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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1906)
unday Bee YAtlT AO sectiq:;. Pijjis 1 la 12 . A4vrtlM In THE OMAHA DEE Best & West ESTABLISIlEp JUNE 19, 1871. OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 8, 1906. SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS. REAL ESTATE MEN OF PAST Turning Point in the Construction of New Home for the Y. M. C. A. TRUE, BASlSr -FOR TAXATION '..-' " ';;:' How City Eal Estatt) Is" tVainod for , Assessment Purpoiea., ' f ACTORS f HAT ENTER INTO CONSIDERATION Belllnajr Prleo and Reveaae-l'roductloa Mainly Govern, bat Other mo menta Have Weight with tha Assessor. Individual! end linns Who Beein ' Citj'i Urbaa Growth. rith the ! ,'- SOME EARLY DEALERS. IN OMAHA DIRT Illstorlo Karnes Conflrl with the lloslneas and Some of the Plooeera Still Actively Engaged la tha Work. - t , The Omaha ,.1 Except In a few years after tha boom waa busted the handling of real estate In Omaha has been a profitable business and many firms and Individuals have encaged In this business slsce the first lots were laid out by the earliest Inhabitants.. Borne men who were first on the field are still In the city and In active business, while many others have come for a time to cast their lot with the residents of,the metropo lis and some have followed the well known advice of "go west" and have continued further to the west to open up new fields. The growth of Omaha has been steady and the Increase In the values has been steady, except for the setback which tho crop failures gave the city after the boom period, hiring that period a regular panla existed for the purchase of real eltnte ami every one wanted to own a lot, even ser vant girls buying with a small advaooa payment and pledging to pay so much per week. The coming of the hard times wiped out most of these equities, and as a conse quence most of the suburban property of the city went Into the hands of eastern people and others who had bought the paper on the Inflated value of real estate. Early List of Dealers. A perusal of the directory of 187S shos a list of men as real estate dealers, many of whom are well known to the people of Omaha. The Ust is small. Dartlett & Smith Is the first firm. Wallace R. Bart lett waa senior member and Is now In Minneapolis. Holland C. Smith, the other member, died about twenty years ago In Omaha. ' George P. Bemls Is next on the list and la put In the directory thus: "Hemls, George P., private secretary to George Francis Train, N. P. A.; secretary and general manager of the Credit Fonder a! America; office and residence, Cos ions house." The N. P. A. after George Francis Train's name meant "next president of America." Train had delivered a lecture at Ann Abor, In which he had declared he would be the next president, and had said at that time he had 5,000 lots In Omaha which he could sell for 15.000 ap-ce and raise money enough to carry him to tha presidency. The Central Land company, located at Twelfth and Farnam, was a firm doing buslnesa at that time. J. M. Clarke, on Twelfth street, between Farnam and Doug las, was In tha teal estate business. He .always signed bis name, John Murchle Clarke. The next real estate firm was In the directory thus: "Credit Foncier of Amer ica, George Francis Train, president; O. P. Bemls, secretary and general . manager; lfarge Interests In Omaha, Council Bluffs and Columbus." A. Demarest waa another real estate doajer at 6U Fourteenth street. The next entry In the directory was; "Train, George Francis, N. P. A. (owner K.ooa lota, a. hotel and ten other buildings In Omaha, 1,000 lots In Count4 Bluffs and 7,000 Iota and a hotel In Columbus), repre sented by his private secretary and agent, George P. Bonis, esq., Cosxens house.". v. Father of Shlaa'a Addition. In the next two years several other real estate dealers were added to. the Omaha colony, among . these being Rev. Moacs Shlnn. Ha wao a retired Methodist preacher when he came to Omaha and received a patent from the government to.elghty acres of land in the northern part of the city; He sold this to a syndicate, which Kid off the Shlnn additions and sold to the public.' In signing a deed Mr. Shlnn would warranty the deed against all Individuals, but would Insist on a clause being In serted that he would warrant against any body except the United States. Alf. D. Jones, although the first post, master of the city, who used his hat as a postoffice, was not put down as a real " estate dealer until 1874. He had assisted In laying off the city, using his knowledge as an engineer. M. G. McKoon and H. H. McKoon were added to the list about thla time and were located In the Insurance business and real estate In room 1. Crelgh ton block, which stands on the northwest corner- of Fifteenth and Douglas streets. Dexter I Thomas had an office in that building soon after It was put up. lie came to Omaha In 170, but did not en gage In the real estate business until the early '80s. He was Joined by Jill brother, Charles I Thomas, In IS and they have been engaged In the real estate business since that Urns. Days of tho Real "Boom." The real estate dealers who were In Omaha In 1886 were the ones who made money fast, and a man did not think he waa doing at all well If he did not sell several lota a day. The time may well be called the -'bcom" period, for all went crasy over real estate and nearly every one with an Income was convinced that the only proper thing to do waa to buy a lot on time payments. The fields surrounding the city were laid off Into lots and no corn field waa too far out to be platted and sold as lota. One strong boomer even went so far as to peddle' off some of the lots of Valley as additions to Omaha.. It la the aim of the real estate dealer of the pres ent time to head off any such erase, but to simply let matters take their course and to let the price of lots respond to the legiti mate demand. Tfcs plan of many of the wise ones Is to help the town all possible by securing manufacturers and to build an the Instde property first and as the demand comes then to boost the outlying stuff. Active Dealers of 1NHO.- A Hot of the real estate men who were active In iss. at the time when real estate started to hum In this ritv. may be 'of In terest to many. The first, alphabetically, Is Ames 4 Co. Q. W. Ames wan the head of thla firm and remained during the boom and up till 1S94. R- R. Ball Is still In active business In the city. Ballou Bros, were E. G. and Ots. E. O. Bnllou Is still In the city and Otis Bil'ou has moved farther west. TtefM Souer w composed of J. W. Bedford, who Is still here. In the coal business unrt W. Foner. who Is In 8n rleo. B" -C1andlsh were next on the 11st. 7. T H'l was an old news- rater run and owned corner where t Bimard flnts are now legated. fjr P. Bemls Is still ere aM he served as mayor. He Is I" ttve real bnt nesa. Th fi-m r-f Swn Tfni was wel known. Vr. wrs Is desl. Ms wMnw mar rylna J. C. Wharton, and Lew Hill Is still In the city, an extensive owner ef real estate. 3 M. Clarke died sbout fifteen years are. T. J Clarkson oult the real estate business to become postmaster of Omaha and then turned his attention te exposition work. Jiikt -k ,1:.. 4 SCENE AT THE LAYING having large concessions at Buffalo,' St. Louis and Portland. He Is still in Port land. Cochran Bros, were next on lhe list. Charles Corbett has left the city. Cun ningham A Brennaa was a well known firm, composed of Dennis Cunningham and Thomas Bfennan. Cunningham is now run ning or blacksmith shop and Brennan is In the real estate business. Edwin Davis is still In the city. The firm of O. F. Davis Sc. Co. Is Btlll In existence, although the membership of the firm has been changed since the early days. W. T. Graham camo to Omaha just before the boom time and is still an active member of the real estate exchange. W. H. - Green Is still In active business in the city. Well K .wn Names On tho List. A. J. Hanscom Is given aa a real estate dealer, although he moved his residence from Omaha about the boom times and has been living In New York and Florida most of the time since. Christ Hartman was In the Insurance business as well as the real estate business and died several years ago. Of the firm of Howell & Montgomery Kd Howell is still In business. In the city. H. B. Irey was county treasurer for a time after engaging in the real estate business and has since moved to Pennsylvania. John Johnson la dead and Charles Kaufmann Is now engaged in the Insurance business. Of the firm Of Lovgren ac Wilde, John A. Lov gren la still in business In the raxton block. John L. McCague is still at the old atand and has organized several banks and investment Companies since the early days. Marshall & Lobeck was composed of J. W. Marshall, former postmaster at Platta mouth and the father of the present comp troller. ' Mayne the Plunger. Clifton E. Mayne was one of the most unique figures In the real estate history of the city. He was a telegraph operator when he came to Omaha and then went Into the office of Joseph Barker on Thir teenth 'street. He worked Into the real estate business and when the' boom came Mayne waa the main boomer. He bought whole farms and laid them Into lots. He had hordes of men working for him with fast horses, who would take a pros pective buyer to the suburbs . so fast he did not realise the distance they had gone. He platted Orchard Hill, which was the old Baker farm and which Is now almost completely covered with fine residences. He made money too ast and soon had too many Irons In the fire. He had' a large stock farm at Valley and often made quick drives with his fast horses between the farm and the city. He moved to California. The firm of Morse & Brunner was com posed of L. V. Morse, now of Boston, and T. C. Brunner, who is wholesaling flour In Omaha. Of the firm of Morton & Helns, James F. Morton is dead. The firm of Pat terson Bros., D. C. and R. C. Is still In the city. Soren T. Peterson lived on North Twenty-seventh street and did a small loan and commission business. Of the firm of Potter & Cobb, both have gone and tho firm's narre haa been changed to George & Co. The firm of Byron Reed & Co. waa In corporated in ISnt as the Byron Reed com pany, , which is still In existence with A. L. Reed at the head. Joreallan L. Rica haa gone and J. E. Riley, a real estate dealer and contractor, who built the Riley hotel at Plattsmouth, has moved to the new west. Building Operations Are oh t i . , "'. " i v' V J 4. m , i STPICAX. JZESEDENCB STREET IN . jm.. ... OF THE CORNERSTONE OF THE NEW OMAHA T. M. C. A. BUILDING. Beautifying the Surroundings Hack Yard Folia ire. I I yards. TJie subject had developed S- I Aftoi t munil nf oiiTnmunt, nn flie return of warm weather. Isn't It too bad so many peoplo neglect their back yards?" said one. VMoat back yards are used as a convenient place for storing refuse. The owners simply Ignore them. It's a funny thing to me that so many can't or won't realize that the back yards can be made a very pleasant spot. Summer will scon be here. The ma jority of families haven't any front yard to apeak of, yet in nearly every back yard there are quite a number of square feet of space. Now, with Just a little adorn ment the back yarda could be made a mighty comfortable place for the family to spend its evenings after twilight. "That's right," said another. "I've al ready begun to prepare mine. I like the old-fashioned mixed bordera. A back yard thirty or forty feet aqua re la large enough for an excellent garden. Of course, grans helps the appearance immensely. I'm going to sod mine. Then along the fences I am going to dig my gardens and plant flowers." My barn, is an eye-sore. .It is old and. dilapidated, but 1 am. going - to make 'it prepossessing Just the same. "Morning glories grow fast and thick and I'm going to plant them against the sides of the barn. The vines will eventually envelope it and hide its unslghtllness." "To hear you talk anyone would 'think It easy to have gardens and things in the back' yard," said a third man, who had been listening. "I've tried back yard plant ing. ' It mude me a lot of work and I never could groWanything." "Well, 1 guess you' don't know how to go at it. You can't pay too much attention to the proper preparation of the soil. Dig the garden deeply and break all the large lumps. If the ground Is sandy or otherwise poor put In a good coat of well rotted manure and make the surface smooth and even. A garden should not be attempted with the idea of planting the ordinary annuals If the yard is much shaded by adjoining buildings and trees. But many plants are fit for shady place's. For in stance, in the border sow asters, nastur tiums, petunias, mignonettes, candy tuft, slnniaa, coreopsis, gaillardlas and sweet peas. "If your space permits, introduce a few of the hardy perennhUa, scattered along In clumps of six or more blue larkspur, peonies, phlox, German iris, columbine, ageratums, geraniums, verbenas, heliotrope, oahllaa, gladioli, cannas x and hollyhocks mar also be planted in the border. "The Solomon seat, Canterbury bells, muyapple, splderwort, bleeding heart, vio lets and columbines are among the best wild flowers. Then the- ferns may be relied upon as good shads-loving plants. Native maiden hair does well In thoroughly drained places. And there are cultivated flowers that like best the places where they are protected from the sun's rays. Forget-me-nots, little lobelias, compact bushes six Inches high, and the improved varletlea of the cardinal flowerthe Queen Victoria are among them. Be sure and have the il OMAHA, SHOWING THU HOMES OS . TUB PEOPL& shady places well drained and have plenty of light, rioh soil." "Say. but flowers . must be a fad with you," said the subdued man. - . "Come around and see my backyard In" June," answered the other aa he left the car. The amateur will find it advisable . In stead of propagating rose plants to buy good 1 or 2-year-old plants. If he wishes to add rose bushes to his garden. They may be had for low prices. The younger ones will produce fewer flowers the first year, but they will be very satisfactory and In the second year will be at their best. They should be obtained when the gar dener la ready to aet them out in beds, preferably In April, although they may be planted later. The beds may be of any size and form. It should be in the open, where plenty of sunlight may reach the plants. ' It is an advantage to have it pro tected from high winds, aa there then will be lesa trouble from mildew. The soil should be rich loam, well drained. When the plants are set out thoroughly water them, so as to settle the soil well around the roots. Rapid growth should follow. The only further treatment neces sary la to keep the soil well, stirred around the. plants. If the summer la dry and warm, a layer of pine needlea or fine man ure may be put ' on the soil around the plants. This would make less cultivation necessary; the ground would not dry out as rapidly. : For many varieties of the rose which are' not entirely hardy an additional covering, should be' put around' the plants for protection in extreme winter weather. In the spring this covering composed of manures preferably may be spaded into the soiland will act as a fertilizer. In covering the. plants for the winter care should be taken not to. allow the : tops of the plants to be - bent down under thi weight of the protective material and the snow which may come later. Pruning should begin the middle of March, all dead wood and weakly shoots being removed. The weaker growing plants should be cut down so aa to leave but four or five buds on each shoot; the stronger ones may be left much higher. "While you are taking account of what a vegetable garden helps you to save," says the Kansas City Star, "don't forget that It also has a moral worth that should not be left out of the reckoning. You may not have thought of it before, but a gar den Is a great aid in getting bold of the fundamental things of life. It is human nature in its real essence that makes you dig up garden seeds to see If they have begun to sprout. And this clean and wholesome Interest follows the develop ment of the garden in all of its stages. "It is a miracle and a wonder as old aa Nature when the little shoots of green be gin to push up through the brown soli, but it Is ever new and Inspiring. There is nothing much lovelier or mom fascinating to the eye than Just lettuce and beans and peaa and potatoes and corn In the first stages of their growth. Can't you re member, even if you . haven't walked through a vegetable garden for years, how the Up-Grade in All Parts of Omaha --?'--- SITE) FOR t ' SECRETARY WADD DEPOSITING BOX of the Home curious and wonderful the new bean stalks look when they come up out of the ground bending over aa by way of obedience to the seed from which they sprang? And what perfect groundlings the potato plants are until they begin to freshen up In the sunlight, and finally tog themselves out In their delicate blossoms. And where is there anything richer and finer than the red rhubarb, or pie plant, when It begins to peep up through the ground and "rub ber" at. the sunlight? "You may have heard people talking about how they like to cut asparagus or gather cucumbers,' or dig potatoes or pick beans or peas; and If you have always lived In a city and have never done any thing of that kind yourself you may won der how auch employment could possibly furnish a source of pleasure. Well, that la where the moral value of a vegetable garden comes In. It fosters the home making Instinct. It fixes your attachments on simple, wholesome things. It Introduces Into life an Interest that does not grow stale and that la ever fresh and satisfying. "The economy of a garden and the value of what It produces may be the prime argu ment In 'favor of lt .fualnteoance.. But do you ever.' pass a p!a? where there Js a neat little' patch . of vegetable without stopping to' look at -It and- without 'l'ng that the people who keep Jt have tha right idea of a home?" torlnar npweV PlantJaeJ, Interest In the wealth of spring bloom is apt to .' pf6ve' i. atumbling Mock to the amateur flower grower Just "now. i Window gardens and conservatories demand spe cial attention to keep' up,, the brilliant dl: play f .bVessoms. Florists' windows prove allurliilf'.and the hardy bulbs springing up outside rrfuke us forget the"; necessity of preparing ,or summer bloom. The hardy perennials nust not. be overlooked, how fver,, aM learlypilt. V' this ,yroe to' plant, divide an" reset them. Many of the clumps In the home garden will be better for di viding at this season, not only because of the increased number of thrifty new plants thus secured,, but because the old plant will make stronger growth when,, allowed the extra room and fresh soil which ac companies the dividing. The new plants to be purchased this year will alflp give better satisfaction If they receive atten tion now; being hardy, the cold nights, which may still be expected, will not In jure them .and the early April planting will give them a good start that will enable them to withstand the summer. heat. ' The old-fashioned aqullegla or colum. bine Is too well known to require de scription, as jio well-regulated garden- Is without a cluster of these famous old perennlnls of "grandmother's day." But the novelty In aqullegias, "coerula," de serves speclaj mention. Though still classed as "new and novel," It only needs to become known to make It the most rnulT of nil. It has been described as the "true blue form of Rocky mountain columbine," which may give but little Impression of Its beauty, however, .to those who have never seen this mountain dweller In Its native home; but It docs not resent transplanting and grows readily from seed planted at this season. If roots cannot be secured, as the last years clumps begin to push through the soil. "1 ' ,! t M- . ! i - ' ' --.-' rtiif- - o f.v- i 1.. " . . - TUB NEW BOMB HOTEL IN OMAHA AB : Y ' . ... . '- ' " t J ' - IN RECESS OF CORNERSTONE. COUNCIL BLUFFS DOING WELL Balldlng Activity Over There Results la Bis; Demand for Vn im proved Property. Council Bluffs la essentially a city of homes and the real estate transactions for last year and the first three months of the present year demonstrate this. The real estate market haa been particularly active for the last year or more, with .a steadily Increasing demand for building lots. Real estate agents say but few pur chases have been made this year for speculation and that most of the sales of city property have been to persons intend lng to erect residences either for homes for themselves or for rental purposes. Values have increased slowly, but steadily in the city and unimproved property which a little over a year ago waa to a great extent, a drug on the market today Is In active demand, " especially If desirable for building purposes. 1 Last year witnessed the greatest activity in building In the history of the city, so far as residences of all descriptions are concerned. In every section of the city new residences In the course of construction are to be aeen this year and the prospects for another big building record In 1906 are of the highest Mechanics, railroad employes, motor em ployes and other worklngmen are starting out to own their homes and this has re sulted In the sale of hundreds of unim proved lota, particularly In the western part of the city, where for years the owners were unable to secure a market, and real estate In the wetsern part of the city, while not demanding high prlcea, la meet ing with a ready aale. ' t The number of new Warehouses, ele vators and factories has resulted In an active market for trackage, property and a steady Increase In the value of such lots. Pottawattamie . farm-land a few years ago soared until good land could not bo bought for less than from 75 to J10O an acre. These prices still prevail and trans actions in farm land In this county reached a record mark during 19(16. If the records for the first three months of 1S06 Indicate anything, the mark reached last year will be passed this year. For March of this year the real estate transfers as recorded passed the million-dollar mark and this re sulted almost wholly from sales of farm land. Despite, the present high value of farm lands in this county, real estate deal ers assert that a great deal of the buying of such property was for speculation and also aa a good Investment for idle money. The following tables show the cash con sideration for the real estate transfers for last year and the first three months of this year:, January t 1R2.406.X4 February S3,K1 17 March, 691.Mi9.91 April ZU.fd.n May 2Tf4.W7.ftS June 23o.fiK.26 July ltil.6lS.55 August 22o.tet.70 September S"9,177 40 October 24,978.66 November 133.376.63 December , 2Cl.2tS7.13 Totai i $3.222.2fi4.0 1904 3,U)7,3bU.iJ 1906. January , $ S! 2. 971 89 February 813.937.17 March .., l.Ouo.471.71 Total for three months ll,627.380.fl i if i : H '' - I'. J I, . '... 4 ' ' x v ,f V' " ;v-!'L IT APPEAR3 AT PRESENT. Eternal vigilance Is the price of in ap proach to equity in assessment of realty, and perfection is hard to obtain at any cost, so many things enter for considera tion and have their Influence upon Judg ment, j . !" " Much Improvement, however, has resulted In the aKsessment of city property since the establishment of a special city assess ing official (tax commissioner) In 1898, who by charter was given power, to revise and equalise the work of his deputies as a sub stitute for the system of district assessors under the. old revenue law. The weak point In the old system was the lark of con sistency In the work of the assessors In the various districts. The ofllce being elect ive, a tendency to undervalue property and please constituents. prevslled mote or less, mvbl at !ength In place of full values be ing assessed aa the law required a fifth to an eighth was the rule and not the excep tion. ' . ' ' ' ' The Omaha charter, since 1S97 and until 1905, provided that the tax commissioner appoint his own deputies, and this enabled him to obtain the assistance, of men fa miliar with values both In lands and In buildings, and, having to devote his whole time to duties of his office, he was en abled to systematise and bring about Im provements In results. To Fred J. Sackett, the first city tax commissioner, much credit Is due for this, and the benefit of having a chief or super vising; assessing officer has been recog nized by the state legislators and the fea ture haa been Incorporated In the new rev enue law of 1904 for the entire state. Bo much value and dependence Is placed upon the fact of having now a county supervis ing assessing officer for Douglas county, coupled with the consideration of possible economy and the avoidance of the annoy ance of separate assessments, that the city has abolished the city assessing office alto gether. Fixing tho Talaa or Land. In arriving at values of realty for as sessment purposes many things enter Into consideration, and no one thing, even the selling price, can always equitably make the proper figure, atrange aa it may seem at first glance. A seller may be under auch circumstances' as to virtually ba com pelled to sell at leaa than actual worth, or may be fortunate enough to get ad vantage of an unusually good offer because of some particular need of the purchaser. A real estate dealer seldom for himself Intentionally purchases at what he think la the actual value, and tha proof of It is that In a comparatively short time he sella at a material advance. In many cases, therefore, to aasesa at tha actual figure bought at would not be equitable; the aver age price obtained during the year, how ever, would be a good criterion for tho pur pose of assessment. The net revenue producing powers of im proved property, or what vacant property would produce if, suitable to the location and use, a building waa put on it, would be a guide to value, always provided, too, that too much land Is not absorbed or wasted. Costly permanent buildings have been erected in tha wrong location,' con sidering the nature of the building and use, and have been sold a few years after at third to a fourth of first cost. In auch cases cost haa little to do with a value or assessment, but the revenue powers would be the big factor and govern. Work la Assessor's Office. The advantage of the chief assessor being employed tne year round In place of sixty daya la the opportunity It glvea him to get and gather Information that the limited period doea not admit of. Assessments under the old plan were largely copiea of the preceding year. He haa time to follow the current aales, learn from buyer or seller the true price under which it waa sold, compare with the assessments on tha property, provide for correction of the same, equalise property adjoining if neces sary, and thus keep tha assessment roll up to date. The city asaesslng office since Its Incep tion haa had a deputy familiar with build ing values, who obtains from tha building Inspector's office a list of the permlta taken out and who baa examined every building erected alnoa 1897 and made special report on each and incorporated it into tho following assessment. The department haa had the benefit also of one or more ex perienced real estate experts, which haa been quite a help In placing values. There are over 1,700 plats showing the location and nature of the improvements, and tho improvements are assessed separately from the land and the land part must be equit able with the vacant land values near it. Contrary to the belief of some ju distinc tion Is made between resident and non resident owners in the matter of assessing. While there Is yet room for great Improve ment It la allowed that great Improvement has been effected in the last few years and that the total assessment of realty Is not far from the total real vulue. With possibly 18.000,000 to 9,000,0u0 worth of new buildings incorporated Into the totals the last eight years the realty total assess ment fur 1905 was a little over 171,000,000, aa against nearly $90,000,000 in 1MJ7-98, and In the face of growth in value of land and lots steadily since the exposition la 189& ' Effect of Present Growth. With the present upward tendency of realty in the city the present provision of a four-year assessment of real estate will leave asxessraents below the real value, with some exceptions, of course, In certain districts not having transportation facili ties. Taxation rates In the city of Omaha on realty compares very favorably with other cities of Its class, the average rate for city purposes for the last five years has been under 112 on fl.OOO, with property at full value. This should i.ot repel Investors, as with ftw exceptions prices are nut con sidered Inflated, and they have a long time to grow before they approach cities of sim ilar class. WILLIAM FLEMING. Smith Woald Saeceed Alger. WASHINGTON, April 7.-William Alden Smith, representing the Ninth Michi gan congressional district, announced his candidacy for the senate as the successor of Senator Alger, who is voluntarily re tiring. Mr. Smith will issue a formal statement Monday. Ohio Operators ataaa Pat. CLEVELAND, April 7. The Ohio coal operators, in session here today, decided to stand pat on the miners' strike and to i offer no ooncaaslea whatever. 1