The Oregon daily journal., December 21, 1913, Page 16, Image 16

THE OREGON, SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND. SUNDAY MORNING. DECEMBER 21. 1913.
2
PREDICTION IS MADE
99 YEAR LEASE WILL
... . . . .i .
SOUTH PORTLAND MANUFACTURING PLANT
PERTINENT HINTS TO HOMEBUILDERS .
ON CONDUCTING FIGHT ON KING FROST
SEVERELY CONDEMNS
BE POPULAR IN CITY
GAYNOR
COK
Si
;t
BILLBOARD
NUISANCE
Enormous Signs Declared to
a ft t II
- Be Filth Gatherers as Weil
as Destructive to Values,
To thosa wao are outraged at the con
temptible commercialism to bo seen tn
the ever increasing of the hideous
billboard, the action of the late Mayor
: Gavnor of New York. In appointing
"billboard advertising commission" and
the wide Interest aroused by the com
prehensive report recently made by that
commission, Is a distinctly hopeful oc-
currence.
Mayor Gaynor despised billboards.
They were one of la pet aversions. He
attempted to Use his official power to
' check the spread of the evil In New
York, but made little progress. Finally,
just av short time before his death, he
conceived the Idea of appointing a mu
nicipal commission and charging It with
the duty of making a serious investiga
tion. This commission held many open
meetings, the individuals of the com
mission undertook much private Investi
gation, and elicited by oral testimony,
correspondence and the study of docu
ments a vast amount of Information
bearing on all phases of the subject of
" outdoor advertising.
Blllbeard Report Submitted.
The report just submitted is extensive
and Is accompanied by 25 pages of Illus
trations to prove . statements made.
These Illustrations are described as
- belns; of the sort to make a good citizen
"tear his hair" with chagrin at the mis
directed commercialism of business men
who would Insult Grant's -toinh with a
proximate billboard, and who would con
sent to the creation of such filthy
nuisances as are shown back of these
: glaring, monstrous signs.
In the report is found the following
pregnant observation:
"It Is entirely optional with a person
' Whether he will read advertisements in
newspapers and circulars; but an out
. door advertisement is thrust upon his
attention whether he will or not.
Outdoor advertising so intimately
" affects the public welfare that Ha gov
ernmental regulation appears to be en
titaely justifiable In the Interest of the
'greatest good to the greatest number.
' . Indeed, to fall to restrain and regulate
- it is to abandon our communities to
serious evlle.
Unsightly Signs round Everywhere. I
"All over the city are found enormous,
unsightly and at times disgusting bill
board advertisements which neutralize
the effects produced by the finest archi
tectural genius and the expenditure of
vast sums of money."
Speaking of the Income derived from
, vacant property by owners who lease
for billboard purposes the report com
ments as follows:
"In many important parts of the city
there Is a strong tendency to secure the
publicity Income, and to postpone the
full . utilization of the land on which
billboard taxpayers and electrlo signs
are erected. The erection of such struc
tures also has an Injurious effect upon
adjoining realty values and constitutes,
tn many cases, a real nuisance."
It Is also urged that-billboards In
crease the fire risk and that Illuminated
and . flashing eigna In some localities
: interfere with sleep In neighboring
hotels and private residences.
In this connection the report makes
note-of a recent suit in' which the land
lord of a hotel sought to recover rent
for rooms in his hotel, which bad been
abandoned by the tenant because of the
erection, by the landlord, of a glaring
, electric sign, the light -from which made
the rooms, uninhabitable. The court de
cided that the erection of the sign
amounted to "constructive eviction,"
and the landlord was restrained from
recovering rent On 'this decision the
New -York Evening Post made the fol-
- lowing; pertinent comment:
- "Well tlone. Justice Wilson! But how
s. about the people on the outside of the
hotels, and of the 'taxpayer's one etory
: houses, with monstrous electric signs on
. top f them, and of the vacant lots with
hideous billboards surrounding them in
short, ibe people of the city at large
. who are pestered with alternating
flashes as they walk the public streets,
and whose enjoyment of whatever is
beautiful in the city Is marred by dis
figuring advertisements? Are they not.
In a great measure, subjected to 'con-
atructive eviction' from their own city?
, And, as It is hardly to be expected, or
' even desired, that they should actually
' move out of the city, as Mr. Dinwiddle
; and other tenants moved out of this
hotel, would it not be a good plan to
turn the tables to 'evict' the offending
billboards and electric signs instead of
the people?"
.. But best of all in this report which
arter taking into consideration all the
conditions met in a great city is this
declaration:
, "We believe that the time has arrived
in this state when public sentiment
V will warrant writing the word 'beauty'
into the constitution.' I rfl
y
M-m Thh 'inn rYn, ! 3 1
II I III MIllMj
J ...JL Jl. TfflTP t. J
I: -r
'V-fT
I UJJ I
' esssMMsaaasMMsmst , . 4
So Far, Ho weveo 20, 30 and
'50 Years Seems to ' Be "Favored.
Exterior and interior arrangement of ideal residence.
By Arthur C. Clausen.
There is some advantage in living
in the cooler parts of the country. For
example, we are not worrying about
our citron and orange crops, but there
Is no Question that we have to pay a
good price for this peace of mind. It
costs about 40 per cent less to build in
the southern state's than it does In the
northern states and throughout Canada.
This 40 ner cent is spent for the heat
ing plant and protection against King
Frost
Frost reminds one a little of elec
tricity. Some things are quick con
ductors of it and others are not. Take
a sheet of glass. It Is so dense that
wind cannot possibly penetrate It; still
frost will go through it almost in
stantly. To make a simple test of this
take a warm water glass and while
holding it in the hand fill it with ice
water. You will immediately feel the
cold when the ice water gets up to
the level in the glass where your fin
gers grasp It. Iron Is also a quick con
ductor of cold.
Taper Poor Conductor,
On the other hand a thick, spongy
sheet of blotting paper equal in thick
ness to a pane of glass will not conduct
the cold near so quickly unless there is
a strong wind behind It to force it
through, in which case we have another
element to consider-i There are two
kinds of cold. One Is the still cold and
the other is, the cold wind.
We all know that we feel more un
comfortable with the 'wind blowing at
10 degrees above zero than we do with
the wind now blowing at zero or even
B or 10 degrees below. When the
air is damp, even at only a desree or
two below freezing, we feel more un
comfortable when the wind blows than
we would at zero with no wind blowing.
For the dampness in the air is nothing
but small particles of water held In
suspense, which, when the wind blows,
pelt themselves against the body, and
cold water Is always more uncomfort
able than merely cold air.
The reason that a blotter -or a sheath
ing quilt containing substances com
posed of flax waste, seaweed or hair is
warmer than any substance havinp a
dense texture Is simply due to the fact
that there Is in the texture a multituri
of minute air spaces. jnd air tp:cs
are one of the best Insulations we
have against heat or cold.
It Is on this principle that we put on
storm windows In the winter time to
create a dead air space between the
two panes of glass. It was also on
this principle that we used to back plas
ter between the studdlngs in tho outside
walls of homes, but after boing on for
a few months it has boen found that the
studding shrinks away from It. leav
ing a small crack on each side that par
tially destroy the desired result of a
double air space, each hermetically
sealed from the other.
Back plastering also has no putty
coat, being merely what we call the
common scratch coat, and it has been
found that a little wind pressure placed
behind ordinary back plastering as a
test will perceptibly move a handker
chief on the other side. Careful tests
and considerable experience have dem
onstrated that back plastering, while
undoubtedly doing some good, is. not as
efficient as other and cheaper methods.
The first thing when building a
frame wall is to stop the wind. To Io
this It is advisable to uue at least one
and preferably two well lapped thick
nesses of high-grad building paper,
something having a smooth, firm,
shiny surface, which Indicates a dense,
firm texture. Ordinary tar paper is
fair for the purpose, but unfortunately
it does not last. It Is a very common
experience in remodeling homes to find
that the tar hag evaporated from the
paper, leaving It In various shades of
brown and shrunk so much as to tear
from the nails, sometimes even opening
the lap when there is only one thick
ness. Stopping Still Cold.
Having stopped the wind by a smooth
surface paper, the next step la to stop
the still cold, which, if anything, has a
tendency to penetrate the smooth paper.
With this idea in yiew. It Is a good
plan to put a sheathing quilt directly
back of the smooth surface paper tn ad
dition to the back papering, but this is
seldom done.
The back papering should consist of
a good high grade sheathing quilt.
There are numerous kinds on the mar
ket, but the most permanent are the
ones that are composed of flax waste
tightly compressed, but still being quite
spongy in texture. Those that are com
posed of flax waste loosely assembled
between two sheets of paper that are
sewed through by string at frequent
intervals, the kind that have a sort of
seaweed between two sheets of paper
sewed through and the kind that have
washed and sterilized hair from horses
and rattle placed between two sheets
of paper and sewed through.
Most sheathing quilts are now sub
mitted to a poison bath that makes them
obnoxloits to mice and other vermin.
When sheathing quilts first came 'on
the market the mice used to make their
living off of them, but that has been
done away with. The sheathing quilt
should be placed between the studs, half
way between the plastering and the
boarding, with the edges turned in and
securely fastened against the sides of
the studs by lath nailed at fyrequent
intervals.
Bow 8heathinff la Attached.
These strips of sheathing quilt should
extend from the first floor to the attic
ceiling and be nailed top and bottom as
well as sides, then finished on the in
side of course, by the usual lath and
NEW KENTON CLUBHOUSE WILL CONTAIN
ALL MOST UPTO-DATE CONVENIENCES
'v.- p ,
1 v 7
. : 1 . 1 , r i, 1,11 ,11
plaster. This method gives the warmest
results obtainable at moderate cost.
The warmest of the various forms of
wall construction Is brick veneer, when
a space Is left between the brick facing
and the frame partition behind, pro
vided that the frames fit tight and that
the frame partition behind la well pa
pered and back papered as previously
described. Next comes the KOlld brick
wall with a high grade pressed brick on
the outside surface, backed up with eith
er hollow brick or hollow tile with lath
and plaster placed on furring strip on
the inside. In the more moderate cli
mates the plaster can be placed directly
upon the inside masonry surface of the
wall, but this is not advised in cold
climates, and regardless of climate the
matter of placing the lath on furring
strips, which forms a-slight air space
between It and the masonry wall, is the
beat.
arlo-M Kinds of Protection.
Next in preference comes the common
hollow brick wall or hollow tile with the
facing of cement stucco on the outside,
and with the lath and plaster on furring
strips on the inside; next In preference
comes the regular frame wall with eith
er siding, shingles or stucco on metal
lath, with the walls weather papered
and back papered. In addition to prop
erly building the walls the window
frames should be made so that the wind
will not find a way through them, and
properly fitted In place. . There Is 'a
great deal of variance In the construc
tion of window frames a few good
methods and a great many poor ones.
There is no need for feeling a draught
around a closed window if the frame is
properly made and the sash properly
fitted to it.
Metal weather strips are frequently
used instead of storm sash, ami there ia
no question but what they do the same
work with less Inconvenience. The
strips, of course, do not provide the
dead - air - space, hut they prevent - so-j
mucn wina (.ana austj getting in arouna
the sash - that one offsets the other.
Metal weather strips are now used in all
office buildings, hotels, large apartment
buildings and hospitals, and many are
now using them in the construction of
homes. ' This Is a splendid time of the
year in which to consider the fight
which must be waged with King Frost
during the construction of the home
next summer, for when the temperature i
is 90 degrees In the shade the Import
ance of looking after these little things
is sometimes overlooked. The fact
should also be borne In mind that a
home which Is warm in winter Is cool
in summer, for anything which will In
sulate against cold will insulate against
heat.
That the 89 year lease, common in
large eastern cities, will eventually be
come popular in Portland Is held by a
number of local realty operators who
have recently added a leasing depart
ment to their business. So far as is
known there has never been but one
9-year lease executed in Portland af
fecting a parcel, of valuable central
realty. Twenty, 80 and 60 years seem
to be the favorite terms among local
owners 'who have leased their holdings.
Should the 89-year lease become pop
ular, as some of the Portland brokers
believe It will, it Is believed that the
present rapid growth of the city will
be greatly accelerated. Men of means
will more willingly take a risk en a
99' year lease than on one for a shorter
length of time. A 99 year lease Is con
sidered as amounting, to ownership, the
difference between that and acquiring
the fee in the property, being that In
the one case you buy Outright and pay
the full price at one time and in the
other you pay for the property in 99
annual Installments.
. Orows Sapidly in Xast.
No form of investment has grown so
rapidly with eastern capital as what
la commonly termed tne 99-year lease.
It is said that one half of the buildings
In the Chicago loup and nearly as large
a proportion of the larger structures In
the business district of Philadelphia
stand on property covered by a 99-year
lease. In the lower portion of New York
City there are 20 to 80 story Bteel
buildings that were built on sites ac
quired under this form of lease.
The question has often . been asked
how many of the large buildings in our
large eastern cities ever would have'
been built if the owners of the ground
had to build them. Property owners are
prone to let their property alone so
long as It brings In enough to pay the
overhead charge and leave a comfort
able balance but when real estate Is ac
quired under a long time lease the
owners of the lease a naturally forced
to go the limit In the way of improve
ment In order that the highest possible
return may be obtained.
The underlying cause that dominates
the desire to accumulate money is to
provide for our own future and for
those dependent upon us. Properly hand
led Investment experts say that the 99
year lease Is the best and simplest way
this end can be accomplished.
Wew leases Different.
Experience has shown that in these
leases many features that originally
were considered an advantage are en
tirely wrong and have been discontinue
ued. It was very difficult for instance
to convince the owner of the ground
that he should not participate In the
Increased value so the lease called for
valuations at certain periods. This it
was discovered in many cases amounted
to confiscation of the buildings which
were the lessors security.
Experience, however, has shown that
in a rapidly growing city a re-valuation
"7
... 'y
1 ,f
i!ali I ' i
r
Northwest Steel company's new plant, under construction at the toot
of Sheridan street.
Down on the South Portland river
bank at the foot of Sheridan street the
Northwest Steel company has begun
the erection of a new plant to take the
place of the North Portland plant of
that company. when completed the
building and site will represent an In
vestment of nearly 1260,000. The main
building will be of heavy mill con
struction equipped with an overhead
crane system and will be 65 by 8S0,
All told, the completed plant will
require five buildings. On the river
front the company IS building a 820 .
by 100 foot dock, for the handling and
temporary . storage of' structural steel.
The entire site of the plant embracing '
several acres Is being raised above high,
water by means of silt and other ma- '
terlal pumped from'tho bottom of the
river. Something like a 16 foot fill
will be required to lift the land above ,
extreme high watr. J. R. Bowles Is
president of the company, tV. B. Beebe,
vice president, and W. U. Cullers, chief
engineer.
every ten or 20 years resulted in plac
ing the ground value so high that the
entire income from the building would
not pay the rent and the result was that
the lessor lost the property. In many
of the 99-year leases in eastern cities
the lessees have voluntarily cut out the
re-valuation clause rather than bank
rupt the lessors.
Profiting by this experience but still
wishing in some way to participate In
the increased values ground owners
made leases in which it was agreed to
Increase the rentals at Intervals; this
did allow the lessee to know positively
what he would have to pay and what
kind of a building he could construct
so that he could participate In this In
creased rental; but here again trouble
was In store for all persons concerned
and the latest form of lease calls for
a fixed annual rental of the Bame fig
ure throughout Its life.
Ho City Goes Backward.
Statistics show that no city In the
United States after reaching a popula
tion pf 160,000 ever went backward.
There may be times of temporary de
pression but when passed, the growth
continued as before. Also as a city
grows older Constant re-adjustments
take place. New centers are made and
In the old district there Is a period
when rents decline; then after a few
years the re-adjustment haa absorbed
for other purposes the older district
and rents again reach a profitable basis.
Conservatively made and carefully
drawn the 99-year lease causes to be '
improved in American cities many hold
ings which otherwise would never be
improved with substantial structures.
Syndicates of active men willingly as
sume -these responsibilities and lease
and Improve ground that they would
not and could not afford to buy. Given
a lease of not less than 99 years on
a basis of five or six per cent of a fair
valuation running the entire period the
lessee Is safe In making such improve .
ments as are substantial and easily
adaptable to changing conditions.
The owner knowing the security is
the prosperity of the lessee gladly sees 1
the lessee's success .in the Increased
value resting secure In the knowledge
that In no other way known to man
could he as nearly accomplish bis desire
to make his property bring a good re
turn. " m ' 1 1 i '
Open evenings until Christmas. Jimmy
Dunn, 815-17 Oregonian bldg. Kiev. (Ad.)
rAH0i
.duuaing, ior wmcn iounaauon is completed will be located on Russett between Fenwick street and Pat
. H . ' ton avenue. -
Kenton, Dec. 18. The foundation for
the $3000 Kenton clubhouse on Russett
street, between. FnwI?'t teet and Pat
ton avenue, has been finished, and the
building will be completed February 1st.
It la situated on block north of the
rarline and less than block from the
pW Kentoo school. - .
In addition to the 40x60 foot gym
nasium and dance hall, which will have
an 18-foot celling, .there wilt be a re
ception room, ladies' rest room, gentle-l
mun's cloakroom! and kitchenette, and
billiards, pool and careroom "will later
be installed in the basement Christian
Spies U the architect and builder.
The building is a one-story . frame
structure, with full concrete basement
The officers of the club are Joseph O.
Beattle, president; Clarence Bullen, vloe
president; secretary, B. T. Traoyi treas.
urer, W. Burke. The dlreotora are iwla
B. McGee, James X Wilkinson, W. R.
Agnew, .Christian Spies and, Dr. Samuel
M. Btrohecker, , !.- v.
CEMENT RIANT'WILL
BE READY BY APRIL
Fletcher Linn of this city has .re
turned from a visit of Inspection to the
big cement plant under constrtuctlon
at Gold Hill, between Grants Pass and
Medford, by the Beaver Portland Cement
company. Mr. Linn reports work on
this plant as progressing rapidly, and
that it will probably be ready for opera
tion not later than April or May next
The Gold Hill plant will have a ca
pacity of 1000 barrels of first class
cement a day. Several hundred acres
of Jimestone and shale used In the man
ufacture of. cement are adjacent to the
plant, and all controlled by the com
can v. Both the limestone and shale
are easily handled and f an' be conveyed
to the mills at a minimum cost. '
More -than 60 per cent of the cost
of the plant came from eastern and mid
dle west capitalists, the remainder t
lng subscribed by Oregon investors.
SPECIFICATIONS FOR
OREGON BUILDING DONE
Complete specifications for the Oregon
building to be erected at the Panama
Pacific exposition have been made by
the architects, Foulkes A Hogue. and
bids are now being received for its con
struction. The structure is to be of
the Parthenon type and will be built
of Oregon fir logs. Of the 1160.000
j appropriated by the last legislature 'for;
176,000 has been apportioned to pay for
the state building. Bids for Its con
struction , will close January 8, and the
contract awarded as soon thereafter as
the architects and commissioners can
aggregate the bids, . ,
E FOR A HAS GIFT
WHAT COULD BE A MORE SUITABLE GIFT TO YOUR FAMILY AT CHRIST
MAS THAN A HOME?
Not necessarily a home all paid for one with the first payment made would be appro
priate, the unpaid part to be taken care of with the money that now goes for rent.
$ioo
HOLGATE
DOWN
IS ALL THAT IT
REQUIRES
HOME OWNER IN ADDITION
Our proposition to prospective home-owners is one that is deserving of immediate investi
gation. We will build you a home in which your ideas of plans and construction will be
carried out and finished in every detail readv for occupancy.
Holgate Addition is not on the outskirts of the cityIt is within a twenty minute ride of
the business section. The lots are 50 by 100, all improvements are in.
You who are renting you who have moved time after time when you thought you had got
nicely settled realize most what it means to have a home of your own. Here's your op
portunity GRASP IT. . .
Come out today and see this property, take Sellwood car, get off at MilwauWe and
Alice streets.. Phone Sellwood 1455 Sundays.
PARKER & BANFIELD
104 GRAND AVE.
PHONES, EAST 295, B-1557
Journal's Washington Street Office
354i Washington Street, Near Park
(WATERMAN'S PEN AGENCY)
For the convenience of our patrons , The Journal has . .
established a Washington street office for cash "Want
Ads." The same courtesies will be extended there as at
our main office.
No ads received after 11:15 a. m. for. that day's paper
and 8:45 P. M. Saturday for Sunday's paper. -
.7
Journal Want Ads Serve You Best
USE THEM READ THEM