The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1925-04-27
TELL WORLD Of
WASHINGTON,
IS ADVICE
Gilbert Dent, ReaItor, Talks
of city's Advantages
and Needs
BY RICHARD HATTON.

By RICHARD HATTON.
s.Tell the world about Washing
TOM, is the advice of Gilbert Dent,
of the firm Of Gardner and Dent,
realtors. who has just. returned
from a visit of several weeks in
Florida.
s'ThA more saw Of Florida the
more was impressed by it," said
Mr.. Dent today, land the more
was impressed by Florida the more
I was impressed by Washington and
its great possibilities and the better
I liked it. While Florida has lis
attractions for the investor they can
NOT compare to what Washington
has to offer in the same line anu
the. washington investment is a
safe. permanent and guaranteed
proposition"
zone thing that particularly i'm
pressed me in the thousands or
visitors in Florida was that nearly
all Of them coming from the North
and West had passed through Wash
ington on the way South. Most or
Athem will pass through here and
will stop over here on their way
home from Florida. making this
. city the great natural gateway To
the South. 1t seems necessary to
evolve some plan Oy which the in
vestors of the nation can be shown
the great advantages of the Ma
tional Capital froIA an investment
standpoint"
Develop Navigation.
Two things are essential, as I
view it, to place this city at the
very top of the real estate invest
ment market. The first is to de-
velop our water front and to make
the river navigable for deep-sea ves-
sells. There is a world of water
born freight and passenger traffic
waiting to avail itself of this city
as a point of transshipment when
it is possible for large freighters
and passenger vessels to make this
q port, to say D1thing of the inn
mense amount of fruit, vegetables
and lumber from the South that
could be landed here at low
freight rate were it possible for
carriers to get up the river. Wash
ington could be made central dis
tributing point for much Of the pro-
duce of the South.
that, Southern cargoes are landed
here It will ebe necessary to provide
, return cargees for the carriers.
Possibly the nearness of the coal
fields of West Virginia and Penn
sylvania will solve this problem.
with large ocean-going passen-
ger steamers making this a ter
minaf point thousands Of tourists
would annually pass through the city
who now embark at New York,
Philadelphia or Baltimore. Wash
ington, in addition to being the port
Of embarkation would offer more at
traction to the. tourist from the
standpoint Of national and historic
interest than any of the other cities
Of the east. The Potomac is one
of the. most beautiful and pic
turesque rivers in the country and
Il would be an easy matter to deep
en- the channef~to the depth re-
quired to permit large freighters
and passenger steamers to come up
TO the Capital Congress is right
now assisting Florida with appro-
Jpriations. The same assistance
SHOULD be given to Washington,
and. it is '.up to the men of. this
city to get it.
Enthusiasm Inspires
Mr.. Dents enthusiasm for Wash
ington is inspiring. He is one of
. those forceful characters whose Wis.,
ion and whose ability to make the
vision come true makes them an
asset to any community and his
belief in Washington. and his prac-
teal ideas for advancing the in
terests of this city are worthy of
serious consideration on = the part
of those who desire to see the Ma
tional Capital advance to meet its
high destiny.
1--WE have the city," he declared.
I'VE have greater attractions he-e
in the way Of educational nstitu-
tions, beautiful buildings. parks,
developing suburbs and climate than
any city in the United States. We
must make it possible for more
people TO come here, We must tell
them about what we have"
Speaking of real estate values
here. Mr.. Dent said: Washington
real estate prices are low compared
10 property elsewhere and they are
bound to advance in an orderly and
conservative manner. There will
: be no boom. Washington does not
require. or desire, a boom but
steady and systematic development.
More subdivisions must be opsned
here and they must be provided
with paved streets, lights, water
and everything needful in order
that those who invest can get right
In and build their homes. Running
q few lines and laying out a few
streets does not make a proper sub
division.
Already" concluded Mr.. Dent,