This document provides a historical overview of the importance of real estate as the basis of wealth. It discusses how land has always been vital to human existence by providing food, shelter, and resources. Through examples from Pasadena, California's history, it illustrates how real estate values have increased with population growth and development. The document argues that real estate is the most stable economic factor due to its fixed supply as demand increases over time. Overall, the document establishes real estate as fundamental to the development of communities and economies throughout history.

1. The ReaLtltBllk liotk ol Calilantitr 1t
W T L L T A N l M A Y (iARI,ANI)
llunta llat,ls
)lrnrbrt t:t)r)rtnl

2. 12 TheRealtaBIue Boohol Cdilornia
Real Estate, the Basisof All Wealth
B? WLLIAM MAY GAnLAND
Men's LaLe for Rcuk! Rights-Colrrsc ol Historlt 11fi,11-
encetl,blt Land-Tt1t.e in Afi1er[ca &s uelL .ts ttn(e1.Feudal
SAstem L&1Nol SupplA o)1.1. Denulrl Obtain.s-Most St&ble
ol Dconomic lro,ctors-Our Reat Estote lyedth DercIopetl_
Ct1Li|r,r,ti|, tlLe lttst of utt t'auntL.ttkDtjl tye(Ith.
S far as histoly and legend penetrate into th€ recessesof time,
laDd has been the source of that which man calls w€alth.
From the ground comes food, on it rve find shelter and indirecttv
it gives us.lo'hing. Thesc afe the three brsic essenlirlsof lile.
Reai estata as the soil I'ith its fixed impr.ovemolts is defined
is very clearly fundamental ir] the makeup of the unive|se. It is the
gTrnle baseupon 1iL)i.hwn build pFf]{hing ma{c.isl in trfe.
t l a c r d r ^ L l i r r p s t ' |r | | r g l r
mahugany whi.h was gt.o$n in the jungles oi rhc I ropics. Thp
clshion may be stulled lvith a product f].om Dcuador- Nevetheless,
the soil somevhere is responsible direcUy or indirectly for the exist-
.n.a of lhase marprials.
.The paper on which this book is printed u.as once {,ood pulp, the
procluctoI soil fertjl;r!. Thp prinri',r' pr. ..". r"rp orisi"a nrF
, l r a . l . d f r o n r j c b d F p o s i r s . T h rct l r a r . a r r n a w h i . h o u a)::roni € r l
H r eu u
p u T i t g o r | e s i t s g t " s ' t 1 e k i n d ^ d U o - h e tE a r t .
_ _As you glance at yoLtr {-atch to sec how long you can read this
book t'ou can r.edectfof a sccondorr wher.€the matclials for.,our tinle-
piece came from, and there is iust one ans,|'e]' each quer.y, ,.From to
t h e s r o u n d . ' I I o $ . ^ , r l d - l a t n a i r l . r o u : , p r . " x . h i n gi o r i o r . l r g h r
t f e r j s a f s p r g i . r i oe r ; . l p n . eu . i i h o r , t l p a d o I r e r l e - , t r r e 1
l
MAN'S LOVD FOR NEALTY RICIITS
. Y o u o f r p nt h i n k ^ f l v p r t r t . r , l t i r r r e r n n n t I r o r . F l . ,r d y o u n a y
o ^
t h i n k o " h n r , k .a s r l . eo r r l s r o f e lo u s . so I w e e l L h .
Banks possibly existed six centur.ies belole Chlist. so hjsto).ians
tell us, but :rs a maller.of fact the Ronrans were the first real bankers.
T h ^ . !s ' n r l e d r l e s ] " r . 1 o E . i r : . . p d i r . l a d a D o s : l o ra n d a l l o w i n g
s
c h n , k s . l n ' h i s c o u . . r r ' lr l - p f i r s tB r r k u t r t . ^ U r i r e dS , a i p sc r r n ei n t i
being i111?91.
Before the tinrc of barks, ho.|l'ever,nlan loved the soil. But he
did r)ot_lovejt solely fot the goid that he later took fr.om its alepths,
although he bas -sin(e extracted sornc nineteen bjltion dolar-i oi
precious melal fron its srppiv. He toved it becauserealty ghts are
probably dearer to him than any other forms of property. Man has

3. The neult! E!le Rork ol Catil',aut t3
ah,lays highly prized the satisfaction that results from possessinga
panel of real property.
COUIISE HISTORY
OF INFLUENCED I,AND
BY
In the early days people $.andeled around and lived where the
living was the e.rsicst. Then mar concci'€d thc id€a of crecting hab-
itations to protect hi)n from the elenents and the fight of individual
owneNhip was e;olved, But xs poDulation irlcreascd,it becameneccs-
saly to lill the soil ote intelliserUy, and agliculturc of a l'ude sor.t
develop€d. Tribes fol'med for plotection and then much of the soil
was held in cornmorl. Later, the family as we k ow it today, became
the unit aDd the land belonged to it.
But ir EDgland thele ii'as the installation of thc feudal syste , br
which the land lvas held in possession the ruler and membe'_s thc
oI of
nobility. hr retu'..n the ruling elemeDt was supposed to lumish com-
plete plolection lol. the people.
Thus, land was vital in influencing the coulse ot histor']' from the
very first.
TRUD AMERICIAS WELLAS UNDER
IN FEUDAL SYSTEM
In Americ^ an analysis of the glowth of population and its rela-
tion to the soil well substantiates the truth of the subj€ct of this
al'ticle. I_Iele ve have no feudal svslem and nevel did have one. In-
di'idual fights have ever been salely ancholed in a satislactory
haven. Let us take but one tlTical Califonia example near home and
plove the sccuracy of the statement that real estate is truly the basis
of wealth.
The Califomia Real Estate Association is to convene in the beau-
tiful city of Pasadena. TuIn back the pages of history for a moment,
until you are in the decadejust betole the signing of the Declaration
of IndependeDce, and imagine that you are on the cast bank of the
Armyo Seco, in the vicirlity of what is no$. one of Southem Califor-
nia's nost charming and attlactive communities.
The Spanish are exploring the countr)'. It is sDrjng and the
J'ellowpoppies ar.ebloonirlg *.ith thcil blazirg beauty. A little band
of soldiel.sand Dliests alc ncar'br.
Struck by the splendor of the scene,the Spaniards name the land
"l,a Sabnrclh de San PascuAl," ol the Gr.urd Altal Oloth of the IIol]'
Easter.
A yeal latel the SaD Gabriel N{issionis established. In 1801
there comes to this lcgio DoIa Ilulalir Pelez de Cuillon. She is so
appreeiated as a nlrrse, midwife, and teacher to the Indixns that on
Easter Day, in 1827, she is givcn what thc inhabitants of that da]'
deemedwealth in other words.land. She is deedsd 14.000 acras and
it is nanledthc Rancho San Pascual,o]. the Enster Dny Ranch.
This tlact of land corrpr is€s tha plcscnt cities of Pasadena and
'Soulh Pas:rdena. Rut cv€n in the earh' .ln-vs imlno.enlents were
judged most necessarJ'.and jt was on this account that the gift was
101{eitedand thc rancho D:rssed flom the t)ossession this nlost 1on-
of
derful 1yoman. It was d€cded to Colonel X{anuel Gadias, ollicer of
the staff of Governor l{icheltolena. But when the suuender wa,s
made to Gener^l Flemont, ir1 Calluenga Pass in llolly$.ood. on Janu-

4. The RetLLt!BhLeBool; of Cetifor)tia
ary 1:1, 184?, ihe owner', rathel than subrnit to Ametican rulc, 1ve t
back to M€xico.
The value of land had deveioped to the point, however, that
Colonel Garties reconsideretl, and he relurDed to his estate, became
an American citizen.xnd it is claimedhe was €lecteda councilman in
Los Angeles.
As mol'e people cane to this pxrl of the Unjted States, the de-
silability of possessiDg this lancho ircleased, And it l'.ts orrl)-fi'e
yeal's befole thc Civjl War' 1fhen the opportunity plesented itself to
Dr. Johr S. Grifiir of Los Angeles to foleclose on the 14,000 acres,
^nd it Dassedforcvel frorn the possession the Sparialds.
ol
This rvas thL,.foreruimel' of other' .me1ic:rlr ^ctivities, ttncl it 11as
rol long urtil the days of the "IDdiana Colont'." With the additions
to the popul:rtioD, it is said that the land was held as high as $30.00
an acle. Lifc was prinitive, accordirg to nodeln staDdards- Wild-
cats and covotcs wer-ernuch in evidence and th€ bear and decr did rot
hesitatc to invndc the 'inev:uds. BLrt in thc l:rco of such co ditions
Ure lard had a definite value.
In 1885 the Santa Fe took over the San Gabl'iel Valley railmad,
rll1dsuDt)lantcd the stase lirrc betNoert Los , seles rn(l P:tsr.len:r.
llore Deople came. Activity in handling real estate jncreased.
Foulteen thousand lots wcre sold and resold. Bltt in 1889 the boom
had er'.rpolal.edand the population tunbled fronr 12,000 to less than
hatf that rDnber. Accoldingly land vaiues tumbled.
But lealty rebounded, as it aiways does. Pasadena and South
Pasadena dcveloped their leal plopclty with fixed imptovements-
stores, telegraph office, theatre, chui_ches, and like structures.
Today the citj'of Pasadena is a solid, substantial, prcgressive
municipality, ghtfully ploud of its hishr:.1?rss citizenship and proud
of its Iexl eslale-the soulcc o{ its wealth.
Shift your eye on an imaginaly map of the state and look in the
central and northeln Dortions of Califomia and you will see how his-
tory has repeated itself there, thus fulDishing additional proof of the
iundamcntal dl:uactel of soil.
First the gold was the magnet vhich drew populaliorl. When the
excitement of mining the tlrecious metal from the earth died aIvay,
man sttded to converl sand dunes inlo inproved rcal pr:operty around
a sreal l).,ly,nnd ctentuallr onc of the lvorld's grcatest cities was built
-San Francisco, a metlopolis of which eve,_y true Californian is
justly ploud. It is a rorld mart, a cosmopolitan ccnter, its citizms
ale sincerely your fliends and my friends. We are all Californians.
The settlers in this part of the state not only developedthe great
Lrrban centers about the Golden Gate into wondedul collectioDsof at
tractive real estate, but they also spread out over the fertile valleys
which represent the healt of Califolnia and tilled the soil and made
asricultulrll lind ',LlLrcsilcfclrse. 'fhc' 'clc the lfue Clnlilornia s
whosc ch:urctcr',hospitalih'nlrd scruircss wir of tudrll.in rll ol Crli-
{olnin shoukL scck to cmuliie
These experiences, typical of America, also br:ing out another
simpl€ and self evident truth one i'hich should never be lost sight ol
ir rn! rcal cstrte discLtssion.

5. Tha Reo,Lt!Blue Book ol CaLilantkt 15
LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND OBAAINS
Learned economists h4ve made the statement that real €stata
values underlie all values.
We have just seen that Califonia communities are excellent ex-
amplesof hol' vnlues ha,e risen with the incl ease ill numbcr of set-
tlers. In this connection it should be noted that there is a flxed ratio
of population growth in the UDited States, but there is no similar
ratio in the multiptlring of land areas. They are decidedly a fxed
quantity.
SayiDg it anothel way-the amount of soil is stationary, while
thereis an ever steady accumulation of pcople. Becauseof the grow-
ing demand it has been estinated that there is an inclease in value
of averageland of 10 per cent a year. While this may be a subjcct
for argument it js Delerthcless tl.ue thal Ieal estate is controlled by
the ecoromic laiv of supply and demand, the same as any article or
commodityhavirg a value.
And iD the considetation of this subject -e mustn't fail to
app)aiseaccurately the fact that life at the present time is on a nev
basis.with all vallrcs or ne$. standards. Everything is l:1r'!$r. l hc
buying of luxulics is stupendous,yet, on the otller hand, the amount
of savings in the banks has kept Face. Real estate thc basis of all
vealth-is manifestly on a diffelert footing, and plcsent day l'alues
that may seen high a1e iD reality in full accord with sound, con-
servativeeconomiclaws. There is lro inllation-speakirrg generally--
just a new economic era.
IIOST STABLD OF ECONOIIIC FACTONS
Being the fouDdatior of mate al wealth, r'e^l estate must of ne-
cessitybe more siable thar olhel featules of the economic system. A
tlue stoly, vhich has been goirrg the r'ounds recerUl jn Ic^l estite
circies,is r'ol'th]' of repetilion hele:
In the swor'n rcpor't of the executols of the estato of the late
H€nry C. Frick, steel magnate, the {ollowiDg st:rtenonts are made:
"At the time of N[r'. Fricl('s death it w^s estimated his estate
was wor-th in excessof $100,000,000.
"But the inventolies filed show it '!ill nol rench $80,000.000,
a
lossof over $20,000,000.
"Therewas a big shrjnkas€iD the v lue of the socurities
and
stocks.
"I'|rc rcrLIestat( hokliills )erc s.)ftl 1jr €:rli€ssof th. i1l1'entoried
price, li,lliclLhehrel to strcU the 1;aL1te the estate.
of
"'lte Frick buildillg, $'hich $.as in'entor.ied at S3,500,000,sold
for $5,000,000."
The moral is plain. While it is true that stocks and bonds dep€nd
indirectly on the value of reai plopedy, yet the investments in th€
basic{ollns of we:rlth-the real property itself-naturally proved th€
most stable.
OURRE-{LESTATD WALTH DEI'ELOPED
lte United States of Ane ca is rich in real prope*y, and it is
even rich€r' in the oppoltunitt' offered the individual to acquir'€ a

6. The RedLtaBl e Book of CaLlornia
par(.el of real estate. Herc privately o{.ned soil is in abundance. In
sorrtecountnes rt ls rale.
Uncle Sam hrc approximatalysix per cpnt of thp peoples lhis of
g l o U ,j r n dr l , o - 1 r P r F nf ' r r - r r r n f t l e l r n d . B L r r o r e r h a n L h i r r 'n e ! .
m
.eni of the world's silvpr alrd 20 per .cnt of the world s sold c;;es
from our sevcnper cent of rhe world's soil, and in addition ic oroduce
?0 per cent of I ho world s coppcr.
Yankee initiative:rnd hald work ar-e lesrronsible for 60 Der.ccnt
o f l e w o r l d s . o l o - a d r , r o f ' r h a no r p f o u l l h o f h p $ o r ' l . l j s t . " r r $
s[pp]y cones fr'o Alnel.ican fal'ms.
Boring into the depths of the earth our nation has brcusht out
betn'een 60 per cent and 70 per cent of the world,s oil and mo;e than
half of the coal o{ the worid is raised to the slrrface within our
bordels.
There can be no doubt as to the ability of American business and
professional nlen. Initiative is inspired and fostered bv the lact that
a.l fl', n".o ar- Lu r A r r L i r i o r rr : r . i r " r r : l r r a r {o ,
Ameri,anism. T. it any lvondpr lhaL thp sourcpof our wenlth_ real
estate has been devclopedto such a maxirnurn degr'ec?
CALIITONNIA-THE BDS'T OF OUR FOUNDATIONAL WEALTH
The second largest unit within this country is California. It is a
statewith maNelouslyvaluabler.ealestateirl the shapeof rem^rkable
natrrral resources. posscssas of pulrl:.spirirFd
ll nren visiol) and am-
bition to developthenr. And it has the adla|trge of being the goal
of poDulation migr'ation,so the demandfor real estate-lvill thereiore
increase a faster rate than in other lessfavored sections.
at
W e s h o u l d l l . u l t i a 1 a d e e p erra s p c cfr r o u r s t a l F n d . o n l i n u -
a e o a
ally show protcl.IridF in bcjng Calitornians. Miltions have been
slJentiD highways so we can travel over seeminglyendless miles of
our valuablereal estatc, The wondersand beautiesof our state are
internationally famous,but with an automobilefor every three and
a half personsin California we should all make it a Doint to know
our slate flom Oregon Lorpr California
to and cn.oy t,ld appreciare
the countless blessings that we possess citizensof this co;munitv_
as
Realastr"eis basic. Am.'t;ci isxgood pamnleofroall:'sfr,ndi_
-rp t a t . h , r , : r c t ,r i . , i - . . d r-.1:.jr i.. l _ .,I /,,l i.,h t, c er,Li...r!
"i l..od-i'rl. l.', .r ' In"r" j otrt||. . rJ: ,i. .t .hl ,