The Washington times., 1906-01-09

Washington was prepared 10 disagree
today with Representative Hepburn /
who in a speech in the House OF Repre- 1
yesterday. asserted That
real estate ring exists In Washington
and otherwise reflected on the fra7i
ternity.
Some of the brokers were rather
pointed In their comments, and many
of them characterized Mr.. Hepburn
rema rl5s as evidence OF ignorance OF the
conditions that exist in the local real
estate world.
The following are a few OF the opin-
ions expressed by well-known oroKers'
Unable TO Agree.
Lewis p Clephane:
Il can't quite agree with Mr.. Hep
burn. / feel that he has not quite
sped the situation. In street extern
sfons the action of condemning the lano
ls often taken. not only without the re
nuast brt against the wishes OF the
and by reason OF an
a assessment In many cases OF large behe-
hts a man frequently finds himself
worse off than he was before. 1t would
seem that Mr.. Hepburn has not Iuliy
the subject.
Made a Mistake,
Murray \ Cobb:
Although some real estate men no
doubt try 10 do the things alleged oy
Mr.. Hepburn, I think he made mis-
take in making his charges or sueh
general character
II. Rozier Dulany:
1T think that the best answer that
can be made to Mr.. Hepburn's charges
i Ia invite him TO read the reports u
the condemnation juries. he VIII -
that I'm many cases the owners "a
complained because they feel mat they
yrsra un5ustlV treated in the assess
ment OF benefits 10 their land as an on S
sat tu the damages awarded them TOT
such property az the Government has
is not familiar with the evidence III Inv
case he has presented
David Moore;
AN l can say IS that think Mr..
Hepburn IS ignorant OF the methods Oh
opening OF new streets Mr. Hepburn
has by his speech. given me some brand
new information as To the existence oI
"a real estate ring in Washington
,,avav knew before that such a thing
avisted As matter OF fact. the COM
natitfoa Is so acute that efforts made
heretofore 10 establish a real estate
exchange proved futile. There Is any
thing but a ring here, .-
"A complete answer 70 ML, ~ fa,1
charges is TO be found IN the Iact
-TovTn h. the records that the opening
o. streets in Washington nnoer ths
present law has never cost the I Hitcu
States one cent. / guess MF. iiepo"'i'
IS not an eNDansionlst.
Extols His Comrades.
AIyron NJ Parker;
i have been out Of the real estate
business for about five years. but. from
what / know Of Il. l don't believe there
Is a class OF men in any lin0 OF ousl-
mss more honorable or who are more
conscientious In their dealings than the
real estate men OF Washington W hile
they look out for No L pretty tEoi1
they are. as q rule. proud OF Was .lii1i<-
ton and glad 10 encourage any PtOJ0-'
that VIII benefit the city
Cites a Motive.
MY impression Is that the opposition
10 the bill that was before the House
when Mr.. Hepburn spoke was not made
with much feeling, but was advanced
with d view of holding Representative
Babcock on the floor Of the House all
day so that he could not suIen up the
! inSurgent camp on joint Statehood.
Calls for Investigation.
b II Warner:
Il know nothing OF the existence OF
any ring among the real estate men OF
| Washington. and, certainly, II a mem
| Der of Congress knows OF any such thlng
/ ne should act on his knowledge He
/ should ask for the immediate appoint
ment Of a committee OF investigation.
Altogether Unwarranted.
Homer Query. OF the Collins-Guerry
Company:
1T appears that Mr.. Hepburn's gen
eral attack upon real estate men in
| Washington is altogether unwarranted.
and 1t exhibits total lack OF knoWl-
edge on this subject. In the first place
/ there is no real estate ring in the Dis
| trict OF Columbia. composed Of men in
the real estate business. and In the
| second place there Is a smaller percent
age OF real estate people benefited by
| condemnation proceedings than MEM
| bers Of Congress. Before land Is con-
/ demned il must be selected for the pur-
| pose and this land is always selected
| by Congress. and not by real estate men
/ who have little or no influence in such
| selection.
| MIR Hepburn does not seem to be
aware Of the fact thai real estate men
are sufferers by reason OF arbitrary
| Legislation Of Congress. and not bene-
hciaries and that nine-tenths OF the
streets that are now being obtained
/ are DElDE slOiFtl DA law r Ut INSTANCE
II a real estate man wishes to open Ut
| and promote a new subdivision. he i:
only allowed TO do so upon making {
free gift to the District Of Columbia OF
To the United States OF about one-thirC
OF his land. which he has TO dedicat
for streets ranging from 80 10 100 fee
| I'm width"
Charge GToundless.
Thomas r. Martin. of Martin Bros.
Representative Hepburn does no
seem to voice the real sentiment in rela
ton 10 the street extension movemen
which springs, as a rule, from the nat
ural growth of the wonderful develop
ment of realty interests at the Nations
Capital, rather than being inspired b
any real estate man or set Of real estat
men. If there is any charge TO be lai
at the door of the real estate broker
IS laxity in relation TO this movement.
in the past there has been too it'll
attention paid to It, and the result ha
? been that problems are created bearin
I