The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-07-19
JEWELLERS IN FLATS.
A NEW YORK. REAL ESTATE AGENT ON
THEIR CHARACTERISTICS.

His Experience, People of Different
Nationalities Take In Causing
Trouble to the Owners.
The first question put by the renting
agent was, What nationality, please"
and the woman in the blue hat replied
yasking, "Why do you want to know"
Il meant no Offense," said the agent.
Il only thought that by finding out
your nationality | could refer you N
once to certain buildings on my list
which would be apt to please you"
The woman in the blue hat had half
notion to get angry.
Il don't see what my nationality has
to do with finding suitable fat" she
said.
1T has a good deal to do with it"
said the agent. Now, | can see
straight off that you are an American,
born and bred. This is a delicate ques-
ton that you have plunged me into,
but since l am in it mean 70 founder
around little while longer and tell
you few facts pertaining to the merits
and dement's of different nationalities
considered in the light of fathouse
tenants.
First of all, l want to speak from
the standpoint of prompt pa. ment. If
my success in business depended upon
each tenant paying his rent exactly
when it was due, would try to fill I'll
my houses with Scotchmen. Never
have I lost a penny on Scot, and sell
dom have l had to wait.
Il am not making the rash assertion
that it is impossible for a Scotchman
to be dishonest while everybody else is
trying his best to cheat me out of my
very eyeteeth. The point / wish to
make is that personally have never
suffered loss at the hands Of Scot.
But they give trouble in other ways.
They are fearfully quarrelsome and
raise so many rows with the other ten
ants through the dumb waiter shaft
that it keeps the janitor busy straight
ening out domestic snarls. In all my
buildings where Scotchmen reside l
select janitor with view to his even
disposition and diplomatic gifts. 1t
doesn't matter so much about his abil-
ity for scrubbing and keeping the fur
mace going. Unitarian accomplish
ments are secondary consideration so
long as he is endowed with the blessed
qualities of peacemaker.
''Taken all in all, the most peaceable
people l get in my houses hail from
Sweden. You never hear a peep out
of a Swede. He doesn't bother his
neighbors and he doesn't bother me
unless the provocation is extreme. AS
a rule, he is good pay too. The only
fault l have to find with him is his
fondness for moving. A lease is a
dead letter in his eye, and he has no
more compunction about moving with
out days notice than he has about
going to bed when he is sleepy"
The woman in the blue hat asked
what were the chief characteristics of
Americans as tenants.
"Their supreme selfshness," said the
agent. "They have not spark of
consideration for a landlord. They
want the earth. They never ger
through asking for Improvements. They
are not content to get the walls tinted
and the woodwork painted and the
plumbing fixed once or twice a year.
They want new decorations every
month, and all the trimmings must be
first class too. American tenants pay
big prices for their flats, but there isn't
really so much profit in catering to
them as to other nationalities, for the
simple reason that 1 have to pay out
nearly all my income in trying to keep
UP the building in the style they de-
nand On the other hand. the people
who ask for the least are the Italians
and the French. They take most any
old thing feel like giving them, the
French meekly providing their own
decorations and the Italians going
without.
81 like German tenants pretty well,
too, but they are terribly hard on flats.
1 never could understand how they
manage to infict so much damage on
walls and floors. Judging by the looks
Of an apartment just vacated by a
large German family, che would think
that their star piece of furniture was
battering ram.
an abnormally developed bump of de-
structiveness, although they run to
glass instead of plastering. l have one
house down town that is occupied by
ten Russian families, and if they were
not compelled to repair their own dam
ages it would keep me poor putting in
new windows and buying new gas
globes.
81 also rent to colored people. l have
three houses full of them at present,
and l must say that have never had
better tenants. But when you come
down to facts, all my tenants are nice
people. only | thought it night not be
amiss while on the subject of nation
atty to mention few of the peculiari-
ties Of each."-NeW York Sun.