The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-05-21

ants, when the selling plans were an- nounced, until the Astors anonunced the policy of offering the land first at reasonable prices to those who owned the buildings.
 With the proceeds Of the sales of these properties John Jacob and Will liam Waldorf Astor went far in in The Bronx and purchased hundreds of acres of land that even in this last growing city no real estate oper- ator could be induced to buy at any price. These lands are in just the same condition now that the Thomp- son, Clinton and Cosine farms were It is not to be doubted that few generations from now sthese many acres will be among the valuable prop critics of New York city.
 The vast fortunes of the Astors, fn- cludtng of course their real estate noidmes. are administefed from two little buildings on Twenty-sixth street. north side. just west of Broadway. They are little two story buildings, quite unpretentious, with bars over che ground floor windows like a bank. A writer vividly describes them:
 The heavily barred windows are ex- press1ve of policy of exclusiveness building is divided by heavy par tition, the eastern half utilized by what may be called the foreign or English department, the western by the American branch. Day after day files in a procession in every way typ ical or New York At one time 1t is an unkempt Russian Jew from the East Side: at another a paragon of fashion from Fifth avenue; tat anoth- CT a dapper business man from down town.
 They come to lease fashionable res- idences or great business buildings, in many cases to pay over the counter their monthly tribute. Every morn. ing arrives mass of mail, from which the clerks collect a huge bulk of checks-thee rent money from the thou sands of Astor tenenlents, residences hotels. office buildings. docks and leas- ed lands. Periodically a certain DOT tion of 1t is sent up to Fifth avenue and Sixty-hfth street, where John Ja- cob Astor. fourth of that name, lives. How much 1t is few men except the recipient know, the Astors above all never talking of their wealth. Ac- cording to the closest observers, how ever. 1t cannot be less than $a,O0oooo To handle his part of the estate Johp Jacob Astor employed about John Jacob Astor left is probably but third as great as that of his cou- sin William Waldorf Astor. Their fathers started out on an equal foot ing on the death Of their father. William B. Astor, but. by prof1table activity on the part of John Jacob Aston the third and, his son William Waldorf Astor their fortune has increased tos d much greater extent than that of the American branch of the family. Prob ably the reason for this lies inf+ the fact that the present William Waldorf Astor owns his i properties - outright. whereas John Jacob Astor owned only was managed by three trustees, of whom he was one.ss William Waldorf AstOr.. was a trustee of this .-estate until the two, cousins quarreled, when he was through. They still own Jointly, however, many. properties, in- cluding. the Waldorf-Astoria and the Astor House. ss ..lsse
 Ambng real estate people William Waldorf's activities have been in. re- cent years fairly accurate guides in the actions of John Jacob Astor Tn other words whenever William Wal dorf has made an improvement of considerable moment it has been fol- lowed by another equally great or ev- en greater in the immediate, vicinity by John Jacob. So William Waldorf Astor built the Hotel Waldorf, to be followed by John Jacob with the As- tOrid NeXt William Waldorf built the Hotel Astor and John Jacob fol- lowed with the Knickerbocker.
 On Manhattan Island the John Ja- cob Astor estate includes about 100 properties. Out of all these not more than one-quarter are improved with buildings which the estate owns. and of this small proportion less than half were erected by the estate itself. In spite of the several big Improvements which the estate has made the old policy of the orig inal John Jacob Astor still is in force
 with the result that the .Astors prob ably derive less proportionately from their properties than do other owners of real estate. It is said that one real estate operator some years ago had information that Siegel & Cooper were to build a great store on Sixth avenue just north of an Astor block
 He went to the estate and leased the property at the prevailing value.
 When the big store was completed the Astor lessee had no difficulty in obtaining several times more for the property than he agreed to pay for it. Also by putting their properties out under long term leases the Astors lose much of the benefit of the constant Iy increasing values. Instances are |