Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1909-10-14
THE RAILROADS SHOULD BESTIR
THEMSELVES.

Speaking of the increase in the
passenger traffic of the Atlantic Coast
Line System, President Emerson says:
Another feature of the increase
noted is in the homeseekers' excur-
sions. The Coast Line has had very
good success this year with parties,
mostly from the West 1t looks as
if the people of the West who have
been looking for an agreeable spot
TO move to and settle have at last de-
cided that the agricultural advantages
of the South are worth investigating.
We intend to push the development of
all territory adjacent to the Coast
Line, and feel satisfied that the home
seekers we bring will materially aid
the entire section trayersed by the
Coast Line In going ahead in every
manner"
We have always maintained that il
the railroads displayed a greater in
terest the sections through which they
run would be more quickly developed,
to the benefit of the railroads as we'll
as to that of the towns and counties
through which their lines are oper-
ated. The A. C. L. seems to appreci-
ate this. judging from President EN-
erscn's remarks, and is exerting itself
to the end that settlers may be induce
ed to visit the section covered by it
and discover for themselves the ad-
Vantages offered there for home
makers.
There seems to be no especial effort
made by either the Central or the Sea-
board to bring about visits of home
seeking parties to this part of Geor-
gia. Why this is the case we do not
know. Surely there are no counties
in the entire state that offer as many
opportunities for agriculture of diver
sifled type as Sumter and some of its
neighbors. There is ample land Of
fering here, at prices that are low In
comparison with those prevailing in
the middle West, the climate Is i'm
measureably superior to that of the
tier of states between Pennsylvania
and the Mississippi, and the returns
from farming operations are such as
to give zest TO labor intelligently APP
piled
For many years, We believe, there
has been nothing done in the way of
bringing home-seeking parties to this
district from the West. 1t would GER
tainly pay the railroads, directly and
indirectly, to take this matter up, 20
expend some money In advertising,
and by low rates and the dissemina.
ton of information, induce investiga-
tors to visit this particular section Of
Georgia and become acquainted at
first hand with its peculiar advan-
tages. Every settler located here
would mean additional business for
either the Central or the Seaboard.
The more the lands are developed the
greater their traffic. And yet neither
of them appears to be doing anything
especially in the direct of bring
ing settlers into this territory.
This Is matter the Americas
Board of Trade might we'll take up
with the officials of the two roads in
question. For fifty miles around
Americas there are good lands that
can be bought at prices that would
appear very reasonable to men &C
quainted with the high-priced farms
of the middle West. There seems to
be an increasing tendency there TO
seek new homes, and there is no rea-
son why this part of Georgia should
not be the beneficiary of this spirit.
But the active cooperation of the rail-
roads Is absolutely necessary before
anything can be accomplished. They
will be the chief and the continuous
beneficiaries of the development re-
sulting from such an immigration and
they should give of their means and
their brains to the end that the drift
OF emigration should be turned, to
some extent, in the direction of Sum-
ter and its neighboring counties. Per-
haps IL we had a more progressive
policy on the part of our railroads the
growth OF Georgia as a whole would
be tremendously stimulated A little
OF the enterprise that has marked
Western railroads might accomplish
maPvels.