New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-03-01
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
WILL RENTS RISE OR FALL 7


~ rAssv Of nm r0v.s ..h
Ssa. Kos~ithAt Asoipg ali thst bas been se'a so'.'
Ne kish rents and the pro~pest OF sneiI 'AA'' -"
compelled to differ with the majority on "a" qI".'
40 not believe hat rents can fall nor 40 WINK
a.. -, o.. .,c.n,iops. land hero they are 20
-..."....,w A;oh that the tenants generally break,
- =. 90, nd Of them altogether they ere now be-
- r., thew ought to be. Take the average OF
ut. IN the whole City, sod / am convinced tbs,
Aev III not give five per cent on fair valuation OF
~ property. Ny own experience, which goes back
4, 6hy years, and 10 confined entirely to property in
ne lower part Of the City, none o. which has been
bought within thirty years, does not exceed this
Win those who have held unproductive lands, the
average Of income must have been far less. The
Whole Of the lsnd on the iAand north OF Forty.
,seond At. If sold tomorrow would not bring what
AvM worth ffty years ago, with three per ceot per
aanum added for interest lhe enormous v Ausn'ns
mt upon il at present by those most imaginative and
rr.s,e,s vsrthies. the Tax COMMISSIONER, 10 few
ossrs nc-e will ruin the bolderr 10 tsxes. N6man
ssn nav full taxes reproductive property. II the
bs,is Of taxation were income ss 1t IS IN most coun-
tries and Lot speculative values, the taxes OF me
City would be reduced one third Of course, II TINS
he So AID every who has attended To the m sitter
knows that it IT, proves that the present Valuations
se excessive.
Ny own property is assessed fr beyond ts va'us'
Nv value 1 understand what it Is actually worth,
18th reference TO the income; what would be willing
a ,el il for and what il would bring if put mp ana
rsid the ssue notice at the Exchange /o' oIsh.
By value the Commissioners OF Taxes seem TO under.
stsnd the price which property brings ia pdS
Land is seldom FOLD here for cash the usual te ms on
real taes are Que third or One-fourh cash an1 tue
balance on mortgage. But the great majority OF all
the sales reported mere bogus Operations; 10
which the property, though oste0s,bly sold at fshs
kus prices, is in fact, bought in; the object beng
freau. nty to establish fcstous value for purposes
Of fraud and 10 enable the owner TO trade u on st
more than it is WORTH for other property. IL IS On
such operations as these and credit sales, and on
exchange that the Tsx Commissioners seem 10 use
their valuations; and in this way, by annually In.
cressir the taxable paper value OF the property OF
the citizeIs, municipal ex1avagance ana dishonesty
Il in part covered up; and thus too t1e vanity of
those persops whose bouses and lots are mortg+ ged
for az much than they are worth, Is battered
Bslk ruts are made TO believe that they are persons
Of property, and justified in their own eyes in per-
suipg courses Of extravaganza, which, by their exam
plee are running their children and sapping the
morals Of the community.
II 10 pretty well Understood now, thst houses
and lots ere about the worst property man can IN
Formerly there were certain advantages connected
With Aud II could not be sold for debt 1t descended
TO the eldest in preference to the other cnoren:
he owner was entitled to disran for rent due; aud
many other privileges II was for these reasons tha!
Vas called real estate contradistincOn to person'
al property which had not then attained the import
sDee which it nov ebjoys. All Governments, except
our own encourage the investment OF money 10 isod,
nv the privileges they attach to it, aud the reason il
obvious. The land is patent and fixed 1t can always
be found to pay lite proportion Of the public expenses
The owner Of land mot shrk bis duties TO The Gov
eminent Personal property, bowever-bonds mort
gage notes. certificates of stock money, damon Is,
and iewery are buttOned up in the breeches pocket
Of the owner and are not easily found by the tax
gasherei. Therefore, it lie generally thought to be
vse 10 encourage men TO buy land. But with u.s. al
the privileges attached 10 the land have one by one,
been stripped away. The last that wss left VS. di'.
te,s for rent, and that, too, has been taken And
there is nothing left except the burdens which. In
long series Of Year, have been imposed on it, At the
present moment there some tw ,nty different kioos
Of claims which liens on real estate, and shich
must be searched for and examined before the title to
the smallest LOT of land cen be safely taken In tins
way Lot only is the insecurity Of buying it very great,
but the cost Of searching the title comes to
q much ar the price of the land. The whole system
of liens would probably hsve been abolished 10 this
Etate wears sgo If il not for the army OF Office
holders who pocket the fees in these casss and who
eve of cour.e interested in continuing them; and it
II wel known that legislation, nov days ia not for
the people, but to FILL the Pockss OF oincnl corm9,
pay the ipcumbents, chiefly from NAL construction OF
the law winked at by the Courts. and from positive
dnhopesty, more than $50, 900 q year each;
and yet it is found next 10 impossible to induce
L%pisisturts to interfere with them. 1t seems a. if
each legislator thinks that he himself or bis brother,
or pear relative or friend may be the next possessor
of one of these prizes in the lottery of poiies or
perhaps their unwillpgness to touch such abuses my
be owing to more direct and pspabe appeals to their
interests. Where the stake is 80 large the holder
can afford TO be liberal BY far the grester part of
these burdens upon the land and a. there are
no advantages by way Of OBJECT to them, where the
inductment to a man to put his money in 1t Aud
particularly when the State cries out to lin: "Do not
"buy land, but 60 into Wall ct. with your money,
In operations Of this Kind the profits supposed
% be from TO 100 per cent. year or as much a.
each ones conscience will allow him to take. Aud
- interest governs the world, how can We expect
men to buy land and build houses and rent them for
Eve per cent year, when it IL 80 much more prohta
Die to use their money in other ways. Depsnd upon
nicipal government becomes less venal and corrupt
the prohts of land RISE and rents must increase
no to bear some relation to the Of other To-
vestments. The man who puts his money in lands
and houses at present 10 sinpeton. His gain is
nothing, and his prospect Is ruin. z.