The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1882-03-28
Bee. March lol
THE DISSTON LAND SALE.
SOme New Ideas in Reference 10 the
lBig Sale-A SaueIcher of G1n0o.i.
ton 10 Ehe TramSzrrfou
To t6e Efaor Of TIE Bee

To tde Editor 0f tie Bee.
SIR: An act may be praised or blamed by the
public, just IN proportion as they correctly Know
and understand the facts which prompted the
act Ignorance or misunderstanding OF all the
suTrounding circumstances often cause the best
motives and greatest achievements 10 be uuiustlv
censured. In some quarters there seems 10 he a
misrepresentation OF the facts of the DissiOn pur-
chase, and consequently unjust criticism upon
tiOvcrnor Bloxham Is sometimes heard But
whenever they are understood he receives the
most unqualified praise y simple statement OF
the lacis causing and flowing from the sale Of
the lands 70 Disston viii do more to set Alright
public judgment than volumes OF speculative
theories
These facts are:
1st. BY virtue ola degree Of the United States
Court, y ose had lien upon all the lands-some
twelve million acres appropriated by the State
OF tliorliia Tor internal improvement.
p. line railroad and canal companies incor-
poriied under The general act OF tue State at,-
sorlied two million acres more than the State
had apilf priated Capitalists would not invest
money ioT the construction of these INCORPORATED
roads because the Fose claim was a lien upou
every acre the roads would be entitled 10 as sub
sidy. AMI The Stale not having money To pay that
ctilp could not give Them iIile free from Incum-
bIance
) J. For several years the State had been try
ing b sell these lands, offering three cents per
acre sale commission, but no purchashers were
10 be found Governor Bloxham then sold TO
Disston some four million acres at twenty-five
cents per acre, saving 10 the State the three
cenis, per acre commission1 and paid off the
' p>E Claims thereby relieving The other eight
million acres from ali encumbrance After Diss-
ton hic' expended some thirty thousand dollars
IN Advertising the lands, he sold TO Sir Edward
Reed ;wo millions Of The same land. for twenty
cenis pdr acre, Nh Dission thereby netting the
clear loss Of one hundred thousand dollars be-
sfst y fbf,Fr-a ! HI
to sell Financiers certainly will not consider
that greatly beneficial speculation 10 the pur-
chaser, when IN the re selling of one-half the
original purchase he loses one hundred thousand
dollars on the purchase price of that half
Atm Ihe State. had no interest In the lands sold
TO Disston, for the reason that the whole of the
twelve million acres of which the Disston pur-
chase was a third or four millions approp RATED
10 the Internal improvement Fund had been
absorbed as subsidy by the railroad and canal
companies AID NO millions of acres more in ex-
cess Of that appropriation How could the STATE
suffer by the saleIol the lands in which she had
10 interest; These lands were the properly oi
the railroad and canal companies Il anv one
had the right 10 be dIspleased ii was the cOrpor-
atons Did the State derive ahv benefit from
the sale OF these lands in which II had no inter
estf les; one million of dollars went Inlo the
State I Treasury-. Tie State having 10 interest
in these lands, what difference was it 10 the
State whether Governor Bioxham sold one acre
tor 4 million OF ll)liars or iour million acres lor
one milton dolars:
5;h fiovernor BloXham, by selling to DisstOn.
who WIS not hpder in any Interests IN railroads
in this State. caused him to take an interest the
conseqk keEce be;a- that Diss;ou sold one half his
anl u Sir Edward Reed after the latter had
bought he Peninsula Railroad, thus causing S;r
Edward Reed 70 continue iha; road to Tampa
and other points, in order to bring the land nc
had boRght of Disston into market and further
ca'Ised Disston TO offer every alternate section Of
his lanf to any o1mpany that would build 4 rail
road though his lands
9Th. It Sir Edward Reed had purchased all
the ianiis-four million acrcs-ius'ead OF Diss-
ton, h4 owning railroad that runs centrally
through the richest region of the STATE, he would
not haye made them auxiliary to other roads as
Disston did, Tor The plain reason that il would
hare c9ndcted with his own interest 70 have
done q. Fortune and judgment seem to have
favored Governor Bloxham in this important
suite movement In the face of these facts, VINO
now can say that Governor Bloxham by the
Dissteh safe, mas not rendered an incalculable
benefit 10 the State and launched her upon the
great way Of unencumbered prosperity OF gigan
tic developmeDJ: JUSTICE.