Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-01-26
Florida Damaged by Sensational
Eeports.


Great as was the damage which Florida
suffered from the late freeze, II was
small compared to the damage which is
now beng done the State by the publica-
ton in Northern and Western papers of
erroneous and exaggerated reports Of the
effects Of the cold wave, not only upon the
fruit and vegetable interests but also
upon public sentiment in the State, re-
spectng the States future.
In all instances there ought to be an
earnest effort made to get at the truth,
and particularly ought this 10 be the case
where there is so much at stake as there
IS in Florida. The situation in Florida,
as far as we have been able 20 discover is
far from being as bad as the reports in
some OF the Northern papers make it out
to be.
According to these reports the State has
been set back fifty years, the hotels are
about to shut up for the season, all the
orange trees, young and old, are killed,
and hundreds of Northern settlers are
only waiting for it to get a little warmer
at the North before settling up their
affairs and abandoning the State forever.
AS a matter of fact, the State has not
suffered damage that cannot be repaired
in a comparatively short time. The
freeze destroyed pretty much all the
oranges which were on the trees, bat
there IS yet no reason to believe that A
/ considerable percentage Of the bearing
trees was seriously injured, Doubtless
many young trees were killed, and some
OF the nurseries will prove to be a
! total loss. The winter hotels are
! not being closed. Indeed, the tide of
/ travel towards Florida is about as strong
as ever. Within . couple of weeks the
accommodations OF the steamships and
trains on the routes from the North to
/ Florida will not be more than equal to the
! demand upon them.
| There may be a few Northern people IN
/ Florida who, having lost their oranges or
! early vegetables, are dsheartened and are
! threatening TO leave the State. There is
not much probability that they will put
/ their threats into execution. They know
! that in no part of the country is there less
reason to apDrehend damage from any
cause to fruits, grains and vegetables
| than in Florida. Is there a State in the
/ Union where the crops are always GER
tain? Is there one In which the products
of the soil are so free from injury from
natural causes as in Florida?
OF course the freeze in Florida will
cause little decrease this year in tn c
number of investors there, and will keep
a few immigrants and visitors away, but
4 il will soon appear that the ruin wrought
! by the freeze was not so great as report
| ed, and before another summer mas passed
the Florida fever will be as strong as ever
! it was.
We do not wish to be understood as
trying to make out that the damage to the
State is less than it really is. We want
the truth known, because we are conf
dent that the truth is very different from
what is now appearing In the Northern
papers. the progress and prosperity of
great State should not be
checked by i'll considered and
sensational reports. Florida is
an immense territory. and though the
freeze may have been disastrous in one
locality, it may have not done much
harm in another. The situation, there
/ fore, where the damage is the greatest,
! should not be tak9n as an indication OF
what the situation is throughout the
whole State.