Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1897-11-25
GREAT LANDLORDS.
'AsToR PROPERTY IN NEW YORK
WORTH NEARLY $500, ooo.o

There Is No Sentiment In the Mansre-
ment Of This Vast Property-Tenants
Must Face the Music-Not Very Pro-
gressive and Wait For Others to Lead.
We are all inclined to regard the
great American landlord with disfavor.
He is associated in our minds with the
idea of high rents, demanded the instant
they are due, with unfulflled promises
as to repairs and little improvements
that would add SO much to our comfort
and with many other small annoyances
that make him the man terrible, the
man unfaithful, the man hostile.
Through the obscurity of these preju-
dices it is doubtful if many Of us see
him clearly or judge him fairly. Ac-
cording as we are near moving day or
not and as we secure repairs we are apt
to regard him as very disagreeable
person, indeed, with few Of the higher
human attributes or else the reverse,
and in the meantime we pay rent and
tolerate him because he continues to ex-
list and the law protects him.
Perhaps the best example Of the
American landlord is Astor, or rather
the Astors The interests Of this famous
New York family are SO numerous and
so extensive, so widely distributed and
SO varied in character, that as landlords
they hold sway over all classes Of So
ciety, occupying every kind Of struc-
ture. Then, too, the Astors are typical in
that no sentiment enters into the man.
agement Of their properties, and, after
all, this is true Of the management Of
most real estate in this city.
AS landlords the Astors demand the
market rate for rents, and they demand
it the first of every month or quarter,
as the case may be. Sooner than make
material concessions in the amount to
be paid on lease the Astors will allow
house to remain vacant, not one sea-
son or year only, but two, three or
more years, and if then good tenant
is not at hand the building will be al
tered, provided the condition Of the
neighborhood requires it. It is appar-
ent, therefore, that the Astors get the
figures they ask. These are not the high
est paid, for the estates take no risks,
but they are we'll up to the average.
No one possibly requires more assur-
ance Of responsibility in tenants than
the Astors. References as to character
and financial standing must be forth
coming if you would be an Aston tenant,
and they must be more than paper ref
erences, for they will be investigated
carefully. If you are unknown or can
not show who you are and what you
have got, and that you are fairly GER
tain Of being able to meet the rent for
the term Of the lease, do not try to rent
an Astor house. You will be refused.
As a matter of fact, the Astor rent
rolls, If one could secure copies Of them,
would be an excellent commercial di-
rectory, far more reliable within the
limited sphere, perhaps, than anything
ever attempted in this city. Ninety five
per cent of the persons whose names are
on them pay the rent they agreed to pay
on the first Of every month. Those on
the rolls who do not disappear when
their leases are up or before if possible.
The Astors are not hard landlords, but
they are very businesslike, and the dis
possess proceeding is resorted to when
ever occasion demands
Though of Dutch stock the .Astors
have no feeling of friendliness for the
liquor traffic. The saloon keeper is not
wanted, even at the high rates he offers,
and neither is any other sort of tenant
who is likely to clash with the police.
From time to time, of course, persons
not in favor with the authorities creep
into Aston properties, but when discov-
cred they are ousted as quickly and as
quietly as possible.
So far as improvements go, the estates
are behind many Of the other large
landlords and a host of the smaller ones
Up to very recent period the manage
ment Of the family possessions was ex-
ceedingly unprogressive, and it is hard
ly up to what might be expected Of it
yet. It is urged in defense of this policy
that various sections Of the city in
which Astor holdings are large are at
present undergoing change and that
alterations appropriate in character will
be made later. That is the trouble with
the Astors. They are always backward
in aiding change. Their conservatism
holds them in check, while smaller and
weaker men take the risk, and often
they stand in the way of progress by
presenting immense blocks Of property
directly in the line Of great improve
ments If changes are effected all around
them, they will alter also, but they are
always the last to do So
In the matter of individual repairs,
decorations and the like they are not
liberal, but they have the reputation of
doing what they promise. Usually resi-
dences are put in order before the new
tenant goes in, and then the occupant
has got to be very careful. It is not ex-
pected by the estates that much money
will be spent upon the house except at
long intervals
The Astors hold few tenements and
udtS uHcCt&y, tAOuSA 0ACy oWn eho
ground upon which hundreds of such
structures stand. This kind of building
is not popular with either branch Of
the family, and they only have to do
with it SO far as receiving leasehold
rents are concerned. Dwellings in great
number and comprising all kinds, from
one bringing in hundreds yearly to one
yielding thousands and business and
Office buildings and hotels are chiefly
the income producers aside from the
leasehold properties. 81
How much those rents amount to per-
haps only the Astors can tell, but the
real estate of the two branches Of the
family is worth nearly 5000, I000, O00,s
according to a conservative estimate,
and most of it is .rented. IF it averaged
8 per cent, the yield would be 50, 000,
900 to $40, 600, 900 year, to be divided
between two men.-New York Herald.
A Woman's Movement.
The presidents of the % literary clubs
which compose the Federation of Wom-
EMS Clubs in Kentucky at recent
maatino which thew held for fhe nur.