The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-03-18
arc pleased to cali the boom in Lee pls-

ldition continues there can be no cessa-
ton of the real cstnte activity In the
territory, where IT is now of necessity
SO pronounced. Why should 1t be other.
wise, Money Is plentiful and seeking IN
vestincnt. II n man has forty per cent
OF what a good lot and the new house
4 he is to put on III Is to cost he can bor-l
row the other sixty per cent at four
or five per cent interest and go ahead
and build. OF course. IL there should
come n general and severe panic within
the next few years he would be in had
Z f'x, but 1t Isn't likely to come, certainly
not for five or six years yet, and II it
keeps OF that long tie home builder. who
borrows as much Ms sixty per cent. of the
Investment has nothing to fenr. Hun
idteds OF men are taking tTls view OF the
matter, and that Is one reason SO many
OF them are becoming home builders and
they are acting wtsely. too. Then again.
Richmond is not the little town 1t used
to be.
With the suburbs which are soon 70
be annexed we are n city OF largely over
81 hundred thousand and II requires Il
lot OF homes for them. These conditions
make the values and ] can see nothing
ficticious about them. They are nutur1I
and they have come to stay
Richmond Folks More Loyal.
Mr.. Walter W. Morton said. II should,
gay the real estate activity Is due in
a great measure to the growing loyalty
3of Richmond people to Richmond. \
grent many OF them have learned after
experimenting TO their hurt that Rich
mond offers the best Inducements to In
vestors of any town in the South. It may,
sound strange but the fact Is that for
n long time Richmond people were lack
Ing In faith In their own city. They would
make money here all right hut they.
would go away to nvast II. especially
when they wished to invest in real es-
tate with the view OF making a profit.
am sure cannot explain It. but
somehow they seem to think Richmords
had reached the limit, so far5as advance
ment in values were concerned, and X
they wished to realize a profit on realty.
they must invest in newer towns. ]. Of
course. Will not call names for publicn-s
tion. but know q number who have,
bitterly regretted the day they took their.
money to other places to invest in dirt.
They have learned that Richmond has
been and is now the very best place in
the country to invest In CertninlyaI do.
not thin. there has been any imitation.
In values. On the contrary. think tho
limit has not been. reached, hut I am
not aware that there Is any great amount
of speculation going on. Ny information:
is that the majority of the people who
are buying Richmond realty arc buying
to build upon for their own use. This
fact is accnmuIative evidence that the
increased values have come to stay
Falling in Love With Richmond.
'If I had time to talk the matter over
with you said Captain Joseph f. Will
fard. II could give you many reasons.
why Richmond Is "a good place toAhiiy.
property in. and why ii is on q boom.
So One is 1t is an IDEAL place. Everybody
who sees Richmond falls In love with It.
It Is on n high tide OF prosperity. manu-
featuring b Increasing. the population is
increas'k2 0ie wholesale and the retail
business u growing rapidly and thsse
being true 1t would be passing strange
E II real estate should stand still. There
could be no sense or reason In 1t. I am
surprised to know that anybody thinks
I 1t strange that real property should keep
pace with all other business and all other
kinds OF prosperity
Mayor Mccarthy was very busy man
when called upon BY The Times-D Dispatch
man and had engagements to keep him SO
the balance of the day, butahe took time
TO sny: Yes, there is great activity in
Richmond property and there is every
reason why there should be-"
If 1 had time would like to give you
some OF the reasons why think this ac-
tivity has been brought about. but I
am so t,asy now Will have to ask you
TO give me chance at It another day"
It Is Real Business.
Colonel John s. Harwood was up to
his neck in business when called upon.
And by the way, that Is a trouble news
paper man has In Richmond when he
starts out on an interviewing expedition.
Richmond business men are always too
busy to stop for talk. However when
Colonel HARDWOOD learned that Rich
BIiiend's business activity and commercial
strides were the subjects to be discussed
Z he laid aside the pile of waybills he was
wrestling with and proceeded with few
remarks.
Zone evidence said he. that the real
estate activity In Richmond Is the real
Z tfIng-real tuslness-is that no man or
woman either. who has bought property
here in the last five years. has lost
anything by the deal Another is that as
soon as a man buys unimprovcd property
IN Lee District he proceeds to Improve
1T That shows the investors faith in
Richmond.
20, yes.s L am aware that there are
some who are saying 1t is all speculation.
that reaction is bound to come, that
somebody is going to get hurt and all
4 that sort of thing. SomeSo them sn!d
the same thing four years ago. and two
years ago and one year ago, !, and some OF
those same men are now buying property
In Lee District far west OF where they
were offered 1t then and they have paid
much larger prices. They have been con-
Averted YOU see. They would have saved
thirty, forty, sixty and In some In.
stances seventy-f five dollars n front foot
Fifk they had been converted sooner. Why's
I sir, an architect told mo no longet ago
than vest erday that he has on his board
designs for wenty-seven new houses. fino
houses, too, and nine Of them to go up,
on Monument Avenue, oil of them III
Lee District, and on lots that have res
8oen " been purchased
"Does that look like people are buying
out that way on a speculative boom and
merely in the hope Of making IA profit.
quick? u admit that some lots are.
bought purely on speculation. 1t would
be strange If there We're not such deals
Init / think the purchasers have made u