The Savannah morning news., 1904-12-18
IN
BRONX DIRT
LIKE FAMOUS KANSAS B0oMS.
Is THAT NOW ON IN UPPER NEW
DIRK CITY.

ODeninE OF the subway mas sent
property Sky High in the Borough
of Bronx-POliceman Quit His
Beat and Took a Filler That Land
ed Him $25.OOO-HOuses and Flats
Change Hands So often That Ten
ants Can't Keep Track of Their
LandIOrds-Great VaIue of Wall
street Property.
New York, Dec. 17.-One of the most
remarkable of the many remarkable
developments in metropolitan life since
the opening of the Subway has been
+he phenomenal boom in real estate in
that section of the city known to all
New Workers as the Borough of the
Bronx.
II can justly be compared with moth
ing less than the widest days in the
history of the famous boom towns of
Kansas a decade or so ago.
While real estate values in this vast
and largely unimproved portion of the
greater city had steadily increased
from the announcement of the begin
ming of work on the great ditch that
has finally linked this outlying dis
trict with the heart of the city and
to, the last four weeks have seen them
lump skyward beyond the fondest
dreams of the most optimistic specu-
lators.
1t is no rash statement to say that
hundreds of persons have either made
or laid the foundation for comfortable
fortunes within this period, either by
exercising keen judgment or in blind
ingly following the crowd. Each day
has it's several stories-true at that
of this or that man who was poor, or
only wel-to-do in the morning, find
ing himself a moneyed man at night
fall.
POIiceman's Filler.
Less than three weeks since a GER
tain policeman, who has pounded the
Bronx pavements for half a dozen
years, decided to take a flier in real
estate and, drawing all his savings
from the bank-$1 ,000-invested it in
a piece of property within short walk
ing distance of one of the Subway
stations. Two days later he was APP
preached by the representative of a
syndicate of prominent capitalists and
offered $4,000 more than he had paid
for the plot. He took it and imme-
diately put his $4,000 down as part pay
ment on another lot which he had had
his eye on for some time, and which
the owner of a day was glad to sell at
a profit of a few thousands to him
self.
The purchase stood in the name of
the blue coat Spectator scarcely long
enough for the deed to be made out
and filed. Within a few hours his
broker had a sale for it which would
double his clients capital. He hunted
up the blue coat on his beat and told
him the facts.
Bring the papers here when they're
ready and I'll sign was the reply.
Then take the money and buy me
TINS property" handing the broker
memorandum.
The policeman kept up an active
speculation until a day or so ago;
then he announced that he would leave
the field open to others.
I'm not greedy" he said. Twenty
fve thousand clear cash from 81. 600
as a starter will keep me nicely,
connection with my wages as po-
licenian.''
This man has had plenty of COM
pany while making his fortune. In
the mad scramble both improved and
unimproved properties have chang
ed hands SO rapidly that real es-
tate dealers and the municipal of
flcials whose duty it is to record
sales have been well nigh beside
themselves in keeping posted on the
owners.
Can't Keep Track of Owners.
Not only this. Dwellers in houses
and fats, which are becoming numer-
Gus in this hitherto flatless section. are
frequently in a predicament as to
whom to pay their rents. Only the
other day complaint came from a
half dozen big flats to the effect that
each had changed hands so many
times within the week that the gas
company could not be certain of the
owner, and so had turned off the sup
ply and left the tenants in utter dark
ness and without means to cook meals.
Millions of dollars worth of prop
erty has been shuttled about in this
fashion, and millions have undoubted-
~ been made out of it. How much
longer the speculative frenzy will con-
tlnue is problematical but at present
writing it seems to be on the increase
instead of waning. This is probably
due to the fact that real estate experts
generally hold that the full values of
Bronx property have not yet been
reached, in spite of the phenomenal
Jumps within the last month. And
when the frenzy is over they conf
IDENTIFY express the opinion that values
VIII not drop, because of the presence