The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-07-29
SITE HAS BEEN SECURED
MERCHANTS HEATING AND LIGHT
ING COMPANY TO BUILD.
First site Selected Had to Be Adam
dOned-Quick Advance i'm Value
of Property.

W. G. Bobbs, president of the Merchants
Heating and Lighting Company, left for a
flying trip to New York yesterday after
noon. His visit is not on business for the
company. Before leaving Mr.. Bobbs con-
firmed the report that the first site the
company selected for its plant was not
available because the owner of the prop
erty learning that the company expected
to use a site along the Union tracks. raised
his price from $1,000 to $4,000 and the
company would not further consider it. The
company soon found other property which
it could buy without paying an exorbitant
price and the abstract to it will pass to-day
to the company. There is little likelihood
of this deal falling. The new location has
not been disclosed.
1t is also learned that some of the sites
investigated for the interurban stations
have suddenly appreciated to twice the
amount of their first valuation. This sug-
sests that whenever large enterprise
fixes upon a location there is Immediately
an effort to increase the price in the hope
that the intending purchaser may have gone
so far that he cannot refuse the advance
asked
An attorney in discussing this condition
yesterday, said that by reason of the ra-
pacity of real estate owners in this city
the city had lost, to his certain knowledge,
two very large industries. Many years ago
NJ. E. Ingalls,, president of the Big Four.
conceived the plan of combining the repair
and construction shops of the five great
divisions of that road in this city. 1t was
central in the system and the most conven-
lent distributive point. Accordingly he be-
gan TO purchase property west OF White
- ITnc -tr 10
intended to build thereon the shops and
construction plant of the Big Four, which
would have occupied at least 100 acres and
would have given employment to from 1000
to 1900 men. His idea was TO make the
shops the largest and greatest in the world
His first purchases were reasonable. But
real estate men soon discovered his inten-
lions and property adjacent to that pur-
chased by him doubled in value. Mr.. In
gals was incensed and refused to pay the
exorbitant valuation. His purchases stopped
with considerably less area than he in
tended to buy. He said if the property
owners intended to be so rapacfous he
would wait until their greed abated.
While waiting labor difficulties con-
fronted him. Friction in one of his division
shops brought to his mind the fact that if
they were assembled at one point ii would
make it unusually difficult in case of
strikes to attend to the repair business of
the company, while If there were separate
shops for each division, located in each
division, this danger would be minlmiZed
While he was debating this the town of
Bellefontaine, o., offered him a handsome
subsidy for shops in that town, and he
went there, thus abandoning his whole
scheme for this city.
Another instance where rapacity drove
an industry from the city was when the
National Card works attempted to pur-
chase land east of the city TO erect a new
factory. The company had been unable to
procure a switch at its factory south of
the Belt road, and wishing TO make en-
largements sought a new site. Land was
priced east of the city. The owners be-
came informed as to the purpose for which
the land was sought and raised their prices,
some three-fold. The company rejected all
proposals and purchased land at Norwood,
o., where it erected a plant that cost sew
eral hundred thousand dollars and en-
Dlovs nearly / 900 perSOns