The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1884-09-20

Company may think necessary or
expedient for any Of the purposes
aforesaid To acquire by grant,
purchase, or otherwise, concessions
Of any rights, property or privil-
eyes from any Government State,
Territorial or Municipal.) and to
perform and fulfil the terms and
conditions thereof. To do all suell
other things as the Company may
think incidental or conducive to the
attainment of any of the above OBJ
jects, or all of them, or to the con-
version or disposition of any secur.
ity or property held by the Com
pany.
Representing, as this Company
does, large ocean and land trans
portation interests, and having, by
reason of their extensive European
agencies and corporate organiza-
ton, unequalled facilities for select
ing, transporting and locating the
very best class Of immigrants from
France, Switzerland, Germany,
Norway, Sweden, etc, and such
as, from their previous habits, ed
ucation and pursuits, would be
best qualified for settlers in the
States named, it is the desire to
submit to the owners Of lands con-
tiguous to the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad system propositions look
ing to a land-pool, which must ag-
gregate not less than 90, 900 acres,
the interest of each to depend upon
the value of the acreage put in.
In order that the interests of the
different parties may be equalized
and determined, the lands pooled
shall be surveyed into tracts Of
twenty-five acres or more. with ref
erence to proper distribution of
water, timber and cultivable lands,
and shall be valued by disinter-
ested board of appraisers, consist
ing of not less than three persons
competent in such matters, and en-
tirely independent of, and uneon-
nected with, the interests involved,
to be nominated by those joining
in this plan, and the pooled inter
ests, of each landowner shall be
based upon this valuation. Ger
tifcates of this interest will be is
sued to the several owners in ex-
change for the lands, which will be
placed in the hands of Trust Com
pany, or trustees mutually selected.
So soon as the trustees are in pos
session of these lands and can pass
title for any tract that may be sold,
the Baltimore and Ohio Immigra-
ton Company will proceed, with
the aid of the foreign emigration
agencies associated with it and the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Com
pany, to secure the most thrifty
and desirable immigrants, and such
as are best adapted to the pecul-
iarities of climate and soil of the
tracts to be settled, and transport
and locate them upon such lands
within a reasonable period and
without expense to the land own
ers. In order to secure the best
kind of immigrants, provision will
be made for furnishing houses,
tools, cattle, etc., to the immi-
grants it settles on said lands, upon
reasonable terms, so as to enable
them to make good start.
This is skecth of a plan which,
it is believed, will readily commend
itself to favorable consideration.
1t needs no argument to show, if
carried out, the great advantages
which will result to all concerned,
particularly to those who own large
tracts of land now substantially in
the wilderness and difficult Of dis
posal at remunerative prices. I'm
der the program proposed such
lands can be sold, populated and
improved without trouble or ex-
pense to their owners other than
the appropriation of Is per cent.
of the net proceeds, which, it is
believed, would be almost immcdi-
ately more than covered by the en-
HANGED value of adjacent tracts as
they might reserve for private dis
position. The history of settle
ments in the West and Northwest
shows that where land companies
with sufficient resource have been
properly managed under we'll or
dered systems, the result almost
invariably has been large profits
and benefits to all concerned.
While the conditions under which
settlement must be made in the
above named States are essentially
different from those encountered
by colonization societies in the
West, it is believed that the pro-
posed plan can be started under
such favorable auspices as will in
sure equally favorable results.