The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-08-28
REAL ESTATE
The Coming Demand for Cheap
Land

AAAuul
New York Graphic.
Capitalists might as we'll make up their
minds at once 10 be satisfied with low but
sure rate Of interest in the coming years.
The old imitation rates will never return,
even when prosperity more solid than
what we now deplore has come to US.
Private business, shops, small manufac.
turers, and the like, will always remain
10 tempt certain amounts Of capital into
them, but for the immediate future, ut
least, Government bonds and arabic lands
will offer the two main fields Of invest.
ment. On the eligibility Of "Gover.
mentS" "a u permanent investment, there
is no need to insist. They are well known
and highly priced by investors. Land,
on the other hand, has hitherto been al.
most overlooked, and 10 It we wish to
call attention. ....
By Gland" we do not mean city or SUI
Eurban building lots. Their price has
been inflated far beyond their real value
except in rare instances. In any case
they offer no field for the investor at this
time. What we mean by land is agri-
cultural land, more especially in the
neighborhood Of the new railroads. Mai,
Powell is unquestionably right in assert.
ing that the arabic lands belonging to the
United States have been gob6led' up by
the railroads until hardly any remain.
But the lands to which we refer are not
now and were not recently part Of the
public domain.
Excellent lands for farms can now be
bought for song in oil the border States,
Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West
Virginia. As has been pointed out over
and. over again, these lands are not az
productive "a Western lands, but then
they have these advantages-they arc 10,
Gated much nearer to the Eastern settler,
they ara near the markets aud the sea.
board, and consequently transportation
will be low when compared with that Of
the West. Unless all the signs fail, there
will be a sharp advance in the price Of
these lands when prosperity comes in
earnest. Those who now hold back In
fear will then rush in aS buyers and in
the face Of brisk competition prices will
go up.
With rare exceptions, the rich men OF
the present generation have made their
money in railroads, mines, handling
stocks; in word, in some form OF specula.
ton. The distrust bred by the "riski.
ness" OF this business which has brought
80 many wealthy men to bankruptcy and
disgrace, is now 80 intense that the new
rich" OF the coming generation will be Of
laud-a kind Of landed gentry. And we
may expect that very many persons,
grown rich in other walks Of life, will put
their surplus in land, as has always been
done in France, England and Germany.
Land is permanent. 1t does not fly
away, like bonds and stocks, under the
manipulation Of our Goulds. Our capt.
talists have hitherto kept safety and per-
maucnce too little In view. And the re.
suit has been that magnificent estates
have only held together Tor few years,
Even without the teaching Of our. recent
sharp experience, we might confidently
predict that the eyes OF our capitalists
would some day be turned to the land az
aiiOrding the most durable source Of
wealth. But the present crisis will in all
probability determine this movement at
once. And we'll will it be for those who
first sight the rising wave. In the COM
ing era upon which We are entering fore
Eight must play an infinitely greater part
than it has hitherto done in business.
Chance and circumstances cannot be
trusted to. Fathers will have TO do
much more for their children, and en-
ployers more for their laborers, in the
way of advice and guidance, than former
ly. And even rs a family settlement,
land now offers much better guarantees
than profession or trade, unless under
special conditions.