Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-05-19

News.
II SCI ms to me thst about the worst thiDl
which can happen to town is to have
crazy real estate boom. Doctors will tel
YOU that II boy grows too fast and Y
forced too much both as regards mind ant
b,dy it very often ruins him for life. 1t i
not otherwise with town. A wild boon
in which real estate is passed from hand Il
hand at enormously fictitious prices, and In
which the principal operators finally break
up, often cripples a town for ten or fifteen
years. Toledo. indianapolis and Other
much doomed towns. are only just recover
ing from their wild bosms of 1884, which
Q large number of the principal citizens
crippled themselves financially. These
have recovered from fire, tor
nsdo or the plague In one-fifth the time.
Springfield has never experienced such
boom, and 1t is to that fact that we owe our
splendid. compactly-built city, in which
there is hardly house more than mile
and half distant from Trapper's corner,
and in which the number of failures in the
past twenty years has probably been less,
than in any city, of its size In
the country.
In order to appreciate the compact way
In which springfield is built, it is only nee
sary to travel and see other towns of SINH
lar character. A week or so ago visited
Toledo, Findlav, Bowling Green and other
Northern Ohio towns which have been raw
aged and devastated by booms. The Find
lay boom Of last spring is fresh In the
minds Of Ohio readers. A volume could De
would prove intensely interesting reading.
doubt II the history OF specuiation 10 inc
United States can show another such q
boom. The records OF Hancock county
chow that during the three spring months
the boom lasted the real estate transfers
to the enormous sum OF 81, co.,
900 IN Findlay. never read more inter
esting story than that which read In the
leaves of the Hancock county record BOOKS
as / turned the pages which tell OF the
real estate transfers during the boom
Think Of the sales Of real estate ior one
day running up to $500, 600 and S40o, 0o0
1t Is even claimed thaton one tne Saturday
the sales ran up to round million. ms
record has never been approached In
western town or county OF the same SIZE.
The cause OF this unparalleled activity
lay In the fact that FlnoiaS Is only
few hours ride from the enormously
wealthy cities OF Cinclnnati, Cieveiaho ana
Columbus, TO say nothing OF Daytoh,
Springfield and other ONO cities. All 'nese
cities poured out their treasures IKE watel
In exchai g for Ftndlay zeal estate. vi
course such condition could not iast, ana
1t was not long before things approached
solid basis.
Anyone has only to go to Findlay Today
to see the advantages OF steady growth
VS.. boom" During the boom the city
limits were extended to the township lines,
six miles long by four miles wide, giving
spsce Of twenty-four square miles-large
enough for the city OF Cincinnau. Al the
last session OF the Legislature the unhappy
farmers, whose stuboie helds, cabbage
patches and wheat fields were brought
into the city limits to be assessed for city
taxes, petitioned for relief from this state
of things, and to have the old city limits,
or at least more reasonable limits, fixed.
Additions are laid out, plated and partial
ly built up at distance OF two miles from
the city. Between these additions and the
town lie whole farms of land, which must
be built on before Findlay can be a com
pactly built city. saw one addition being
laid out, and the lots piped for gas, at dis
lance Of three miles and half from the
center Of the city. All this, we must re-
member, Is In city mucn less tnan nall
the size Of Springfield. During boom a
spectulasor buys up tract OF land TWO
miles from the city. he plots IL,
sells it of In lots and gets settle
ment started. Poor people who
want to own their homes are forced to 60
to these distant additions to buy, owing 10
the fabulous prices at which inside prop
trty is held during the boom. This process
scatters the city over four times as much
Toledo Is In the same GOAT IN oriVing
over the CITY person gels the iuea thAl
they have boen trying 70 start 'he Guy IN
haif dozen places one aIter tne otner, ahu
have only Just now settled on tne present
location: Ihey nave one morse street cars
In both Toledo and Finolay. inns speaks
soiumes; All owhs WHEN nave ooen
COUNT ol .he ois uio'sn s,s..
n.ation. Sprinefield offers a great contrast
10 mis- state of affairs. as 1t is compactly
milf end there il yery little unoccupied
land IN the citv nroper In Sp IngfieId no
sddition has heen made to ihe city until
n wss .ctnaJIv needed for buiIding pur-
noses
Notvitbstanding the effects of the boom,
howsver FindIsv ia enioyinu considerable
rrogress An immense amount of building
.everaI ,siIroads heing hpiIt Most of the
SnringfeId parties, who bought real estate
IN FindIav purchased good inside property
which has held its value, 1t is probable