume LXX. of fhe Record and Guide, cover¬ ing the per.iod between Jiihjl and December -i], 19C2, is ready for deliccry. Price. $l.(ll). 2'A/s index in its enlarged form- is now rccogiiij^ed as indispensable to erery one engaged or interested in real estate and bnilding operations. It covers all transactions — deeds, mortgages leases, anciion sales, building 2)t'iits filed, etc. Orders for the Index slwvld be sent at once to the oj}ice oj publication, 1-1 and I (> Vesey St. SO far as the situation depends upon money it is improved this week by the publication of the oJQcial statement of the amount in circulation. This proves to be no less than about 595,000,000 more than at this time last year, and with speculation limited tlie supplies for ether purposes ought to be fully suffi¬ cient. The circumstances of the moment modify opinions of the monetary future expressed before the actual figures of circula¬ tion were known, and the weekly bank statement will most prob¬ ably reflect to borrowers a more favorable market than has been customary at ibis time of the year. Time money will likely keep fairly firm until spring demands are satisfied, but the attitude of dealers in paper and loaners expresses confidence in the business outlook for this year at least. Money on call is easy, and this has brought about tbe speculative advance seen la tbe market this week, which needs but little encouragement to be prolonged for sometime. The occurrences of the week have also been fav¬ orable to advancing quotations, and the incidents which have hitherto depressed things, such as the Venezuelan dispute are lost sight of in the confidence that their satisfactory disposition i", well within the line of diplomatic certainty. Predictions of price movements are unsafe owing to the extremely professional char¬ acter of the market, but with the outlook what it is, the reaction¬ ary movement begun yesterday should soon spend itself. hasten the recovery of business which is promised by the signs of the times. The only difference between London and the Continent is that the recovery has not proceeded so far with the latter, and that money is cheaper there owing to the conse¬ quently smaller demand. Fiscal affairs are occupying increased attention. Germany is discussing the advisability of modifying the "most favored nation" clause of commercial treaties, espe¬ cially of those with the United States. It is claimed that this country under that clause has obtained benefits, lor which it makes no return, through treaties made with Russia. Austria and Italy. This has resulted in our sending at times twice as much goods into Germanyaswe take therefrom; consequently Germans maintain that a readjustment is necessary. Austria had this country undoubtedly in mind in arranging the new tariff Some of the proposed increases of duties are: Cotton yarns. 507^; fine woolens, 337(; leather,, 20 to 50%; shoes, 20 to 80%; tobacco goods, 150%; textile machinery, 50 to 100%; electrical dynamos, 20 to 35%. These proposals are accompanied by an argument vi'ell known to ourselves, that in proportion as foreign goods are made dearer the consumer is forced to buy of the home manu¬ facturer. No. la-dl IT appears that London's monetary position is somewhat simi¬ lar to that of N'ew Yoik. While the latter is known to be a large borrower abroad, the head of a large London loaning insti¬ tution recently explained the comp;iratively high rates for money by saying that Europe's holding of English bills and consols give it a power over the London market to which the latter is not used and diminish its power to call gold at will. Another circumstance that makes money scarce, he said, was that there were undigested sales of consols carried on the market with borrowed money, estimated at from £20,000,000 to £25,000,000. This would also explain the heaviness of those securities. There is a revival of the talk that the country is living on its capital. One financial paper estimates this unnatural consumption for the past year at no less than £100,000,000, but as it has to admit that the data upon which it bases its calculation are imperfect, salt must be applied to the statement before swallowing. There is a difference of £120,000,000 between imports and exports for 1S02, against which the offsets are, in undefinable amounts, in¬ terest on foreign investments, freights, commissions, etc. It is probable that the first alone is sufficient to make good the debit balance. Mr. Gladstone twenty years ago estimated the foreign in¬ vestments of Great Britain at two billions sterling. That would be under the mark of to-day if it was correct then, about which doubt may be entertained, and it is easy to see that interest v/ould figure largely against the foreign trade balance. How¬ ever, in spite of the strength of tbe money market things are looking up. A better distribution of profits has been njade by the railroad companies for the last half of the year just closed, and heads of banks and other financial institutions all take a cheerful view of the outlook when addressing their stockholders. Tbey admit that business is being done at small profits, and that there are some troubles at hand, particularly in the readjustment of wage scales to meet the reduced profits of doing business, but expect these to give way before a reasonable presentation of tbe case and a recognition of the need for concession in order to The Approach to the Williamshurgh Bridge and Other Street Itnprovt ments. "IpHB plans for the approach to the Williamshurgh Bridge ■^ which the Board of E.?timate and Apportionment seems likely to adopt, are moderate aud sensible. They include the widening of Delancey street to a total width of either 125 or 150 feet, the cutting of a continuation of Delancey street from the Bowery to the juncture of Elm, Marion and Broome streets, and the widening of several streets that run parallel to the Bowery, and west of the Bridge as far as Houston street on the north and East Broadway on tbe south. The object of these various street changes is obvious. Delancey street will, of course, be the main approach to the Bridge, and must needs be made very broad, so as to accommodate the trolley, wagon and carriage traflle which will converge on the Bridge from all quarters of the city; and this traffic will be very large, because the accommodation for wagons and carriges on the Williamshurgh Bridge will be so much better than it is on the present Brooklyn Bridge that drivers will choose the new route, whenever possible. Large as this traffic will be, however, we judge that a width of 125 feet will be abundantly sufflcient both for use and good looks. The other street changes look toward the producing of proper means of access to the enlarged Delancey street. The new street that will be cut through from the Bowery to Elm street will provide a good route for trucks that wish to come from or go, to the wholesale district west of Broadway, while streets west of the Bridge and parallel to the Bowery will be widened until they reach cross-town streets like East Broadway and Houston street, which are capable of accommodating considerable traffic. In this way wagons and carriages will obtain comparatively ready access to the Bridge from every important direction. It will be noticed that these plans, which the Board will prob¬ ably adopt simply provide for the immediate practical necessi¬ ties, which will be imposed by the opening of the new Bridge, and do so at an expense which will in itself be large, but which will be much less costly than would have been several of the proposed alternate schemes. The route from the Bridge terminus to Cooper Square has apparently been definitely aban¬ doned, because the widening of a street parallel to the Bowery from Delancey to Houston street will servo the same purpose— not at al! so well, but at a much smaller e^xpense. The matter of opening some direct route fi'om the terminus of the Manhattan to the terminus of the Williamshurgh Bridge has been dismissed for the present. The Board is well advised in not considering any except immediate necessities in advance of the laying down of some comprehensive scheme for street improvements m Man¬ hattan, A diagonal street from the Bridge terminus to Cooper Square would in itself be a most admirable and useful thorough¬ fare, but it certainly would not be wise economy on the part of the city to spend the large sum of money which such a street would cost until more immediate requirements are satisfied. An improvement so important and expensive as this must be post¬ poned until the time comes for tbe careful consideration of a plan which will include all such street openings, and for some scale of relative expense, desirability and immediacy. In relation to this comprehensive plan for improving the street system, it is significant that the Board of Aldermen have not acted as yet upon the mayor's suggestion that $10,000 be appro¬ priated for the purpose of paying the expenses of an advisory commission. It is obvious that tbe number of people in the city who have any conception of the importance of planning ahead for the improvement and embellishment of the street system oC