New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1908-09-13

;aas of proadUsv and facing many of the con-
tiguous cross thoroughfares, are thousands %
loft buildings. which are nothing more than rae
tories In them Will be found the sweatshops
which have been such a difficult obstacle TO over
come in the work which has been done to sur
round child life with every necessary salesuaiu'
That is the reason that New York has accorolns
to real estate experts, few factory centres whlch
are known such.
This factory question Is probably the most
difficult problem that the real estate expert is
called upon to solve, and it is one which ne ap-
pears to paid less attention to than any OF the
other great questions which have arisen In recent
years and which in or less degree relate 10
realty nrogress In the great loft sections Of the
city the value OF land is high. The cost OF the
average loft structure is much greater than the
factory building erected in outlying districts
and covering a vast area of land In view OF
these facts rentals in the ordinary loft structure
are many times greater than the total sum of the
YEARLY lease of the suburban factory Higher
rentals mean that the occupants OF the midtown
loft structures have greater fixed charges than
the owners Of factories in outlying districts AS
the midtown manufacturers must meet competi-
ton from all sides. they cannot afford to pay as
good wages as do the heads Of factories in nearby
districts where prices OF land and the cost of
building are not high they are in the centre
of New York.
The reason that the loft centres of New York
Will be found in the most accessible places is
49, AAS-AA
which sections comes the vast majority Of fac
tory workers in the greater city, is just east OF
the central business districts. If the great loft
centres of the city could be removed to other
parts Of the town and the manufacturers could
get there suitable space for the carrying on of
their business at a sum greatly less than pre-
vailing in the midtown districts, they would be
able TO pay higher wages and their workers
would therefore enjoy at least some Of the So
called luxuries of life If the rentals for loft
structures continue increase at the same rate as
they in the last ten years well the price
of land in the midtown sections, which are most
" occupied by buildings used for factories, there
is little prospect of the humiliation of sweat
shops. and the future Of the great multitude of
workers from the East Side is not particularly
bright With the wages they get the ma
jority Of workers in these loft centres cannot
afford to ride and as they are not able TO walk
long distances to and from work 1t is only nat
ural that they must find living accommodations
in districts contiguous TO their working places.
The density of population the great East Side
would soon be considerably lessened If well
directed steps were taken to find suitable sites
for new factories where manufacturing would be
conducted at less expense than II now is in the
central zones The workers Will whenever
the occasion demands il. and this fact has been
forcefully brought home to the thoughtful realty
experts ever since the great Brownsville district
in Brooklyn was built. it were. in a day.
The Pennsylvania section will lend itself natural
" 10 the expansion of the factory sections
but it VIII not help tighten the burdens OF the
manufacturer or his workers. Prices there for
land are now high as in the lower midtown dis
tricts and the cost OF erecting loft structure on
Broadway or in the tunnel centre at 33d street and
Seventh is the same. What is needed to
bring about a solution of this important industrial
and realty problem is the opening up of vast tracts
of vacant land in Queens Borough to manufacturers
at most attractive prices. Queens. it is true is
growing rapidly industrial centre. but in that
growth the real estate developer is conspicuous by