Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-03-05
BOGUS MANCHESTER" "
L SwIndEing Paper City In Los Angeles
County, CslIfOrnis-An "ibomi-
NATION Of DesolAiiOn."
How Sharp Land Operators Gull the
Observation-Disclosures Pursued by
the Climate Dealers.
New York Herald,

seen, forgetting hat Dslte vas never in
HEdes nor Milton in Parable, and that II
is the high, praise of Shakespeare to
have exhausted world, and then por-
trsyed new" The exception certainly
does not spply to the proper
portrayal of some OF the desert tracts
on which adventurous sWind-
Iers have located paper cities in
South California It's necessary, almost,
TO see in order to believe, and without
ocular Investigation the Herald CORE
spondenJ could never have developed the
fame of mind to do justice to the bold
frauds that were Witnessed. When you
behold some Of these bogus town sites
the understanding is at once reached that
the boloest and most conniving humbug
of the Florida grist Of shSms did not sur
pass in point of absurdity certain of the
shining examples in this vicinity.
The cynical man Of the world, even,
whose faith in human nature is not senti-
mental, is exposed to positive shocks to
his ssnsiDilities when he looks over one
Of those grDtesque conspirscies to rob
mankind. Certainly the thought arises
Do men an women exercise reason in
allowing themselves to fall victims to the
apply the word treason" 10 such folly
you cannot help defining it as the proud
prerogative which coniers on man the ex-
clusivs privilege Of acting irrstionally.
The fraudulent towns msy be divided
lato several classes, which msy be de-
scrioed as follows: First, those that
were never intended TO be established or
where no attempt has been mSde TO de-
i, o. Eo -.
pretence of making alleged local i'm
proVements. The promoters will merely
plot out piece of worthless Iand into
streets and house lots, issue a filming
advertisement, descr be churches, thes.
tiers, rsce-tracks, banks, hotels and rail,
way stations which do not exist, and
which, as the promoter very well knows,
never will have foundation in fact.
TENDERFooT VICTIMS.
The victims in this particular class of
swindle generally reside at distance and
buy their lots on hesrssy.
The second class are those where an
attempt has been made to Iocste
some Vestiges Of improvements. The
bare tract of land is plotted out, cheap
frame building, Yclept hotel, is either
completed or CONNIE need, few feet of
cement sidewalk constructed and cheap
pSliDg is placed around central plot OF
ground advertised as the "psIk," in
which, IS one Veraciou5 description goes,
"children and their nurses will enjoy the
bright sunshine as in the gardens of the
Tuileries at Paris"
Water is generally promised, and der
rick for sinking an artesisn well is erect
ed. Street CT and motor tramWsys are
announced as to be established il the i'm
mediate future.
The city of Burbank, in the San Fer
nsndo valley, On the line of the Southern
Pacific Railway, not far from Los Angeles,
affords bright and shining example of
the nefarious ingenuity of the land
shsrps. A short range of cement side
walk, q shsnty OF hotel few tents and
the GROWING glory Of inventive humbug,
the alleged horse railway, compose this
delectable municipality. The "horse rail
road" consits Of TWO rails laid on the
ground In the center of the "street,"
with cement sidewalks at the point near
est the passing trains on the Southern
Pacific Railway. Ga the rails stands a
horse car. The promoter of the enter
prise can "point with pride' to Burbank
and assure the "tender-foot' by letter
that "We have our horse railway already
under way. The first tram car has ar
rived, others will follow in due time"
And then the confding "tender-foot"
surrenders.
The hotel is always erected If the pro-
moter intends that s semblsnce of truth
shall perVs de his advertising pronuncis-
mentos. But he touches lightly on the
character OF the carayAnsary. II was but
G few days ago that q hurricane swept
over the valleys about Los Angeles.
A CALIFORNIA CYCLONE.
The thotei at Crescente Canada was
grasped by the mighty hand Of the blsst,
twisted and tWirled about and then
wrecked as If it we're house of cards. |
Several persons lost their lives by the
disaster. The roof Of one building in the
San Fernando valley was rolled into ball
as tin foil may Oe compressed, and it lay
by the railway warning as to the force |
of cyclones in "the glorious climate of |
California" The probability is that 8
building possessing any claim to strength |
and durability would have hung to-
gether, but the Conventional hotel of The |
new town is only too often delusion and
s snare as regards substsntiability, and
over it goes before it has served the pur- |
pose of the town builder.
The hotel may contain a real estate |
Office and nothing else. Of course there |
is no call for q public house on barren,
houseless town site any more than there |
is demand for a horse railway. The |
only patrons of the latter would be the |
ground squirrels, the "pesky little |
plsgues" of the agriculturist, Woo bur-
row and undermine half Of the fields about |
Los Angeles.
A third class Of humbug towns against
which the eastern investor should enter
tain burning suspicious are those where 6
considerable sum Of money has been
spent by the promoters and an apparent
semblsnce Of village is to be found.
The cement side walks are extended |
further, quantity of eucalyptus and
other quick growing trees have been
planted, G few semi-tropicsl shrubs and |
trees placed IN the ''psrk," rather pre-
tentious "hoter' set up, and several-in |
some instances q dozen or more-chesp |
but flsshy Queen Aune cottages lifted up
above the surface of the earth.
II there is any one general architec-
t1rsl style thst is entirely unsuited TO the |
hot, dusty weather which prevails two
thirds Of the year it is the bastard type |