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Show " . ; D . A Costly Dinner 1 ii A Chicago man (lined at a great Now York hotel a few months ago. Ho ltad but one guest, and his check called for only $S.7G outside of tho tip an extremely modest amount for dinner at the hotel In question. It developed later, however, that tho dinner had actually cost the man from Chicago a little matter of $123,000, nil that, it will he admitted, makes tho meal a historic one, so far, at least, as cost Is concerned. The Chicago man in question had Cone to New York to complete the furchaso of an entire block In the usiness part of the city. Ho was representing rep-resenting large Western capitalists who wished to make an Investment. tie went about his work shrewdly, 'Working through half a dozen or moro local real cstato brokers, each of whom was Intrusted with tho business f getting nn option on one or moro ef the separate pieces of property which made up tho block. The whole deal was under tho gen-ral gen-ral direction of the man from Chlcn-to Chlcn-to and hlB attorney, a New York lawyer law-yer of wldo reputation. Tho Chicago man made his office In tho hotel. To his room each of the real estate brokers came every day to report progress and to receive directions for JW their future operations. Tho plan on which the Chicago pro-tnoter pro-tnoter was working required for its, completion tho put chase of every foot of tho block, ns Improvements wero planned which would cover Its entlro .-surface. Every evening the Chlcngo man and litis New York lawyer dined together .at tho hotel and talked over the prog-toss prog-toss of the day. After a month had "been spent In tho securing of cptlons for six months It was tountl that practically prac-tically ail tho propsrtv Involved ball teen secured. Therorcnmlr.cd, In rfact, only a single plot, wKh forty .foot frontage and' a depth of a llttlo :moro than 150 feet. Unfortunately this particular plec3 of propel ty lay right in tho center of tho block and stretched back so that :lf cut tho block almot squarely In two. If tho block was to bo covered with tho slnglo great hulli'.lrc .which the plans called for tha pa:sesslcn cf that lot and the old four-stcry building which occupied It was absolutely :nccossary. It must not bo Imagined that no of-forts of-forts had been made to get an option on this keystono to tho whole props--ty. Tho broker assigned to that pltco .had exhausted his ingoaulty In trying to get an option. From tho first ho .found the old man' who owned tho piece unwilling to give an option at :any figure. Ho would soil-, es but -jfcfc .Ills prlco at tho first interview was ,f7. "' mmA " "r They sat at a Btriall table. W.000, which wns Just $10,C60 wore than tho maximum set by the pro- motor from Chicago. So tho broker Mf.-X. hnd been obliged to report his fnllur .-h and hnd been ilnnlly told It mado no difference tho property was not at all essential and tho Chicago peoplo illd not Intend to bo "hold up." Finally, after everything elso wan .well In hand tho man from Chlcngo sent his lawyer around to seo tho owner own-er of tho forty feet frontage. Ho was authorized to buy the property outright, out-right, paying $50,000, if that should prove necessary to get It. Strangely enough, when tho lawyer called he was told that the placo was no longer for sale at $50,000. It had gene up greatly Blnco the broker's last Interview. In fact, It would take, an oven $100,000 to buy it. Tho lawyer wont back and reportod to his princl- "I'll let you have It for $125,000." pal and the latter threw up his hands. "Never," said tho Chicago man. "I'm willing to be. robbed to a moderate ox-tent, ox-tent, but when It comes to a plain caso of holdup llko this I quit. We'll build nil around tho measly llttlo forty for-ty feet and let It stay there.- Certainly Certain-ly wo'll never pay more' than twlco what tho property Is worth for tho privilege of owning It." Then ho asked tho lawyer to go lon to tho dining room with him. Tho two men sat down at a little table ta-ble and a good dinner was ordered. Between and during courses they dis cussed the business In hand. Almost all the tables wore filled and they talked with Jthe freedom and Becurlty which comes from tho presenco of a largo and noisy crowd. "Now I think," said tho lawyer, -"that you had better send over tomorrow to-morrow nnd pay the $100,000. for that forty feet. Yon've really got to havo it, sooner or later, and every day you put off tho purchase makoB It more likely that tho prlco will go up. If it uyor gets out (hat you Intend to covor tho wholo block with a single building build-ing you'll havo to pay moro than twice as much for the proporty. As a matter of fact, you could bettor afford af-ford to pay $200,000 for tho pleco than to havo your wholo plau spoiled by not getting It. You can't build a decent-looking building and leavo that llttlo squat four-atory building In tho mlddlo of It. It would look like tho deuce. My advice Is to buy tho property prop-erty at $100,000 and buy it now." hi tho next table to tho lawyer and tho promoter sat a young man who Just th'cn was tho proud possessor of an even $10,000. His ears were quick and ho Btrained them to catch ovory word that was said. Proaently ho loft tho table and tho room. As tho result of tho lawyer's argument argu-ment tho man from Chicago was final-, ly convinced that It would bo to his best interest to pay $100,000 for tho missing pleco of land and ho authorized author-ized the attornoy to call tho next morning nnd get a deed for It; The two men sat long ovor their coffoo nnd cigars, feeling rellovcd that tho end of all their planning and hard work was at last fairly In sight. Then tho Chlcugo promofer paid tho check for $8.75 nnd went to bed. Tho law-yor law-yor drovo homo with the determination determina-tion of stopping on his way to tho niilro and closing up tho deul for the laBt forty feot. A llttlo beforo 11 o'clock he callod at tho ofTico of tho owner. "I havo como," ho said, "to accept your offer to sell that forty foot for $1,00,000. I am ready to pay far It to-dny and want, you to havo tho pa-pers pa-pers made out at once." "I'm sorry," snld tho other, "but I don't own thnt property now, I sold It this morning to a man who called at my house beforo I camo downtown, for $120,000." "Who bought It?" Tho namu of tho young mnn who hnd sat nt the next iablo In the hMel dining rcom wns, given and tho law yer hurried ovor to seo him. Ho wis sitting at a big desk In a handsamc ollicc. He readily admitted that ho was tho present owner of tho forty feet In question nnd raid that ho had bought It for nn investment. "How much will you tako for It?" "I'm not at all anxious to sell, but If It will bo nny object to you I'll- let It go to-dny for $150,000." Tho lawyer took a cab for tho hotel ho-tel and Eaw his principal. Tho Chicago Chi-cago man cursed softly to himself and announced that If it had como to a gamo of highway lobbcry ho didn't propose knowingly to play the part of tho sucker. Ho wouldn't pay tho $150,000. That evening the two dined together again, and again tho lawyer urged him to close tho deal without further dolny. "If you don't look out foiiio of the other people will get wise," ho said, "nnd then there will bo tho devil to pay. You'd better make the best of a bad business and let mo pny tho $150,000." Permission wns flnnlly given to pay the exorbitant nmount nnd next morning morn-ing tho lawyer paid his second call. "Sorry," said tho youth. "My price .to-day Is $175,000 for thnt lot. It Is Increasing In value right along." So the affair went along for several days, tho asking prlco Jumping up $25,000 every day. Finally in sheer desperation tho man from Chicago and his lawyer went togethor to call on the now owner of tho forty-foot strip, "Slnco you want It so badly," ho Baid, "I'll knock off tho $25,000 increase in-crease for to-day nnd let you havo tho property for $225,000." And nt that figure tho deal was finally made. "How on earth did you got on to this deal?" asked the Chicago man of tho man who had held him up. "Why, you seo, I sat at tho next ta-bio ta-bio to you at tho hotel tho other night and 1 couldn't help hearing all that was said. What I heard mado mo think that the forty-foot strip was certainly cer-tainly a good buy, so I went out early next morning and bought It." "Well," snld tho man from Chicago, with a sigh, "that llttlo dinner seems to havo cost me Just $125,000. H. M. H. in Chicago Tribune. |