Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-02-01
BOOMING A BURST BOOM.
A Spectators Device for Getting OuN
of a Tight Place

Specuiator's Device for Getting Qua
of a Tight Place.
A gentleman, more or less connected
with the boom times ard towns which like
South Sea bubble wave swept over the
country some years ago, was at a WASH
ington hotel last week, and during a con-
versation with a Star reporter made a
statement which had as much business fin
il as the boom had wind
Some of those towns" said he were
doomed on nothing, and some Of them had
possibilities behind them which may yet de-
velop into something, and result i'm more
than even their most sanguine projectors
anticipated. 1 recall one, which 1 believe
Is yet to become city. 1t has now about
1900 people, and an immense sum Of money
was spent on it. Factories were built, bust
ness houses erected, streets paved, and
generally all the modern conveniences were
laws, on the place and It had a popu-
iaton two or three times larger than it
now has. Among the men who invested
was shrewd Chicago man, who was led
into dropping about $4,000 into town lots.
and when the boom died out his property
wasn't worth tenth Of what he paid
for it.
Two or three years went by and ne was
about forgotten, when one summer day
TWO years ago man appeared in the al
most deserted village and began taking a.
look at things. He discovered that bust
ness houses could be bought for little or
nothing, that town lots We're selling at al
most acreage prices, il they could he sold
at all, and that the people still in town
were hanging on only because they knew
that If the tide ever did set their way
again they would come out on ton for
their town was in the midst of fine coal
ana iron and timber, and only needed cap-
itai TO set It going. The visitor very
quietly bought up the most desirable
houses and lots, or got options on them.
and then he disappeared.
Thirty days later another man came
ara ne began talking about leasing or buy
Ing ore Of the idle factories. Nothing
suited him, however, and he finally got the
town to give him ten acres as site for a
furniture factory and lumber yard In ten
Gays he had three hundred men at work
laying foundations and getting things into
shape, and the town took great squirt
property jumped away up again, empty
houses filled up, business fairly doomed,
and the man who had first come to town
came back again, and began to sell of the
Buildings and lots he had secured. He sold
enough TO make him profit of about
$125.000 on his original purchases and then
he disappeared.
"A week later work was stopped on the
foundations of the new factory. the men
were told some sort of story about an I'M
avoidable delay owing TO unlooked-for liti-
CATION, and they waited for work TO begin
again. few of them found permanent
employment in the town, but the great ma
Jority, after waiting till they couldn't wait
any longer, got out and things are now
about where they were when the second
boom started. Probably ten thousand dol
lars IL all had been spent TO. create the
boom, which, added to the fifty thousand
dropped by the Chicago party, left him a
net profit of about sixty-five thousand dol
lars on the entire transaction. / saw the
Chicago party. because everybody else said
he was the man, though no one ever saw
him there or heard of his name in connec-
ton with any part of the scheme"