Struggle For A Home

From the Detroit Evening Journal. " If there ia any truth in the Good Book they will have a small chance in the next world." An old man with silvered hair, and whose form was bent under the weight of 70 years, said thia. The tears started in his eyes and his voice trembled with emotion as he thought of what he had suffered. Thirty-two years ago Thomas Gros?, an Englishman and a oarpenter by trade, then in the prime of life, leased from Judge Moran a lot on what is now Brewster-st, between Antoine and Hastings-sts. That región was then a wüderness. Six dollars a year was the sam specified iti the lease, and it seemed reasonable enough; but by the terms the lessee was to pay all taxes, assessments and claims of every eort made against the property. As the taxes were raerely nominal at that time, Cross thought the bargain offered a poor man a good opportunity to acquire a home. The first lease was for ten years, and at its ezpiration Cross renewed it, but at a rental of $8 instead of $6 a year This was easy to pay, and no complaint wan made. At the expiration of the second lease Cross was told that the ground rent would now be raised to $12 a year and that the land would not be leased for more than five years at a time. Durine; the period covered by the third lease Cross enUrged the house he had upon the lot. He put in water, running it from the street. A sewer was run throngh the alley, for which he was assessed, paying for it, and paying for making the necessary connections between the lot and sewer. He put up a nice fence, laid a good sidewalk, and raised the lot several inoheB by having hundreds of loads of dirt dumped into it. When the five years' lease was up the old gentleman from whom Cross originally leased was dead, and the Moran estáte had fallen to the heirs. Cross went to the office to see about purchasing the lot on which he had built his house, and which had been his home now lor 25 years. A representativo of the heirs went up to look at the property to set a figure upon it "Yon have quite a nice little home here now, Mr. Cross," said the representativo. "Well, I've been 25 years trying to get a roof over my head and make a home for my children. It isn't very tnueh of a one yet: but still it's my own. I buít it myself." " Have you water in the house ?" "Tes, I paid $25 for bringing it in out of the street, and did my own digging at that." " Have yon a sewer ? ' " Yes, that cost me $23." " WeÚ, a Iotwith all these improvements ought to bring $1.000." "But I made all thofe improvements myself. I paid íor thero. They cost you nothing," gaid Croas. " They are improvements , cevertheless, and an improved lot is worth more than one that isn't." " So you want to make me pay for my improvements over again, do you ?" "One thousand dollars is the price of the lot." Cross couldn't pay the price. He told the agent so, and asked for a renewal of his lease. "We can't afford to lease it Egain for less than $40," he was told. "What, raise it from $12 to $40, and I pay all the taxes and assessments?' "But you have improved it, and it is worth three times what it was," was all the satisfaction the old man could get. He was obliged to renew his lease at the advanced price or move his house off the lot Hé couldn't move the6ewer, nor the water connections, no the other improvementa. Besides, he had lived there for 25 years, and they knew how etrong a tie that was. This last lease expires next month, and Cross determined to no longer pay ground rent, taxes, etc. He had beensaving during the period of the last lease, and now was ready to give them their price, and be done with them. The last time the agent called Cross told him that he was going to buy. "Thelotwill cost you $1,800 now," said thatworthy. " Are you crazy ? " cried Cross, in amazement. "The priceis $1,800," was the bland repl?. "I thought the man couldn't be in his eenses," said Cross to the Journal today, ' eo I went down to see Mrs. Barnard, who owned the lot She told me that $1,600 was the price the estáte set upon the lot. She couldn't uoderstand what the agent meant by demanding $1,800 for it But $1,600 wasn't much better than $1,800. I told Mrs. Barnard that her late husband, Couucilman Henry L. Barnard, offered me the lot for $1,000 before he died, but she said he offered it altogether too cheap. "Even if he did, he didn't offer it $600 too cbeap,' I said. "But í was told that my son had improved his property adjoining mine and that property adjoming ia the neighborhood had been improved and the lot had increased in valué. Finally she took off $50 becauae I had lived on it so long and I had to pay $1,550 cash íor it. If I had any place to more my house to I would Dot have paid, but thoy knew as well as I that I would have to pay whatever they asked." " How much did you pay on the lot during the 30 years you have lived on it?" "Well, it's easy to figure up. The first lease wg for $6 a year aod ran ten yearR - that ie $60. The second was for ten years at $8- that is $80. Five years at $12, and five years at $40, making a total of $400 for grouod rent alone. My city tsxes, which are now $21, would easily average $12 a year lor the entire period and would make $360. My state and county taxes for the 30 years were about $150, and my water tax about $150. That makes a total of $l,110,besides the sewer, water, dramaee and grading, which easily aggregate $150. Sa that Chis lot, including fences and eidewalks, cost me before I bouebt it at all, in the neighborhood of $1,300, and bas not eest the eslate a cent for 30 years, but has brought in ground rent during all that time. Now, when I come to buy it they make me pay $1 550 making a total cost to me of $2,850 for this lot, which I couldn't sell lor $1,000 tomorrow after all my labor and expense. If veiy many more poor people like me have had a similar experienee, it ia no wonder the Morans and other property owners like them are rich. I have seen owners 6gure out the cost of moving a house off their lot, before the owner's eyes, add it to the rent of the ground, and then teil them if they didn't like it to move off. They know it is just as cheap to stay as move, even if one has a place to move to." A family in the neighborhood had the same story to teil. On another street several families have moved their little houses off because of tlie iccrease in the ground rent, which was recently raised to $G0 a rear.