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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 14, 1909)
1. OMAITA, SUNDAY MORNING. MARCU U 1900. TIMELY REAL ESTATE GOSSIP Value of Omaha Real Estate Increases Ei;M Million Each Ycir. stockholders, though they are. held In tha NEWS OF THE BUSY HOME BUILDERS ft 1 ! I s IT PAYS HIGH INTEREST ALSO Onnarrvatlve RMImnln Are that the Anmtl larrea.A In from Fire to RlKht rrr On) b'arb Year. The most conservative estimate mad by the beat posted real eatatc dealers of Omaha that city property l Increasing from 8 to 7 per cent In value each year, as well aa paying rate of Interest which are not exceeded by the b-at Industrial and other stocks. Thla makea Omah.i city property auch a aafe Investment and auch a promising speculation at the aame time, that It la little wonder money la flowing in from all corner of the at ate to be in vested la apartment houses, flats and business property. With an assessed valuation of fiS2,non,ooo the Increase, of S per cent per annum, which la the estimate for the last three years, means about tS.000,000 each year, or 124.000, 000 during the three years. Borne kalf-is maintain the Increase la even more than (8,000,000. and will be found, on close ex amination and consideration to h fully 10,000,000 per annum for three years Just passed. At either figure the property owners are making money and the outsiders who hold property In Omaha are considered fortunate. Because the state Is prosperous they receive good prlcea If they desire to ell and If thty hold the property they get 7, and even t per cent net for Inter est and the assurance that they will share In the general Increase In values. Nothing has had a tendency to lr crease values as much as the good crops produced In Ne braska, which have filled the banks with money and given country bankers, business men and others extra money to put Into real estate. Not a few hare come to Omaha. Back In the real estate business again, George P. Bern Is, former mayor of the elty, has taken the agency for some large tracta of Cheyenne county lands and has found tha demand healthy from the start. During the week Mr. Bemls sold Joseph McCleneghan of Omaha 640 acres of land west of Sidney for 17,000. Mr. Bemls has Just published his "catalogue of Nebraska Farm Lands," In which he has listed good farms In almost every county In the state, which he has for sale. The catalogue and price list makes a pamphlet of some size, there being more farms listed than could be described In a whole issue of a news paper. Besides the farms, Mr. Bemla Is securing a large list of outside city prop erty for sola and sold during the week the postofflca building at Essex, la. Mr. Bemla saya he Is back In the business to hustle as he has In the past and means to get what la coming his way, as he has tried to do for over forty years while In the business In Omaha. Richard Evans has just let contracts for his new residence in Pairacres, those let amounting to more than $17,000, with some smaller contracts to let as the house ne-irs completion. Mr. Evans' property is one of several large residences which are . being erected In the district and F&lraores . to be on of ths real big suburbs of Omaha. It Is one of the arguments why the people on West Dodge street want a viaduct over the belt Una and Missouri Pacific tracks. With twenty-five trains dally crossing Dodge street and several hundred teams and automobiles, tt la held to be only question Dt time until It will cost the rail road company or the street car company more than the 175,000 which a viaduct would cost, to settle personal Injury cases. Oeorge F. Shepherd has bought from Hastings aV Heyden two lots on the south west corner of Sherman avenue and Spen cer streets 121106 feet and will erect sev eral six-room cottages at once. The lots were sold for 12.500 and are among the de sirable lota In the neighborhood. Spencer, Wirt, Blnney and kothrop streets continue to enjoy the same progress which was noticeable on the streets during 1908. M. Cole haa started a new home on LiOthrop, between Nineteenth and Twentieth; Captain Henry Dunn has started a new home on Plnkney street, between Twenty-first and Twenty-second streets; Mrs. Catherine C. Wonder has Just finished exoavatlng for a nbw seven-room house to be erected for a home on Lothrop street, between Twenty first and Twenty-second; four new resi dences, two of which are bungalows, are being completed by Hastings & Heyden on Plnkney street, between Twenty-second and Twenty-fourth streets; J. A. Landen is completing a new residence on Spencer, be tween Twenty-second and Twenty-fourth streets: O. A. Scott Is completing a new twelve-room double house on the northeast corner of Eighteenth and Wirt streets, while excavations have just been completed for a new store building on Sherman ave nue, just south of Blnney street. Whether the laws for taxing mortgages are changed and filing fees collected In lieu of taxes or not, the Omaha Real Estate exchange Is on record as favoring the fee system and endorsed a bill at Its last meet ing providing for tha collection of one-half of 1 per cent on every mortgage at the time of filing, excepting the mortgages of certain banks and the loan and building as sociations. Many dealers desired that no exceptions be made whatever, but a aavlngs and loan association official explained why the mortgages of such organisations should be exempt. They belong In reality to the name of the associations. Thus when money Is put Into the building and loan as sociations snd taxes paid on the capital stork It would be double taxation at once lo alfto tax the mortgages or collect fees r n t'.K:.:. rhraper money Is coming. That Is whst the heads of bit title and trust companlea lire trlllng their rlienta and agents. Vice President Frark 1'alley of the Title Ouar ante and Trust company of New Tork City iald during the week that the whole country la entering a period of easy money, as the nation Is growing richer. While we have not the habits of thrift which have made the French rich, wo hnve natural re sources which as developed promise to make this nation one of the richest. If not the richest. In the world In cspltal resources. PLANS FOR JWONSTER SHIPS Strides of the t nlted States aa a Naval Power and the Cost. i While other nations are steadily In creasing year by year their naval budgets. the Vnlttd States is making big strides in the same direction. It haa been esti mated that a new battleship every year would mean an actual Increase in tha available fighting force of the country of one battleship every five years. In other words, while four battleships wear out every five years there would be five new ones to take their place. . This country Is almost definitely bound now to a two-battleship program, and two new battleships every year will annihilate before many years what difference now exists between our naval strength and that of England. Our actual appropria tion for this purpose this year Is meas urably heavier than England's, while Germany, France and Japan are all about 35 Si per cent short of ua. Aside from the enormous appropriations of approximately 1125,000,000 for the or dinary care and maintenance and drill of the navy as It stands, congress has al ready decided to spend $38,719,595 on In creasing the navy this year by bodily adding to It. And each new Increase, of course. Implies a corresponding increase hereafter in the upkeep of the fleets. And much of this additional appropriation will go to ships of such extraordinary tonnags and such tremendous battery armament that their ordinary expenses, and particu larly their allowance for target practice, will be out of all proportion greater than that of ships already in commission. The naval program for the year la. briefly, seventeen ships. Two of these will ba monster 25,000-ton battleships In armament and size, second to none afloat, If they will not be when launched tha heaviest ships for fighting purposes. The rest of the program is devoted to five fleet colliers and ten boats of the torpedo class five destroyers, four submarine and one subsurface torpedo boat There are no cruisers, the policy of the navy now being to concentrate Its effective fighting force In enormous hulls driven by high-power engines of unusual steam ing radius. For some years to come each of these military leviathans will mean an added $2,000,000 to the naval budget, that sum being required for carrying on the work on them And the smaller boats wilt mean annual expenditures In proportion. As to what the monster craft will cost when ready for trial it is hard to say. Chairman Tawney of tha appropriation committee of the house in a speech recently estimated it at 112,000,. 000, owing, he said, to the recent lowering of prices on tha part of tha .shipbuilding companies. But these figure were disputed by Chairman Fobs of tha naval committee. who said that the Navy department had as sured him that the total coat per battleship would not exceed HO. 200,000. It Is probable that the truth will be shown to He some where between the two estimates. The plans for these 25,00-ton ships repre sent a steady advance In every direction on the fighting ships of past years. Ten years ago the largest ship this country could boast was of the Alabama type. comparatively Insignificant ironclad of about 11,000 tons, out of commission these days. Five years later marine architecture had advanced to the stage represented by the Ohio and her sister ships, with tonnage of about 12,500. Today the largest ship In the American navy la the Connecticut, a bnttloahip of only 16.000 tone displacement and an arma ment of four 12-Inch guna. The ships now In process of construction are of the Florida and I'tah type, with a dlaplacement of about 11,000 tona and a much heavier arma ment and armor. Tha two ships voted this session of congress push the dlaplacement forward by over 4,000 tona, and give the heaviest armament and probably the beat arranged armament of any ahip yet de signed. The two ships as specified in the aot shall "In all respects be similar" to the ships authorised last year and this, In the Interpretation of the Navy department, means just nothing at all. Besides the dif ference In weight, there will be the fight ing equipment of eight 14-lnth guns, or ten 12-Inch guns, arranged so that all of them can be brought to bear on either broadside, and four of them fore and four aft. Besides these big guns there will be, of course, smaller rapid-fire guns for torpedo defense. The thickness of the armor on the new ships will be measurably Increased with tha Increased tonnage of the vessel, while the steaming radiua will be added to by many miles. New York Tlniea. tie Whitakerl go the awful oath. "One Whltaker," orig inated In New ilrltaln, CVnn.. where the late George Whltaker was once chief of police. Robert Peele, founder of a nolle system, contributed still mora liberally to the languuge; from his name are derived the terms "Bobble" and "Peeler." Boston Transcript. Rejuvenating the Frame House .... t . ' - - " t - , . ... f . .- 'i . ! -J.- ,. v"' .Vr it' x. mnh pc ; wmtt , EPOCCM ! l.s. KiTCMCH' ZZ .maix..'! W eWwia: Dimiho Room , ! IjvfcaTifcuLr ptCCH.' " WIDE. LI U EA,LCOff USMDIMCV 1 BOOM (OI&UHrrl Q JL 1Wstfr rifJTrLOOB. :OnccviD rLoQR,. Owner, Architect and Contractor Arthm O. Clausen. Architect. Tha newest thing Is the "overcoated" house. This fashion started on ths Atlantic coast and Its advance has been so rapid that wa may axpect an early Invasion of the transmlssisstppl region. To thoaa who are not Informed we will explain that the overcoated house is an old frame building with aiding covered with cement mortar on metal lath, which la at tached to the weather boarding on vertical trip to create an air apace. Tha effect is pleasing to the eye, as the appearance at a little distance Is that of a out stona exterior. It la said that buildings so treated are warmer in winter with half the fuel and tnuch more comfortable under the sun's hot rays In tha summer. Th jy do not need painting and vines and running roses may be trained against the house without fear of damage or disturb ance. Tha same system applkd to atables and other outbuildings for animal shelter will bring added comfort to tha occupants, with economy of food expenditure. Those Inclined to doubt the permanency f tha plastla application ara assured that tha material which stands tha hard usage and ollmitio severities whan placed In a pavement, may safely be trusted oo tha -da f awuao. It is well known hat Portland cement gets harder with time and exposure snd an overcoat structure, it Is said, will last in good order for centuries if a tight roof is maintained. With the many advantage and tha cheap ness of the process there see ma a reason able probability of Its general adoption, and we may uion see town and farm buildings disappear in wood and emerge as stone. Tho finish coat may be rough, pebble dash or trowelled smooth, the latter being regarded as tha best taste and the whiter cements have the preference. Wood laths as a hpldlng devloe have been tried and found unreliable, and tha small mesh steel lath best adapted for the pur pose, the lime In tha mortar being a chem ical . preservatioa of tha lath from cor rosion. From tha artistic point of view, there la a fascination in the prospect that tha un eightllness of tha unpalnted and decay, lng frame dwelling and aut buildings may ba eliminated from tha landscape, which, combined with tha certainty that tba addi tional calla on tha plasterer, carpenter and cement worker will bring prosperity dl reclly to them and Indlractly to other trades In tha various communities, wa are disposed to welcome U "everooated" houat There Is an old saying that "two heads do better than one," signifying that it is always best to take counsel with someone else before attempting a thing of Impor tance. This is especially true In regard to tho proper construction of a home. Here wa find three heads necessary to properly carry out the work. The-owner and his family constitute one head to which is added In counsel the architect and con tractor. Strange to say, however, that even when these three heads get together the results are not always entirely satis factory. When this proves to be the case there is something wrong In the relation of these three men and it usually comes from their not having a correct understand ing of the duties of each other. The owner will sometimes try to do things which ought to be left to the architect. The architect may not be competent and the contractor may attempt to take his place aa advlser-tn-chlef to the owner. This too frequent state of affairs always has but one result an expensive home of poor construction, plan and design. ' First, soma one member of the family should be its spokesman. This point Is often still unsettled when tba architect Is engaged and causes him no end of annoy ance. When members of the family can not agree on certain arrangements they Invariably each try to persuade the archi tect to render a decision in their favor and tha embarrassment of the situation often hampers him and prevents him from doing his best work. The planning of the home In most cases, however, is left to the wife, since she must occupy tt the most of anyone and It is mora closely identified with her existence than any other mem ber of tha family. The children will some day leave It to build homes of their own end the husband la there but little of the time. This fact la in most cases recognised. The principal difficulty then arises from the lack of knowledge of the wife's or owner aa to what the duties of the archi tect are. Home consider nun as a mere draughting machine to do their bidding without comment. Others reoognlse his superior knowledge and experience of all matters pertaining to building and leave the many details of the plan and design to hia judgment. This la the way it ahould be 'and the results from thla method of pro. cedure are Invariably satisfactory to the owner in the end provided that a good contractor is selected to construct the building according to a proper lnterpreta tlon of the plans. Here is where the owner again faVs by attempting to be his own contractor, but more of this later on. It la an architect's duty to give an owner what he wants or what he even thinks be wants. It is the owner who must occupy tha home and who pays for It and he is a very narrow minded architect who takes an ar bitrary stand against an owner In regard to anything that the latter wants which does not appeal to his artistic fancy or structural knowledge. When an owner wants something that will not look well or is not practical It Is his (architect's) duty to frankly inform hira of his error, giving him sufficient' reasons why, and suggest a better arrangement aa a substitute. Then if the owner Insists on having things a certain way even if it be not the best. It is then the duty of the architect to give him what he wants, make it look aa well aa . posslb.e under the circumstances and if tha results do not suit Um owner, which is often tha case, the fault is tha owner's and not tha architect's. The owner who bears in mind that tha architect la a pro fessional man, a man whose advice should be accepted aa final as the legal views of his attorneys, and a man whose only ob ject is lo extend his reputation by pleasing born tha owner and tha observing public and that In attempting this ba serves the owner's interests as well as his own, will Invariably have a better home than the man who considers his architect as merely g convenience In tha way of laying out tha drawings. Tha owner should state promptly to tha THE BEE'S PLAN OFFER Through a apeclal arrangement with Mr. Clausen The Omaha Bee la able to offer Ita readers the complete plans, details and specification of the home illustrated on this page without change for 110. Mr. Clausen Is the author of a well Illustrated book, "Home Building Plans and Prob lems,' 'containing, besides many de signs for modern homes and exten sive articles on home building, over 130 deslgna for entrances, fireplaces, picturesque groups of windows, stair ways, kitchen and pantry arrange ments, etc. Special price to readers of The Bee 60 cents. Send all orders to Arthur C. Clausen, architect. Stu dio, 1013 Lumber Exchange, Minne apolis, Minn. architect the amount he desires to spend, give him a general idea of the number and arrangement of the rooms and then leave the rest to him If he would have the beat reaulta. It la said that a client of Lincoln's once told him In a slangy manner, "I'll be hanged if I don't plead my own case," to which Llncln promptly replied, "You will certainly be hanged If you do." Home builders have often well not exactly be?n hanged but have no doubt felt like it after seeing the results of not following their architect's advice. A successful archi tect la Invariably a man of strong Imagin ation. He can see each home he plans Just as It will appear when built. In fact, It Is this gift of nature, which must e bcrn in a man, for It cannot be acquired, combined with incentive and artistic talent and a natural liking for mathematics and mathematical accuracy, that makes an architect possible. All good designing Is done In the head. The home Is first built In Imagination, the architect's drawings being merely the sys tematic means of conveying the workman the Instructions which will enable him to paint this mental picture with material. An architect is an artist who paints with material. New a word or two about the contractor. Architects and contractors for the mint part come from the common people, some are honest and some are not, this being true in every profession or line of busi ness. When an owner haa not chosen hia men wlaely and haa tha misfortune to deal with both a dlahonest architect and a dis honest contractor the situation becomes serlcus. If tha architect Is honest, but the contractor otherwise, the situation Is far better, especially if the services of the former aro retained In superintending the home. When both men are honest and capable the owner has nothing to fear, especially If both are being paid enough to warrant their special attention to the work. Contractors are often the cause of annoyance to both the architect and owner through their frtquint attempts to super-' cede the architect's advice to his client- Owners should remember that no matter how capable or experienced a builder tha contractor may be, he la not a dealgner. Ha has not the above given qualities and apeclal education along certain lines which make an architect. A competent builder never attempta to draw plana In ths first place If ha Is a competent man he Is Invariably too busy to give hia time to this work from which ha gets nothing. The principal contractors Invariably have archl tecta design tnelr own homea. In fact, the only reaaon any contractor haa for at tempting to make a at of "carpentet plana" and auffer the inconvenience of not having things properly arranged for him In detail is ths fact that he knows that tha owner cannot with the scant Informa tion given hira get an Intelligent competi tion bid or even have a means of holding him to a contract through the absence of tha means of knowing In detail just what is to ba built and what tha contract In cludes. For every thing not mentioned be forehand or not indicated in these "car penter's plana" the contractor will Invari ably want an "extra," the bill of extras often amounting to half the amount of thacontract Have your plans properly drawn, then let your contract to a reliable builder at a fair price that will enable him to build your heme without having to "pick the bones" In order to realise a profit on the work. A perfectly reliable builder recently expressed himself in these words: "When a man wants to make me a reasonable price for good work I will give it to him, but I cannot do business with fellows who want something for noth ing. If I can't clone up a contraot at a price which will give me an honest profit and enable me to give a man what he expects to get then I don't want the Job." This is the sentiment of moat builders, for the majority of them are honest, capable men, but they must get a living out of their trade and the owner is more often to blame for poor work than the contractor through not allowing him the compensation which good work requires. For a home builder to attempt to be his own contractor Invariably has but one result a home cost ing more than It should and poorly built. The higher price which an owner ha to pay for labor and material always exceeds a contractor's profit. Better follow Mark Twain's advice, "Put all your eggs In one basket, but watch that basket." Almost aa Good. Little they came up to his father with a verv solemn fitce. "Is it true, father," he asked, "that mar riage Is a failure?" liia father surveyed him thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, Ikey." he finally replied, "If you get a rich wife It'a almost as good as a tallure." l. IxjuIs Times. "Asbestos Century' Shingles The Modern Roofing Blntea Uet Our 1900 Catalogue Zf It's made of Asbestos We're got M. Keasbey & Mattison Co. A. A. Avery, Mgr., OinaJus, Branch. 1213-1215 Harney Street. This Name Means Safety The electric wiring In that new house of your'g must be put In prop erly. Nothing la bo safe as electric wires, properly Installed. When not put In right, they're dangerous. We know the requirements of safe wiring, and rigidly follow all the spe cifications of the insurance underwrit ers. Experts do the work at reason able prices. Call us up, but get the name right. "Forget the 'al.' Don't forget Johnston. " Johnston Electric Go. Successors to WESTERN ELECTRICAL COMPANY, 411-41 J So. Tenth St., Omaha Phones Bell, Doug. 456; Ind. A2456. SriU Dhl rjorihwosforn Expanded Metal Go. 84 Van Buren St., Chicago Manufacturers off XPAQB El METAL the Standard Material for CONCRETE in floors, roofs, bridges, pave ments, sewers, etc. Write for pam- :s containing full information. WESTERN REPRESENTATIVE C. W. HULL CO. BUILDING MATERIALS 1503 Farnam StreeL Omaha, Nebraska 5,000 Foot Iron Fonco . 30,000 Foot Wlro Fonco 24c por llnoal foot and up Troo Guards, Trollls, - -everything In Lawn and Comotory Furnlohlngo. Phone Red 814 205 North 17ih St. A HOME TO SUIT A rented house seldom suits you and you usually take It tem porarily or because you cannot get a better one. Did you ever think of building a home to suit you? It can be don. We have the plan. The payments you are now making aa rent will, in a few years, erect and pay for Just such a home aa you want. Call and see our secretary. Omaha Loan & Building Assn. S. E. Cor. 16th and Dodge Streets GEO. H. LOOMIS, O. M. NATTINGER, W. R. ADAIR, Pvuidtnt. Sec' y and 2Vo. .Asst. Sto'y. sets SJ.t57.000.00 Reserve SB7.000.00 Pay for What is Used Electricity costs only when It works for you. No Expensive boilers to keep up over night. No coal burned for steaming up Monday, or after Holiday. No shot downs tor cleaning flues, or for repairing boilers. Tha motor la always ready and power costs only when machines ara actually la use. Write or telephone as today. I Omaha Electric Light & Power Co. Y. M. 0. A. BUILDING . Contract Department. Both Phones. FOR RENT - APRIL 1st 3rd Floor Paxton Block Now Occupied by Women's Christian Association. Will Divide to Suit Tenants. W. FARNAM SMITH & CO., 1320 Farnam SL Tela. Doug. 10&4; Ind. A-1064. ROOM 645 PAXTON BLOCK :- TEL DOUG. 1S93