The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-10-25
Bad Land for Good Money
Writers of Real Estate Fiction Reap Harvest

known by his friends as "Hop ''-be
cause he talks like man in cocaine
dream-came from Texas. At tender
age he wrote letters to his cousin and
friends in Ohio and other Eastern
States, and his letters were SO filled
with news about the Texas home and
the splendid opportunities to get rich
there that many went to Texas and
bought land as result of his booming.
AS he grew up his letters were printed
in the local newspapers and hundreds
of them mailed every week by enter
prising real estate agents to Eastern
folk. Chop saw his writings were
worth money, so he hired out to the
biggest firm in his home town, and be-
fore he was through high school was
making 800 month riting booklets
and impressions on the coast country
of Texas.
Chop was wise ard soon engaged
in business for himself. He optioned
a tract of land just about the tine
he came of age and sold it out by ad-
vertising Small tracts of FIVE acres
each at So month was the burden of
his song. Five acres, he claimed, was
enough to make any man rich, but it
didn t. Chop" paid s. an acre for
land and sold it. for 500 Of course,
he is rich-such a foolish question.
Rides in autos, wears big diamonds and
acts for all the world like the story
book CRATER. He could never succeed
as a direct salesman His methods are
too rank. and he has the bearing of a
get-rich-quick man. In selling by
mail he has the advantage of his Gus
tomer-they never see him, and by his
lurid description of himself and his
proposition great many of the I'M
wise get the idea he is something
great.
This is only one of many. Lots Of
young men with ordinary training
have got start in the land business
by writing booklets. They follow the
Fframe-up' of some older and wiser
head. and then run in a lot of talk
that means nothing, but sounds awful
" good. The dollars begin to flow
into their Golfers 5oon, of course.
It is a marvel to conservative man
to read the incoming mail of one of the
bic mail order land concerns. The
number of people who insist upon send
ing their money to these firms for land
peI0re tnPN nave seen the property ID
unbelievable. I can relate an actual
experience that came to my personal
attention A man living in Mississippi
was a subscriber of Pacific coast
daily. This Pacific coast daily carried
the two-inch advertisement of d Chi
cago land firm selling lands in New
Mexico. The Mississippi man answered
the ad and got the beautiful illustrated
booklet and the selling talk. He at
once bought bank draft for 5000, the
first payment required on a certain
tract of land, and RENTED it to Chi
cago. I know this transaction occurred
within a week s time-iust time enough
for the mails to handle the deal I saw
the letters written by the customer
down in Mississippi and saw the draft.
The Mississippi man had never been in
New Mexico, knew no one there, and
did not know the firm with whom he
was doing business-they were not rat
ed in any mercantile report and the
man who sent the draft was assistant
cashier in bank.
Such transactions as this travel quick.
ly-the advertising agents hear about it
and they tell other aspiring land graf.
tiers how easy it is to get money by
mail, and so the story induces others to
"get busy.