New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-12-06
A S SURE as March II came around the
~ chief deputy in the Office of the Com
~ missioners of Taxes and Assess
ments expected a visitor. OF course,

~ missioners OF Taxes and Assess
ments expected visitor. OF course,
visitors come every day, but this one came
only once a year. The date of his coming was
always ST. Patrick's Day. He always brought
a gift.
He was a little man, with clean shaver face
and keen eyes. AS he took of his hat 1t was
seen that what little hair he had was gray and
fringed the skull. His clothes were Of good
material and looked neat, but they were sew
eral years behind the prevailing styles. Per-
haps the most noticeable detail of his dress
was his shoes. They had soles at least an inch
in thickness His soles tagged him. They
were as cumbersome appearing as Chinese
footwear One wondered how the little old
gentleman lifted them. He took a seat, and,
producing a sprig of shamrock, gave 1t to the
deputy. Then the two would fall to discussing
real estate
This keen little man was John G. Wendell,
the owner of land in Manhattan reputed to be
worth somewhere between 100000 and
Ss0,0ooO o0 Each year he received bunch of
shamrock from Ireland. Each year he mailed
to the sender a check for S20
SOMETIMES HE THOUGHT THE AS
SEssMENTs WERE TOO LOW.
As Mr.. Wendell and the deputy talked Mr..
Wendell would turn the subject to the assess
ments on his own holdings This, perhaps,
was quite natural He would go over his as
sessments in detail and point out some that he
thought above the value of the parcels, and, re-
markable as it may be, would indicate others
that he thought were under.
why don't you file an application for re-
duetion9" the deputy would suggest
"Oh, would never do anything like that !
am just telling you"
Which marked him as peculiar man. to say
the least.
And he was. remarkable incident in this
connection occurred recently. He violated his
rule In his case this was astonishing. He
asked for a reduction of his assessment on the
vacant lot adjoining his Fifth av. home. The
reason also was unusual 1t was not asserted
that the valuation of $4,000 was above the
real value The fault with it was that the front
foot unit on which the assessment was based
was higher than that selected for valuations on
the next street above which he considered
just as valuable. Either his was too high or
these were too low.
THE RUSSELL SAGE OF BROADWAY
AND THE HERMIT OF FIFTH AV.
When it was reported in dispatch from Los
Angeles to The Tribune on November Is that
Mr.. Wendell, "one of New York's real estate
multi millionaires aged seventy-hve," was
lying at deaths door at his winter home in
Santa Monyea," it was the first time that most
New Workers had ever heard OF the Russell
Sage OF Broadway" and the Hermit Of Fifth
av." Yet he owned more real estate along
Broadway than any other single individual, and
was second only TO the Astor estate as an
owner Of city land.
Real estate men knew Of this old bachelor if
Others did not And they knew the eccentrci-
ties OF the man who was always buying real
estate. but never sold. Many of them had
visited his Office at one time or another 10
make him offers for a particularly attractive
niece of real estate that he possessed. With
longing eyes they had dreamed of what could
be done with the ground on Broadway just
south OF the Metropolitan Opera House, and
with the vacant land adjoining his home on the
northwest corner OF Fifth ay. and 39th ST., OPP
posite the Union League Club. They had
climbed the three fights OF stairs and seen the
big sign in his Office on the third floor OF his
antiaussed FIVE story business building at 10