The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-02-23

dollars front foot and. in less
than five years. the whole section
Ipromises to be transformed into one
OF New Yorks handsomest residence
districts.
Fifth Avenue and Broadway, from
Fihy.ninth street south. also are be-
/ Ing practically rebuilt. Handsome
new ten and twelve-story office
buildings are being constructed ev-
lcry three or four blocks. while oper-
Iations now under way indicate that
within the next ten years practically
every one OF the old buildings on
these thoroughfares will he replaced
by steel frame structures.
One of the great obstacles that has
stood In the way of rebuilding these
streets has been removed through the
Iehange Of policy on the part of the
directors OF the Astor estate. This
estate controls large blocks of realty
lir all of the different business Sec
lticns, and for years its managers
refused to give long-term ground
leases except on terms that were
practically prohibitive. Now they
lhave adopted a more liberal policy
and there is decided boom in the
I lconstruction of business buildings,
at least a dozen Of which now are
gcing up in Fifth Avenue between
Madison Square and Central Park.
| lat ptn fro pl nff
buildings, all the way from eight to
&c ty-six stories in height. are be-
ling built on Broadway from the
Battery to Central Park, while east
and west of Fifth Avenue handsome
old dwellings are being torn down
BY the wholesa; to make room for
ltenements, hat houses, and apart
ment hotels ranging from six to
twelve stories in height
Builders estimate that fully $780,
100000 worth of new buildings are
now being constructed on Manhattan
Island alone.
/ An interesting departure from the
usual methods of the larger insur-
ance companies was SHOWN by the
Mutual Life Insurance Company
this week in making public its fig
lures for 1906. bearing the certificate
OF Haskins & Sells as certified public
accountants. The Mutual Is among
the first OF the large companies to
publish its 1906 figures and, in secur-
ing the certification of Independent
public accountants TO its balance
sheets, the company has taken a
step of decided interest to the finan-
cia world.
II is learned that several of the
large insurance companies shcrtly
viii follow In showing Independent
col tifications of their balance sheets
b. outside firms of public account
ants. as this course, IL Is believed.
will prove decidedly reassurlng to
Ipolicyholders. The action was taken
By the Mutual as result of the in
surance agitation of the last two
years, and the Mutual even went 80
fer last year as to have Il firm oi
English accountants cooperate with
tho American firm. so that there
could be an additional certification
al road.
In adopting this policy of having
itg accounts revised by an outside
firm of accountants the Mutual Life
is following the plan first adopted by
some of the leading railroad COM
panies, and during recent years al
o. the annual public reports of suci
railroads as the Erie. Reading, Le'
high Valley. Atlantic Coast Line
Louisville & Nashville, and Mobile
& Ohio, have had certifcations o.
Haskins g. Sells attached to them
The public is recognizing th'
value OF such certificates as positive
assurances regarding assets on hand
and incomes and disbursements fo
the year.
Try as the city officials will. |
seems to be impossible for them Il
build new schoolhouses fast enough
to take care OF the children .
school age who apply each year 10
sittings, For years the overcrowd
ing OF the schools, and the oonsa
qeunt necessity for placing larg
number of pupils in part-time claase
has caused the greatest concern.
Appropriations aggregating SIS,
! 100000 have been made in the las
two years for additional school
houses but, as has been the case 70
years, every school for which gro
vision was made actually was need
ed In a compelled state at the tim
the appropriarlol was voted. TIL
result is thar. far from showing an
diminishing OF oyercrowded condi
tions, the situation grows wors
from year to yelr.
Superintendent William II. Mas
well, who is in charge of all tn
public schools of the city, has re
ported to the Board of Educato
that eleven per cent. of all tn
children in the public schools al
being taught upon the part tim
plan. This eleven per cent. aggr,
gates S6.417 pupils, an increase