The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-29

Tered was somewhat more than an acre. two
blocks north Of the bank and included
few glimpses Of the London wall built in
the days OF Nero, or not long after. 1t was
the largest area ever submitted to public
competition in the city in the present gen
Grafton. and after spirited bidding, it brought
Lightweight years. and this offer was &C.
cepted. The magnitude Of the operation VIII
be more apparent IL one realizes that when
the lessee returns this acre to its owners
use OF 1t. As the plot was really somewhat
larger than an acre. the estimate ON the
| total sum a SQUARE foot that will be paid
Tor the use OF 1t for eighty eight years is
Sl55. There are not many square feet OF
land on the face Of the globe that would
command that price at absolute sale, to say
nothing of lease.
The actual city of London contains only
So acres, and. except for the acre of which
New York's Wall street. from Broad to
Broadway, is about the center they are al
They would average about s., 600 200 apiece,
judged by the extremely conservative esti-
mate en- the bank PROPERTY, which is the
most desirable in the city.
The most Of the % 900 actual inhabitants
OF this extraordinary city Of go.d-for you
could cover the greater part of each square
needed to buy fare humble folk whose
annual incomes would not buy half enough
of the ground they live On to bury them in
and they are decreasing annually in num-
Der. At night there are nearly 5000 vacant
buildings in this richest place en- earth. In
the day time 1t is populated by nearly half
million persons. and temporarily occupied
or visited by some 800, 900 more-all this on
a patch of ground mile and half long
and less than mile wide.
1t is scarcely any wonder that land prices
have begun to soar In the congested spo:,
especially as the relief afforded to the crowd
ed places of New York and Chicago-the sky,
seraper-f5 denied by law to London. In con-
sequence one finds corporations rated at
mill f.|in In ma
with clerks huddled together like schoolDovS
under gasaghts that burn all day long. But
even with this economy OF space the demand
for room is increasing, until 1t seems as II
this tiny city within a city would burst be-
fore long or else take to day and night shifts
two firms occupying the same quarters at
different times of the day. Yet with all this
phenomenal crowding no one dreams of alb
rogating the law against high buildings. A
London banker to whom I-suggested this
remedy WAS so astounded at such audacity
that he could only calculate God forbidr
One result in the rapid rise in the price OF
land in the city is that owners are now glad
to get PA per cent on their property. where
they got per cent four or five years ago.
The Duke of Westminster is the chief ''suf
ferer'' in this direction. He owns more land
in London than the Astors own in New
man in England Before Rockefeller's rise
the duke used to be rated occasioally as
the richest man in the world, and perhaps
he is yet, for his real estate holdings have
doubled in value since he came into posses
sion. and some Of his holdings have doubled
again in the last four years. One can only
say perhaps" in his case, for no one-not
even the duke himself-kncws how rich he
is for much of his wealth lies in and
which, like that wherein the Bank of Eng
land rests, Is practically priceless.
Except for the steady and certain increase
OF values on account of the tremendous
growth of London, there is no chance for
speculation here in real estate, but in the
suburbs the activity is surprising. and it
would be more so If a number Of hust!ins
American real estate agents were eturnea
loose here. No Western boom town ever
grew as London is growing today. and the
opportunities for making fortunes>in subur-
ban real estate by the aid Of American IN
genuty and advertising methods are greater
than may generally be realized.
Curtis Grown.