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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 75, no. 1924: January 28, 1905

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January a3j IQOS RECORD AND GUIDE 183 DiViriED to RfA,L EsTWE. BulLDI^'G AfK^tirEcruRE .Household Deg(huidi(. BosiiiIess aiJdThemes Of GeiJer^ IHter^si. PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE SIX DOLLARS Published every Satardas . Comnmnloatlons should lie addresaod to C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street. New YorH J. T. LINDSET, Bu-ilupsa Manager Telophona, Cortlandt 3157 "Entered at Hie PjsI OjSi^e al Neui York. N- Y.. as second-class matter." Vol. LXXV. JANUARY 28, 1905. No. 1924. The Growth of The Record and Guide and the Resulting Changes. T X TE spolie recently in these columns of the growth of the * * Record and Guide and the necessity which that growth has thrust upon the management of the paper to pro¬ vide some plan whereby the vastly larger mass of legal records can be handled mechanically and otherwise with the least in¬ crease of financial pressure upon our readers. It must be per¬ fectly clear to every one of our subscribers that it is commer¬ cially out of the question for the Record and Guide to go on augmenting in bulk year by year, accompanied by the printing of thousands of additional legal papers annually, without in¬ creasing in some manner or form the cost of its service to its readers, A real estate agent, who should undertake to manage a certain estate for a fixed sum of money, could not permit the owner to go on indefinitely enlarging that estate, thereby increasing the agent's labors and expenses, without demanding increased compensation, A builder, who should contract to erect -a ten-story building for a fixed amount, could not permit the owner to add story upon story without demanding an in¬ creased cost. The Record and Guide, however, has been in the position of this hypothetical real estate agent and builder for many years past. It has steadily increased the size of its issues while rigorously maintaining the quality of its service. It has, without any stint of money, enlarged its mechanical establish¬ ment so as to deliver copies to its readers as early as possible on Saturday mornings, and in this effort it has increased its force and its expenses very nearly four-fold, until-to-day the Record and Guide is the most costly trade-paper of any kind whatsoever, and prints nearly five pages of reading matter for each page of advertising. As we pointed out some weeks ago, this is tbe result of con¬ ditions peculiar to the real estate field. The Record and Guide is loyally supported by the interests it serves. It possesses one of the largest circulations of any trade-paper extant, and a cir¬ culation that, locally .considered, is in its concentration and completeness; quite unique. "Printers' Ink" accords to the Rec¬ ord and Guide the "double bull's-eye rating" for "extraordinary excellence of circulation." The Record and Guide undoubtedly occupies its field, but attached to tbis fleld are peculiar circum¬ stances—circumstances that compel the continued printing of more and more reading matter without any possibility of re¬ striction or curtailment, unless, of course, the value of the paper's service were at the same time to be impaired. The latter is out of the question. It only remains that the situation should be fairly met by all concerned—by the Record and Guide itself on its part, by its subscribers on their part. No one can sell an article below cost or at an unfair commercial price with¬ out disadvantage ail around. After carefully considering the situation, it has seemed to the management of the Record and Guide that the most desirable way out of tbe existing difficulty is to separate the matter that now appears in the paper into twQ parts. Nothing, it would seem, can be lost were all the matter that, pertains to IVIanhattan and the Bronx printed in one paper or edition, and were all the matter that pertains to Brook¬ lyn be printed in another paper or edition, and then the two be charged tor separately and at a fair price. Our readers must have noticed the improvements that have recently b,een made in our paper, and these improvements are only the initial steps of a well-defined progressive policy. Here¬ after the Record and Guide will be issued as two papers: 1, The Record and Guide—Manhattan and the Bronx edition; 2. The Record and Guide—Brooklyn edition. The former will be supplied to readers and subscribers, as at present, for $6.00 a year, or 15 cents per copy. The latter will be sold for $3.50 a year, or 10 cents per copy. Those who desire both papers will be supplied for 58,00 a year. Working on the supposition that all subscribers who receive the Record and Guide to-day at an address in IVIanhattan or the Bronx, are interested solely in information pertaining to those two boroughs, the Manhattan and the Bronx edition alone will hereafter be sent to those who dwell in IVIanbattan and the Bronx; and on a like supposition, the Brooklyn edition alone will be sent to those who dwell in the big borough beyond the East River. Any subscriber, however, whose paid subscription is still current, may by dropping us a postal card stating hi3 (■"esire, obtain both editions without any extra charge whatso¬ ever during tbe life of his existing subscription. Of course, at the end of the subscription, it will be open to him to elect which edition he needs, paying for one or the other, or both as the circumstances may be. In conclusion, the Record and Guide would like to assure its old friends that this new step has been taken only after the greatest patience and with the utmost care for every interest concerned. It is most emphatically not a one-sided move. Moreover, it is not a solitary move, but one that haa been fully prepared for by the management, and by the careful adop¬ tion of a wider policy that will surely give our readers, when il is completely worKed out, a very much superior service both in Manhattan and the Bronx, and in Brooklyn. A WEEK ago the stock market showed that speculative con¬ ditions in Wall Street did not favor any general rise in values. The lesson of tbe past week appears to be that tbey also do not favor any general or persistent fall in values. A sharp movement in either direction, except in specialties, provokes a prompt reaction. This is not a condition of things which en¬ courages speculation; but tbe holders of securities can regard it with reasonable equanimity. A dull, strong, steady market is favorable both for investment sales and purchases. We do not see why there should he any change in this condition for some months to come. No doubt special stocks will here and there be sharply advanced, and the general tone will be strong; but the conditions either of speculation or ousmess hardly favor any radical or general changes. If such occur, they will be caused by changes in the groupings of railroad systems rather than by any other probable reason. ;, THE furious real estate speculation which was raging aroond- Tliirty-fourth Street and Fifth Avenue last week has, been less conspicuous during the week just closed. Only one im¬ portant sale has been consummated in the neighborhood men¬ tioned; nevertheless it would be dangerous to assume that the movement has even temporarily come to a close, or that it is an aimless speculation without some very definite object in view. On the contrary, there is every reason to believe that throughout the rest of the winter and the coming spring the accumulation of property cn the block opposite the Astoria will continue, and that it will culminate in several improvements which will in cheir total effect do as much for the neighborhood as was done by the altman purchase, A fact which is likely to have considerabla influence on the real estate market is tbe success with which the Century Realty Company and other speculative corporations have disposed of their existing holdings; and we may expect consequently to find these companies liberal buyers during the coming spring; but whether they will continue to buy in tbe Bronx or will find a use for their capital in Manbattan, remains to be seen. We should like to see one of these big companies start to build up some really fine residential district on Washington Heights or in the Bronx. There is every reason to suppose that conditions are favorable for such an enterprise. The demand for lesidenccs of a good grade by occupiers is much larger than it