Evening journal., 1915-01-13
New News Of Yesterday
The Foresight of the Late
E. H. Hartman
By Holland

! The late Edward II. Hartman
rarely found himself beaten in a bar
gain, although it sometimes seemed
just after a bargain was closed as If
Mr.. Hartman were overreached One
of his experiences to which he some
times alluded, with the funny twinkle
which he occasionally permitted to
shine in his eyes, was associated with
the purchase OF certain land at Seat
! tie, Wash. This land was visible only
when tine tide was low. for at high tide
/ Il was submerged. II was fiat land,
not available for anything Of COM
mercial Importance, as IL was thought
There was a good deal of II and IL all
had been placed in the hands of real
estate agent. This agent, who was
very successful in most of his under
takings, found no customers for this
piece of land He thought il expe-
dent to advertise it, but that tempted
no one to his office for a long time.
AT last, 'one day, shrewd-faced
man, whose eyes wandered all over
the walls of the real estate office
when h. entered, appeared and after
some preliminary subterfuge. spoke
incidentally Of this land, asking what
was II worth and wha. IL was good
for The real estate agent named a
price which seemed to appan the visi-
tor, for he said IL was absurd Then
he went away. After a few days he
returned. intimating that he might
like to buy that piece Of land He
was was told that the price had gone
up $4,000. Again he said absurd, &"
and departed, but he appeared once
more and asked for an option on the
land at the price last named. He was
told that he could get an option, but
the price had gone up $4,000. He did
not take the option.
A few days later another man en-
tered who admitted he was represent
ing q. II. Hartman and the Oregon
Short Line. He asked for an option
on the property. and seemed disap-
pointed when he was told that there
had been an increase of $4,000 in
price. He asked, however, If the
offer would remain open until ?
o'clock, and was promised that 1t
would hold good until that time. At
2.30 he appeared again to say that he
was ready to purchase an option on
the property.
THAT was the price up to > o'clock.
Now the option would be upon a price
$4,000 more" he was informed.
This time Mr.. Harriman's reprasen-
tative thought it wise to take no more
chances and secured the option. In a
few days the transfer of the property
was made. A little while after Mr..
Hartman made a trip from San
Francisco to look over these flats.
They took him out TO the flats once at
low tide and once at high tide. He
was not more than moment or two
in surveying the entire property, and
he said at last: well, they have stuck
us with very moist damp, watery
proposition
That was not what Mr.. Hartman
thought, however. He perceived the
lurking value that was in this prop
erty and realized how il could be
made available by filling in and by
constructing bulkheads for his rail
roads. When this was done, there
came the realization that Mr.. Harri-
mon had. for a comparatively small
sum. in payment for the title and also
by the expenditure of not a very
large amount in improving the prop
erty, got a substantial waterfront
easily worth millions.