The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-09-07
SALESMEN REAL SERVICE TO CITY,
 STARKE STATES
Property Ownership Gives Man Feeling Of
 Pride

In the intricate OrgaulZdCAoh oA modern civilization there are two fac tors, or salesman, that have such remarkably strong and fundamental backing for their wares that one may well wonder whether these salesmen themselves do not fall short Of fuii realization of the tremendous service they can render and are rendering when their work is performed intelligently and conscientiously,' said Sam 0. Ssarke. secretary of the Birmingham Real Estate Board, Saturday.
 .sThe two salesman referred to are the life insurance man and the real estate man. Although these two lines have somewhat the same backing, at least in their bearing on family nIe they are far from being identical.
 The secretary Explained that his at- tention has been directed to this sub feet by an article that came out re- gently in the News Service of Ma tional Association of Real Estate Boards. In the opinion of the secre- tary it is we'll worth the real estate snlesmen's time to try to get now and then a new vision of the Fundamental importance of the work he IS engaged in and consecrate himself anew to a .Donscientious and intelligent devotion to if. The public, too, he declares, should have. fuller appreciation of what 1t means to own bit 6f3real estate, and hence a more complete understanding of the important service of the sales man.
 \. Historical Back. Ground.
 tHThe right of proprietorship over bit of ground dates far back in human history and has played a vital part in the development of civilization. It was early and we'll recognized far back in Jewish history. Even King Ahab fretted like a child when Naboth would not sell him his vineyard, and finally, under the evil advice of Queen Jeze- bel, violated the we'll established law of his kingdom in taking the vineyard by force. It is fundamental in our con- stitution, of course.
 'sThe ownership of real estate is bound to affect mans individal life. The consciousness of proprietorship of a bit of this worlds surface is cer- tainly steadying influence on man !; it is like an anchor to hold him to some locality in whose development he has a personal interest; he is likely to feel less like a non-entity and a wanderer on the surface of the earth. His local attachment through the own ership of property is powerful pull to make of him a more intelligent voter and consequently a better citizen. The more of countrys citizens that become landowners, the more stable is the government of that country. Thus it is that the conscientious salesman of real estate is actually doing public as we'll as private service when he enrolls one more citizen in the property class. This is intensely more strongly true when he converts wanderer on the face of the earth into home-own- CT.
 Pride In Ownership
 "With all of our complaining over the taxes on real estate, the assertion is here ventured that no young man ever paid his first tax on a modest initial investment in real estate that he did not feel q new thrill ofO pride as landowner, as more substantial part of his community, and as q sup porter of his government. Then fol- lows naturally little more serious idea of business and the conscious self development that-th intelligent handl- ing of real estate, brings about. This iG turn naturally leads to a keener interest in the welfare and progress of HIS OI WHICH ne uuS HOW become substantial member.
 "In short, property-ownership leads to better community life; better com munity life is reflected in better province or state; better states mean stronger nation. The pity of it all is that in the United States we have too few property-owners. Thus it is that every time real estate salesman enrolls new buyer of real estate, he has done a good service"
 Tt is then stupid for a young man on q salary in a growing city such as Birmingham to conclude that all the opportunities have been seized by those better situated financially than he that he has no chance with his small means to do anything worth while. All one need do is to look around him and he can find dozens of men who thought 40 years ago as he is thinking now, and those same men can at this time spin fascinating stories of genuine truthfulness of the superbl opportu- mites that they passed up.
 ''The thing for a young man of mod crate means is to get hold of some little piece of property in his town and let the property grow as he himself grows. A thousand dollars locked up now will be a thousand dollars 20 years from nowi aSthousand dollars