The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-20
MUST GO AFTER IMMIGRANTs.
Mai. GiesSner Says That Is the suresf
Way TO Get Them

Maj W. l.. Glessner, commissioner Of
immlgra ton Of the Georgia Southern sys-
TEN. spent yesterday in the city.
Mai. Glessner IS well known in Savan-
nah in connection with his work ia Bring
ing emigrants from other states 10 GeOr-
gia. He has perhaps been more success
ful in this line than any other single cit
izen of the state. His efforts for the
last two years have been devoted 10 set
Ting hrst-class farmers along the line
of the Georgia Southern, in which ne
has been very successful Around Triton
alone ffty-three families from other states
have been settled in the last eighteen
months.
These people have bought land from
80 TO $50 acres to each family. paying as
a rule part cash and the balance in one
and two years, and have gone Immediately
to work TO improve their lands and make
comfortable homes for themselves. All en-
ter into fruit farming 10 a greater or less
extent
Il have found that the surest way to
get emigrants is to go after them" said
Mai. Glessner TO a Morning News re-
porter. The farmer III a distant state
is not easily attracted by advertising cir
culars and prospectuses setting forth the
advantages Of various sections. He would
Ike TO make a change, perhaps, but he
is off the railroad probably, and is in
doubt about schedules and rates and tne
length Of time 10 make the trip and the
cost Of It. He has nobody TO give him
the Information he wants, and so he post
pones making the trip until some more
convenient time. My plan is 10 get in
correspondence with the prospective nome
seekers am get them interested. We have
these monthly landseckers excursions
now, ana / notify the parties with whom
/ have been in CORES ondence OF the date
10 meet at some central point, say Gin
cinnau. / meet them there, according 10
agreement, and come south with them.
by the time they get here / know pretty
well what each man wants and / intro
duce him TO the people who can show him
what he wants to see. / do not sell any
land myself. As a rule they do not buy
on their first trip, but merely look around
and post themselves on the conditions
and the inducements offered. They then
go back home and consider the matter.
Some members of almost every party
will decide TO make the move. Sometimes
II is year or two before they make their
arrangements TO pull up stakes and come
south. l ran across two men the other
day whom 1 brought south on one Of these
trips and had not seen or heard from
Georgia now"
Rates for these landseekers' excur-
sions," continued Maj. Glessner, have
been granted from Ohio river points over
the western lines We have never been
able TO get these rates over the eastern
lines and so have done very little in bring
ing people from the eastern states to our
section. / should think Savannah could
40 good work in attracting immigration to
fill up the surrounding territory over the
steamship lines and the eastern rail
lines"
Mai. Glessner says that it is a curious
coincidence that the spot where jefferson
Davis was captured by the federal cav
airy is I'm the immediate vicinity of the
union soldiers colony in Wilcox county,
and is probably embraced in the lands
purchased by the colony. Mr. Davis was
captured in Wilcox county, near Irwin
vile, in the same locality in which the
old soldiers colony has been located. This
is indeed combining the issues of the
past with a vengeance, as Maj. Glessner
roma ed