The Van Buren press., 1875-05-11
LOS ANGELES, CAL.
A Letter of Interest to Some Persons
HereabOuts.


The following letter, which we copy from
the Christian Standard. will be interesting to
some Of those persons in our county, who
contemplate leaving Arkansas. and settling
in the =" Golden State" Coming, as 1t does,
from an entirely uninterested source. its au-
thor being gentleman of vcracity, 1t cannot
fail to carry conviction to the minds OF a
great many of the dissatisfied, and to all such
We recommend its perusal:
DEAR BRO. ERRETr: Allow me. through
your paper. to answer the many questions put
to me, drawn forth by my short article in a
November number of the Standard came
here to buy me Il home but the longer | am
here the less am disposed to invest at pres
ent prices II prices do not come down new
er shall invest: can DO better with my money
elsewhere. All kinds Of property are ficti-
tiously high The drawbacks in this country
are many. High price of iumber-S32 to S42
per 1000 feet. in gold; the destruction caused
by the gopher and squirrel: the scarcity OF
water; high price OF hardware and fnrini-
ture. and what make mp the comforts OF lite
high taxes and nothing to show for them
The more you fix up your home the more you
are taxed. You are taxed tor your books.
furniture. pictures piano. horse. carriage.
dog, chickens. etc. etc. The worst of II Is
there l. no standard OF taxation You are
taxed according to the caprice Of the assessor.
have tried time and again to obtain definite
information of the assessor. collector and
Judge of the court, but have failed to get 1t.
lfany body disputes this | am prepared to
furnish facts of unjust assessment that have
come under my notice. A great many per-
sons come here to buy homes. Some are fiat
tered into buying land at $50 and SIS per
acre. but it Is soon discovered that they
have been deceived; there j. no alkali In the
land. or no water or if water, thel have to
pay 30 cents an hour tor IL | have made II
my busines. To enquire into the chances of
making \ living here. II IA man has few
acres with water. he can raise plenty of pro-
visions but he has no market tor his surplus
produce. with which to pay his taxes and sup
port his family The Chinese monopolize the
vegetable market.
On inquiry find that the most Of the small
farmers are not making money. Some are not
makinya living. but are waitin. for some new
conner to bny them out. 1t is very remarka-
BILE that scarcely man can be found who
does not want to sell ont A restless feeling
seems to pervade the entire community. The
ideas of truthfulness and honesty are stran-
gers to many breasts. Those who have lands
to sell generally wiltully misrepresent or pre-
varicate In order to make IA sale. ! have dis
covered several talsehoods made to me by real
estate men. ! can recite several cases where
innocent parties have come here and been
misled into buying, who are sorry enough.
and have wished themselves. many a time,
back in their oncc happy homes beyond the
Rocky Mountains
Some suppose ii they can only get tn Call
fornia. they will get well and he happy. !
am Il practcing ply sician. and can bear tcs-
timony to the contrary of this in a multitude
of cases. Many one know who came here
WE'LL and has sickened and died. and many.
very many. who were in good health when
they came here. have passed through long
ss-rhcumati,m. neuralgia, catarrh,
scarlet fever, etc
Yes. indeed. people get sick and die here
as fast as in most places We have a larger
number of doctors in this city than in any |
know of in proportion to the population.
MANY absurd things have been written Of this
climate, which may expose in future arti-
Gle.
Thi, country has been ovcrtlrawn, and no
qoubt mt the l. stigation of those who are desi
rous Of getting the country filled. up in or.
der to tighten the burden of taxation. Many
things | found out to my sorrow. after COM
ing here which, If | had known, would new
er have left friends. happy home, and all the
comforts of civilization.
therefore say. ifyou are making living,
dear reader, stay where you are. IL you are
out of health. you can find it as soon In Ber.
muda. Florida or Georgia.
All kinds or business ana professions arc
ovcrdonc. know of school-teachcrs doing
house work. digging sand. and workinyM Ia
lorers ON the farm. | have seen carpenters.
ctc walk ing the estrects--nothing to do
Don't hatter yourselves that IL you have a
few orange trees, You can soon get rich. on
must wait at least tive years before they bear
il you buy trees at five years of aye. Oranges
are now selling in the streets ut 25 cents II
paiful Perhaps the reader will say. where
shnll If N rid nf rplu
weather. go south--to Alabama or Florida.
You can get splendid lands there. with i'm
provcments at 81 80 to 81 90 per acre. and the
climate is all that you could desire.
G. w. LINTON.
Los ANGELES, CAL. March 10.