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Show fc GET CLOSE TO MOTHER EARTH. Those who have come to Salt Lake within a few years past can scarcely appreciate the full measure of changes chang-es which natural and artificial growth have wrought. Of course the rapidly passing remnant of the old guard who were here at the "beginning have a full realization of it, and even to them the wondrous mctamorphasis must seem at times like the unfolding unfold-ing of a dream. It is very true that the yoil which they first rested upon is what we now behold, yet, paradoxical paradoxi-cal as it may seem to say so, it Is not the same after all; to proceed still further in that direction, the difference dif-ference is as great as that between a barren gravel-bed and a grass-grown grass-grown lawn. It has been said by some cynical churl that beauty is only on-ly skin deep, but even if true, the dcpti' is ample; it is undoubtedly so with the earth's surface the transformations trans-formations wrought by man by which Leauly and productiveness take the place of ugliness and sterility do not as a rule extend further than a spade's length toward the centre of the planet, plan-et, but far enough for all the purposes of mankind. The upper crust of the earth can be cultivated and controlled but not transported bodily or changed phy-sical'y phy-sical'y by human pgency, wherein it (differs from any oth'er possession I ' of the race individually considered, ! and hence the title, real estate. More of coicmony, of formality and of ac counting occur in effecting its own-' own-' 1 crship than is the case when only t property capable of manual delivery is the thing dealt in. Estates in land extend back to a "time beyond which the memory of man runneth not to the contrary," and are invariably, in civilized nations, a subject of record so that titles can be traced and iden-j iden-j tity is never lost; not so in the case of personal property, which may or may not be kept track of by record, which is perishable and changeable and regarding which possession is ) generally nine points of law. One of the greatest benefits of real estate ownership is that continued possession of the right kind of lands means continued improvement. The more cultivation the greater production produc-tion and enhancement of values as a rule, and the more the land brings forth the more it is capable of bringing bring-ing forth. Old mother earth is of a forbidding mood for a while. She makes her children for a time earn all they get by the sweat of their brows aided by the cunning of their minds, in some cases, as in that of Utah's settlers, the earnings being greatly disproportionate to the torn-pensrtion; torn-pensrtion; but when through continued contin-ued effort properly applied the right to better things is fully gained, the frownc change to smiles and the rewards re-wards become more and more abundant. abun-dant. This condition has been reached reach-ed and firmly established in mot ot the cultivated districts of this slate, so 'that really in this city or elsewhere else-where means not only so much by the measurement of the earth's upper crust, but a measure of productiveness productive-ness pertaining thereto such as is rarely equaled and still more rarely surpassed in any part of the Maker's footstool where enlightenment holds sway. Alt who arc here, whether of brief or long-time residence, or even on but a brief visit, realize the correctness correct-ness of the situation herein imperfectly imperfect-ly outlined. And the advancement advances. Except for more or less spasmodic periods of depression, the onward march of realty values in all parts of Utah, but especially her-; in the metropolis, has been steady and unfailing. Those who obtained little lit-tle girdcn spots and building sites in the early days and clung to them have invariably achieved a measure of piospcrity thereby much greater than by any other investment they could possibly have made; and their number is not countable on the fingers of one or both hands, fs not confined to a few dozens or hundreds, but enters en-ters the thousand list and on? or more examples of such prosperity arc visible wherever one may be or which ever way his eye may turn. In like manner, the present occupants find their possessions adding daily to their present and prospective gains, ana herein do we find more nearly the causa of limited transactions, when such prevail, than in any nicasuve of sluggishness or dullness. There is no unwillingness to buy, but frequently frequent-ly is there unwillingness to sell at all and more frequently is there a determination, deter-mination, borne partly of the greed which is promised satisfaction through advancing conditions, to wait for the higher market. It does not require the eye of the more or less recent accession to our population, nor even that of the old residenter, to make out that there is a very large number of fine new buildings build-ings in various stages of erection here, each and all being pushed as rapidly as skilled hands, trained minds and impulsive enterprise backed by abundant capital can do it. This tells its own story more eloquently than words written or spoken from whatever what-ever source can tell it. Each additional addition-al building is another monument to the greatness of this monumental city, a greatness measured not only by structures and public spirit, but that satisfying condition of tilings which comes of solid alid enduring values upon which the structures rest. There arc two methods of determining determin-ing the worth of real estate the uses to which it is put for communal and commercial purposes, and the amounts in values which it will produce, ana gauged by cither standard what wo. have to show to the sojourner and the wayfarer amoun's to a veritable empire, or perhaps we might say, a s'crics of empires, not in embryo, not in some defined stage of progression progres-sion toward completeness, but fully and determinedly developed, and yet not r.t the end of its fulness and greatness. great-ness. As previously stated, where we may look, new houses completed or in various stages of construction meet the gaze. This is more numerous out toward the suburbs than nearer in for obvious reasons the vahus of building sites appreciate in a rapid ratio as the central portions arc approached ap-proached and only those who arc engaged or about to engage in great enterprises, can stand the strain of the immense investments needed to obtain such ground and then push to completion such a building or block of buildings as the investment makes impel ativc if the money is to be returned. re-turned. Where the strain is less pronoun' pro-noun' cd and where it continues to relax as the periphery of the great commercial wheel is approached is natuially where the greater proportion propor-tion of the building is going on, where the traffic is more restricted and where the home finds its location. Of course the pressure continues from within; the insatiable demands of business constantly encroach fur thcr and further upon the surrotmd-inng? surrotmd-inng? until nothing that is not far removed escapes the embrace of the great Moloch which we not only tolerate tol-erate but encourage 'o the fullest extent. ex-tent. The occupants' of the homelike localities, instead of looking with dread or even regret upon the ravages of the advancing power which razes their homes to the ground and builds upon the ruins something as different differ-ent from an abiding place as a battle ship differs from a yacht, actually welcome its approach and look with equanimity upon the leveling which sweeps the long-time resting' place into the measureless abyss of things .passed forever, Why! Because there is money in it money for them, for their dependencies and successors, the means to establish themselves elsewhere, cither nearby or at a distance, dis-tance, and have enough over to secure se-cure them against the rainy days and wintry nights that are coming. That is what the continued advance in real ty docs, and privation, want and idle ncss arc reduced as nearly as pos- H sible to a minimum whcrc.it exists. We repeat, nowhere is such ad- vancc more in evidence than here H in Salt Lake. A city lot, situated al- H most anywhere, is a bank on which H the owner can draw at any time; he H can i nil down the whole of his own- H ings at once or let it remain and in- crease, just as he pleases only, this H bank never fails, even though its capi- H tal stock may occasionally fait off H some little; there arc never any runs H upon it excepting runs by dealers and H speculators to secure it and the pos- session imparts that comfortable feci- H ing which no doubt Rockefeller and 'H sonii of his kind would pay fancy H prices to possess. H Salt Lake realty has reached the H point of which it needs but little H boosting and wants no misreprasen- H tatiou at all. The truth and nothing H but the truth regarding it, however, H is always in order and always help- ,H ful to owners and buyers. jH |