The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-07-30
RENT QUESTION
AGITATES CITY
Meeting Of Merchants at ElkS'
Hall Monday Night
TO TAKE FORMAL ACTION
Against Proposed Increases by the
Landlords First Avenue Mer-
chant Speaks of Unwisdom
of High Rents

The meeting of the merchants and all par
ties Interested Ia the Increased rent qaes-
toy, wnicn viii LAKE pace a. biAs' ns,I
TOMORROW nignt, promises 10 assume vast
proportl0ns.' Inc sympathy OIL u large
number ol renters has Deen eni4sted IN the
movement, anu 1t Is prODapie tnat action
Nfin taken to brlns dCout concerted
movement 10 prevent me proposed neaVy
increases in rvntS Wnicn are intended 10
take enect on october l next, on winch
date lease holds IN Birmingham expire
senator Morgan declared Ine otner night
that 5000 peop.e ala their ordinary traalng
in birmingham" SAID a merchant. 1 he
senator was mistaken. lie forgot TO take
into consideration the large number OF
working men VINO trade at the numerous
commissaries in this immediate district.
1T would be false and foolish for me to
decry the good trade of birmingham, but
Senator Morgan's estimate as to the num-
Der OF persons who do their ordinary trad
ing in this city serves somewhat to
strengthen the course of property owners IN
their eXorbitant demands for increased
rents. AS for my firm, we are all rlght on
the rent question. The owner of the store
house we occupy is perfectly just, and IN
that respect we are fortunate. Inc house
my family lives in is my own. Therefore,
the advance in rents does not affect me
peTSOudlly OF my Jul L pSANSANS VIZ
readily the mischief that is being done in
the raising of rents Business does not
warrant the increase. l am not saying that
business has not been good during the past
few months, but profits do not warrant the
paying of much higher rents.
Zone trouble is the mercantile trade is
overdone here as to the number of firms
engaged Everything Is done upon the
smallest margin of profit l believe there
are about five hundred business houses in
Birmingham. Before we can afford to
have any more and before increased rents
can be profitably paid the city must grow
to larger proportions. There is not the
population here to make wise an increase
in the stores or the rents. And what is
true of the rents for stores is true in part
of the rents of dwelling houses. Whilst
it 1t true that there is not a sufficency of
dwellings, it is also true that house that
wasn't worth but $40 a year ago is not
worth $25 now. L am not a real estate
owner, except that possess my residence
and upon this was recently offered a loan
of 5000 at per cent. am merchant,
and my experience teaches me that the
proposed high increases in rents are not
compatible with justice or common bust
ness discretion"
This merchant talked very freely to a re-
porter for The Age-Herald; but he for
bade the use of his name. His place of
business is in First avenue. As he talked,
so talked dozens of business men. Certain
ly they did not use identical language, but
the ideas advanced, the theories expounded
were Identical The proposed increase in
rents is resented all over the city.
High rents in Birmingham" said a
former citizen who hopes to return here,
''builded Bessemer, Pratt, Avondale, Wood
lawn, East Lake-all the suburbs. In the
days of it's greatest power the Elyton Lana
company alone, because of exorbitant
rents drove thousands of people from Biz
mingham."