New-York tribune., 1921-06-16

HE LIKES MONTRAY'S AD-
VERTISING.
"T am giving you this inter-
view" Mr.. Van Cleve said, "be-
cause Of the way, in which you are
telling the truth about Miami
selling the city and its environs
to the people of the North instead
of merely boosting the properties
owned there by the Montray Cor
poration.
81 do not know where the Mont
ray properties are located and /
do not care. 1t is enough for me
| to know they have properties in
many sections of the Miami zone,
where the value of real estate is
always increasing steadily. They
are bound to benefit through CIV
ing you full rein to advertise
Miami more than themselves.
HE COULD HAVE MADE A
FORTUNE IN FOUR YEARS.
"Personally, I am always ready
/ to add to my realty investments
anywhere in the vicinity of Miami,
yet am not speculator in real
estate. If was familiar with real
/ estate speculation / might have
made a great many hundreds of
thousands of dollars during the
past four years on an investment
of 100000, which would have Sc
cured me properties located be-
tween my home and Flagler Street
| formerly 18TH Street,, the prin-
cipal thoroughfare of Miami, that
have since sold at fabulous prices.
HE BOUGHT AN $4,000 LOT
WITHOUT SEEING 1T.
81 bought a lot, 16O feet front
and 200 feet deep, in Magnolia
Park four years ago, paying $4,000
for it. I bought it without seeing
it. Many friends, who are Miami
enthusiasts, assured me I could
not go wrong in buying property
anywhere in the vicinity Of Miami.
"Magnolia Park is one of the
many beautiful suburbs of Miami.
My lot adjoins the estate of
Charles Deering, q brother OF
James Deering, whose estate you
mentioned in one of your arti-
cles.
HIS HOME WAS HALF FIN
ISHED BEFORE HE SAW 1T.
81 employed Miami architect
to draw up plans for house to
be built on my lot. I liked them
SO we'll that I authorized him to
go ahead and build. I never saw
the house until it was about half
finished. All work was done by
local people. The interior deco
rations were planned by two Ital-
ians living in Miami who have.
since become quite famous in their
special line.
TOTAL INVESTMENT $4,000.
"My lot, my house, with it's fur
niture and furnishings; my ga
rage, everything, cost $4,000.
We cali our house Media Rosa
No man ever made a finer invest
ment than / did.
| "When / sold out my advertis
! ing agency | was pretty tired.
Life in Miami has been the great
est thing that ever happened to
me. I feel that living there dur
ing the greater part Of the past
three years has added many years
to my life. I am back in New
York now, able to work harder
and with more pep than at any
time in my life, but am always
homesck for Miami. I will go
there during vacation periods, and
in the course of three or four
years 7 hope to be able to go back
there and stay as long as I live.
s15o,ooo DID NOT TEMPT HIM,
"Last Winter I was offered
$150,000 for my home, which
meant in four years time net
profit of 100000 to me, but I de-
clined the offer.
"T'he home is worth more to me,
to my wife and 2-year-old daugh-
ter than it is to anybody else. We
would not think of giving it up.
There is so much real JOY in living
in Miami that money could not
compensate US for giving it up.
The older grow the less money
means to me. 1t is happiness that
counts most. Why, | am so happy
with life in Miami that I wish the
whole world could share it with
me.
-"THE ROSE OF
FLORIDA"
"a visitor to my home in Mi
ami" continued Mr.. Van Cleve,
twas my friend Damon Runyon,
who writes such wonderful hu-
man-interest articles for Mr..
Hearst's newspapers. He had not