Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-07-15
A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY OVER
LOOKED,


west" has grown somewhat out Of
date, and now, if a man wants to
alight upon snap hat really deserves
the name he should turn his face east
ward Not eastward just as far as
Chicago, or Philadelphia, or New York
or Atlantic City. but eastward across
the waters o. the Atlantic, to Italy,
where the blue skies and the bluer
seas move visitors to poetical rhapso-
dies but furnish little on which the
poverty stricken natives can live.
But one reason, and great reason,
why Italy has earned the name of the
country of beautiful churches and alb
ject poverty, is that the realty agents
are entirely lacking all the qualities
that bring about prosperity in many
a spot in America that looks hopeless
just before it's reiuvenation. Who ever
heard Rome, or Naples, or Pompeii or
Verona spoken of as a boom town?
Rome was not built in a day, and
the proverb is aptly proven by a com
parison of the real estate agent of
America and the Italian gentleman in
the same profession, whatever he may
be called. A few days ago little real
estate deal in Verona, over there
across the sea. stamped the Verona
real estate agents as most decidedly
behind-time group, out-of-date and en-
tirely void of enterprise. Verona is
the little town where the Montagues
and the Capulets lived in those good
old days of long ago. and only few
days back the house where Romeo
Montague wooed and won Miss Juliet
Capulet, was bought for paltry
$4,000. Apparently no effort was
made to advertise the historic build
ing, it appeared on no catalogue that
reached this country and the low fig
ure mentioned as the consideration is
a disgraceful revelation of the slow
and antiquated methods employed by
the promoters in sunny Italia.
Now II Romeo and Julir had beer
Americans-fancy! II they had beer
Ottumwans! II that sale had beer
made here and that property ad beer
here the sum realized would have
been enough to Laws kept good sizet
Italian town from want throughout {
generation. my bright, wide awake
realty dealer would have built new
balcony, furnished new rope-ladder
printed lot of advertisements with
cut Of the lovc-making scene, anG
| limited the class rom which pur
chasers would be chosen to the newly
married couples. The grand bal
room Of the mansion would have beer
redecorated and electrically lighted,t the
garden wall repaired and the rose
bushes trimmed. Then the place
would have been widely advertised a.
being only five real estate minutes
ride from the postoffice and three or
binary minutes walk to the neares
saloon. Stately old edifice that i
was. it would easily have brought five
times the Italian highest bid. If i
hadn't the American real estate agents
would have found some other way tt
get profitable returns from the prop
erty. Perhaps 1t would have beer
turned into the Romeo and Juliet hote
for newly welded couples on thei
honeymoon. Romantic people would
have paid any rate for the bridal suite
Italian real estate agents, however
are not alive to their opportunities
Next we'll hear of Shylock's house OF
the Rialto being rented for a peanu
stand or of Rome itself being turned
into vast corn field.