The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-11-11
LABOR MEN DISCUSS
HIGH RENT QUESTION
Some Strong Reasons Given
Why. Rents Are Too High,
and Where City Is Lame.
Thoughtful Member Suggests
Organization of Co-Opera-
tive Building Society.


We expect other classes Of people have
the same grievance against Landlords
from time to time as do the poorer
people.
A number of tradesmen gathered IN
the Labor World reading room the
other morning. AS the weather be-
comes colder the boys circle about the
room; some are engaged In readlng'
others In some sort Of game, ana
possibly group of others are discuss
ing some question of more or less i'm
portance to labor.
On this morning one of the trades
men, a carpenter, related story OF a
prominent member of organized labor,
whose wife died recently. She had
been i'll for several years, and the cost
of her sickness had exceeded by far
tn earnings of the husband. Three
days after her death prominent To-
cal rental agency in the Lonsdale
building, served an eviction notice on
the family.
Here was a man bowed down in sor-
row. His first ambition was to save
his home from being disrupted. He
hoped to keep his family together, and
while scheming to do this, and at the
same time while trying to find way
for paying the many obligations which
always follow sickness and death he is
ordered to leave his house because he
is two months in arrears with his rent.
The Indignation of the remaining
members of the group can be well
imagined when the story was CON-
pletely related. 1t gave rise to many
comments. The question of home own
ing became live one, and many and
various were the ideas suggested for
the organization Of a society for the
purpose of aiding workingmen to build
homes.
It would have been good for every
have heard the kindly CD references
to their business methods. We will
give a few of them for the benefit of
our readers, most of whom may be in
terested in the rent question::
They make home owning almost
prohibitory to work kingmen, because Of
reai aluss within
reasonable distance from ones work.
"Get their price list on unimproved
property and compare it with their as
sessed valuation, and note the wide
difference. I found many cases where
they asked prices for over ten times
their assessed valuation.
''Some of their clients bought prop
erty in the old boom days at exceed
ingly high prices, purely for specula-
tive purposes, and 80 long as the as
sessed valuation is low they can afford
to hold on to it. But they are retard-
ing the growth of the city by their high
values, and it is the duty of the city to
increase the valuation for the purpose
of compelling them to sell to people
who will build homes.
why do workingmen go to the ex-
treme west end, Lakeside, Woodland
Park and Duluth Heights when there
is such an immense area of unimprov-
the city? Why? Simply because prop
erty is beyond the reach of desirable
home builders?
1.-THE most prosperous cities in
America are the cities of home owners.
Duluth is a city of rental agencies and
tenants, with the land owners residents
of other cities, who have no other in
terest in the city than to get their
monthly income from the workingmen.
Il am living in a house that was
purchased by its present owner for ST.
500. This includes the lot. Two fam
lilies occupy it, and We pay $4,000 per
month. took the pains to look up the
taxes on the property and found that
they amounted to $l5.75 last year. In
surance came to $3.50. I did all the
repairs on the building. They amount
ed to $s.75. Allowing $1,000 for collect
ing rent, the total expenses amounted
to $41.20. This gives the owner a net
earning of over 13 per cent on this one
investment. I submit that this is too
much. He should be satisfied with
or per cent, and If this was the case
we would be required to pay but $12
per month rent where $40 is now de-
manded.
Even on Duluth Heights the owners
complain of losing money. Let us see,"
said one of the printers. "Mr. Nc
Even Is familiar with values there. I
lived in house that was purchased for
$500, and I paid $500 per month rent.
This is $S4 per year. Taxes, insurance
and agents commission on this prop
erty, according to Mr.. McEwen, can
not exceed $1,000 per year. They do
not allow repairs. This leaves net
revenue of $1,000 on a $500 investment,
an equivalent Of over II per cent. Not
so bad is it? ~.... -3<7
"You forgot to tack on the 10 per
cent rake off, gentlemen, when making
your calculations, said former boss
painter, but now a journeyman. That
is what had to give to get my work."
IF we can force an adjustment Of
real estate values, I have a plan to
build our own homes.'' said the most
thoughtful member Of the group. II
purpose that we organize co-opera-
tive building society along the true
lines Of cooperation There need be
no money making idea in it. T will
not b necessary to have any expenses