Sunday Bee.
VAilT AD SECTION.
P233S 1 to 8.
Advortle In
THE OMAHA DEE
Dcst & West .
JL Jfll!
ESTABLISHED JUNE 19, 1871.
OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, MAIiCII 13, 1J0(5.
SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS.
T I A TJT A
DISCRETION OF EXECUTIVES
What Might Bo Done if All Lawi Were
Eiddl7 Enforced.
EFFECT OF THE DEAD LETTER STATUTES
A'lrireaa by Kdnmil iloaewater Befera
the Omnlia Y. ! C. A. la
1(MS that lias Imme
diate Application.
Eleven yeas ago, in March, 1S85. E(
waid Hosevater delivered an address be
lure the Omaha Young Men's Christian
n:oclation on "The Discretion of l'ixecu-tivL-a
In the Erifuicemnnl of L." It has
l.-ver been publlsnfed, but It is bo pertinent
looay that It Is offered as It was then de
l.venJ. Mr. Ki.suwaVr said:
It Is decreed by the constitution of Ne
braaka that the supreme executive power
hall be vested In the governor, who shall
take care that the laws be faithfully
executed.
Lvi.-.c i.j Burning the function of chief
e::cut..ve the governor Is required to make
i.-ith iiit l.e will sjpport the constitution
of the United Stntes and the conatltutlon
of tin- st lie and that he will faithfully
discharge the duties of his office accord
Ins to the best ol his ability.
Is the governor to have no discretion
In the discharge of his duties? Is he under
obligation to enforce every law on the
statute borks rrrcardlesn of the con
soqu nco or circumstances? Or l he per
mitted in the discharge of Viis duties to
exercise common sense and diverge from
the perpendicular line of absolute enforce
ment wherever the condition and public
sentiment compel ft divergence? Do not
custom and usage, which make lnw, fully
demonstrate that the executive must often
exercise discretion In the interest of good
government, as well as for maintaining
porulnr respect for law.
In examining the statute books we find
obsolete laws. Inoperative laws, impractical
laws and pernicious laws.
The statute of Connecticut and other
New England states have for two centuries
been encumbered with what are known
as puritan "Blue Laws," which have long
since become obsolete.
I n-ed Instance only a few of these laws
to convince may rational intnd that their
enforcement in our dny would only tend
to bring rldiculo nr.d odium upon law In
general.
Connecticut Bine Laws.
No food or lodging shall be offered a
Quaker, Adamite or other heretic.
If any person shall turn wuaker he shall
be banished and not su.lered to return on
irfiln of death. '
No one shall run on the Sabbath day or
walk in tils garden or ekawhere, except
reverently to and from meeting.
No one shall travel, cook victuals, make
beds, sweep house, cut hair or shave on
the Sabbath day.
No woman shall kiss her children on the
Sabbath day or fast day.
Whoever wears clothes trimmed with
gold, sliver or bone lace above 2 shlllinus
per yard shall be presented by the grand
Jurora and the selectmen shall tax the of fender
on his estate.
No one shall read the common prayer
book, keep Christmas or set days or play
on any instrument except the drum or
Jitwaharp. , .
Married persons oms$ )Jye together or bo
-Imprisoned In Jail.
Who will contend that the present gov
ernor of Connecticut Is bound to enforce
these laws to the very letter? Does It not
stand to reason that under existing condi
tions this enforcement is utterly Impossi
ble and if attempted would be resisted and
'might even provoke rioting and violence?
Massachusetts.
The laws I have quoted are now obsolote
and dead, but the following laws are still
in full force:
Rogues and vagabonds, persons who use
any juggling or unlawful games or plays,
common pipers and tiddlers, common
drunkards, night walkers, both male and
female, may be commlted to the House of
InduHtry or workhouse for a term not ex
ceeding six months.
Tramps shall be punished by Imprison
ment In the House of Correction or state
workhouse for not less than six months or
more than two years. All Idle persons
who, not having visible means of supiort
or live without lawful employment, shall
be deemed vagrants and lmp.iaoned not
more than six months.
Innkeepers may refuse to supply food
to strangers and travelers on Sunday.
Whoever, travels on the Lord s day, ex
cept from necessity or charity, shall be
punished by a fine not exceeding 111) for
Whoever, keeping a house, shop, cellar
or plnce of public ent tinment or refreah
ment, entertains then.n on the Ird'a day
any person other than travelers, strangers
or lodgers, or suffers such persons on such
dnv to rfmaln tnerein. or in me yarns, or
phurria. or fields appertaining thereto,
drinking or spending their time Idly or at
piny, or In doing any secular Business,
shall be punished by fine, eto.
Connecticut.
Every person who shall engage In any
snort or recreation on Sunday between
sunrise and sunset shall be fined not more
than 14 nor leas than II. fc.very person
who shall be present at any concert of
iiiuatr. dancing- or other public diversion
on bunday, or on the evening thereof, sliu.ll
be fined $4.
Same vagrancy laws as Masaachuaetts.
Any sheriff, deputy sheriff, oonatahle or
policeman may upon view arrest tramps,
without warrant, and on conviction la en
titled to a reward of li to be paid by the
Stale.
All mayors, wardens and selectmen are
empowered and requested to appoint spe
cial constables, whuse duty It shall be to
arrest and prosecute all tramps. In their
respective cities, boroughs and towns.
Keliraaka IMmmI Letter Uwi,
The statutes of Nebraska date back less
than forty years and already we have piled
up laws that no governor has ever been
able to enforce and no governor has been
imllscreet enough even to attempt to put
In furce.
For the last thirteen years we have had
a law on our statute books which makes
treating a misdemeanor, and yet there Is
not a single Instance on record where the
enforcement of this law has ever been at
tempted. It has been a dead letter from
Its Inception and will remain a dead letter,
as it has In Wisconsin, where It first orig
inate!. We have a law on the statute books that
prohibits betting on elections, either state
or national, and that, of course, would In
clude offers or awards made by newspapers
to those who would gues the name of the
successful candidate or the number of votes
that would be cast for him. This law has
remained a dead letter simply because pub
lic sentiment does not back It up sufficiently
to make its enforcement practicable.
We have a law on our statute books that
requires every employer of female help la
stores, offices or schools to provide a chair,
stool or seat for each aud every such em
ploye, upon which these female workers
shall be allowed to rest when their duties
will permit, and any neglect or refusal to
provide a chair or stool fur every female
worker subjects the employer to fine of
from 110 to lotK), which fine shall be paid to
the female worker whom he has neglected
to provide with a chair or seat. I doubt
whether anybody can cite a solitary In
stance where this law has been enforced
upon any employer or where any fine has
ever been collected for failure to comply
with It.
There are laws prohibiting the aflulter
Mlou ot liquora aud other laws which
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OMAHA, SOUTH A NT H5A8T, FROM THW
are equally Inoperative with the no-treat
law.
Observance of Holidays.
The laws of this state make New Tear's
day, Washington's birthday the Fourth of
July, Lrbor day. Thanksgiving and Christ
mas legal holidays. In the eyes of the law
their obRervaneo Is Just as Imperative as
the observance of the legal Sabbath, which
Is Sunday; but public sentiment does not
so regard them and It would be Impossible
to enforce strict Sabbath observance on
the Fourth of July, on Thanksgiving day
or on New Tear's day. To be sure our
banking houses close and there is a half
holiday observance among business men
on these days, but what would people who
complain of the lax Sunday observance
think of firing cannons, fire crackers and
display of fire-works on an ordinary Sun
day. I am aware, of course, that In the ab
stract It Is expected that the executive
national, state or municipal, should exert
all power at his cornmand to enforce every
law, but we are dealing with conditions
and hot' theories. ,
la It not manifest, from what T hsve
already atated, that If the governor was
Impeachable for falling to enforce every
law on our statute books that we should
have been without a governor for the last
twenty-five years? -, '
Powers of the Mayor.
Let us now pass from the state to the
municipal executive. Under the charter
for metropolitan cities the mayor is the
chief executive officer and conservator of
the pea s throughout the city. He has the
supervision and control of all affairs of the
city and It Is made his duty to see that J
the provisions or ine cnarier ana oruinance
are complied with.
The charter also provides that the mayor
ih-.ll be active and vigilant in enforcing
all laws and ordinances of the city.
Now, the question Is, has the mayor any
discretion In the enforcement of the laws
and ordinances as he finds them on the
statute books? Is ho in duty bound to en
force every law, regardless of the pernicious
and injurious consequences It might entail?
I apprehend that no such construction can
rationally be placed upon the duty of the
executive.
The mayor la expected to enforce the laws
against Sabbath breaking. The statutes
provide that If any person above the age
of 14 years shall be found hunting, fishing,
shooting or quarreling on Sunday he may
be confined In the county Jail for twenty
days, or fined not to exceed $30, or both, at
the discretion of the court. It would' bo
easy enough to enforce the law against
fishing and hunting, but how about quar
reling on Sunday? Suppose the mayor
should direct the police to arrest every
man who quarreled on Sunday morning
over his waffles, his boiled eggs or his
"oiled" shirt. Suppose the mayor should
cause the arrest of every man and woman
who quarreled on Sunday about sleigh
riding, or arrest all the women In town
who quarreled on Sunday over their re
spective bonnets or dresses.
' Bandar Work la Omaha.
The law declares that every person above
14 years of age who shall he found cluing
labor on Sunday, except charitable work
and work aa may be necessary, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to ar
rest and fine. Now, who Is to decide for
the mayor what is necessary? We know
that a Sunday paper la not an absolute
necessity, and therefore the mayor would
be obliged, If be wanted to enforce the
Sunday law strictly, U close the news
paper offices, arrest the publishers, re
porters, printers and pressmen, who do
the work after midnight Saturday, and
also cause the arrest of all the newsboys
Sunday morning. And Inasmuch aa a Mon
day paper la not a necessity any more
than a Sunday paper, It would be his duty
to cause the arrest of the publishers and
employes engaged In labor for the Monday
paper before midnight on Sunday, which
would practically make It impossible to
print a paper for Monday morning. Every
one knows that a carriage ride is not a
necessity, except' for the rich who go to
church in their own vehicles, therefore It
woeld be the duty of the mayor to close
all livery stables and arrest all parties
who take a drive In a hired rig on the
Sabbath day.
The world managed to exist without tele
phones for several thousand years, and.
therefore, telephones not being a necessity,
It would be the duty of the mayor to close
the telephone exchange Sundays, But some
people Insist that telephones have become
a necessity, because you might want to
call for a doctor or order a carriage from
a liveryman to attend a funeral or order
drugs from a druggist. Right hem we
reach the point where the mayor must ex
ercise discretion, and he must decide
whether or not work In the telephone ex
change is a neoessity or a desecration of
the Sabbath In violation of law. But th
Wonderful Growth of Omaha
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HTOH BCHOOTj HtOTJ?TOS, TTTETNTTErn A?m DOTJCE. From an Old Thoto
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OMAHA. SOUTH AND HAST,
stickler for strict enforcement of the let-1
ter of the law would say the mayor must
enforce the law until It had been Inter
preted or declared Invalid by the courts, i
Theoretically this would be correct, but
In practice It la liable to cause untold hard
ship and very often would precipitate con
flicts between police and citizens while the
interpretation of the law was being held In
abeyance by the courts.
Vagrancy in Practice.
The statutes of Nebraska, designate as a
tramp any person going from place to place
and asking or subsisting on oharlty. All
Idle persons not having visible means of
support and maintenance, and all persons
Question of
The rich proprietor generally knows how
to go about marketing his property, but
a ma a who has only one or two small
holdings to dispose of la apt to go wrong.
The value of real estate depends largely
on Its being convertible Into cash. It
often seems unsaleable because the owner
does not know how to sell it. Too much
good advice cannot well be given on this
subject.
The average owner's Idea of how to sell
his real estate la summed up In listing it
for sale with as many brokers as possible.
That is where he makes his mistake, the
extent of Which he -may better understand
If he will let me first point Out what the
duties of his broker should be and then
show him why no broker can discharge
those duties under the prevailing method
of employment.
A broker receives his pay from the real
estate owner whose property he sells, and
he should represent his employer as faith
fully as a lawyer represents his client.
The lirst business of the broker is to ex
amine the property and locality, estimate
the value of the property from personal
Inspection of the premises . and tell the
owner whether his price Is too' low or too
high. After the price has beau iiiade right,
the broker must make every effort to sell
the property as soon aa possible for the
most money and on the best terms obtain,
able.
In order to find bidders he should freely
advertise the property for sale through the
best advertising mediums and in the most
effective way, and should by every means
bring it to the notice of the people who
are in the market for real estate of that
general character. Buch Is a partial sum
mary of the duties of the conscientious and
efficient broker.
Workings of Present PLan.
Under prevailing conditions of employ
ment he can do none of these things. The
nroperty being listed with a number of
brokers and the owner retaining the privi
lege of selling It on his own account, the
broker cannot afford the time and ex
pense of visiting the property, nor can he
venture to advertise It by street and num
ber or make known the Identity ct the
owner, knowing well that If be does so an
Intending purchaser may go directly to
the owner or to some other brokvr.
Ilustrated by Camera Contrasts
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FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL GROUNDS,
out of employment who live In taverns,
groceries, sheds, barns or in the open air,
and all persons wandering about and beg
ging, or who go from door , to
door or from place to place,
are declared by' the laws of Ne
braska vagrants, and upon conviction shall
be fined and Imprisoned in Jail, and be sub
jected to hard labor In Jail or elsewhere
In the county, as the court may order. The
only exception to this harsh law Is made
In favor of persons disqualified from per
forming manual labor by physical Inability,
and all such. If the law was strictly en
forced, must be sent to the almshouse of
the proper city or county. .
Now, how could the mayor of Omaha en-
Exclusive Agency Listings
Besides, his chances of making a com
mission under those circumstances are too
small to warrant the expense of advertis
ing. When he does find a prospective cus
tomer he dares not hold out for the high
est price and best terms. Should he do
so, the customer Is apt to go to another
broker or to the owner directly to see If
he can do better. The first broker, there
fore. Is often constrained to sacrlflce the
Interest of the owner In order to close the
bargain before somebody else, taking it
from him, leaves him no profit for all his
pains. i
What happens when an owner lists his
real estate for sale under the present sys
tem? The land 1 entered on the broker's
books oh, yes; and If any man providen
tially happens along, who wants to buy
a piece of. real estate he Is handed a Job
list of bargains. Frequently the broker
has not seen the property. All he knows
about It is what the owner has told him.
"He Is Ignorant of Its appearance and sur
roundings, of its state of repair and ac
tual value. In a word, he knows nothing
at all which a purchaser needs to know.
The prospective vcustomer looks at two or
three of the bargains, no one of which
comes within a mile of what he wants
and all of which are priced far above their
value. Then he gives up the fruitless quest
' In disgust and goes home.
Systens Is Wrong.
It Is the system that Is wrong. The
broker does as well as can be expected
under adverse conditions. Of a thousand
Items on his sales books nearly all are
Hated with half a dozen other firms. It
they are listed on an average with four
agents his chances are slim of earning
commissions on one out of a dozen. The
owner is only toov eager to sell directly
to a purchaser and- very likely he has
given the broker a fancy price, expecting
to secure a buyer himself at a much lower
figure, and merely utilizing the broker to
send prospective purchasers. A broker
may believe he has a customer at a good
price, but he will seise the opportunity
to sell at a lower price rather than run
the risk of having the sale anatcbed from
him.
This entire system deserves to be turned
upside down. If you Want to sell your
real estate begin by finding one broker
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graph Takn Abont Twenty-five Tears Ago.
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TWENTI ETH AND DODGE. From a Photograph Taken "Last Tear.
force the vagrancy law at the present
time (1895)? If all the able-bodied men and
women who are now out of employment In
Omaha were dealt with according to the
strict letter of the law we should have to
construct Jails that would hold four or
five regiments of people. Who would be
so cruel and Inhuman as to attempt to
execute this law, even If the mayor should
eo order? I contend that the .quintessence
of all law is Justice and humanity. Above
all things, we must be humane If we want
to be Just, and wherever any law seeks to
degrade and punish respectable bread
winners because they are unable to find
work. Its enforcement would be a crime
you can trust, then make it an object to
that broker to sell the property. One good,
hard-working agent is worth ten poor or
Indifferent ones. Having ascertained Its
true value,' the agent should refuse to put
It on his list at an exaggerated price.
Having accepted a piece of property tj
sell, he should sell It. Let him have a
thorough knowledge of all the property on
his books and let him undertake at one
time only so many as he can handle hon
estly and efficiently,. This will be better
for him and for his customer.
Compares with Uwyeri,
, Some foolish persons have been known to
employ two or three lawyers to do the
same work, but they have usually rued It
A broker should be trusted as much as a
lawyer. An owner of property who wlahcs
to sell It should not have a lot of agents
working at cross purposes, each making
unwarranted concessions in the hope of
'closing a sale before some competitor does
so. Even a dealer In second-hand clothes
controls the goods he offers for sale, A
Teal estate broker under 1 present condi
tions can hardly claim as much Independ
ence as the proprietor of a junkahop. The
business is In a bad rut, and - the results
are unsatisfactory to vendor, purchaser
and broker alike.
Conditions will improve and real estate
will become more saleable Just as soon as
the better class of real estate agents re
fuse to handle property or which they
have not the exclusive agency and owners
learn that It la to their interest to operate
In this way. A broker cannot guard your
Interest unless he knows that he will be
backed up. If he Is offered $5,000 by a man
whom he thinks he can work up to ftS.OOO,
make him safe while he does so. Do not
put him In a position where, unless he tries
to sell at the lower price, ha will find the
property sold, perhaps even to the same
man, by another broker.
The conditions of the agency should be In
writing. They should protect the property
owner and not be drawn by the broker
with a view to his own security alone. The
real estate brokers of Chicago should adopt
a form of agency agreement which la fair
to the principal and of which no agent who
wants to do a legitimate business can
Justly complain. Peter Van VUaslngen in
Record-Herald,
be submitted to even by the oppressed and
degraded peasants of Russia, let alone In
telligent, free American cltlsens.
In times of plenty and prosperity these
laws are salutary, and for that reason
will probably always remain on the statute
books, but It goes without saying that the
executive officer of a large city must exer
cise discretion as regards their enforce
ment, even In good times. He la not ex
pected, even In prosperous times, to treat
every penniless person who Is temporarily
out of employment aa a tramp or vagrant
Morn Serlonn Problems.
Passing from these striking Instances
where the chief magistrate la compelled to
exercise discretion In enforcing the law, we
will now discuss the laws relating to
gambling, the social evil and other vices
that prevail to a greater or less extent In
all large cities In the world. Beginning
with gambling, let me state that I am not
one of those who contend that gambling la
essential to the well being of a community,
large or small. Gambling In any form,
whether public or private, whether In
slocks or grain or real estate or money Is
destructive to public morals and subversive
to the well being of society. In this state
gambling for money has been made a
penitentiary offense, and every person that
gambles for money subjects himself to the
same penalties as the keepers of the
gambling houses. Every person that plays
cards for money la equally liable, - even
where the stake Is only a penny to make
the game Interesting. This Is the weak
spot of the law, thst has rendered It both
Impracticable and Inoperative. Grand Juries
have indicted keepers of gambling houses,
but their patrons could not testify, be
cause In so doing they would criminate
themselves. It Is safe to say that so long
as the laws remain In their present shape
It will be very difficult, If not Impossible, to
secure convictions. Concede that It is the
duty of the municipal executive to enforce
the laws ngalnst gambling, the question is
whether In the discharge of his duty he
may exercise any discretion. Is It ex
pected that the mayor will Indiscriminately
cause the Invasion by the police of every
hotel, apartment, flat and domicile where
cards are being played for a small ante
In common with; resorts where gambling Is
carried on for large stakes by professionals
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against humanity. Such a thing would not
who make a living out of this criminal
business?- It would certainly seem that
Without some discretion on the part of the
mayor and the police the enforcing of the
gambling laws would Invite frequent dla
turbances and invasions of private rights.
Right here let me call attention to the
fact, which every lawyer will admit to bo
lunaamentai, tnat the mayor la not ex
pected ' to make complaints against
gamblers and gambling houses any more
than any other citizen. It is the duty of
all law abiding cltlsens whenever they
know that a crime has been committed to
enter complaint, and it will then devolve
upon the publlo prosecutor to file informa
tlon against every offender, whenever he
has become satisfied that a crime has been
committed. .
Conclusion of Experience.
The experience of ages has abundantly
confirmed the prevailing belief among all
well Informed people that the social evil
can never be stamped out. All that can
be done la to keep It within bounds and
under strict police surveillance. While the
statutes make the renting and kee'plng of
houses of ill fame a misdemeanor and sub
Ject the Inmates to fines and imprisonment
In Jail the charter clearly recognizes the
discretion of the executive In the enforce
nient of this law
Section H of the charter for metropolitan
cites (1S95) provides that the mayor and
council shall have power to restrain, pro
hiblt and suppress tippling shops, houses
of prostitution, opium Joints, or dens, eta,
Now to restrain clearly Implies to hold in
check, to curb or to repress, or to confine
within certain limits. If it was the duty
of the mayor absolutely to suppress, then
what would be the ue of giving him pawe
to. restrain? The manifest intent of the
law la to recognize existing conditions In
metropolitan cities and leave to the mayor
and council discretionary power to sup.
press ' where suppression Is possible or to
restrain where suppression Is Impractical
me. The so-called burnt district is after
all simply -an expedient to hedge In and
keep under surveillance the class of a ban
doned women who have chosen for them
selves a life 6f open shame.
xne most eminent political economls
agrees with the ablest medical expert
that every attempt to scatter the vlclou
ciuss is ronowea By the spreading of In
decency and immorality.
ine January number of the Medl
cal Age, published. In Detroit, contain
an editorial on the control of the social
evil from which the following extract Is
suggestive
Control by the state should be demanded
In America for Uie reason that here the
bagnios are the shelter of the criminal
viMwa, wlviw 111 curope tney are
shunned by such owing to the fai-t all in
stitutions of this class are constantly ui.d-r
puuue suM-rviaioi ana Without either bavk
entrance or tilde exits.
In a choice between two evils, one nat
urally turns to the lesser, and those mem
bers of society who are not swayed by fa
naticism and rule or ruin sentiments have
long since rognlxed that control presents
the only definite and satisfactory solution
vt the proiilem.
LIVE REAL ESTATE TOPICS
ortinent Bucsrestioni Prompted bj
Quickenin? Activity In Omaha.
the
VETERAN RECALLS SOME ANCIENT HISTORY
Interest lac Grist of Gossip for People
Interested In the Uaylng and
Selling of City Lots
and Lands.
The wonderful transformation that hag
been wrought I t the building line of Omaha
and Its general building topography within
comparatively short time is hardly real
ized even by thoae people who have lived
here through It all. The most striking way
to enforce these changes upon those who
have forgotten how Omaha used to look,
or upon newoomera who never knew the
Omaha of old. Is through rtciure contrasts,
showing the same portion of the city as It
appeared In days gone by and as It appears
now. The two photographs reproduced on
this page present an object lesson of this
kind. They show a soctlon of Omaha that
is rapidly getting to be the very heart of
the business area, having Veen taken from
the corner of the high school grounds, em
bracing all that lies to the south and east
as far as the eye can reach from that
point. The older picture dates from about
twenty-five years ago and the newer
one wail taken last year, a cioao
study of the two photographs pre
sents marvelous transformations. It Is
Interesting to note that one of the
striking buildings that la to be found on
both pictures is the old Meredith house
at Nineteenth and Dodge streets, which,
has Just changed hands. This resldenca,
which was at one time the pride nf
Omaha, was later occupied by Dr. J. C.
Denlse, whose wife was a daughter In the
Meredith family, whose home It originally
was, and after the death of Dr. Denlse it
became rental property, being now occu
pied by the family of the clerk of the fed
eral court, George II. Thummnll. It ia
In the center of spacious grounds and
easily dlscernable. Aside from the few
other notable old landmarks like this.
however, there are really few buildings In
this district that were there twenty-five
years ago, and are still there.
"The Bee's strictures on real estate
speculation and real estate option trading
doubtless struck lots of people as timely
and to the point," declared the veteran real
estate man.
'But no city can have brisk activity In
real estate without more or less speculation
and the speculative tendency is one of the
surest signs that real estate values nre
moving upward. If a man has property to
sell and sees a chance to get his price, he
Is not Jlkely to care very much whether
the purchaser intends to Improve It or to
hold It till he can got a profit on his In
vestmentthat is he Is not likely to care
unless he has other property adjacent which
he would like to have benetlted by Improve
ments on the piece sold. When It comes
to real estate option trading, It resolves
Itself into a simple question of turning the
property over fast. Al man usually
buys on time, making a first payment of -only
a small part of the purchase price, and
If he sells before the next payment la due
It Is the same thing as trading on an
option; If he decides he has not struck a
bargain and lets the property go without
making additional payments. It la the same
thing as taking an option and letting It
lapse. The speculation business can, of
course, be driven to death and carries a
large margin of risk and abuse In Its wake,
but I do not regard it as In itsolf vicious
or demoralizing so far as a healthy tone
of real estate business is concerned."
"Do you know that Omaha can again
point to the fact that every national bank
In the . city owns and occupies its own
building?" pursued the veteran real estate
man. "It used to be ao once before, but for
several years prior to the merger last
summer, two out of our seven national
banks were In rented quarters. The two
that rented are the ones that merged with
a third and moved Into the latter's build
ing. I doubt whether the merger would
ever have taken place had they all been
occupying buildings of their own. There
Is nothing that helps give a bank a charac
ter for sound and substantial permanency
so much as a good substantial bank build
ing, bearing its name. Omaha's national
banks are all right on this point, as well
as on all other points."
"Another good sign In the local realty
atmosphere Is the reappearance of the
street floor office," declares the veteran
real estate man. "Haven't you noticed
how rapidly things have been moving
that way?. There are a dozen street floor
real estate and abstract offices In Omah
today where there were but three or four
a few years ago. A man has to be doing
business to pay the stiff rent these places
command, but the very fact that he can
occupy the very best office space to be
had makes business for blin to compensate
the Increased outlay several times over.
I don't care what you think about it, but
I tell you the front a fellow puts up
In t,hls field has a pile to do with the re
sults. The ground floor office room. used,
to be the only thing when the big boom
was on In the 80' s. Don't you remember
C. E. Ms y ne'e place down here on Fif
teenth street? After the boom burst a
real estate man felt himself lucky to have
any old kind of an office and sometime
a little $5 desk" room corner waa more
than his bank account would meet. When
he spread out again he went slowly and
moderate priced up stairs rooms was all
he was able to afford. But he kept mov
ing upward whenever he moved at all Into
bigger rooms and better buildings, until
now he is ready to rent the best corner
In town and bid against a railway ticket
office to get It I tell you It does me good
to see It."
Years of Labor Lost.
"I have been told," said a man of ex
perience, "that It la not unusual for men to
spend much thought and toll over Inven
tions of one sort or another, only to find
when they took these things to Washington
to be patented that the same Ideas had
long before been worked out by somebody
else and that patents had already been is
sued on them. I had that experience once
with a book.
"I spent fourteen year once writing a
book, and 1 had it all but completed. And
then one day. stopping at a second-hand
bookstall, I picked up from among a lot of
books offered at 6 cents each one that bore
a title In the very words that I had decided
upon for the title of my book, and the open.
Ing sentence In this book was almost Iden
tical with that In my own.
"Somebody else had had the same Ide ,
that I had worked over so long, and had
written and published a book about It fifty
year before." New York butt.
