Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-02-13
LISTING LANDS.


There has been ripple of opposition to
the plan of listing lands for sale in the
headquarters of the State Board of Trade
at San Francisco. The plan itself should
be very briefly outlined. The State Board
of Trade has established and is maintain
ing a splendid exhibition of the products
Of the State, where the tourist, the trav-
eler and the immigrant will have access to
it. To give the effort of the State Board
of Trade practical direction, the desire
of the intending settler to ascertain where
land may be purchased, and at what rate,
is met by affording him means of informa-
tion through lists of land for sale in the
country. To guarantee the inquirer against
misrepresentation and fraud the State
Board has limited the listing privilege to
such counties only as have affiliated, and
thereby contribute to the expense of keep
ing no the organization; and have further
restricted the listing privilege to such land
only as can receive. the Endorsement of the
local Board of Trade or Improvement Asso-
citation of the county in which the land is
situated. This affords reasonable guar
anty that the representations concerning
the land are approximately correct. The
greatest difficulty the newcomer has to
contend with is the ascertainment of the
property suitable to his wants. 1t should
be further understood that the cost of Wis
iting California makes it absolutely impos-
sible for the head of family intending to
emigrate from an Eastern State to visit
this State on tour of inspection. Only the
Weather class, such as capitalists with
large sums of money to invest, can afford
to take this precaution. People in the
middle circumstances of life cannot afford
to spend the money TO visit and inspect
the State as preliminary precaution to
emigration. The result is that men bring
families to the State, and find that hotel
bills and the expense of travel necessary
to inspection of the land rapidly consume
their means. Registers relating to each
affiliatinn county are, therefore, kept in the
State Board of Trade, and under certifi-
Gates from the local Boards in these coun-
ties lands for sale, with name and address
Of seller, description and price, are made
accessible to all visitors to the headquar-
tiers Of the Board The officers of the
Board in charge of the headquarters have
nothing more to do with the subject than
to keep the books exposed for the inspec-
ton of those who desire to examine the
State or to purchase property. 1t is
claimed that there is in this liability of
abuse. 1t may be admitted that the adj
mlnistration of ali systems is liable to
abuse. To raise the question of liability
to abuse is somewhat far-fetched. 1t will
be time enough to raise that question
When charges of abuse actually are made
The opposition to the plan, however, pro-
ceeds wholly from the real estate brokers
of San Francisco. In the smaller towns
and country centers it is impossible to find
business enough to sustain a land or real
estate agency.
The more remote parts OF the State are
seldom visited by immigrants or tourists.
To bring the holdings that are for sale to
the attention of this class, it has heretofore
been necessary to list the lands with real
estate brokers in San Francisco. In this
way ninety per cent. of all the country
business, excluding few cities like Sacra-
mento, San Jose, Stockton, etc, is trans
acted with the assistance of real estate
brokers at San Francisco. At least that
percentage of the lands offered are called
to the attention of the intending pur-
chasers through the San Francisco brokers.
This resulted always in division of COM
mission where transactions followed The
headquarters of the State Board of Trade
furnishes to the country real estate dealer
and to the owner of the land, who intends
to be his own agent and broker, convenient
facilities without cost, either to the pur-
chaser or seller, of bringing the property
for sale to the attention of the intending
purchasers. With this explanation the
opposition to the plan of listing the lands
at headquarters of the State Board of
Trade is easily understood Until some
feature of this plan, not now apparent, is
developed, it appears to us to be feasible
practicable and worthy of being pursued
until experience has demonstrated that it
cannot be kept free from abuses or has
established its impracticability. General
advertising of the resources of a country
serves only to attract attention of the
country. When it has attracted attention.
and the tide CT immigration has set in, the
facilities for disseminating definite, partic-
ular and practical information cannot be
too literally supplied.
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