The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-09-01
WOMAN WHO
HAD FORTUNE
IN STOCKING
Governor RichardSTelIS About
Opening of New Country.
FIGURES ON LOT SALES
Regards LaWton Active Candi-
date for the Capital.

Washington, Aug. 31-"During our
sale Of lots the other day in Lawton
there was brisk bidding on a piece of
corner property adjacent to the school
reserve land said Assistant Land Com
missioner W. A. Richards yesterday, hav-
/ ing just returned from three months
sojourn in Oklahoma territory, where he
has been laying out town sites and di-
recting the opening Of the Kiowa and
! Comauche reservation. "One of the
bidders was a woman wearing a calico
/ dress and a sunbonnet. The figure Of
1 fered climbed higher and higher. till
/ finally It reached $500. It was a 25-foot
I front. and the rate was even higher than
/ real estate would bring here in the ma
tiOnal capital The woman reached down
! toward one stocking and pulled out
mighty roll Of greenbacks. The govern
ment. you know requires cash payments
I on all sale of land. She counted out
! $500 in money and passed it up to the
/ land office clerk. She had a good deal
/ left after she had paid for her prop
erty.
! That is only one example of Illus
/ traung the zeal with which people are
/ buying real estate in those future cities
! of Oklahoma" continued the assistant
! commissioner, as he opened out on the
/ desk before him the maps of the towns
of Lawton. Hobart and Anadarko. all of
which towns he has been laying out just
as L Enfant laid out the plan of Wash
ington city more than one hundred years
ago.
Take the sale over in Hobart We
offered a certain lot in the business sec
ton of that town the other day and
there were many bidders on hand. The
price went up steadily. but among the
bidders was man who kept pace with
all the others. and always went little
higher. At last the others got tired and
the lot, also 25-foot front. went to him at
/ $500. He drew out of his pocket four
/ lunches of bills, each containing 1900,
and counted off 81 100.
s. You came determined to get that
property I remarked to him.
g" Well, I had $500 more I could have
/ paid for it. he replied TO me He want
ed the lot for a wholesale jewelry store,
ard was ready to pay almost any price
to get it.
Altogether it looks to me as though
this land in the new towns might prove
a good investment, said Mr. Richards.
/ c4AAAbl5A ~ - SgAllS lOI SuEn &c
prices. The people who buy are of a
good substantial class of citizens. They
appear intent on remaining in the coun-
/ try and on participating in its develop
ment Most Of them come from the
southwest-from Mississippi. Georgia,
I Texas, Arkansas, Nebraska and neigh
boring stats. They have money and are
industrious. Few seem to be buying for
D
! sell after they buy, even for good
profit. I think it is a. conservative esti-
mate that the amount Of the real es-
cate sales in the three towns of Law
ton, Hobart and Anadarl1O will aggre-
gate $4,000. The sales in Lawton,
which 7 regard as the finest town of all
have already exceeded $4,000. and will
so to S40G 900 at least The sales at Ho-
bart now exceed $4,000, and will go to
$3.50. 600 IN Anadarko the government has
already disposed Of land that brought
$4,000. Before the government auction
sales conclude, at the end of August, I
/ believe they viii aggregate 500. go.
The proceeds of these sales of town
site lots. after the government has been
recompensed for its outlay, go to the
counties. They will have a neat sum
with which to begin business Anadarko
is the only town of the three which
takes its name from an Oklahoma 10
cality 1t is more cut up by railroads
than any of the others, and I located
school reservations so that the children
would not have to cross the tracks on
their way to and from schools. The
name comes from an old Indian reserva-
ton near the townsite.
'I.awtou I regard al a very active can
didate in the future for the capital. al
though Fl Reno VIII be in the field and
win contest the honor vigorously At
/ present Lawton is thirty miles from the
railroad but the Rock Island is building
i'm there as fast as men can grade the
roadbed and lay the rails. The work
/ is being done substantially. and no eN-
pense is spared in cuts and grades. The
road IS being built as straight as an ar
row. and before long viii reach the new
town. The contractors cut ruthlessly
through hills and OH IN ravines without
regard to expense. the purpose seeming
20 be TO have a permanent and lasting
road. 50 that there Will be 10 necessity
hereafter for Strengthening the tracks
and otherwise improving the line as
traffic increases.
The population Of the territory has
naturally increased enormously with the
coming OF SO many settlers, and they
have brought 81 great deal Of money with
them. Accordingly business has been
Oh the boom. ] regard it as q very con-
servative estimate that the town ot RI
Reno alone has taken IN nearly S2eo.oo
from these new settlers during the last
few weeks. There were about $500
arrivals iu El Reno, and II is a very low
estimate that every one II them spent
nc least SO before getting OK Of the
town.
To the credit az Oklshomans e.
should he said that they dh rot lift
their regular prices for entertainment
+ The hotels dued the corridors and offices
with cots hut il there was any room
guest could set his bed for - cents
night or for whateveT rate * has been
customary ~ charge before the tire CT
the boom. E.very body made money The
small son ~ q friend. DO was kind
eaoueh t. take me into his house sc r
Reno set un q httle stand for the sale
( 81 sandwiches and light refveslu1 eats he
( bad taken IN SIS before his business had
+ hardly started
eve were LITTLE anxious ahaat Che
handiius ~ So large az amount ~ money
as came 90 as through the safe 81 lands
+ The law sneelly provided that the re-
ceirts u1sr be transmitted dalE e. th-
{ srg,-freasirr q - l-olis. baI ~ Few
ION fsr fastsute u- were thirtr nilas
1rav frasu the railrcal- There vas some
. lsyglessn.ss aueas the tovn aI 1rer
t-erc w4s nc locai Sos r~wert sne
reof-e Were sateerel Hards aav ofhr