The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1943-06-14

10 inherit anything from me. may
live in a time when they must
work in order to eat. In other
words. perhaps | should do more
for my present and ultimate heirs
by forcing them 10 work than by
leaving them rents 10 collect or
coupons 10 cut.
was brought up on a farm and
my work has brought me IN close
touch with many farmers and their
problems Furthermore. as an econ
omist. recognize that land. chill
dren and character are our only
real wealth. As in the case OF Sc
curities, however. the value OF land
and children or the income they
may produce is subject TO change.
The Astor family fortune Of many
millions was derived from New
York City real estate. II is illustra-
tive Of the growth possibilities char
acteristic OF Well-located or pro-
.ductiye land held through several
generations. Yet, while this par
ticular fortune was growing, many
land spectators, along with secur-
ity spectators. lost large sums.
Hard Work Always Pays
Without some real work being
done, neither the owners Of stocks
nor the owners OF land make money
in the long run. There is no easy
road to prosperity. For example,
before buying any considerable
amount OF stock or a bond issue,
1 take certain fundamental steps.
These consist OF visiting the plant
or. officers Of the company whose
securities interest me. | meet the
officers and determine whether the
management Is capable. honest and
progressive. also try to obtain
stockholders lists TO see who my
future associates in ownership will
be Figures relative to earnings,
dividends and interest. production
or sales are easily obtainable; but
it may take days and months OF
travel. interviewing and inyestigat-
ing before the hidden values in any
investment situation may be un-
covered
Likewise. the real value OF land
or other forms Of real estate. such
as stores. Office buildings, farms,
acreage, homes or subdivisions. can
best be determined only after con
sideration of location, soil analysis,
weather records, population trends
and other factors. One should de
vote considerable time 10 personal
investigation before exchanging one
form Of investment for another or
before making any investment OF
consequence. | might be in a posi-
ton to make a large investment in
farm land. but in dosag so | would
be dependent upon someone else
10 work the land and even to super
wise the job In other words. |
would be simply an absentee own
er. This Is another reason why u
have confined my investments to
securities. But for the man who
will study land values. who can get
out upon his property. roll up his
sleeves and 90 TO work-then. ana
only then, do | say. Go back to
the land OF course. the ownership
of other types of real property also
requires personal attention.
Long-Pull Protection
Certainly the last thing that will
be taken away from my children or
grandchildren will be their home
stead ard their skill. Under the
communistic system Russia re-dis-
tributed her land in the form o. CO.
operative farms; but in that coun-
try the situation was quite differ
ent from anything that we have
experienced here. In Russia and in
Poland, too, the great bulk of land
was held by very large estates indi.
vidually owned or controlled II may
have been entirely proper to have
the use Of such land re-distributed
among the people. Such a situation
does NOT exist here Even IL our ma.
tional debt reaches a point where
coniiscation OF some securities
might become necessary in order
10 reduce il. the homestead OF forty
acres or less should not be dis.
turbed
Really. the men and women who
are trained for some real job may.
in the end. he the best off Con.
slider again the middlemen. They
care little whether the goods which