Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-21
IDEAS FROM ABROAD.
Impressions of a Pittsburger Just
Returned From Philadelphia.
BUILDING ON A LARGE SCALE.
Supplying People With Homes at the Rate
of Three Thousand Year.
POINTS FOR pITTsBURe CAPITALISTS

The points brought out in the following
interview with member of leading real
estate agency on Fourth avenue are in line,
mainly with considerable on the same SUBJ
| Ject that has appeared from time to time in
The DISPATCH. He had just returned
| from the East where he had been making ar
rangements for a supply of Eastern capital.
Asked his opinion of medium-sized houses as an
investment, he said:
"Pittsburg people, as rule, call Philadelphia
slow city. She may be quiet, but is not slow
by any means, especially in providing homes
for the middle and laboring classes Of people.
Her apparent slowness and easy manner of get
ting along result from the method of living of
her industrial population. ANY family that
wishes to can have home of its own, and as
| every mans home is his castle, he stays
| there when otherwise unemployed to
| protect it and derive enjoyment from
| 1t. Take the northwestern part of Philadel-
| phia as an example. Blocks upon blocks Of
houses are going up. built in good style, with
| the best workmanship and materials, finely fin
| ished, each apartment containing six to nine
rooms and on good streets.
"a man who lives in his own house takes
pleasure in fixing it up, and works far more
willingly and steadily than If, when his days
work was done, he went home to a tenement
where every step on the bare entry and hall
way caused feeling of revulsion, as if he
would like to go away and never return, and
where, no matter how refined in taste and tidy
the wife may be, she cannot make the place
look cheerful and homellke. The result is, in
most cases. that the family settle down in a
state of hopeless Indifference and end their
days in poverty and misery. Man needs spur
to enable him to rise above his surroundings,
and nothing serves this purpose better than
the ownership of a home"
"How does Pittsburg compare with Philadel-
phia as city of homes?
II am coming to that point. Our local pa
pers speak highly of the great operation going
on out Fifth avenue, near Oakland, and in
other districts-but in this connection refer
especially to the former-where one of our
enterprising citizens-good luck to him-has
begun the erection of large number of dwell
ings. But what would they think of taking out
$500 permits for houses in one year and putting
them up in blocks of 200 or 500 at timer
About 10, 600 marriage licenses were issued in
Philadelphia last year. With the large proper
tion of newly Unmarried people who go to house
keeping, and the increase by immigration,
Philadelphia requires over 1900 houses year to
accommodate the increased population. The
number of houses erected there during the
year shows no overplus. They are all oc-
cupied"
How do Pittsburg contractors charges COM
pare with those of Philadelphia
$50 far as have learned they are considera-
bly, higher. A certain lady who owns property
in Pittsburg, but lives in Philadelphia, expects
to send Philadelphia contractor here to put
up lumber of buildings for her in Philadel
phia style, and at a cost she claims, of about
one-third less than Pittsburg contractors want
to charge her. Why is thisf I don't under
stand it. Are there not large tracts of vacant
land here within easy access of the business
portion of the city, and have We not enterpris-
ing contractors, with ample means back of
them, to push and carry to completion any
building operation they may be required to un-
dertake? Then why cannot we have enough
homes for our working people? Pittsburg
capitalists and contractors, although liberal
and enterprising, could learn much by studying
the methods Of their Philadelphia brethren"
A word of explanation seems necessary to
relieve Pittsburg contractors from the implied
censure in the foregoing. If business were of
the same magnitude, and subject to the same
liberal conditions as that of Philadelphia con-
charges would be higher. As it is. Pittsburg
contractors are compelled to cut the garment
to suit the cloth.
Regarding the development of the coal and
coke of the West Virginia district along the
Baltimore and Ohio road, the Iron Trade Re-
Uieao says: "Ohio furnacemen, especially in the
Cincinnati, Hooking and Eastern Ohio dis
tricts. are particularly interested in these
mr.
made with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
the Virginia coke will soon find its way North
ward, crossing the Ohio river at Parkersburg
and Wheeling, by the former route reaching
Southern Ohio and Cincinnati consumers, by
the latter Cleveland and other lake ports.
at is an open secret that the Baltimore and |
Ohio is working for Cleveland connection, |
and the Ohio river extensions of the Valley and !
the Cleveland, Canton and Southern roads, will |
afford ample opportunity for favorable arrange |
ments. The connection with the Hooking |
Valley furnaces, by way of Parkersburg, will |
also be direct. That the region, once |
opened up, will produce decided changes in the |
coke markets of Ohio and the Northwest, |
there can be no doubt Certainly furnacemen |
will hail with pleasure the advent of so formld- |
able a rival of the famous Connellsville coke /
region"
According to the German Trade Revie,o, of
Berlin, very remarkable proft-sharing ar
rangement has been made in the engineering
works of G. A. Schultz, in that city. This gen.
tleman, it appears, has placed per cent on the |
amount of their annual wages in the local saw
ings bank to the credit of all those who have
worked in his establishment uninterruptedly
during space of five years, ending July, and
for all others he has paid 3per cent into the
savings bank. These payments will be con-
a.. ooal,r and f@1,a
thus, in 1894 each person will have the right to
withdraw the sum standing in his name. to-
gether with the interest. Sickness and mill
tary service will not be regarded as interrup-
tions in the employment In case of death the
relatives will receive the amount paid in Mr..
Schulz evidently desires by these means to re-
tain in his establishment body of Trustworthy