Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1898-01-06
GREAT 7 LANDLORDS.
HsToR PRoeERTv ln NEW voRs
 WORTH NEARLY s2oo.ooo,ooo.

l
 Must Faee the AIusic-Not Very Pro,
 gressive and Wait For Others to Lead.
 We are all inclined to regard the great American landlord with disfavor
 Ho IS associated in our minds with the l idea of high rents, demanded the instant Shey are due, with unfulfilled pronisas as to repairs and little improvements that would add so much to our confors and with many other small annoyances that make him the man terrible, tka man unfaithful, the man hostile.
 Through the obscurity of these preiu. dices it is doubtful if many of us sec him clearly or judge him fairly. Ao- cording as we are near moving day or not and as we secure repairs we are ant to regard him as Q very disagreeable person, indeed, with few of the higher human attributes or else the reverse. md in tho meantime wo pay rent and tolerate him because he continues to ex. ist and the law protects him.
 Perhaps tho best example of the American landlord is Astor, or rather the Astors. Tho interests of this famous New York family arc 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 strue- ture. Then, too, tho Astors are typical in that no sentiment enters into the man. ngement of their properties, and, after all, this is true of the management of most real estate in this city.
 As landlords tho Astors demand the market rate for rents, and they demand it tho first of every month or quarter as the case may Do. Sooner than make material concessions in the amount to be paid on a lease the Astors will allow a 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 tho building will be aI- tered provided the condition of the neighborhood requires 1t. It is appar- cut, therefore, that tho 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. Rnce of responsibility i'll tenants than tho Astors. References as to character and financial standing must be forth coming if yeu would be an Astor tenant, and they must be more than paper ref I, ! carefully If you arc unknown or can not show who you arc and what you have got, and that you are fairly cor. tain of being able to meet the rent for the term of the lease, do not try to rent ah Aster house. You will be refused.
 AS q matter of fact, tho 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 ill this city. Ninety five per cent of the persons whose names arc on them pay tho rent they agreed to pay on tho first of every month Those on tho rolls who do net Gisas.ecr when their leases are up or before Il possible The Astors arc 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 Astora have no feeling of friendliness for tho liquor traffic. The saloon keeper is not wanted, even at the high rates he offers, and neither is any other sort of tenant wko is likely to clash with the police. From time to time, of course, persons not i'll favor with the authorities creep into Astor properties, but when discoy- cred they are busted as quickly and as quietly as possible.
 So far as improvements go, the estates Rre behind many of tho other large landlords and host of the smaller ones. Up to a very recent period the manage ment of the family possessions was eX- eeedingly unprogressive, and it is hard ly up to what might be expected of it yet. 1t is urged i'll defenso of this policy that various sections of the city i'll which Astor holdings are large are at present undergoing change and that alterations appropriate i'll character will be made later. That is the trouble with the Astors. They arc always backward i'll aiding a change. Their conservatism holds them ill 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 iR 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 arc not liberal, hut they have the reputation of doing what they promise. Usually restf dences are put in order before the new tenant goes ill, and then the occupant has got to he very careful. lt is not ex- pected. by tho estates that much money will be spent upon the house except at long intervals
 The Astors hold few tenements and flats directly, though they own the 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 20 far as receiving leasehold .<,,,+ S.1 i,, ,r~oak