The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1906-06-29
That q 2-s CENTS LAND SALE.

As the True Democrat was the first
newspaper TO get on to and publish the
/ facts relative to the Internal Improve
ment Boards recent sale Of lands at the
ridiculous and outrageous low price of
4ls cents an acre, we take the liberty
Of publishing Mr.. Jennings explanation
OF it, from the peoples Forum De-
partment" Of the Times Union. No
one has doubted that Mr. Jennings
was the purchaser Of the lands out
| right" and no citizen will blame him
for getting his So, 9S9 acres, and as
I many more acres as he may be able TO
secure from that great CD pdinstdkiHg
md peopLe-protecting board, at the
ridiculous price of 4ls cents an acre,
for 1t has seemed the thing for them TO
do on several occasions during recent
years 10 sell |. lands in a chunk for
prices very much smaller than the lands
in very short while afterwards were
resold for TO other parties (the Bars
purchase and Williams Agency sale for
examples); nor do they blame Bars for
being able 70 work a scheme by which
he got his chunk for ~ cents nor do
they, or have they ever blamed Mr..
Williams for making as much out of his
deal "a the cheap selling boards under
the Jennings administration and now
under Broward's, allowed, but the
paprls Cf Elpr,da az, loeb ,r a., ,,.urJ.,.
and amazement that such things con-
tInue 70 happen, when that board, with
Governor Broward at its head, pro-
claims to the world that those swamp
and overlooked lands viii bring $50 per
acre some Of these days and are now
draining the !. !. fund to the very
bottom in their operations. If the
lands were worth $lOO 20 the PIlgrove
Land Company, and they seemed fully
willing and did pay it 10 Mr. Jennings,
allowing him TO make a clean speck out
Of the deal in less than one month, why
did not that board 60 carefully, just as
each would have done had he owned
those lands personally and secured
that S34 9S8 "a for the l. |. funds, in !
stead Of the much smaler.sum which |
Mr. j. paid them? If the lands were
'mangrOve swamp" the Palgrove !
Company at least saw Sl,OO per acre
value in them and gave Mr. Jennings
that price for them, and we will wager
that same Palgrove Company would not
today resell them 70 Mr.. Jennings or
the Internal Improvement Board for
several times what both got out of the
deal, for Mr. Jennings himself says his
purchasers are of the Leather Trust, "
and the other is A Klipstein g. Co, of
New York, wholesale dea lers in acids,
dyeng and tanning materials,
and that they are interested in the Pal
grove Company, etc, and that the sale
was carried through as we're other
sales of that Czarish Board, all of
which needed no telling or explaining
from him or from any other source
The main thing the people Of Florida
are now objecting 70 is selling our pub
lie lands at such beautifully low prices,
and keeping these transactions covered
up until they are accidentally gotten on
10, for they never publish these trans
actions until an annual report is printed
by the boards secretary, and then, very
few Floridian, ever see a copy of It
New, a very careful reading of these
minutes for about six years brings to
light munH yes, very many funny little
transactions, and several of them are in
with these rcyy cheap land
sales But, gentle reader, peruse Mr..
Jennings arucI, for yourselves. just
lcrc.
10 the Editor Of the Times-Union.
Under date %: June -, 1900. YOU pub
ished an editorial IN The Times Union
n reference to "a sale OF Everglades
and, - I'm which YOU ask several uues-
ions and make % number Of indirect
harEc~ and noiuuationS a. to the i'm
,ropriety OF the sale of the lands there
. mentioned
! WAS the purchaser of the land, re- Z
erred 10. and bought them outright.
nd not "nominally, and desire to
uy that the lands were sold TO me
Under my name, for my own use, ndi-
.idually. and no one else was interested
herein,
You ask why the land. were sold ON