Birmingham age-herald., 1894-12-14
To Be PeOpled With People From
 the Northwest.
GENERAL MANAfr z 3%aPPa MARTIN
 rsslsaOo sO A''Ff
Of the International Hom eStead Company Takes Preliminary
 Steps in the Matter.

Another step has been taken that will en- courage fruit growers and farmers to come from the states of blizzards to Alabama, where they can live nearly all winter in their shirt sleeves and then be comfortable. An immigration bureau has been estab- lished ia Birming ham, the aim of which will be to draw people from Nebraska, Iowa, the Dakotas and other northwestern states to Alabama and get them to settle among us and follow the pursuit of farm ing and fruit growing.
 A few days ago MT. w. H. Martin, gem eral manager Of the International Home- stead company, arrived in the city with a view of establishing an immigration bureau. An AoE- HERALD reporter had a talk with Mir. Martin in the office of Capt. P. Sid Jones oi the Louisville and Nash vile yesterday afternoon, and he spoke very encouraeingly of the matter of Ala bana immigration and thought that much could be done with little work in that di- rection.
 From 1869 to date MT. Martin has been engaged in colonizing large tracts of land in California, notably al Riverside, San Santa Barbara county, Fresno and other places in California. The Lompoc colony referred to contained 47, ,000 acres, and in three years rejoiced over population of aDOub 1OUU DeVbOnt-OVeT oUU Idmllle5. The Central California colony at Fresno consisted of 200 twenty acre fruit farms, and was coloaiZed in 1875 and 1876. Other colonies followed year after year. h 1So1.2 Mir. Martin was laud commissioner for the Hamilton Disston Land company, in Florida, MT. Disston having purchased i ,000, 900 acres of land from the state of Florida. Ex ,ept during these years MT. Martin has been constantly at work on California lands, having branch office in Chicago.
 At lhe request of Col. c. P. Atmore, who is known to have the good of the state at heart, as well as for the welfare of his railroad, MT. Martin has been induced to come to this state in the interests of col- oniZation.
 It is bis intention to establish offices in all the princip pal fruit centers of Alabama, as well as branch office in Cincinnati, o. He proposes to bring to the state fruit growers and vneyardists, who will reap the reward of the richness and fertility of our soil by raising fruits, grapes, berries, grain, etc. He feels certain that the soil in the districts he has visited will produce all the varieties of foreign grapes now abundantiy grown in California, such as the Muscat, Black Hamburg, Black Mor- rocco, Rose of Persia, Tokay and the Cal ifornia mission grape, out Of which the best California claret is made. The prune, plum, apricot, almond, walnut and olive he thinks will do well if the land is deeply plowed aud we'll cultivated.
 MT. Martin says the class of people he in- tends to try and attract to the state are people who have 5000 and upwards to start with. as Alabama already has a sufficient quantity of people with limited means.
 He says it Is not only an injury to the state and the land owner, out utter cruelty to the settler to encourage men with fami- lies 10 support to come hither with only few hundred dollars. He says it Is well enough to bring young men-farmers and fruit growers-here with $500 10 $50 but not men with large families.
 He thinks what the state wants is new population, new blood, and liberal amount of the currency of our country-it don't matter If il be gold, silver, green backs or national bank notes.
 MT. Martin thinks of commencing opera tons on tract of 10, GOO acres of fruit land at Clanton, tiity- five miles south of Bir- mingham.
 He says that if the land owners of the state would place their lands which are for sale in the hands of good immigration companies it would be benefit for he people and also for the state. He spoke favorably of the advsability of the state appointing an immigration commissioner with headquarters in the northwest, and said there was nothing that would do the state any more good.