The morning news., 1892-03-31
Ma. DIssToNs PLAYTHINe.
A colossal Undertaking that Should
Do Much for Florida
From the Ne,v York Tribune.


From the Netu York Tribune
One Of the most energetic men Of to-day
4. Hamilton Disston of Philadelphia, son of
Hsnry Disston, Of sawmaking fame, head of
che sreat manufacturing house Of Henry
fSsstou's Sons Having grown wearied
-,,th the monotony OF personally conduct
ing a business requiring force OF 5000
st1Ied artisans, he has entered into a new
ives him the highest satisfaction.
r not the greatest profit. Hamilton
mission will be known to posterity as
a reclaimer of land as well as a sawmaker.
snd Incidentally may be remembered as a
grower of cane sugar. Furht rmcre he will
he set down as a wonderful traveller No
engineer, no conductor, no Pullman car nor
ter. knows the road from Philadelphia to
Kissimmee half so thoroughly as he. In his
special car he travels it 50 often that one
grows tired 0i c. uniting the trips plade be-
tween the sew works aud the sugar mill
The distance is i, 800 miles, vet he speaks of
the ionrasey as If it were an hours walk.
Mr.. Disston is about 45 years of age. Is
short Of stature, has a mustache like "Da ~
Lamont's and an eye like that of the great
<-s9.@ IN the cage at the Tampa Bay hotel
). st..- can look straight at the sun with
-ctn ir, or even a blink. He is far from
L. IS me. In his features there is too
r5aca concentration of rugged lines for
baau- to have place. At the club in PhiIa-
i '-e la be is clubman in the best mean
ing of that phrase; he is one of the best enter
tainers, and one of the most generous. Moth
ing can subdue depress or discourage him
He cs1 drink plenty Of champagne between
Toolock and midnight, and be at the saw
works at o'clock with cool and capacious
brain. At the sugar plantation he might
always pass unnoticed by the visiting
stranger. His rusty old clothes and his
little slouch hat. with the brim drawn down
in q sharp point over the left eye, do indeed
distinguish him from the CRACKER but
in a party of celebrated people he
would never be seen till looked
hard at two or three times. It is
on the sugar plantation that you would,
however, find him at his best. Go visit
him there. Go look over his millions of
acres and walk through his mill. His head
Quarters are at Kisslmmee, properly pro-
nounced "Kis-simm-ee," accent on the
"simm." Don't make the oft repeated mis-
take of asking young woman: "Are you
going to Kiss-imlnee!" There is legend
in Florida about a man having been kicked
off moving train for being too facetious
concerning Kissimmee.
Send messenger. around to the station
Of the ST. Cloud Sugar Beet railroad and
order special train for an Smile ride to
the sugar mill. The road Is Mr. Disston's
now. When built. 1t was the joint prop
erty Of Mir. Disston and William L. Scott,
the coal baron of Erie, who had much
more extensive interest in Florida than his
acquaintance dreamed of. The track, like
the man that owns it, is broad gauge, and
the engines and cars are first-class. An
arm of Lake Tohopekaliga is crossed
q short distance from Kissimmee, and here
the visitor sees the first signs Of the
colossal undertaking Of the man who is con-
verting into dry land marshes that spread
over enough acres 60 make a state larger
than Rhode Island or Delaware. The lake,
fifteen miles long, one of the largest and
most teautiful in Florida, as well as the
most dangerous, has been robbed of four
feet Of water by the deepening of the canal
that runs into Lake Kissimmee which lies
eighteen miles to the southwark and emp
ties through the Kissmmee river into Lake
Okeechobee, seventysfive miles lower down.
The last named, the largest body of fresh
water IN the south, is drained by the SER
pentine Caloosahatchie river, which joins
the gulf at Pine Island, 100 miles south of
the Tampa Inn. To lower four feet the sur
face of lake whose superficial area is little
less than seventy-five square miles is DO bit
of childish nonsense. The reclaiming of the
Okee6nokee In Southern Georgia is perhaps
q more stupendous enterprise than this, in
is not believed that Georgia will gain nearly
30 much by it as Florida has gained by the
operations of Mr.. Disston in drawing off the
waters of Tohopekaliga. BY his WE'LL
planned system of canals he has left high
and dry. not only all the old
piers and wharves that were once
the pride Of Kissimmee but
also 4.000,000,000 acres OF as rich land as
the tropical sun ever shown upon. He went
into partnership with the state, furnished
all the capital Of the firm, did all the work,
and took one-half of the profits, that is, ones
half of the land reclaimed, SO that he now
owns . 100000 acres. The land, as may be
seen by glance at the sides Of the deepest
bitches in the reclaimed territory. is Of the
finest quality. No subsoil is discovered
From the surface to depth of ten or twelve
feet you find O rich, black loan, easily cul-
tvated and highly productive. Expert
ment has proved that it is peculiarly
adapted TO the growth of ribbon cane, and
the belief 10 widespread that the region, al
ready characterized as the sugar belt, is
destined to become the sugar center of the
United States.
The manufacture of sugar is new in
dustry III Florida, but with the government
aid is is making rapid strides. The orange
crop has not been generally profitable in the
last four years. Many growers have lost
fornia having proved formidable, nay, a
disastrous competitor. The only crop Of
which Florida can safely boast at this
writing is the crop of northern tourists. 1t
has in reality kept the state alive when
everything else failed. It is increasing all
the time, ,is not affected by drougehs or fresh
cts, and requires no cultivation. 1t does not
have to be marketed. 1t is ready
money. But the natives continue to grow
oranges and they will soon begin to
grow sugar. The government bounty on
homegrown sugar is2 cents pound. which
should make the crop highly profitable. The
west Indies, as sugar-producing islands. are
rapidly losing ground. Especially is this
true of all the smaller islands, the Wind
ward group having practically been ruined
by the system of Observation-Disclosures
which prevails to an alarming extent. The
LOUISIANA plantations are not what they
we're, though the acreage is now on the in-
crease-a fact due entirely to the bounty.
Mr.. Disston had little over 5000 acres
IN sugar cane last year, and his mill is still
grinding and boiling aud eveporating.
The yield is 1000 pounds of high grade
sugar to the acre, and he was well satisfied
with 1t till Claus Spreckels became his guest,
and afSer looking over the ground. de-
Clared.
"Dlsston, you say you are making 1000
pounds TO the acre. Why, with such land
as this, you should not make less than four
IONS, You should have no trouble making
tve.n
Mr. Spreckels may be supposed to know
Nmething about sugar. But even with a
nj Ia tc III,