San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-16
". s. CONFESS Prominent in
City Improvement Activities
Organizes First Improve
ment District Here, Helps
Widen Streets, Aids in
Keeping Rent Situation
Normal and Builds First
FIats-Is One Of Oldest
Real Estate Dealers in
City.

W. S. CONFESS probably has done
as much for San Antonio's develop
ment as any real. estate man in the
city. He is one of the Oldest real
estate men here and during approx
mately twenty-five years spent IN
selling San Antonio real estate, he
organized the first Improvement dis
trict here. built the first flats, con-
structed hundreds of homes, helped
widen streets, and has figured proml-
nently in keeping the. rent situation
normal. I'm addition to this, he heads
one of the largest and best known
real estate firms in South Texas.
On his way to Los Angeles just
twenty-three years ago, Mr.. CONFESS
stopped in San Antonio and looked
the situation over" He says he saw
that there was an excellent, opening
here for a real estate man so he
decided to remain in the city. he
saw that a good cotton crop was
being harvested, that little property
was changing hands and that there
was not a house for rent in the city.
These conditions appeared favorable
so he rented little room in the rear
of drug store on the corner OF
Houston and Navarro streets, now
Sommers drug store.
At that time the town had 5O,OOO
people and Mr.. CONFESS says he saw
that the vast surrounding territory
was being developed. The population
of the state was growing rapidly.
Specialized In Rentals.
During the first several years he
was in business here, Mr.. CONFESS
made speciality of the rent business,
which incidentally, he says, is the
foundtion of all large real estate
concerns. Today the CONFESS Realty
company has one Of the most active
rental departments in San Antonio
in addition TO fire and liability
department, city sales. country sales,
mortgage-loan. legal repair and city
building departments, each of which
has separate heads.
Beginning business in Galveston in
1896 Mr.. CONFESS says he has had
many interesting experiences. Feel
ing that, his youth was against him
and that older men did not have
much confidence in his opinion as TO
real estate values, he says he endeav-
ored to raise n mustache so that he
would appear older than he really
was, for although he says he "knew
that he knew" all about selling prop
erty. he could not make his employer
think that way until after his first
sale. This probbly was the hardest
but the best experience he had.
When the attorney examined the title
for the seller, who was an old ex-
perienced farmer, there were two
pages of COLLECTIONS. He says he
almost "ran his legs off" for three
weeks trying TO get all the objections
cleared up and began to feel that the
business was pretty hard but when
the buyer gave him $50 extra for
his work and his commission amount
ed to S125, things began to look more
favorable.
Organizes Improvement District.
Although Mr.. CONFESS says he has
no record of the exact number of
houses he has constructed in San
Antonio and has been instrumental
in having built, the number will total
many hundreds.
Mr.. Conness called meeting and
organized the first Improvement dis
trict in San Antonio which was dis
trict No. ., Madison Square. The
citizens macadamized all of that
district and every section of the
city followed suit soon afterward.
Sewers also were installed.
He is said to have built the first
flats in San Antonio which are still
standing and are rented continuously.
They are on Fourth street.
Mr.. CONFESS has aided in street
widening work here and it is safe TO
assert that he has been connected in
some way with public work in prac-
tically every section of the city.
The first houses constructed by Mr.
CONFESS in San Antonio nearly
twcnty-three years ago are on South
Alamo street. The first was. for
Major Breckenridge of Austin. He
built two houses in the 900 block for
the Major and after they were COM
pleted, he purchased them for 500
cash and $50 a month. Within
year following. that, he had sold the
houses at a profit
"The wonderful opportunity that
our present generation has to buy
real estate here and to get rich in
single life time should be taken ad
vantage Of" says Mr.. CONFESS. "and
my advice to the young man is buy