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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1909)
; flELY i REAL ESTATE GOSSIP R. C. Peter Advocates More Atten . tion to Beautifying City. MORE PARKS AND BOULEVARDS m Tlan Think It U Better to Dr?lw to Bar Mort Land 'While It Cheap and Mar Re Eas ily Acaalrea. H. C. Peters of the Peters Trust com pany, who accompanied the ral rotate dealers on their excursion to Kansas City, asked by the real estate exchange to Klve his views on what he saw and how Omaha might be bemfited by adopting seme of the plans used there. He said: "Kansas City has taken time well by the forelock and bought ground and laid out Its low hauls In bouh-vaids and parks when the ground wa of but little value, and an the city has grown It has been of great value to It and this has been con ductive to Its growth. Where these parks and buiilevards are laid out It enhances the value of not only the surrounding rroperty, but of the entire city, as Is Miown by the boulevards we have laid out here. It Is conclusively shown by the lurifo extent of the fine residence prop erty there which Is very much greater than ours, and I think It is largely owing to the extent of the boulevards which they have laid out. "It Is also shown conclusively that mac adam properly prepared Is the proper pavement to use for residence sections. It Is more a natural form of pavement and more conductive to the bejuty of a Nuhurb. Itrlck and a.sphalt aru pavements suitable for a business section, but they ure noisy and one doea not seek a suburb because of Its noise. Hay While Land la Cheap. "The thing for Omaha to do, while the ground Is yet cheap. Is to buy up the low lands which are natural courses of creeks and boulevard them. This would enhance g the vajue of the surrounding property and not only that, It would enhance the value of the entire city. "One thing I would criticise Omaha for Is the straight lines upon which It is laid out. , Nature does not form her lines of beauty k In straight lines, but in curves. An artist would be a failure were he to have straight Unee with no curves In his paint ing. Straight lines may be mathematical and precise, but they do not add to the beauty of a city In Its residence section, nor to Its ultimate wealth, for It 1 the beauty of a location which attracts people and makes the wealth of a city. The beauty of a stream or a brook is In its l urves and sinuous lines. Our woods would not be nearly so beautiful If laid out in mathematical lines. We should follow nature in the planning of our residence aeo tlons and our boulevards and drives. There Is too much commercialism In lay. ing out grounds with mathematical preci sion and In too small tracts. It may bring a few more dollars at the outset, but In the long run a section which is laid out for beauty will be the one that will bring- me greatest price. We should not nar row our streets too much and we should not make the lots too small In order to get so much more money for them. We have Immense broad prairies here and are not restricted to our ground. We have plenty ot room for all the city that we want to build. "With reference to park and boulevards, we have not enough ground laid out for this purpose when we come to consider other cities. Take Swope park In Kansas f'lty. I think It has about tOOO acres; Keener park In Hartford has 1,600 acres, and there 1 a park in Ixis Angeles that has 3.000 acres. Hartford Is not so large as Omaha, but It has many more acres In parks and much better kept However, we cannot criticise our Park board, nor' the lack of the extent of our parks too much, J for I think we have done exceedingly well in Omaha with the appropriations granted. Hanscom park and some of our other parks show up admirably for the money pent, but tt Is time now to Induce larger appropriation. If possible, while the ground Is cheap and the city Is growing, for largw Parka and larger boulevards. This will make a more beautiful as well as larger city and a more desirable place In which to live, A good many of you probably have seen Belle Isle In Detroit and know " .v m wmuiiiui narir i I, I - i. ral park. They hired a lIMn. ir to lay It out Ha rtut .. ..n na ture's ways, but straight lines, and when the Park commissioners found out how it was going to despoil a great many of the magnificent trees they paid him off and let him go and laid out the park to suit themselves, following nature's pattern, ani you can see how much more beautiful it Is with the trees which they retained. Plant Hardy Trees. "It Is quite necessary also to get parka nnd grounds at an early date so as to set out trees. It takes decades here to grow a tree, and what Is more beautiful In any rW i city than trees? V, should not plant so many soft maple, but more elms, oaks Kyotimores and trees of that class. They nre not only more stable, but lend a beauty that Is not attained by soft maple anil are not so easily broken "I would also advocate n. of flowers and shrubs and hardy plants mo ure neeiy man are plantud here. We are not a city of flowers. One can readily see this when visiting any eastern city such as Hartford or Boston. In Toledo where they have some of their flnsst residences it was at one time low ground and noth ing but a mud hole. They have a beauti ful residence section which has been made am-ely by flowers and shrubs planted "long the cuib line, maintaining a unl ronn parking line, and It Is as beautiful a section as one will find today. "Omaha should be a city of beauty. We ' Kius and valleys, and by form! ng od "ime uniform plan and adopting a tnetl f I...LI.,- ..... . . .... .irwin ana different sm all "," rcis with flowers, we can ma ke ii a uiautirul place and attract people nbt oniy lourlKts. but people who are' lookl ng for permanent homes. I alfnrnt M reels (he Beat. ' I would have a uniform width of streets ii mo resilience sections, vivi,,.. per- haps In sections where traffic demands it. ttlouiJ 'o hve uniform sldewa M.rblng and a uniform distance betw the hoiiN. an. i ih.. . . Iks. en " itiTenlng ag aln ... .o-o. some ut ,he most beaut Iful ir.iurm.-es nave lots with -...k ... v r" Ul feet or more, the house bem .. i ... 200 l.aM twenty-five to fifty feel. l . gooj residence section the lot should be 100 or :1W feet. There should be a sulci law regarding the distance a residence should be built from the street. We can well s-k more variety of style in tho architecture of our homes. on lan notice the difference in ih. architecture tetwren the Kansas City houses and ours There Is mure variety there, and i also think we should have more brick stone and cement. It looks more permanent and adds to the stability vt a city. We also notice this largely In eastern cities, in V cement enters largely Into the con- Tuition of the houi.es. They have grow ing vines to relieve the solidity, and trees and shrubs grouped about the place. On thing uotably lacking with us Is thnt we hsve no river drlvewsy. When we drove slong rilff Drive In Kansas City we were all highly pleased with It. We can not have anything so nice here, as we do not have the lay of country that Is so well adapted to It, but we could have bad some thing that would have been attractive to our city and might yet b able to hsve It. A drive along the bluff line overlooking the river would be an attractive spot to the city. Again. I would suggest In the Isylng out of subdivisions that more attention be paid to fitting them up thoroughly and attrac tively before putting them on the market. This requires a great deal of money, but where a subdivision is properly laid out In the first place, with a view to beauty. It cannot b defaced afterward. Tt Is this motley checkerboard-fashion which spoils our subdivisions This can be readily seen In some of our subdivisions which rnuld have been made beautiful, hut hsve been spoiled by the different styles snd cost of eechitecture snd grounds, every man suit ing his own taste ay to what should be done In laying out his place. This Idea of laving out to beauty may not seem commercial, but It Is. for if you will lay out your city and your rirks and your boulevards, and your subdivisions and your homes with a view to beauty nnd attractiveness, and not count how much the last foot will bring or how much money you get In the place, vou wi'l find that In the end you will be the gainer, for the beauty of a city and a subdivision and a home will attract people, and If people are attracted to It this will be the means of selling property, and that Is what you are all after. It Is the attention given to lines of beauty that will eventually bring wealth and make the larger city. Norrls and Martin have just closed a deal with Jetus R. Conkllng for a beau tiful tract of ground on the Florence Boulevard and Miller park. This lund was sold to Jetui R. Oonklln and Charles W. L'onHing by Samuel S. Cur tlss In 18S5, and In 1892 they deeded a strip through It to the citv of Omaha for boulevard and park purposes, and today this Is one of the prettiest spots on the boulevard system. The ground has a frontage of 515 feet on Miller park and over 1,400 feet of frontage on the boule vard which, at this point, Is from 120 to 160 feet wide and beautifully parked. They will plat this ground, put In broad cement walks, and all Improvements. Suitable restrictions will be put in each deed with a view of making a beautiful residence district. Work will be started on these improvements at once. GREAT BOON TO TRAVELERS Wireless Telephone aad Trala Stop ping Devices Work Wonders, Wireless telephony applied to moving trains was demonstrated yesterday to bn a success ' on an Erie train running at thirty miles an hour between Newark and South Paterson, N. J. The operators talked without Interruption with operators on either end of the run, and officials of the Erie who participated in the demonstra tion were delighted with the results. The Inventor, Fred I.ecrolx, said his system when perfected will permit of conversation from a train running at cannonball speed within a radius of 1,000 miles. His confident statement was relied upon Implicitly by the officials who witnessed the test yesterday. The wireless telephone was operated from the engine cab. The electric current Is taken up from a small third rail at the side of the track. Per fection of the system. It is said will reduce almost to cero the possibilities of train acci dents by attachments In the cab that show when a train is stalled ahead and indicates how distant It is. Another device operates the air brake attachments tne instant the recorder shows there is a stalled or de railed train within two miles ahead. The road officials pronounce It a marvelous Invention. Lecrolx, the Inventor, Is little more than a youth. He Is twenty-four years old and looks younger. He learned electrical en gineering In Texas, and Is said to have a remarkable eomprehenslon of the broad subject. While the test yesterday was con fined to the engine cab the development of the Invention means that a man In a Pullman sleeper may be aroused from slumber to answer a call and talk to his mother, wife, sweetheart or business friend 1,000 miles away. It Is predicted the inven tion will be as wonderful in Its develop ment as wireless telegraphy; and its ac oompanlment, the devloe to prevent rail road accidents, makes It the more remark able. The third rail which carries the power for the Lecrolx system of wireless tele phony it not "deadly" as a person may walk upon It without receiving the slight est shock. The test was watched by a few road officials and several news paper men. They crowded Into the engine cab, us many as could find standing room at one time. They found a receiver and transmitter much like the ordinary tele phone attachments on the side of the cab. Close by were the dials and attachments of the device for sounding the varntng of danger ahead. The members of the party first talked through the transmitter to a train dis patcher at either end of the line and re ceived messages in response. The train was running at twenty miles an hour, then the speed was increased five miles, and then to thirty miles. There was not the slightest interruption of the conversation even at the moment the speed was In creased. To make the test severe the speed was increased quickly, so that the cab shook and the cars wabbled, but there was no Interruption of the talk. The wireless telephone having been tested to the satisfaction of the officials, the train stopping device was demonstrated. The train was run In close upon a passen ger train and the moment the danger sons was reached, the engineer having his grip on the lever, the air-brake attachment was operated automatically and the train stopped within fifty feet, when running at twenty-five miles an hour. There was no sudden Jar; it came to a standstill grad ually. New York Press. Sharply Hepnlsed. The plump waiter girl at the lunch counter, having nothing to do at the mo ment, was trying to reah with her fin ger nails a place on her back well up between the shouldxrs, but with her short and chuboy arms she was unequal to the tank. In vain she squirmed Slid struKKled Slid twisted her face. She failed to achieve the dmlred connection. The elderly man on tne tmtxlde of the counter, who had been fifc-htlng a piece of overdone steak, leaned forward and spoke to her in a low tone, but with intent- earnestness. "My desr. young woman." he said, "par don the freedom of a man who has grandchildren almost as old as you are but if vou will come a little closer 1 shall take pleasure In scratching that spot for you as 1 see th.it you can't unite -" ' Mind your own business," she snapped. "How seldom Oh. how seldom!" u a good deed or a generous impulse appre ciated in this ungrateful world' Chicago Tribune. The hoeolate Haling Gallons. A Frenchman who visited this country lecenlly expressed amasement at the great amount of chocolate consumed by us. He had thought the Parisians, of all peopl on the fae of ths earth, excelled in the eating of chocolaU' sweets, but here he found the custom o? coating things with chocolate so prevalent that he aaid ths people of tils city had smnrthliig In the line to lea in from us. He did not know perhaps, that while we take our chocolate lightly and for Its own sake quite as much as French people do. we also approve of It In our diet for the nutritious qualities tt possess s. The Epiuure, THE OUAIIA MM OF THE BUSY HOME BUILDERS v. i 4 i - .) J ft. - . MINN f i i 1 " I" : t 1 r r I .' I --V) .living I I lA -O-Xtl m wic . mm, si.'s. w t. Mark Twain likes a joke upon himself almost as well as le does to play them on other people. One day after stepping off a car wfth a friend and three other men be commenced to free-ly comment upon the three fellow paasengers, giving his opinion of their character as Indicated by their appearance and actions. 'Now there" he said, ffoes a well groomed young fel low. He Is almost a block ahead of us already. He apparently Is going some where to accomplish something. That man will succeed, If he has not already done so. That next man a little way behind him apparently has a good position, but Is taking his time to get to It. He Is a man who will make a fair living, but never be anything In this world but a wage-earner. This next man Juct abead of us, with the baggy trousers and worn coat, a shuffling walk and a tea It that carries Mm from one side of the side walk to the other Is apparently a man with no aim In life and will never amount to anything; to which remarks his friend replied. 'Yes, bam, that Is true, a man shows what he Is to a large extent by the way he goes about his work, but by the way, did you happen to notice that we are the men behind.' We are all apt to go through life criti cising the other fellow, but not making the best of our own opportunities. A man be hind the times will Invariably criticise things In general, no doubt on the theory that nothing looks as well from behind. People who let their contract during the late spring and summer, are the men be ll In g In the building line. They are losing money through not appreciating the value of an early start. They know that build ing materials are cheaper during the win ter,' that lack of work creates close com petition among contractors, that the mill man can get out his mill . work more promptly during January and February than at any other time of the year, even though they hold it for late spring deliver)-, but knowing thine facts, he often lets the precious time slip by until the awaking of spring stirs him to action. Every contractor has his limitations. The best contractors through having good credit and buying in large quantities are able to figure lower than the poorer class of contractors when they want to. They run only handle so many jobs properly, however, lack of time and lack of capita being their limitations. When they reaih thik point they place their estimates so high that they seldom get a contract until part of the work on liund is completed, when they figure low ssain In order to kfep busy at their full capacity. This creates a situation in the early spring and during the following summer very similar to a land lottery. The man who Is lucky enough to draw No. 1 gets his choice of the best contractors. It means that ho w ill get honest work at a reasonable price, that therrt will be no labor liens on his house when It is complete and that he will have the pleasure of dealing with a man who intends to do Juxl what is right. If he delays too long taking out a build ing permit that numbers several thousands from the first of the year he will find the best contractors all but-y and taking no further orders except at very ImkIi prices, which means (hat he must either delay the building of his home or pay high prices fur It, or take whichever unem ployed contractor he can get, regaidlrss of his standing, financially ur otherwise. If a man knows he Is going to be in a position to build during the coming year be should go over all mutters preliminary to the ptrpaiatliin of his plans at once. The planning of a home is a serious mat ter and every -consideration should be given to details before the plans are c m pleied. This takes time, or rather shuuld tak. liiue, tut, as a matter of fact, very SUNDAY BEE: NOVEMBER 21, 1909. f J f rmri) .V-'-? m .vVr kuW f fl' .v'ur-Mf i,; wat U-fc..J A0 L I3,l I N"N "J Ot.'SI O N, KIO Getting Best Results in Home Building rthtvr o. Clausen, Architect. THE BEE'S PLAN BOOK Through an arrangement with Ar thur C. Clausen, architect, the read ers of The Omaha Uee can obtain a copy of his beautiful book, ITU AST, 8CTXHC AJfD SEJT XISCEITT Or XOMXBULLB- nro," (or On. Dollar. This book contains forty-six chap ters and 200 illustrations, printed on heavy enameled paper, with cover stamped In gold. It deals with the practical side of honiebulldlng, giv ing complete information on the planning and designing of every kind of home. There Is nothing more practical than making the home ar tistic, building it on scientific lines and to Insure sanitary conditions and warmth. Tbe author of the book aims to give the intending home builder advice on subjects such as buying the lot, planning the home, letting the contraot, choosing the materials, etc. Problems about front doors, windows, stairways. fire places, exteriors, Interior finish, etc., are taken up in detail and treated with good common sense. Nearly all questions that could be anticipated are answered and the book should prove a great help to those who are about to plan a home. It is pro fusely illustrated. Send all orders to Arthur C. Clausen. 1136-37-38 Lumber Exchange, Minneapolis. few people are willing to give an architect the amount of time he ought to have to study things out in detail. Many people have the mistaken Idea that after an ar chitect has received a few preliminary In structions he runs his hand through his hair, obtains ail lii.splratlon and jots down immediately a solution of the problem. Every house Is a different problem, very few being just alike; and to work out the best solution of each problem means hard work and considerable study, with the aid of talent and experience. An architect is both an Inventor aud an artist, an original design being an Invention, and he is an artist who paints with materials. It takes time to paint a picture, many artists spending months of study on a subject before painting it. A mechanical inventor will seldom create a proper machine at the first attempt, although his knowledge, of tho working model makes him better fitted to create the perfect machine, but to do so often requires years of study. Beautiful homes embody both the Inven tion of an original design and the artistic element of color, which should be care fully studied. Many people procrastinate on the home building problem in the hopes that they may be able to shirk the responsibility of building one and obtain one already built which exactly suits in every rect. Some times very good bargains can be obtained when usually rlrc urastam es require a man to sell his home at a sacrifice, but these Instances are very rare, for moHt homes If built a few years back are sold for more than they con! to build. If houses have bet n built to sell, they usually show it. A man who builds homes to sell, re cently remarked to his contractor In the presence of the writer, "If )nu know of any way to skin the job and give me a lower price, do It." Instructions like this to a contractor, after the work han lm covered up with a little paint and varnish, may give a greater profit to the man building to sell, but would prove a mighty pour lnvtment to the man buying. There are three essential requirements that confront every hoinebuilder. The home must coat a certain amount of money, inu.t be adapted to his needs and be built In a duslrable locality. The Utter requirement la esyeclaUy Important If " 1 v V I 7 rrrr?'--,," I er .'4. 9 ,. -StCOND rUOOBi' there are children In the family, since their associates will have much to do with the moulding of their characters. When all of these requirements can be found In a home already built by a man who built his home to live In himself, but Is forced to sell, either through some unfortunate circumstance or a desire for a larger home, the opportunity should certainly be taken advantage of, for the building of a new home Is a serious responsibility and not an easy matter. The right combinations are very seldom met with and for a man to wait an indefinite length of time for such an opportunity Is not advisable, for It may never come just as he would want it. To receive figures in the spring or summer the man behind will pay about 8 or 8 per cent more as a penalty for hav ing delayed letting his contract until June or July, than the man wlUt foresight enough to take advantage of the prices and close competition which prevails dur ing the early part of the yur. KEEPS TALLY ON SON'S TIPPLE Mother, with Telepathic Gift. HItmI - an Aatoniatle Rr lster. Wives and mothers with telepathic gifts may be able now to keep tally on the convivial glass of husbands and sons If the plan reported by the Rev. Dr. Newell Dwlght Hlllls, pastor of Plymouth church of Brooklyn In the current number of th. Journal for Psychical Research, comes Into general use. His communication was directed orig inally to the Rev. Dr. Isaac K. Funk, and Prof. James H. Hyslop, In printing It, ex presses his regret that he could not obtain more data on a subject which he finds far from dry. Dr. Hilll. begins his communication with the observation that a prominent woman member of his church had'- grown son who had a cultivated thirst He had been frequently admonished on the subject. The young man went to several cities, and re turned after meeting with merry compan ions, his mother meanwhile being In the south. She returned In April, and sum moned her son to her boudoir and bade him to sit down beside her. "Now, then," said she, as quoted In the letter of Dr. Hlllls, "I want vou to tell me all about what has happened In Don't deceive me. I saw you In the hotel, I saw you surrounded by men, and I saw you when you took the first drink." Hie young man told his mother what had happened, thinking that some one pres ent had written to her. After that chapter had been thoroughly discussed she said she wanted him to tell her what happened in such and such a city. He discovered that she knew all about this episode. Dr. Hillls adds that on another occas ion the son had been slightly Injured in a railroad accident, and that she had, al though mile, away, visualised the inci dent. Prof. Hyslop white for further details of the accurate count on liquid refiesh n.ents at long distunce, hut Dr. Hlllis was unable to furnish them, as the chief per sons concerned did not care to give them. "It la deplored," writes Prof. Hyslop In an editorial note, "that the person men tioned in this Incident would not consent to reioroing this experience. It might not hsve received such notice as It now obtains had an account of It been made. Hut It has been deemed wise to give an example of the kind of difficulty that psychic re search has to meet in ro.inec! ion with per sons w ho claim to be' intellnj. 1 1 and yet leave the reporting of the truth to those with Whom they decline to asmx-isie" New York Herald Quick Action for Your Money You get thai by using Th. bee adv.rtulog columns. P w s vrn vi. x, u.-i ) -x ! ulljtrttl .1 'CHAVi f-r? i 15 -O X 13 -ft 1 P3 BRANDED METAL STEEL PLASTERING LATH is the fire-proof substitute for the inflammable wood lath. It Prevents Cracking and Falling of Plaster on Walls and Ceiling. Adopted by the U. S. Govern ment and used everywhere in all good buildings. Write for circular. NORTHWESTERN EXPAXDED METAL CO. 84 Van Buren Street, CHICAGO We IVfnKe Them in Omaha and can duplicate any LT f V5 manufactured In the world also Save You Money Hydraulic-Pross Brick Co. 330 Bee Building. Let us show you samples. l.euill. 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