Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-05-02

Suggestions ReIgtice to Meeting the YAM
of the Public.

SUBMISSIONS Rel,tige to Meeting the Wants
Of the Public.
To the Editor of the Globe:
l have not sympathized with the annual
spring editorial descanting upon the enor
NOUS demand and short supply OF houses
seeing the contradiction of the idea IN the
numerous advertisements of houses to rent
But from personal observation and careful
INQUIRIES, I find that the houses we have al
$50 to $50 per month are probably sufficient
for the demand, while those most needed, al
$40 to 1925 per month, are not equal to the
demand, and the city is suffering, for the
want of such houses, the loss of many citi-
zens and much capital and enterprise, which
avoid ms because we cannot house the peo-
pie. / know people who are living in up
stairs rooms at $13 per month, hard to find
at that, because unable to procure house at
less than $50 to $50 per month, and have
heard of number of people who have
gone to other places, and some who aban-
doned the idea of coming here from other
States because they could not get houses.
Having thus stated the evil, and serious one
for the city, and the necessity, is there any
remedy for it? / think there is. We have
plenty of real estate, and all the owners
want to sell. We have plenty of lumber
and building material, and all the owners
want to sell. We have plenty of cash and
the owners want to loan it. All that Is wan
ted is for these various interests to combine
in some shape, and put their possessions into
some harmonious pool, and the real estate
man sell his lots, the lumberman his lumber,
the money-loaner gets clear of his cash, and
the houseless man become his own landlord
or the tenant of the combined association.
Mr.. Herman Greve has offered to put $780,
600 into such pool. This is enough to
start the enterprise. The owners of lots are
alone in the way. The building associations
offer to put $4,000 per month into the
pool. And now the object of this is to in
vite every owner of real estate who Is willing
to sell his lots to actual settlers and builders,
to givs me his name this week, and If sutfi-
cient number feel an interest in the subject,
I will get them together In meeting next
week, and see if the elements cannot be put
into harmonious working shape.
Eleven years ago this spring little meet
ing of this kind was called at the court
house, in way similar to this, and about
twenty OF US made an informal organization
of the first building association of the
Northwest. From that have sprung up about
thirteen others in St. Paul, three or four in
Minneapolis, one in Farlbault, one each in
Hudson, Saltwater and Eau Claire, one In
Red Wing; and in st. Paul fully $4,000 per
month is now offered to actual settlers, to
build homes for themselves, if the owners of
lots can devise any safe way of letting them
have the lots. Let US have another meeting,
and we can have equal success. Two hum
dred and forty thousand dollars per year is
solid foundation to begin on, and shows what
can be done by small meeting. If real
estate men want settlers on their lots, can
furnish them a dozen in three days, and if
enough are willing to talk aboutit to make a
meeting of twenty, I will call it as soon as
this fact is developed. j. w. MCCLUNG.
ST. PAUL, April %.