The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-03
THE WORST IN FIFTEEN YEARS.
That is What Maitland Correspondent
Says OF the Freeze.

Maitland, Jan. The usual periodical
freeze has come. and, we hope, gone. leav-
ing behind It a ruin almost IL not entirely
universal There may have been some
specially favored spots where the frost
did not do its deadly work. bat in our
favored section there seems to BE- little if
anything that has escaped.
Ally own place, not in an exposed condi
uons to-day shows nothing but pinks.
spanish bayonets and fence posts in the
ground that escaped. All the plants.
flowers. trees and fruit are frost killed
OF blighted, and the work of four years
swept away in q breath OF the ice king.
Nothing like il, so far as the general
damage Is concerned, was ever before
seen IN Florida. Leaving out the dam
age 10 fruit, vegetables and fruit trees.
the loss in the destruction of beautiful
Hover gardens viii reach a very large
sum.
Some OF our unfortunate orange grow
ers lind a singular comfort in the report
that the pineapple growers of the east
coast and the vegetable growers of the
Clermont region are in the same boat
with them having lost their crops.
Around Orlando several large pineapple
growers have suffered severely, while the
banana growers are hard hit. There is
! think, no comfort in the sad thought
that hardly any class of persons or any
section has entirely escaped financial loss
in every way
Take Maitland for an example of all
other towns in the orange section. We
have four packing houses. and these en-
ploy each a large force Of pickers, pack
ers and shippers. as we'll as teams to haul
the fruit. These employees come from
Georgia and other states for the winter,
and of'course oil our boarding houses and
make large increase in the general busi-
ness of the merchants. Now a freeze
IKE the presnt one breaks up all this ac-
uNity, and the pickers. packers and ship
pers, except few permanent residents,
go away and leave the town dun and the
merchants respondent.
But a singular thing Is being wit
messed here to-day. although a light rain
Is falling. Two of the most active or
ange packers In the state are picking
from 5'O0-box grove and shipping in
bulk in the California fruit ventilated
cars. or course. everybody outside of the
work is surprised at so strange an ex-
pertinent and predict complete financial
loss TO the eXperimenters. Still. there is
one other man fun of hope. Capt John
ston' who has a grove near Altamonte
Springs, declares that more than half Of
his crop is all right, and that he would
not sell now at "A dollar a box on the
tree, declaration that was met with
general laughter
During the past ffhteen years | have
witnessed three disastrous freezes in
Florida, but this certainly is the worst
in the history of the state, being both
widespread and destructive to a larger
variety of growing crops. And each of
the freezes came just when there was
a big tide of immigration to the state
Then followed several years of depres-
sion in which groves rated before at
high figures sold for hundreds, instead
Of thousands OF dollars. But the people
lived through those disastrous times and
saw the state become even more popu-
lous and prosperous than ever before.
so out of this terrible calamity they will
| finally emerge into an atmosphere Of joy
Gus prosperity. one freeze in ten years
is not such disaster as the yearly bliz-
yards. forest fires and grasshopper plaques
of less favored sections of the country
For two years We shall all feel poor and
have to live close. but 1 have faith in the
recuperative powers of our climate and
soil 10 bring us renewed prosperity and
| happiness IN the not far OFF future. This
was the saddest New Years day ever
seen in Florida
There is one crop that will remain TO
benefit us and keep considerable money
In circulation through the winter The
crop of northern and western tourists
promises 10 be unusually large, while
the new settlers, of which there are sew
eral thousands scattered about the state,
will have some loose change to spend
Then the nonresident owners Of large
groves will begin in the spring 10 spend
money in fertilizing and working their
groves, thus giving employment to many
persons now badly off for ready cash.
There are also other sources of income
that will help some unfortunates through
this impending crisis, and owing to our
mild winter climate and the cheapness
of living here the immediate shock will
be lessened until partial relief comes in
general spring work. in this community,
where many men have lost everything in
the way of growing crops, and are left
heavily in debt for fertilizers and family
groceries, / have not heard respondent
complaint. I'VE have been there before"
they say "and we can stand it again"
HOPEFIII, VIEW OF TuT FREEzE