Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-03-08


fight to keep his land, and to add more
| to it when he can, instead of piling
| up dollars in the bank representing
land he once owned-good. tangible
land
The story of John G. Wendell be-
| gins many years ago-two hundred,
to be exact-though he himself is a
mere youth of seventy-three.
Then, when New York was young,
there were two pioneers who were
| stanch friends and business allies.
Wen buy land they agreed with
one another, "and some day well have
the two biggest estates in the world"
They both had Arm faith in the future
! of New York.
One of those men was John Jacob
Aston (the Originally, the other was
the grandfather of the present John
G. Wendell
I'VE Sell No Property"
The slogan of his family has come
to be. I'VE sell no property" and a
big oilcloth sign in his old-fashioned
! ofice-that Offices chief decoration
so informs the public.
Almost might another name be add
ed to Mr.. Wendell's collection. With
out much stretch of the imagination,
he might be called "The Man Who
Really Owns Broadway" for he, with
maiden sisters, Rebecca, Mary and
Georgianna, own more OF that bright
particular throughfare than any other
one man, woman, estate or corpora
ton. Their property is scattered in
| many places along Broadway from
| far down town to above Fiftieth street.
Which sounds like theaters and no.
tells and white lights and red
But you're wrong.
He owns much of Broadway, does
1.-THE Russell Sage of Broadway" but
not single bright light. That is one
of his policies"
Call it sentiment. If you like
| perhaps it is sentiment in way to
keep the little buildings that came to
me as they were when they came-but
there is more to my owning no the
aters and such than that. There are
both moral and legal reasons. In the
first place, / will not be morally re-
sponsible for the Vaccinations of the
Evil One. l have plenty to do without
being responsible for immortal souls.
And theaters, saloons, moving pic
tures-bah! | won't say ons word
about them, They're not worth it.
But even If they were, l know the
law Yes, / know the law backward.
| know the law that holds an owner
responsible for catastrophes, and I'm
not going to have any tall buildings
or moving pictures or such that breed
catastrophes on my land"
Find Nothing Doing"
So that is why the moving picture
men with their eyes on the block and
a half OF Broadway, between Thirty
sixth and Thirty-eighth street, have.
| one after another, come from John G..
| Wendells Office bemoaning fate
Wendell's possessions include a plot
of ground surrounding two sides of
his home at Thirty-ninth street and
| Fifth avenue, the old brown-stone
house which has been a mystery to
so many Thousands daily look at its
| closed windows. its general air of
desolation in the midst of the hustle
and life of Fifth avenue, and wonder.
1t is where the Hermit of Fifth ave-
nue. lives-alone except for his dog.
The big vacant plot lis that dogs
| playground. He is John G. WendelTs
| dog. and he must have place.
A real estate operator who coveted
the very desirable Fifth avenue plot
| tells a story. He determined to get
the plot at any price. A date vac set
4 for the final settlement of the matter,
but to bis surprise the operator was
told that Mr. Wendell would not sell
even for the 100000 offered. Pressed
for reason, Mr.. Wendell declared:
Dogs Costly Exercise Ground.
well, you see, | didn't want to sell
in the first place. MY sister has a
small dog for pet which she values
highly and she does not like to have
him run in the street. There is no
place for him TO exercise but in that
yard He runs up and down and en-
| joys it.
Under the circumstances do NOT
think can let the property 90. 1 dc