The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-04-29
TAX YOU FOR IT!
Improve Your Home and AS
SCISSOR Furnishes You.
Ross Crane Tells of Useless
Ornaments on Houses.

Ross Crane delivered death blow
to useless ornaments" on houses in
his talk this noone before the Realtors
of Topeka at their regular Friday noon
luncheon.
THE American public has reached
a point where they admire ugliness-
because they see SO much of it, said
Crane. Il refer to ugliness in houses.
Lots of people whom I know can ap-
preciate a beautiful woman, but their
idea of beauty in houses is sadly at
fault"
Crane told of an experience he had
in Denver with a travelling real estate
salesman. who was selling certain
type of bungalow.
Il met this young man and talked
to him. Crane said, flor some time.
He was in earnest-ab solutely so. He
showed me a booklet of both interior
and exterior plans for his houses. They
were mostly bungalows. One house in
particular he pointed out to me and
referred to- it as the acme of bunga-
low construction
well, the house was a bungalow
that you see every day. 1t had a long
sloping room toward the front of the
house. Right in the middle of that
roof was window projection. Not
gable window nor a dormer window
but combination of the two. 1 asked
the young man if that was to let air
into the upper story. He told me that
window was just for decoration pur-
poses. Also he said it cost about 5000.
Then I noticed that he had no fire
place in the house, and l asked him
why. 'Well,' he replied, we are trying
to build these houses just as cheaply
as possible. A fire place would cost
about 5000. and we thought it i'm
practica ble.' When I thought of that
window, useless and ugiy-then OF
that fireplace, neglected and neees-
sary, l turned to this young man and
asked. How many of these houses
have you built?' His face lighted UP
and he answered, BY George-three
hundred of them-an the same and
alike in every respect / said to him.
May God have mercy on your SOUL
Just to illustrate why that young
man was successful in selling those
ugly bungalows-let me tell you
story that 1 ran up against IN your
own town. Crane continued.
John Elliot, a young real estate
agent of Topeka, took me out to see
house-a beautiful house, location and
all. He asked me if 1 liked the house
and 1 told him I did. Well Elliot
said, we can't sell that house. It's
dead weight on our hands There is
the trouble at present-people can't
appreciate beauty. Let me say right
or two years from now. People are
getting educated to what a beautiful
home is
Crane told of an incident at We'll
lington, Kan, i'll which a small band
of business men got together and
made It possible for Wellington people
to own their own homes.
Crane gave a little time during his
talk TO the unjust taxation upon prop
erty.
THE housing problem is our great
est problem of the present time and
am in favor of putting the home on
a preferred basis. I mean by that to
free homes from taxes which are I'M
due and unjust. Taxes that are never
levied upon business houses. A man
is actually fined for building his own
house, and if he puts an orchard in
the back of his home, and beauties
his surroundings-he is fined again.
We must look into the injustice of this
taxation and do something about it
I suppose some mem will think from
this talk I am a 'single-taXer'-I don't
even know what the single tax is-buI
I do know that it is only common
sense to relieve the home owner from
this burden. Some action must be
taken-and for heaven sake take it
now"