Smyrna times., 1897-12-01
GREAT LANDLORDS.
ASTOR PROPERTY IN NEW YORK
WORTH NEARLY S2oO,ooo,ooo.

ASIOR PROPERTY IN NEW YORK
WORTH NEARLY S2oO,ooo,ooo.
There Is No Sentiment In the Manage
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 annoyanccs
that make him tho man terrible, tho
man unfaithful, the man hostile
Through tho obscurity of these preiu-
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 tho meantime wo pay rent and
tolerate him because hecontinues to ex-
lst and the law protects him.
Perhaps the best example Of the
American landlord is Astor, or rather
the Astors. Tho interests Of this famous
New York family are so numerous and
SO extensive, so widely distributed and
50 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 i'll
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 domand
it the first Of every month or quarter,
as the case may be- Sooner than make
material concessions i'll 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 Il good tenant
is not at hand the building will be al
tered, provided the condition Of the
neighborhood requires it. 1t 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 well 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 Astor 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 i'll 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 moi
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 i'll favor with the authorities creeI
into AstOr properties, but when discov
cred they are Ousted as quickly and a.
quietly as possible
So far as improvements so, the estates
are behind many of the other larg,
landlords and a host Of the smaller ones
Up to a very recent period the manage
ment Of the family possessions was ex
ceedlngly unprOgressive, and it is hard
ly up to what might be expected of i
yet 1t is urged i'll defense of this policy
that various sections Of the city il
which Astor holdings are large are a
present undergoing a change and tina
alterations appropriate in character viii
be made later. That is the trouble witt
the Astors. They are always backward
in aiding change Their conservatism
holds them in check, while smaller ant
weaker men take the risk, and Oftel
they stand in the way of progress b,
presenting immense blocks Of propert,
directly in the line of great improve
ments. If changes are effected all arount
them, they will alter also, but they ar
always the last to do So
In the matter Of individual repairs
decorations and the like they are no
liberal, but they have the reputation @
doing what they promise. Usually resi-
dences are put in order before the neN
tenant goes in, and then the occupan
has got to be very careful. 1t is not eS
pected by the estates that much none
will be spent upon the house except q
long intervals.
The Astors hold few tenements an
flats directly, though they own tn
ground upon which hundreds of sue
structures stand. This kind Of buildin
is not popular with either branch {
the family, and they only have to d
' with it so far as receiving leasehOl
rents are concerned. Dwellings i'll gres
: number and comprising all kinds, frol
one bringing in hundreds yearly to on
yielding thousands, and business an
= Office buildings and hotels are chief
the income producers aside from til
l leasehOld properties.
! How much those rents amount to pei
i haps only the Astors can tell, but tn
II II real estate of the two branches Of til
70 family is worth nearly 5000, 600, 00(
e according to q conservative estimate
l. and most of it is rented If it average
h 3 per cent, the yield would be SO, 900
II 900 to $40, 900, 900 year, to be divide
between two men.-New York Herald
wouldn't Stand 1t.
The uniformed guard at the entran'
of the Field Columbian museum stoppt
tho ,,ou In tba brown Suit who W;