Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-02-21
SOURCE OF REALTY VALUES
Business Enterprises and Capital
Build Cities.

town seems merely what natural con-
ditions and natural resources have
made. We watch it grow from a
village to a small city, then to a
larger city, and regard the fates as
kind for having lavished prosperity
so abundantly upon it. And were we
so fortunate as to be on the ground
to benefit from these favorable con-
ditions, 1t does not occur to us that
credit may be due to some source
for the conditions from which we
have benefited. We merely congrat-
ulate ourselves for our good fortune
in being on the right spot at the
right time. Yet back of what we
here regard as the product of
magic wand there was a primal NOV
ing force, booster hand---in other
words, active capital invested by
some one. Conditions may have
been favorable, 1t is true, but even
then there must be a moving force,
and the moving force at such times
Is men of foresight, faith and judg-
ment-men who mingle their faith
and judgment with their capital and
set 1t to work. Grant even that these
men would not have invested their
capital except for the favorable con-
ditlons existing and the expectation
OF substantial returns, neither would
any sane man desiring to develop for
himself and his family a comfortable
and productive home invest his earn
ings and his labor on barren desert
tract.
Unemployed capital is of as little
value commercially as unemployed
labor. because neither produces any
thing. Capital must be reinyested to
be productive, and labor must be en-
ployed in order to consume. Moth
Ing Is truer than the old saying that
one dollar kept busy in a community
Is worth 20 that are idle. Let a
miser put thousand dollars in an
old sock and hide IL under the kitch-
en- stair, and the larger part of that
money lies idle for 20 years, benefit
Ing no one; whereas, If the miser
could be induced to loan that money
to Smith, a wide-awake young bust
ness man, Smith would develop a
paying business, pay the miser SEQ
to $50 year interest maintain a
good home and keep everybody busy
from his wholesaler down to the de-
livery boy.
II is this stagnation of capital that
kills commercial life. and it is this
failure to keep capital employed in
some productive capacity affording
an opportunity to work for those who
must work to eat, that is putting
many eastern towns, In other re-
spects good and useful, on the de-
crepit list today.
Effect on Realty Values.
Now, how does this apply to con-
ditions here? 1t means this-that
what this, or any other town, is today
and what It is to be in the future
will be determined by the use made
of capital in still further develop
ing its natural resources and Gre
ating conditions favorable to the en-
ployment of labor by securing new
industries. each directly affecting
real estate values.
Take as illustration town of
1000 people, Due to the develop
ment of the surrounding country it
grows in population, Twenty good
years of business activity are given
to It. During these years fine prop
critics are developed, labor has kept
coming in and has been actively em-
ployed. This has meant many trans
fers of property from which many
have benefited; has given prosper
ity to the business man and employ
ment to labor. But the time now
comes when the country is well set
tied. the town ceases to grow. it has
no manufacturing plants, and labor
is not employed except what is re-
quired to make repairs and replace
old buildings with new. But it has
become a place of 5000 and nice
quiet town to live in; commercials,
however, it is dead. Realty values
are down so TO 40 per cent. But
our good neighbor who loves repose
doesn't see it. He doesn't wish to
sell; all he wants is nice quiet
home, so he sits back and calmly
asserts. This doesn't AFFECT rae. .
But suppose our good friend dies,
what do his heirs get? They set a
deprecated estate.
And remember no town stands
still; 1t either goes ahead or goes
back. And whichever way 1t goes
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