The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1883-10-16
Tavar.s Herald. Sept. ~
Concerning the HisstOu Sale.

The Gainesville Bee. the Pensacola Commernfaf
and several ether Florida papers have heard ihxs
the Disston Company have sold all their lande
for one dollar per acre, and our contemporaries
are now demanding an explanation OF the reassti
why these lands could not have been sold at the.
same price by the State instead OF for twenty
five cents per acre, the sum actually obtained.
Certainly ii is surprising that our con,empS-
raries should forget matters of public notorietf
trsnspiring so short a period Of time past rs tlt
the events connected with The Dissron purchases
Ignoring for The time being the great fact that
every previous effort 10 sell these lands at any.
price had been abortive and that the sales heu'
making did not meet the current expenses aaa
interest of the debt upon it, we shall simply DIS
cuss the sale
Hamilton Disston and his party paid one nil
lion of dollars for the four million acres, p+
twenty-five cents per-a acre. Soon after the Diaar
ton Company sold two million acres to The viz
Charles Reed syndicate at ttnenty cents per acre
thereby losing one hundred thousand ,lollats
Since then the Disston Company have probably
spent three hundred thousand dollars in advv:p
tising these lands. II follows therefore. that a
they have now sold the residue at one dollar Ts;,s
acre they have not made any such sum as three
millions Of dollars. as our cotemporares wonld
imply The figures would be about thus
Two million sold TO Reed at 10 cents 500 rOO
Two million acres more at 81 .0OO 80
$e4Oo %
Paid the State the whole four million $1oO,.0o
Expenses advertising, etc .............-..... aet00
Interest per cent, above for years ss,oO5
si5osc,o
Profit -....... .......-... S0aG0p
But let us in round figures pnt the profit 1t
one million OF dollars, and even then that is
merely doubling the money originally invested.
Could the State have done as wels No, she
could not The State w0rll rot have been aide
to spend one hundred thots, ,nd dollars per an
mum in advertising these lands. She could rot
have formed syndicate Of capitalists 10 take
the lands and =" bull them She could nor hsye
created the boom which the Philu tlliia
and English capitalists by their extensive III.
vertisng and far reaching agencies succeeded in
creating. In a word Disston and his parry iaYe
realized handsomely Gf they have done sol be-
cause they have done that which the State cou4d
not do, and in the accomp ,hment of whi,h
they have spent hundreds of thousands OF tla-
lars which the State had not To spend and conId
not have spent if the money had been in her
treasury.
1t is easy to carp and compian OF men in pub-
lie offices, because those who are entrusted with,
offices alone know what obstacles and difficult
ties confront public men in The accomplishment
OF great designs. That Disston in 1888 should;
ue able to sell lands for one dollar per acre which:
could not be sold for any price in 1878 is a very,
great indication OF the sag city the foresight apl
the sound Judgment Of the public men vino sold
D,sston these lands for twenty-five cents per
acre in 1881, because i; was this very sale by
BloXham that created the boom We are eniovlng
and gave to all our lands the enhanced vasee
now placed upon them.