Evening journal., 1914-01-17
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Broker Who Knew Little
About Real Estate
By Holland.

The late John Moore, who estab-
lished brokerage house in New
York i'm the early eighties, which be-
came perhaps the best-known Of all
the institutions Of that kind which
were identified with the New York
Stock Exchange, was in the mid
seventies, especially in the early part
of the administration of President
Hayes, associated with some very in-
portant undertakings in Washington.
Il was in the capital that Mr.. Moore
organized the Mutual Union Tele-
graph Company. which afterward
passed into the possession Of Jay
Gould and was one of the levels
which Mr.. Gould used in securing
control of the Western Union Tele-
graph Company.
Mr.. Moore had no illusions-at
least in the later years of his life
about the limitations of his business
ability lie knew exactly where he
was strong and experience had taught
him where he was weak.
in the late eighties, or perhaps in
the early nineties Mr.. Moore was
riding on Fifth avenue New York
with a friend who spoke TO him about
some Of the amazing appreciations
of real property in that vicinity. He
said:
"Johs. 7 think that within the next
ten or fifteen years the appreciation
in the value of real property along
trsfl f.~n
than any which we have already
seen. Don't you think so?"
81 think it very likely Mr.. Moore
replied, but it doesn't interest me
much. ! viii tell you how l learned
a lesson which taught me that l was
no good in the field of real estate
or speculation.
"A dear old uncle of mine who
was born in Maine and for years
carried on his business there, ac-
cumulated what, in Maine. was re-
garded as a pretty good fortune. He
made up his mind that he wanted
to bring his family 10 New York
and spend the last years OF his life
here.
"He told me that he wanted to buy
a house. and ] went with him to look
at several houses which might suit
him. He was at last in doubt
whether to buy a house over on Sec
ond avenue. right opposite St.
: Georges Church, or a house which
faced the little triangular park 1T
the junction of Fifth avenue and
Broadway. where the monument TO
General Worth stands.
81 told my uncle that 7 would con-
centrate my'colossal brain upon these
two real estate propositions and re-
port TO him. / looked at the Sec
Ond avenue house. 1t was & very
comfortable. home-like building and
il was within stones throw Of the
homes of William NJ. Evarts and
Hamilton Fish. ! found that it coold
be bought for SzS.OO0
"Then / looked at the house which
faced the Worth manument 1t was
a handsome building. The Hoffman
House was across the street and the
Fifth Avenue Hotel only a block or
two away. My uncle was strongly
tempted to buy that house, for he
said that he could look out of the
windows and be entertained all day
long. The price asked was about
$4,000.
Well, l looked these two houses
over. thought l knew something
about real estate. told my uscle
that If he bought the Broadway house
and paid spot cash for it he could get
il for forty-eight thousand dollars
But | recommended the Second ave
nue. house, which could be got for
about twenty-five thousand dollars.
told my uncle that was certain
that in the course of ten or fifteen
years this Second avenue house
would be worth double the money he
paid for it, But. on the other hand
the Broadway and Fifth avenue house
would. thought, never be worth
much, If anything, more than the
sum he would have to pay for IT,
so uncle bought the Second ave.
uue house. About ten years later he
died and | was the executor of hi.
estate The best offer that / coulC
get for the Second avenue house wal
eighteen thousand dollars. l asked
man whom ! knew well as a yer,
high-grade real estate authority wha
the house at Broadway and Fiftl
avenue was then worth. and he tols
me a hundred and fifty thousant
dollars was the least money fol
which Il could be bought
Il made up my mind then that Johi
Moore might know something abou
stocks and bonds, but that he was
child when il came to real estate
and have yet to change hatyopin
ion"