The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-13
FLORIDA MORTGAGES.
Extravaganza and Speculation Leads
to Their Foreclosure.

Sanford, Fla, Nov. 12.-The recent ex-
cellent and timely editorial in the Morn
ing News on the advantages OF this state
for obtaining a comfortable living under
very favorable circumstances, has been
widely copied and heartily commended. II
was conservative and practical, and should
result in turning the attention of home
seekers to the famed Land of Flowers"
now becoming better known as the Land
Of Fruit and Flowers" the cultivation of
the finest varieties of semi-tropical and
tropical fruits having become fixed and
constantly increasing industry in our
mild climate
Not long ago list of states was pub
ished In which florida led all but one in
the matter of immigration. We have oc-
casional large parties of home-seekers
whose coming Is announced in the papers
with a flourish of trumpets, but our main
source of increase is through steady tides
of a good class of people from the north
and west seeking a milder winter eli
mate. Then We have hundreds who come
from Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, the
Carolinas, ETC., who prefer Florida to
any other southern state. These people
come quietly and settle down here al
most unnoticed. yet they are so many in
the aggregate that they rapidly swell
our population and make the loss of those
who go away from here almost a mere
fraction.
Now, under this condition of things
and viewed from the standpoint of the
Morning News editorial how about mort
cages in this state? OF late a good many
have been foreclosed, especially by the
Travellers Insurance Company of Hart
ford, Conn, whose Florida manager of
orange groves has his headquarters In San
ford. Did the freeze cause this almost
wholesale foreclosure, or was it due to
other causes? My observations have had
no experlence-leads me to believe that
the only small part Of the foreclosures
came through the freeze. Recent statis-
tics show that our state Is one of the few
in which the per cent Of mortgaged prop
erty is quite small.
There are many causes of failure, most
of which can be easily avoided. 1t is not
necessary, under ordinary circumstances,
I TO give a mortgage on home in Florida
Men of active industry and wise economy
do not do this not always safe or desira-
BILE thing. They start out moderately, in
land, groves and buildings improving and
enlarglng as they are able, and never taxi
ing on a heavier load of labor or debt
than they can readily carry through sue
cessfuly. IL is true, these people do not
make a splurge" when they locate In ii
neighborhood but they live to see most of
I the "splurgers'' sold out in due time under
mortgages, and compelled to make
new start somewhere else. Thousands OF
such cases have been recorded in the his
tory OF Florida.
For example Jones and family came here
from the north with 5000 cash. Perhaps
they have read glowing accounts Of the
fortunes in orange culture, or pineapple
growing, or raising celery tomatoes etc,
and they do not make any calculation
for future support on that account. With
the idea of immediate results before them
for their labors or investments, they
spend all their ready money at once for
a fine house, nice furniture, etc, and
high living. Such people generally mis-
calculate and as result the mortgage
comes in to raise needed cash to keep
moving until crops begin TO pay,
but the absence of a wise econ
omy leads at last to foreclosure Of tho
mortgage. heAmo
Despite our distance from the great