The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-06-20
To Assist Immigration.

AAO oOhbh IoCu VI Il con-
| coded by everybody who has given tho sub
ject thought. The problem is, how can a
desirable class Of immigrants be obtained?
This state has extraordinary Inducements
to offer the right people in the way of pro-
ductive soil, healthful climate, wealth of
minerals aud vast forests. Natural and
artificial highways put all sections of the
state in ready communication with each
other and the outside world. so that markets
are easily reached and travel Is convenient
The thing needed TO be done is to let people
seeking homes know what the state has to
offer. There is no better time than the
present to begin the work, and the leaders
in the movement should be the railroads.
They could subserve the public interest and
do valuable work for themselves by pro-
noting immigration systematically, accord
ing 70 a plan that would cost them very
little in actual outlay, but would result in
source Of constantly increasing revenues
to them.
The plan. roughly outlined, is this: Let
each railroad in the state constitute every
depot agent in its service kind of land
agent for the purpose of collecting and
exhibiting to inquirers plats and
other data Of any lands in
his section that may be for sale to bona
tide settlers at reasonable prices. Let 1t be
understood and rigidly adhered to that no
lands for speculative purposes will be
handled. Require owners listing their lands
with agents to state their lowest cash prIce
and other terms upon which they will sell.
Let agents report to headquarters of the
roads 10 the cities the amount and charac-
ter of lands listed with them, 80 that pros-
peotive purchasers may be directed to the
nearest station at which they will be likely
to find what they want Advertise widely
the fact that the roads collect and distribute
such information free. The advertising
will be about all the actual
expense to the roads, and that
will not be great. One or two pages of the
dodgers" and "folders" that it is now
deemed expedient to publish may be utilized
to explain the land agency scheme, and
little judicious newspaper advertising will
do the rest.
Along every line of railroad in this and
other southern states there are thousands of
acres Of firstsclass farming, timber and
trucking land that would be listed with the
agents at once at prices within reach of
many of that class OF energetic home-seekers
who are every day pushing their way west
ward. only to find poor soil, treacherous
climate and few of the social advantages
that might be had in Georgia, along with
good land and good climate, for as little or.
less money and half the trouble of making
q settlement.
AS an instance of what a railroad can do
toward building up the territory along its
line when an earnest and Intelligent effort
is made, attention is directed to the melon
growing industry on the Savannah, Florida
and Western railway. Only few years
ago the suggestion of a 10-acre watermelon
patch to any farmer along the line would
have been laughed at now there are numer-
Gus melon patches" larger than the aver
age cotton field along the road, and the
melon crop each year amounts to thousands
of carloads The road benefits by it. Of
course; so do the people, 1t is an arrange
ment from which mutual benefit obtained
And the station agent scheme would work
out the same way. BY assisting number
OF farmers to establish themselves along
their lines the railroads would be creating
new business for themselves. And they
could afford to transport home-seekers in
search of land free, or at greatly reduced
rates, Notifications Of the plan will sug-
gest themselves TO practical railroad men
as they think Of it.