and which will again result to the advantage of direct ownership of real property. The remaining argument that personal property, even if the particular kind shall be by law taxable, may, by the oversight of or the deceiving of the tax officials, escape taxation, while real property will not be capable of concealment from the eyes of the assessors-should not be considered as worthy of notice, since it belongs only to investors whose intentions are fraudulent and dishonest. The direct ownership of real property may, therefore, be considered to be the most advantageous general form of investment.

But it must be remarked that what is undoubtedly true in general may be precisely the contrary in special cases; that is, there are special conditions which must be fulfilled before special investments in real property may be brought to the maximum standard of the general rule.

There are many kinds of real property, varying greatly in all essential respects, from the valuable business lot, upon which may stand a twenty-story building of the most expensive character, to the practically worthless swamp-lands and barren, inaccessible mountain-lands which exist in almost all countries. Since the possession of the former kind will be practically impossible to the majority of investors, and since the possession of the latter kinds will be undesirable to all investors, it is evident that somewhere between these limits must lie the various kinds of real property to which the attention of investors in general must be chiefly directed.

There are two general purposes for which mankind seeks to own and control real property: first, that the real property may furnish homes within which to dwell, and second that the real property may furnish incomes with which to meet the expenses of living. In a broader sense, the former purpose may be considered to be included in the latter, since every ambitious person must either own a home or hire one, and the ownership of a home must be presumed to add to the income by the saving of rent and other expenses which are incident to the life of a lessee.

With regard to the former of these purposes, the first question (a question which is of real importance, and upon which there is by no means a uniformity of opinion) must be, whether or not it will be of advantage to investors generally to own their own homes, and, if so, homes of what kinds and descriptions. Whether it will be more profitable pecuniarily, and more beneficial in other important respects, to be the absolute owners of homes, or to hire homes of other owners; and, if the former plan shall be decided upon, whether homes shall be located in large cities, in small cities, in suburban villages, or in purely rural districts; and whether homes shall be luxurious and costly, fashionable, moderate, or plain and simple — these questions, and others of like natures, have at times engrossed the attentions of nearly every prosperous citizen, often to be decided in such a manner as to cause serious future regrets and inconvenience.

From the point of view of actual pecuniary benefit, the general rule appears to be that the ownership of a home possesses advantages over all other methods of providing this necessity; for it is to be presumed that no landlord will rent a house at a rental which shall be insufficient to pay all necessary expenses interest on the money invested, taxes, repairs, insurance, and sinking fund-and, if possible, an additional profit, unless the particular premises shall happen to be so undesirable that the landlord will be forced to accept a low rental, while he endeavors diligently to "unload" his bad bargain upon some unsuspecting or inexperienced person. The direct and indirect expenses which are necessitated by frequent changes of residence, the possibilities that rentals may be increased at times which may be most inconvenient for tenants, the probabilities of unpleasant and time-consuming discussions with landlords or their agents concerning repairs and improvements, and the necessity of regularly providing the monthly or quarterly rents, without regard to the inconveniences which it may cause, are considerations upon which tenants must, indeed, at certain times, look with apprehension and alarm; while the tranquil home owner may generally, if necessary, postpone all house

expenses, save the comparatively small one of taxes, until more convenient times.

When considered from the standpoints of dignity, solidity of reputation, refined surroundings, comfort, society, and the numerous other benefits which are undoubtedly to be derived from permanence of location, the comparison cannot fail to favor the ownership of homes; for in all these particulars the first place, by common consent, is uniformly accorded to those who, for many years, have been fortunate enough, and at the same time sagacious enough, to enjoy the blessings of homes which they may, with pardonable pride, call entirely their own.

A common objection which has been offered to the owning of homes, is the fact that it will tend to confine the owners to residence in the localities where the homes shall be situated. In certain cases this objection may be real and tenable, while in others it will prove to be entirely unimportant. A military man or a sailor may, perhaps, wisely choose not to own a home, because his occupation may require that he, and preferably his family, shall reside at different times in different places. The difficulty of disposing of a home upon advantageous terms, or the alternative of frequent separations from family, may cause such a man to prefer the hired home; although often, in point of fact, he will insist upon his own home, notwithstanding these objections. Similarly, it has been asserted that a mechanic, who shall be dependent upon his trade for a living, should not own a home, for the reason that he ought to be at all times free to move from one locality to another, as may be most advantageous for him, on account of his trade. If an artisan's home shall be wisely chosen with respect to location, as well as in other important respects, it will indeed be difficult to discover good reasons why he should have extraordinary trouble in selling or renting it, if it shall become necessary or desirable for him to change the location of his residence; and it is apparently certain that for such a person the ownership of a home which has been badly selected-for example, in a small village which is entirely supported by a

single industry-may result in a serious loss. Thus, it appears that the advisability of owning homes, even in the exceptional cases which have been cited for the purposes of arguments which are unfavorable to such ownership, will depend, not upon the correctness of the general principle, but upon the wisdom and the discretion with which the selection of homes has been attended.

For such persons as may be able to live upon their incomes from investments, and for such as may, for other reasons, be in positions to choose their places of residence, the advantages of owning homes must be generally admitted; and the question next arising will be concerning the considerations which ought to be made use of when selecting homes.

To persons who may be possessed of large incomes and of ample fortunes, the question of the selection of homes will become principally one of personal preference. Such persons may reside, during the winter months, in costly city houses, and during the summer months in scarcely less elegant country homes, among the mountains, by the seashore, or elsewhere, according to their individual tastes. But to persons of more moderate means (and natural prudence appears to suggest also to persons of large wealth), the selection of homes should be accompanied by careful considerations of all conditions which may affect the homes, not only as desirable places of residence, but, to a certain limited extent, as investments in real estate.

It may be said, however, that, if extravagance of any description on the part of wealthy investors shall be pardonable, it must be that kind of extravagance the results of which will be beautiful and costly homes, wherein may be found the comforts and proper luxuries which will lead to improvement, cultivation, and refinement.

For the purposes of general comparisons, homes may be divided, with reference to location, into three classes: first, city homes, by which we mean homes which are situated in large cities, and which have all the regular characteristics pertaining to such homes; second, semi-rural homes, or homes which are located in large villages or small cities;

and, third, rural homes, that is homes which are situated in small villages or at considerable distances from cities and villages.

With regard to the cost of homes, each of the three classes which have been mentioned may be divided into three classes, namely: costly homes, moderate homes, and simple homes, by which terms we mean homes which shall be costly, moderate, or simple as compared with the average cost of homes in the same classes with reference to location. In the selection of homes, the necessary considerations may be very differently viewed by different persons; a consideration which to one person under certain circumstances will be of the greatest importance, to another person, under different circumstances, may be of very little consequence. Thus, one person may establish a home upon a purely pecuniary basisas an investment or speculation, to be maintained, sold, exchanged, or leased, according as will be most advantageous from a pecuniary standpoint; another person may desire chiefly the advantages of society and amusement, and the home will be chosen with these objects as the principal considerations; another may regard the question of general healthfulness as the all-important consideration; and still another may locate a home because of beauty of scenery and agreeableness of climate. So, changeable persons may prefer homes which may be easily and quickly disposed of, in case they shall desire changes of locality; while others, regarding permanence of residence as of the first importance, and desiring to establish family homesteads for themselves, their children, and their children's children, may even purposely select homes which may be disposed of only with the greatest difficulty. When, in addition to these facts, the almost innumerable variations of personal taste and caprice shall be considered, the difficulties in the way of setting forth regular rules for the selection of homes in all cases will be apparent. Nevertheless, it will be necessary to overcome, to as great a degree as is possible, such apparently insurmountable difficulties.

In so far as homes are to be considered as investments in