The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-26
BOOMING A BURST BOOM.
A Spectators Device for Getting
out of "A Tight Place.
From the washington Star.

From the Washington Star.
A gentleman, more or less connected
with the boom times and towns which,
like a South Sea bubble wave, swept over
the country some years ago, was at a
Washington hotel last week. and during
a conversation with a Star reporter made
a statement which had as much business
in it as the boom had wind.
Some of these towns" said he, were
doomed on nothing, and some of them had
possibilities behind them which may yet
develop into something and result in more
than even their most sanguine projectors
anticipated. recall one, which l be-
lieve is yet to become a city. 1t has
now about 5000 people, and an immense
sum of money was spent on it, Factories
were built, business houses erected
streets paved, and generally all modern
conVenienceS were lavished on the place.
and it had population two or three
times larger than ii now has. Among the
men who invested was a shrewd Chicago
$4,000 into town lots, and when the boom
died out, his property wasn't worth a
tenth of what he paid for it,
1.-Two or three years went by and he
was about forgotten, when one summer
day two years ago a man appeared in the
almost deserted village and began taking
business houses could be bought for lit
tie or nothing, that town lots were sell
ing at almost acreage prices, if they could
be 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 top, for their town was in the midst
of fine coal and iron and timber, and
only needed capital to set 1t 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.
and he began talking about leasing or buy
ing one of the idle factories. Nothing suit
ed him, however, and he finally got the
town TO give him ten acres as a site for a
furniture factory and lumber yard In ten
days he had 800 men at work laying foun-
dations and getting things into shape, and
the town took great squirt. Property
jumped away up again, empty houses fill
ed up, business fairly doomed, and the man
who had first come to town, came back
and lots he had secured. He sold enough
to make him a profit of about S125OOO on
his original purchases, and then he disap-
peared.
"a week later work was stopped on the
foundations of the new factory the men
were told some sort of a story about an
unavoidable delay owing to unlocked for
litigation, and they waited for work 10 be-
gin again. A 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 $4,000 in all had
been spent to create the BOOM which add
ed to the $4,000 dropped by the Chicago
party, left him a net profit of about S65 600
on the entire transaction. l say the Chi
cago 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.