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Show THOMAS KEARNS BUYS WHITE HOUSE CORNER Pays $7527 a Front Foot for Property at Main and Second South. PRICE IS RECORD ONE No Statement Is Made as to the Future Intentions of Purchaser. Salt Lake established a new record in real e-itatc .values for cash yesterday, when former Senator Thomas Kearns purchased i.hc White House corner, Second Sec-ond South and Main streets,. for .$350,000 tendered $5000 as earnest money, and announced that the cash would be forthcoming forth-coming on the hour that the confirmation confirma-tion of the sale, which was made by older of the court, was obtained. The sale, which was made under order or the Third judicial district court of Salt Lake i-ountv, was conducted by J. C Lynch, the oiticially designated master mas-ter of the sale. There were only two bidders, Senator Keanis and James A. Murray, former vice president of the National Bi'nk of the Republic and still a large stoc.kholdt r, whose legal residence resi-dence is in Butte, Mont., but who maintains main-tains a big estate lat Monterey, Cal. The sale, which was conducted at noon, on the steps of The west front of the City and County building was highly interesting to the thirty or forty persons 1 who assembled to witness the proceedings. proceed-ings. ' Order of Sale Read. Mr. Lynch waited until the noon whistle whis-tle blew, and then said: "Gentlemen, 1 am about tu offer for sale what is commonly known as the White House corner, at Second South and M.aiu streets. Salt Lake City. Listen to the rending of the order of sale." - Air. Lynch then read in full the order nf sale, as published, ami then queried: ''What am i offered for this property! " Tit ere was no response tor half a minute, and M r. Lynch repeated his question twice. Then Senator Kearns . "Any better bid?" asked Mr. Lynch, and ! atev a brief pause James A. Murray cii'ipd out. "?SS0.00O." Senator Kearns raised the hid $5000 and Vio millionaire banker came luck with another advance. When Senator Kearns J'flrj biii once more, he smiled and said, "Come, on, Jim, the orphans need the money." Sells for $330,000. Mr. Murray sent bis bid up to $34". 000 a-nl the senator countered with "350,000." That ended the bidding. "Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, dol-lars, once, twice, third and last call," said Lynch. And then he queried, "Han the .successful bidder a certified check for $7)000 as a guarantee of payment?" '"No." said Puna tor Kearns. "but I've pot the money." With that he produced . five fiono hills and deposited them upon the table. Senator Kearns said that the balance would be forthcoming as soon as the order of pule wan confirmed. After, the transaction was over Senator Kearns 6aid: Just sav for me that am glad I secured the property. The price was a good one and their shs'-e of it will he very helpful to the orphans, who, by virtue of the Phelan fund, will receive the income from one-quarter of the sale price. 4 May Have Partner. Whether Senator Kearns was representing represent-ing himself nlnne is not known. Former Mayor Fzra Thompson was by his side during the proceedings and displayed such an evident interest that many surmised he might he a partner in the purchase. Mr. Murray said: I recognize the fact that the White House corner is one of the most valuable in the city and is worth .M 0.000 or ?15.000 more to a resident ; than to a non-resident. Most of my in if rests are elsewhere and T would not he able to remain here long enough at a time to give the requisite attention atten-tion to managing the property. The White House corner has forty-six and one-half feet frontage and Is 115 feet deep. It sold yesterday at 7527 per front foot, a record price for real estate In Salt Lake, the nearest approach being the sale of the Utah State National hank corner. First South and Main streets. a fp.w months ago for $5000 per front foot. The corner includes the building occupied by the National Ttnnk of the Republic, above which Is the "White House hotel, built in 1S77 and two business houses, two stories each, erected ten years ago, are immediately imme-diately to the west. What Records Show. According to the records in the 'office of the county recorder. Miles Rornney was the first owner of the property now known as the White House corner after It had been conveyed to Trnniel H. Wells, mayor of Salt Lake, by the government of the "United States, the consideration given In the deed, dated August 28, 1872, being the nominal one of "i.'i cents. The Rornney ffimilv had. however, held the property since IR.tO. the transaction of record being only to make the title clear. Tn 1SS7 the Rornney heirs mortgaged the property to F. Auerbnrh Brothers for jll, 000; in 1SK1. the Rornney family conveyed con-veyed the propertv to John E. Poolv for a consideration of $32.nnO. Tlooly at the Fame time selling a half Interest to Allen G. Campbell for 5M.000. The record further shows that in 1SS2 Campbell resold his Interest to Dooly for $27, ."00. The same year Dooly sold the propertv to TCdward "D. Kcan for $-15,000. Kgan then sold a half -interest to Fzra J. Travis for $23.15(1. and In 1SS7 sold the remaining half Interest to Patrick Phelan and Stephen Hays for $.17,500. Division of Property. Mr. Hays continued to own his one-fourth one-fourth Interest and the one-fourth interest inter-est of Patrick Phelan was left, upon his death, in trust to the Catholic church for the heqefit of the orphans, being incorporated in-corporated under the name of the Phelan fund. James A. Murray, for n consideration of $77,noo, acquired the half interest of Travis in lOuO and the ownership of the property has since remained as it wan at the time of the sale Murray owning one-half. Hays one-fourth and the Phelan fund one-fourth, The suit for partition was filed by Attorney At-torney Harry J. Robinson in the district court April 1 7, Pl.r, on behalf of Mr. Murray. Long litigation followed, hut at the conclusion of the hearing, which was finished In June, the court decided that it was to the best Interests of all concerned that the property he sold. |