Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-09
Chapter XIII.
Prince as a Landlord
By w. T. MARSDON.

BIZ w. Il. mhnSDON'
Written Exclusively for The Star and the
North American Newspaper Alliance.
When the Prince Of Wales was 10
he came into full control Of the estate
of the Duchy of Cornwall. thus be-
coming one Of the largest and wealth.
lest land owners in England.
The estate of the duchy is chiefly
In Cornwall, but part of 1t lies In Ken
nington, a poor district in Southeast
London.
The Oval at Remington is one Of the
most famous cricket grounds in Eng
land, and it is on the Princes property.
The ground is about three acres in ex-
tent; three acres of grass in the heart
of London! It would bring at least a
million pounds an acre If it came into
the market.
The Prince. as a matter of fact. has
had bigger offers, but he wouldn't en-
terrain them Even II he desired to sell
the Oval, which he does not, he would
not dare.
The late King. when he was Prince Of
Wales and in possession of the duchy,
received an offer of two millions for
the Oval from a building syndicate.
His reply was: IT know of no surer
way of ending the English monarchy
than by selling one OF LondonS most
famous cricket grounds to building
syndicate"
H. r. H. is a good landlord. His
London tenants are all poor, but there
has not been an eviction on the Princes
property since he came into possession.
If a tenant, through his own fault, say
by drinking or gambling, gets into diff
flculties and cannot pay his rent, the
Prince gives him so much money down
to go elsewhere.
Helps Distressed Tenants.
If, on the other hand, a tenant,
through no fault of his own, falls into
difficulties, the Prince not only foregoes
his claim for rent for q certain time,
but often helps to put such tenant on
his feet again.
When the Prince came into posses
sion of the duchy some Of the London
property was dilapidated. He set out
at once to improve it. It took seven
years to carry out the improvements
and cost the Prince nearly half mil
lion sterling. Streets that might have
degenerated into the worst slunas are
now clean and bright.
One Of the Socialist members of Par
lament, speaking of the Prince as
landlord, said:
IF all London landlords put as much
into their property as the Prince of
Wales has done, and took as little out
in rent, do not see why there should
be any bad sluns in London"
Nearly quarter of the County Of
Cornwall belongs to the Prince of
Wales. He visits his property two or
three times a year and Is on excellent
terms with his tenants. He makes all
the necessary improvements or even
advisable improvements as speedily as
possible. He gives a great deal of
thought to the needs of his tenants.
In this connection one Of his dane
ing partners has told an amusing story
of him. When she was dancing with
him, she observed that the Prince was
unusually silent.
You're looking very thoughtful to-
night. sir" she said. us 1t coming
speech?"
His thoughts on Pigsty.
"As a matter of fact" replied the
Prince, "it is not. It's pigsty."
The Prince was thinking of the best
location for new pigsty on one Of his
farms.
The Duchy Of Cornwall is managed
pJ q COuAlCu VI cAknG, ulClQu4le ga 1oN-
frey Thomas and Lord Revelstoke, the
banker. The rental value of the duchy
is 246,00o pound year; outgoings Gin
GLIDING $4,000 pounds for charitable
subscription amount to 10000 pounds
a year, leaving net income Of 1874, 900
pounds.
The accounts Of the duchy, issued In
the form Of parliamentary paper, show
that the Prince last year drew out $4,000
pounds, so 10000 pounds were available
for investment on his behalf.
It is estimated that during the last
10 years at least 5000 pounds have
been invested on the Princes behalf,
and adding interest even at per cent
to the amount invested each year. there
must now be well over q million sterling