The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1857-05-09
Land Speculations.
From TIE Boston -1drutiser If Nay ).

The mania for purchasing Western lands
which has been steadily increasing for som,
two wears. more or less. has now reached Z
point which causes those shrewd in such mat.
tiers. 10 pause little and look the inevitable
result square in the face. \ reaction mus,
come. sooner or latter, and tde doy Is net DIS
tant. The fact Is. the thing has been over
done. and the hundreds of thousands Of dol
lars which have been Withdrawn from other
branches of business Will. ere long. begin TO
find their way back again. although no incon-
siderable portion viii doubtless he swallowed
up in the reaction which NAV follow too soon
for the escape of all unframed. We are no
alarmist but the signs Of the times" give
warning that the present tendencies Of West
ern speculationS must cause monetary
troubles in that part of the country, and II
course react on Us al the East We do IL,
expect it viii be immediate. but the seeds arr
already sown and the harvest viii SURF,
ripen Although We believe the exces>lr,
speculationS in land to be the leading Har>.
for some of the difficulties already apparent
and farther fruits to be realised in due I'm,
still. that is not the only source Of evil
There is another cause Of trouble. which
perhaps INST no,r is operating more adverse
IL than the speculative fever. as that ha' n
vet quite reached It's crisis. We refer 10 til
curtailing of large expenditures for railroac
purposes. which few wears since were IN
men>e. and millions from capitalists in IT,
large cities. and foreign funds. too. al
rolled in to enrich the Great West, well ant
truly so called.
The stream has row in a great measure
ceased to flow. and the reaction Of the tide.
as noticed in the difficulty of making Wc>,,r-.
collections. has commenced: which. III IL -
ccding current. VIII be sure 10 leave man,
high and drv who We're too Venturesome :,
their onward rush.
|: is VERY evident that more land i l.
posed OF in the market each wear. than Il,
legitimate demand viii warrant. and e,c-,
one seems TO have an impression iha, IL
particular location is 10 he the ~pot f. :
great CITY, forgetting that the next neigh, :
perhaps only half dozen miles distant. t.
ter.ains precisely the same Views.
The Railroad Record. published a, C;nc:r-
matt. has an Interesting article on this Suhjec-,
and being near enough to have practical ~
periencc in the matter, Is views are the Ille-t
to be relied on The writer states thai ! <
not his purpose 10 dccIv the value Of lands.
but TO po;nt ont The elements and signs o;
the times in regard 10 the great land s,e,-
ulation> of the dav We herewith pr.->e,l, -.
opening and closing paragraphs Of the a-tC,r
alluded to =
We live in time Of extraordinary land
speculation. Never before WAS there know
such an exodus Of farmers To- the new kinds a.;
the West Never before has go,crnm,c;
given away such quantities Of land N.st-
were 80 lrany acres in The market and I,'c-
were prices OF riid ltad - well maintains.
To experienced eyes all this tends 10 o-r
result. which sooner or later must come
bursting OF the great land bubble. We nle...
of the bubble which has been created hy
making new towns on the frontiers and sell
ing new lands Al the price Of cultivated farms.
This land speculation Is no new Thing. nor
is It's result. Ii has universally resulted IL
the bursting OF the bubble. and the ,,ro>tr..-
ton OF sales and period Of dullne>> for y, ars
10 come. We do not certainly know thai The
crisis has come: hut We ste signs OF tn
coming storm. Money Is scarce III Ii"
country towns. where Al this timr. il ouch,
TO be plenty. The people who 60 We>t ar
excited and fancitul: TOWN lots are >old :,
prices al least tour-fold the value u the towns
were 70 grow as much a. il i imagined The,
viii. These are signs no, TIA he mi>tahcl,.