davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1915-01-30
DEMANDS HIGH.GRADE MEN.
Requirements of Those Engaged in
Real Estate Business.

With the growth of responsibility in
looking after real estate and protect
ing realty owners in community,
there has come about a demand for a
high-grade real estate agent or opera
tor. who is equipped for his important
calling by proper preparation and in
herent qualifications. says w. G. Neff.
in the Columbus Dispatch.
The successful man in the real es-
tate business should not only be d
good salesman, hut he should also have
knowledge of general and local real
estate values and be able to discern the
trend of affairs in connection there
with. He should be thoroughly honest,
with himself, his clients and his as
sociates in business. he should sustain
the same relation to real estate inter-
ests that the lawyer does to the man
needing advice and counsel in times of
! troubles, or the physician to the man
with physical ills.
A very large majority Of the wealth
of a nation consists of real estate and
it's allied interests. and the men who
look after these things in every com
munity should be able, clean and full
Of energy and enthusiasm To have at
TENED these qualifications, he should
have a good general education, and, II
possible, special training for his
work. preparatory to entering the real
estate business. After he has started
in the business ne Will ma an ever In
creasing and widening field for his
operations. for there is very pro-
nounced demand for specialists in this
as in every other. profession. Success
in this profession. as in all others. will
come largely in proportion to the
amount of well directed energy follow
ing the proper preparation and equip
| ment.
| During the last twenty years there
has been a very pronounced change foI
the better in the quality of the men
entering the real estate business, and
in the service required from them, and
this has been brought about largely by
organization and education. The real
estate man, to be successful, mus. nee
essarily be an optimist and he. there
fore. is found in every locality leading
in all well directed projects looking
toward community upltft.
| Give your real estate business to your
| real estate agent, encourage and helI
him, and you and the community in
which you live will be better thereby
remembering always that there is nc
class of men which gives more freely
of it's time and energy for the devel.
opment and growth Of its city than the
men engaged in the real estate busi.
ness.
Evening star., 1915-01-30

tract. II a tree insists on standing in
the way, let your road take a way
around. Even a tree left standing at
the side Of a road or in the sidewalks
may add picturesqueness to the land,
which in itself Is an attraction to
buyers.
If the land bordering the road in a
residential tract is thickly wooded, trees
may not be needed in the planting strip.
Indeed, leaving all planting out of the
street tends materially to widening Its
appearance. 1t is usually. however. a
good idea to plan for street trees. Their
presence makes for GOODNESS and comfort
and the general attractiveness of the
region.
Forty feet apart is the best distance
for street trees and a safe one to follow.
Planting at closer distance gives the trees
scant room for mature development. 1t
is also more expensive for the real estate
man Trees may be planted opposite each
other, If the distance between trees on
opposite sides of the street is forty feet.
Should the distance be less, the trees had
best be staggered that is, placed al
ternately.
Evening star., 1915-01-30
TO IMPROVE PURCHASE.
BENJAMIN H. Gruver to Build on
Lots ACQUIRED in Petworth.

Announcement of the sale of ten lots
on the east side of Illinois avenue, near
Grant Circle. in Petworth. was made
today by William H. Saunders & Co.
The purchaser is Benjamin H. Gruver,
who plans to erect ten houses on the
property, which has total frontage
Of about 200 feet. The property was
sold for Luther A. Swartzell and the
estate of William S. Manning.
other sales were reported by the frm
as follows:
lis 18th street northeast:
To ella II. Brenner, a sfx-room dwell
ing at s 18th street northeast.
To Martin Gottwals, lot facing Grant
Circle, Petworth.
To Ira NJ Beace, residence at 74c
Rock Creek Church road.
TO Mrs. Della Smallwood. lot in
Chevy Chase. Md.
Evening star., 1915-01-30
DECLARES TREES ADD VALUE
TO RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
Their Greatest Worth Apparent in Suburban
Subdivisions, Says Writer-Giives Sug-
gestions for Planting and Thinning.

la disastrous effect in the sale of prop
erty
In subdivision work IL is more often
a question of putting in trees than OF
taking them out; and yet the question
of taking them out deserves considera-
ton. The writer has had frequent oc-
casion to advise on the subject of trees
In subdivision work. and he has seen
parts of a tract rendered poor from
the point of view of what we would
call thoroughly desirable home sites
by having too many trees upon them
This will be disputed at first, since it
Is the ideal of many a lot buyer to
have his cottage "smothered in trees -
Especially when the ground is level, too
many trees means dampness.
Effects of Clearing.
Too much underbr,lSh means necessary
clearing, but clearing of underbrush
Evening star., 1915-01-30

That realty operators evidently have
undercstimated the possibilities of pro-
viding practical homes at moderate
rentals for individuals or couples with
out families is borne out by the fact
that in cities like Washington, where
clerks, teachers and other small-sala-
ried people comprise large part OF
the community, there is tremendous
ly big boarding and rooming house
business. One has only to turn to the
papers carrying board and room ad-
vertisementS, which sometimes fill an
entire page or more, to verify this fact
The prohibitive rentals of suitable
small suites or the Objectionable fea-
lures of moderate priced ones largely
accounts for the many vacancies OF
such accommodations and the large
number of boarding and roomins
houses. Many prefer the rooming house
TO living In unattractively finished
small apartments, having dark, view
less and badly ventilated rooms dav-
ing no central dining room. hall at
tendant service and kitchenettes, the
apartment building containing small
suites lacks the conveniences that make
light housekeeping possible for one at
tending to daily tasks away from nome
Overlooked by Builders.
House planners have seemed quite
short-sighted in anticipating the need:
of that section of the renting public
who, living singly or in couples, pur'
sue vocations outside the home. The
attention of builders has been engross-
ed almost exclusively with the housing
needs of families, and for individuals
or couples able to pay high rentals the
Mt hnt ntaI c.
commodation has been developed. The
educated and cultured school teacher
stenographer and clerk, earning little
more than the unSkilled laborer, are
obliged to subiet rooms In unremodeIeo
residences having none of the modern
facilities for light housekeeping-anti
quated dwellings that in some cities
have long since been used to house the
immigrant portion of the community
Dining Hall Great Aid.
While many vocational people seek
the privilege of light housekeeping
preparing breakfast and putting their
homes in order before leaving for the
day, few have time and inclination
after a days work to prepare dlnner
themselves For this reason the cen
trail dining hall is no small aid 10 1ne
busy light housekeeper. besides doing
away with the inconvenience or gong
out to a neighboring boarding house OF
downtown to a cafe for meals. II
serves to promote congenial compan-
ionship and neighborly interest among
the tenants and removes the objection
that many have to living alone.
By stipulating in the leases that oc-
,.upants would be required TO patron
lze the central dining hall at least to
the extent of regularly taking dinners
there, the owner of an apartment house
containing kitchenette suites elimlnat-
"a the competition that the kitchen
cites and neighboring dining places or
tered and placed the dining room on
paying basis. Apparently the occu-
Evening star., 1915-01-30
WARDMAN TO BUILD.
Plans Apartment for New Hamp
shire Avenue and N Street.

Announcement was made today that
within the next week Harry Wardman u
expects to start the erection of a three =
story apartment on the west side of
New Hampshire avenue near " street
northwest. The building will have q
frontage of about forty feet and there
will be two suites of rooms on each
floor. The front will be OF tapestry
brick. z
Evening star., 1915-01-30
Popular Varieties Named.

In choosing the best variety OF tree
for street planting 1t is obvious that at
least for subdivision work the best va
riety is one that grows quickly and yet
has no Objectionable features such as the
Carolina poplar. Nothing excels the pin
oak (Quercus palustris) and the oriental
oak (Platanus Orientalis), this last
Evening star., 1915-01-30
Removals Often Vital.

1t is very true that the need for TAX
ing out trees is fully as necessary at
times as putting them in. Trees too
near house and in too great num-
bers will often obscure the house, rem
der it dark inside and give it an un-
kempt appearance. Then thinning be-
comes necessary, and it should be done
with great care Here trees may work
Evening star., 1915-01-30
Effect on Real Estate.

If trees do have an effect on real estate,
what is this effect? 1t would be an as
sumption of the real estate mans total
lack of observation to argue the point,
that the effect of well grown tree or
tree-group on lot gives somehow sub
stantial appearance to the whole of the
property The sense of permanency at
taching to the tree seems in our mind
to spread to the house also The house,
hold itself, our imagination suggests.
must be founded on something substantial.
That house little further down the
street, built in the same style, and Just
as large, with no tree on the lot, seems
transient, of sudden growth. and about
to take sudden departure OF the two.
II we are prospective buyers, we would
choose the property with the tree nearby
for we cannot but feel that life would
be just little more worth living here.
once heard commercial traveller say
that in choosing the house he finally
purchased he had let his imagination do
the deciding. He had merely shut his
eyes and considered which one he would
rather come home to. The property which
he bought had trees on it. If one of us
had been the broker we would probably
have felt indebted to the arboreal speci-
men for the sale.
Evening star., 1915-01-30
FINDS CENTRAL DINING HALL
BIG FACTOR IN APARTMENT
Promotes Companionship and Neighborly
Interest Among Tenants and Is Aid to
Light Housekeeping, Says Writer.

blowing the a
to he
a of his
the artnent situation here M n
plan and
other n
of
OF Octob
Evening star., 1915-01-30

1t would be vain to assert that the
real estate dealer does not. as rule,
appreciate the existence of strong
influence which the tree in the alb
stract exerts on apparent real estate
values in residential districts, says
Frederick Noble Evans of Cleveland,
Ohio, in the National Real Estate
Journal.
OF course, it is location which is the
real determining factor in actual land
values-the location of property with
reference to the needs of the inner life
Of the city, town or village. But grant
ed that the positive value of real es-
tate in the residential district is nei-
ther raised nor lowered by the pres
ence or absence of trees, the tree is
still factor appealing to the sense OF
beauty or personal comfort OF the
prospective buyer-let him appear In
all other ways as adamant to every
esthetic Misunderstanding him some
to purchase, swinging the deal in favor
Of the real estate dealer.
The argument whether the value or
the land itself is increased by trees
may rest. The fact, not to be disput-
ed, that lots in a subdivision sell faster
with trees upon them is a fact of suff1-
cient Importance to justify an attempt
to analyze what the reason is-what
the influence of trees is-in factlitat-
attempt to give few facts as to now
trees are to be selected and planted, or
cleared out when existing in too great
numbers,
Evening star., 1915-01-30

ter of an income of this size can be ex-
pended for rent, SIS, SIS and SCI are
the highest rentals that can be afford
ed. One would have to hunt far and
wide. and perhaps without result, to
find a suitable light housekeeping
bachelor apartment for less than $25 or
$50. Apartments of one. two and three
rooms and kitchenettes at rentals rang
ing from SIS to s3O-the prices paid for
furnished rooms occupied by one and
two persons-would fill a large de-
mand.
Evening star., 1915-01-30

II the lines of the hand really indicated
how long a person willy live, insurance
people would have adopt palmistry long
Evening star., 1915-01-30


tothma obunns tn (which s
Evening star., 1915-01-30
TIMELY ADVICE GIVEN
PROSPECTIVE BUILDERS
Urged to Select Contractor With I'm.
questionable Reputation for
Honesty.
From the Cement World.

From the Cement World
Exactly 100 per cent of adult humans
want and need to own or build for
themselves a home. In fact, the home
getting principle is universal and an
indispensable necessity. Almost 80 per
cent of the people of this country
dread and fear to undertake the con-
struction of home for the protection
of their families, because of the un-
necessary mystery and INSCRIPTIONS
tricks in which the assembling of build
ing materials and the employment of
labor for building purposes are en-
shrouded. There is no reason why the
price of an ordinary house could not
be just as freely quoted as the price of
shoes. neckties, shirts or any other in
dispensable necessity which goes to
make up the current expenditures Of
civilized existence.
Causes of Hesitation.
Without being able to define it as
such, the 80 per cent who hesitate to
enter upon home building feel as if
they were going against a game, and
usually a brace game, and not against
business proposition, where the value
of the thing delivered can be reason
ably measured by the cost of its pro-
ductlon. This is to a great extent the
fault of the producers of building ma
terial, for the reason that they rarely
advertise their goods as intelligently
as should be done.
BY far the most important point for
consideration by those contemplating
the building of home is the wisdom
of building of properly selected ma
ta~ tc
tor of unquestionable reputation for
honest, reliable workmanship. The
average contractor is capable and
trustworthy, but in this profession, as
in all others, there is the type of con-
tractor whose methods will not bear
the light of investigation. His opera
tlons are insidious and deceptive, and
not until after the building has been
erected for something like a year does
his perfidy become apparent.
Real Defects Concealed.
While in the process of construction
he may appear efficient, careful and
sincere in his promise to give honest
workmanship for the compensation re-
ceived, yet this is only a mask to shield
his parsimonious selection Of materials.
during which his inventive mind Gre
ates a method of construction that con-
ceals the real defects, which might
otherwise be observed.
Economy Not Always Best.
Economy in the selection of the con-
tractor does not always come within
the meaning of that term, for 1t is
often the case that the owner wishes
he had paid $500 more to some reliable
man, who could be trusted to put in his
a Il hat
would justify the expenditure. Not un-
til the plastering cracks and falls. the
doors and windows come apart and the
finish rubs off the trim. to say moth
ing of the burning out Of the heating
"economy" has been i'll placed and that
the cost of repairs will greatly exceed
the extra amount which he might have
had to pay for dependable work.
Evening star., 1915-01-30
In Great Demand.


So great is the demand for small
moderate-priced apartments in build
ings having central dining room and
hall attendant service. that builders
who have provided this sort of accom-
modation in poor yet conveniently
located neighborhoods of other cities
have experienced no difficulty in OBJ
tanning tenants accustomed to residing
in better neighborhoods where the price
of sites is prohibitive. The light
housekeeper, like the home buyer of
moderate means, could undoubtedly be
attracted to the suburbs and outlying
sections where sites, cheap enough to
warrant moderate priced suites having
all outside rooms, are available. The
fact that some conveniently located
suburbs of other cities have a con-
siderable year round boarding and
rooming house patronage, would seem
to indicate that the less congested To-
calities have their attractions as well
as those nearer the business, shopping
and amusement center.
Low Rental for Suites.
Renting a two-room suite in the
house shown in the accompanying dia-
gram one can live for SAL, or a couple
sharing a three-room suite for $33 each
per month, which includes breakfast
and dinner served in the central dining
hall. The apartments are rented un-
furnished and without service. The
cost of upkeep to the occupants
cleaning, lighting and laundering-is
comparatively insignificant, varying
from 35 cents to s1.50 week extra,
according to the service required. The
building occupies a plot about 5Ox14O
feet, is four stories in height and con-
tains thirty-six suites of rooms. The
income from rentals alone exceeds
$4,000 a year, which includes $1,000
rent received for the central dining
hall. With the exception of the salary
paid the hall attendant, the owner has
no other charges for maintenance than
that of a housekeeping apartment.
Having all outside rooms pleasiagly
arranged and finished this improve
ment, calculated to provide apartment
hotel accommodations for the price of
good board, has, since it's completion,
been steadily earning the limit of its
income paying possibilities.
Evening star., 1915-01-30
Sentiment Not Considered.

I wish to be understood as speaking
in no sentimental strain about the es-
thetic value Of trees In real estate, speak
ing in as bareheaded a way as L can.
am thinking in the very first place OF
the real estate mans bank account, not
of the green beauty Of the tree, worthy
as it is of consideration in its place.
The tree In the heart Of the city is Of
little value. Unless placed in perfect re-
lation to its surroundings it may even
he detraction to property. 1t will be
seen, therefore, that as already suggest
ed. in considering the question OF trees
and real estate, our topic will deal with
residential property In the city itself and
at the cityS edge.
Evening star., 1915-01-30
Hall Service Indispensable.

The hall attendant service, a feature
usually found only in apartment ho-
tells, is an indispensable convenience.
as homemakers who have fruitlessly
tried to depend upon the janitor for
such service we'll know. To have sta
toned in the entrance hall during the
day and part of the evening an attend
ant to attend to department store,
laundry and other deliverymen; to ad-
nit or direct callers. and answer tele-
phone and personal inquiries, saves oc-
cupants who are seldom at home much
concern. Such service also affords ten
ants protection against intruders III
buildings whose occupants are regu-
larly away from home much of the
day. Placed in the foyer near the ell
trace is a hall seat having capacious
chests, in which tenants can put or find
when leaving or entering the building
parcels to be called for or delivered in
their absence, is a serviceable feature.
Evening star., 1915-01-30
Resemble Kitchen Cabinets.

The small closetlike kitchenettes
shown in the Illustrations are in real
ity plaster-partitioned hooks or re-
cesses of the living rooms with which
they communicate by means of a slid
ing door. They are arranged somewhat
like kitchen cabinet, having facilities
for preparing light meals and storing
food supplies, besides hot and cold rum
ming water and ample light and ventila- =
ton which a small window opening In
the outer wall of the building permits.
While small dinner could be prepared
in them, they were not provided for
the purpose, the custom of getting
light meals in an improvised corner of
bedrooms having suggested the idea.
With compact kitchenettes like these it
is possible to plan an apartment hav-
ing small hali-size bedroom, in addi-
tion to a living room, without taking
up any more floor space than the apart
ment having only one room and kitchen
requires. The ballroom size chamber
is not objectionable where there is an
other room which. in addition to serv-
ing as a sitting or living room, can be
used to serve breakfast or entertain
occasional overnight guests in.
Evening star., 1915-01-30

pants are well satisfied, as they re-
peatedly renew their leases and there
is waiting list of applicants for any
vacant apartments. Additional revenue
is derived from breakfast and luncheon,
some of the occupants as well as
apartment dwellers, householders and
roomers living in the neighborhood
taking all their meals in the central
dining hall.
Boarding House Preferred.
For reasons of economy light house
keepers and roomers who Invariably
take dinner or all meals out, as a rule,
patronize boarding houses in prefer
ence to public cafes. A large percent
age of table boarders get their break
fast at hime. Realizing the possibili-
ties of providing meals for apartment
dwellers and others residing in the
neighborhood. enterprising caterers
rent apartments solely for the purpose
of preparing and serving meals in
them. In the central dining hall shown
in the accompanying floor plan. pre-
pared by James Ware & Sons, archi-
tects. of New York, twenty-five tables
seating four persons each can be
all the occupants of the building be-
sides a number of outsiders or guests
OF tenants at one time. Light and
roomy, it is a decidedly more COM
pldCe tnan the OV6rcrOWueQ
dining room of the private house or
suite In an apartment building where
table boarders are taken.
Managed by Scientist.
1t is managed by domestic scientist
Ia woman who furnished such appe-
tizing and popular-priced meals that
another dining room she conducted was
repeatedly filled at dinner time by
patrons who willingly waited their
turn for place at table. The meals
trained servants are employed. With
the exception of one or two courses,
there is no choice of dishes, as in a
hotel or restaurant. The rates are SIM
liar to those charged for good table
board. being as follows: Breakfast,
lunch and dinner, $3.50 per week;
breakfast and dinner. $3.50; lunch and
dinner, $3.50. dinners, $3.50; break
fasts. $1.75; lunches, S1.75. Single
meals: Dinner, 50 cents; breakfast, IS
cents; lunch and supper, 35 cents.
Tips are tabooed, but a generous fund
raised at the end of the year. by the
patrons is distributed among the serv-
ants instead. While the rents are paya-
Bile monthly to the agent, the charges
for meals are due weekly and settle
ment therefor made with the manager
of the dining room. thereby keeping
the management of the house distinct
from that of the dining room.
Evening star., 1915-01-30
Proper Exposure Essential.

Such compact suites. while coy and
comfortable in winter, are we'll nigh
uninhabitable in summer where they
open only on one side of the building.
If the exposure is eastern or northern
the rooms receive practically no sun
light and are cheerless in winter and
deprived of the prevailing breezes in
summer. In a city like Washington,
where at least four months or one
third of the year is sultry weather, an
outdoor room, sleeping porch or small
awning covered balcony is almost as
essential to the comfort Of the tenants
as Is a heating system in winter and
would be protection against vacan-
cies in summer.
The high-priced small apartment is
beyond the means Of Office workers,
teachers and other small salaried peo-
pie because the average income re-
ceived does not exceed $50. SIS or $S4
a month. As experts have figured, and
.perience, tn no more than one-Quar.