, 1874-06-14
N Money Lost in Holding Property in
This City.
,.o, Etate in San Francisco---The Sub
urbs of New York.


ar1l and declining III No" "a - No." A"oeA0e''
.,sa.on Baltimore, and that the results Of tue
',ss and suctions in this city for the last few
es a,,.ha have indicated that the values Of II
- - are no longer sustained.
,n,rsrsr1B1Y CoMrELs THIS CONCLUSION,
.so. throughout the country real estate is pass
:.o through one Of those stages OF depression
S 10, hare occurred periodically in our history.
~ snch time it is well to pause and examine
-. b;storr Of the past. II this shows that the
.,ovencnt Of real estate prices has always been
:. r,dn.alons, and further demonstrates that
ttrm7h them all runs steady upward line Of
..n,,rts3a.on, it will afford reasonable grounds for
PEgxASESr CONFIDENCE IN CHICAGO rAopE8l1. ;
careful study OF the prices Of Chicago real
..+sta since 1880, when the first lote were sold,
shous ;ndiaputAbly that no panic. no depression
:. home. or abroad has ever been able to stop the
<-o9,h Of the city, or the appreciation OF lta
ttss1tv. 1t shows still more lndisputably that
nobody who held Chicago property through 90
Esu York. whose growth has been as steady as
.Ia ,na,ch of time, there has always been class
# croskezs who d.sbelieyed III its growth, and
rrad,cted the permanent collapse OF values.
but there. as III Chicago, progress mas never oeen
norc than interrupted. The most eangulne OF
tbe n,en who settled in Chicago in 1886 thought
t6ey would be- octogenarinns before they saw lts
popu}a,iou 5000. It reached that nenfe IN
ISIS It has grown more rapidly every uecaoo
tjnoa Sober expectation may look to see 1t over
Amillon within lifetime.
Property i'll Chicago, at present p1lces' Ii
1b,n that in anv other great city in the world.
Ebc can doubt that, With tue population OF the
future the Increase of railroads. Of manufae-
tares. .he development Of the West. real estate
In this CITY ia certain TO bring greater fortunes
10 it's possessors than to those who bought IN
1nrir f1>o day IT
often eaid tlat it was impossible to help making
money by buying land at that time. la truth, a.
those who have operated in Chicago from that
day to this unanimously declare, S10 could have
been made after 81 where II could have baeI
1nada before '36. There are no fewcr opport11nl.
lies Row than then.
THE FIRST SALE OF LOTS
I, Chicago was made in 1886, when the State
Lid out the Old Town OF Chicago. aud sold the
lots At pubic auction. The prices brought
ranged tru1n SO to $l0o aud S2o0 lot The
to5n then Lad no Inhabitants to speak OF, and
tbe purchasers came from all quarters. I;erticu-
lar)v from tue southern part Of the state. Then
real estate men first begau their honest trade LII
cur little town. Their ruling. passion was as
strongly developed as it is to-day. They hal no
horses for lots. The land without the city was
largely held by the Government, and dealings in
1re,emptiops we're the chief material in specula-
lion, As 1887 approached, the same
MAD SPIRIT OF SPECULATION
that VAS at work through all the Eastern States
infected Chicago. In 1886 tie entire State OF
New JERSEY was laid out for suburban towns, and
Iyen the sttnid old town Of Albany surrounded it.
self with enough suburbs to accommodate the
entire population OF the State. 4 great many
Western towns. Of which Dothing more thau
their name survives, were founded then. Ihe
Eden to which Martin Ghuzzle"lt "enI was
such place. There was plenty Of money, which
circulated with o variety and abundance that
Eould have satisfied even Logan or Morton.
EVERYBODY was prosperous al! were specializing
Aad making their fortunes. When Judge Skin
uer came here, in 1886, be found moro hlgh Av-
ing, display Of wealth, more dress and CHAM
palsn drinking at the Lake House than there
IVES in Saratoga, ghich be had just lett. It WAS
syery common occurrence for land TO Change
bands eight times in o year, every transfer
bringing enormous profit. For instance, eighty
acres in Sec. II, that was bought about 1882 at
ss,0uo aud in 81 brought $4,000. an acre. In
6ec. II, in Hyde Park, quarter section
SOLD FIVE TIMES IN THE TEAE,
hud ran up from 200 to $1,000 an acre. All the
property at Calumet Was entered about that time,
and III less than two years WAS rolled like snow
bail up to tseuty times its value. Most Of these
transfers werc made without any payment whit
ever. NOWADAYS the moss speculative operations
involve the payment Of At least quarter Of the
purchase mouey. SO little money passed that It
nay lie stated, on the authority Of Recorder
Hamilton, that parties wero frequently trusted
for the fees due for the recording Of their llstru
neuts. The large majority Of sales were never
eousummated by deets, but were simply unre-
toEded transfers, and we're afterwards Cancelled
As everybody knows, the speculation preceding
81 Was & land speculation Nil through the coun-
IT, ind tho crash waH more cousplcuOusly
REAL ESTATE PANIC
toan any that has since occurred. Chicago prop
trty Tas farorite OF Spectators i'll all the
money centres, and WE bought and sold with
Fest enthusiasm in New York 1u 1884 the
school Section was laid out, and sold at prices
ranging from SlD0 to $500 an ac,e. In 1885
there vas another large land eale in Chicago,
lud los similar to those which had sold
ttom $40 to $500 in 1850 brought from $500 to
E2o,00 One of tho latter was the lot On the
,oruer OF Dearborn and Lake, where the
pickey Block NOW stands. Col. Gurdon s. Hub
bard, who came to Chicago in 1918, wheu Mr.
house here, gives an Interesting account Of the
Eie Of Chicago property in New York. Seeing
he eaSeraess with which
NEW roRE EPEcU1-ATons TOOK Up CHICAGO
property he proposed to Mr. Russell, of Mid
lletoTn Conn, one Of the owners Of Russell,
lather Roberts eighty acre addition to Chi
ngo, that lie should subdiyide and sell the lots
new loik. Mr.. Russell consented though
70 dec!a1eu he thought tue operation very
ooAsh one. The property was plated, Aebo-
lAaPoeu. 1QSeTslscQ, anu sou H. auetAoa A4A
,Aces ranging from $500 to $1,000 lot. Only
!aecaH the property was offered. hno
{ produced $4,000. The original cost
!. Tue eutite eighty acres was S5,ooo. Tho
,aeet on Chicago of the news Of this extraor-
lnatF success may be imagined. Property
Enbled up leo per cent, and everybody loaded
Amself with four or five times All much as le
ood carry Of this philosophers stone:'
me sa1es By the Canal Commissioners Mt this
ING were very large, and their terms oue-quarter
hel, the balance in one, two, and three Years
I've been very generally adopted in real estate
fansfera here.
JOKE on DR.. E6AS.
od settlers will remember the absent-minded
Fply loosely attributed to Dr.. Egan, who WAS
Ie5y heavily involved in real estate specu!atlons.
aea asked by an old lady how she should take
ler medicine, be replied. " one-quarter oo"n-
Ialance in one, two, aud three years $50 runs
hs story. There was Squatrers' society III
ass, and By general agreement at tue Govern-
pens Sales they were allowed to DID Ii tnelr
Gmesteads without competition.
When the crash came that followed Gen-
{Askson's removal Of the deposits it was terr1he.
tFeEthing went By the boArd- This WAS by 1at
pe most disastrous real estate panic that las
Ees occurred either in Chicago OF in the rest o.
ne country. The causes Of this wore manltoid-
eatt amount OF real estate was thrown on tue
na1ket here, not only by local speculators. but
p those In New York. When tho Canal Com
customers sold their lands they had taken one
5Qh{ter cash and fivan the nurclnSer CertlQ-