The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-04-24
LAND OFFERS
GOOD CHANGES


about a dozen gold bricks, l would like
TO say 4 word or two about invest
ments. And TO the poor man. l would
saw, by all means. first buy piece of
this earth. or house and lot in some
good lOcality-that is, If You intend to
make this city or country your home.
You perhaps knAN that it is always the
first thousand dollars that is the most
difficult 20 make, but what is most
strange is the fact, that it is in most
instances ten times more difficult to
keep il than il was TO make il. l can
say from experience, not only did the
first thousand go that l made. but the
next, and the next, and q great many
more; and they might have been going
10 this day if 1 had not turned to real
estate. And this is the experience of
most people, unless they at first invest
their money in this kind of security.
Gold stocks, oil, sugar, and various
other stocks. also bonds and mortgages
and other securities, are all right for a
fnaneier who understands these things,
but for the poor man, no-let him first
deal in something that cannot be taken
away from him, or that he cannot be
cheated out OF. And never, in the last
ten years, has there been such chances
as there are at the present time to get
bargains in real estate. There are per
feet little gems of homes for sale at
ridieulously low prices, and large ones,
too. for that matter. And never was
there a time when q house and lot
could be bought upon such easy terms.
1t goes without saying that the rich
build themselves large and beautiful
homes, because they know that there
is no comfort like being in your own
house.
One word about debt. Debt is the
bugbear that keeps a great many peo-
pie from getting a home; and yet l
maintain that to go il debt when pur-
chasing good piece OF property is a
wise ransaetion-that is, If one can at
all see his way to paving for II. OF
course, if one has the money, sometimes
better bargain can be made by pay
ing all the money down, but little
debt need deter no man from pur-,I
chasing a home Indeed. it is about the
only means that the majority of people
can take to make anything. 1t is true
one may go too far in this direction
that is, if the venture turns out ad-
versely; but if, fortunately. it is diff
feult to 90 too far. So it is well not
to take too great chances. But, again, |
unless man has the nerve to go into |
debt-that is, for some good property
he will never make much money, or |
even acquire q home 1 at times in the /
past have gone very deeply in debt,
and IN most instances have lost heav-
ily, excepting that which put in real
estate; and, though real estate is not
selling for what it should do, 1 have
done better in that then in any other |
venture or investment that l nave |
made. And this has been the expert
enee OF a great many others, and par
tieuIarly those who have invested in
stocks by the failure of which !
hundreds Of beautiful homes have been
buried or sunk The trouble with most
OF Us Is the fact that we are too much !
inclined toward speculation and not
enough toward legitimate investments.
For instance, men here have bought
stock upon the hope of rise, knowing
full well that they could net pay the I
assessments as they fell due, and in
consequence have lost everything. /
Others have bought stocks in those
places which. for some reason, have ]
never paid, so they are about in the
same condition. Stocks OF various
kinds are all right for the rich man, or
for the man who has a perfect knowl- I
edge Of them; and would be also for
the poor man if these corporations were
al conducted honestly and managed |
judieiously and upon business prinei-
pies and business exaetness; but if he
has not this knowledge he had better
leave them alone.
Again, a great many men do not seem
10 know the difference between legiti-
mate investment and what is speeula-
tion; and, though the difference cannot
always be stated with exaetness, we
know that in an investment the prin-
eipal and interest never vary to any
great extent, and nearly always remain
permanent. Bonds fall within this def
milton perhaps more truly than any
thing else; but I have known even
these TO fall short OF this rule For
instance. I once asked a banker what
he thought OF a certain sugar stock,
and he told me he thought certain
bonds were the better investment, but
his Judgment was at fault, for the
bonds fell 10 per cent, while the stock
advanced 80 per cent.