The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1909-12-26
WESTERN MEN
WISH TO MOVE
AND SOME OF THEM, 1T is EX-
PECTED, MAY BE ATTRACTED
TO GULF COUNTRY RATHER
THAN TO WESTERN STATES.

In a letter from Lincoln, Nebraska.
the writer points out how the people
of the West appear to have gone land
crazy and how the land agents OF
many parts OF the country are reaping
a golden harvest through selling lands
in South Dakota, Canada, Colorado,
New Mexico. Oklahoma, Montana, Ida
he. Washington, Texas or Oregon,
says the Times-UniOn.
In the letter the writer says. Three
years ago one man out Of every TOUR
in the West was trying to sell mining
stock to three others Today, outside
of Colorado and Nevada, you never run
across a salesman Of this sort.
The mining stock method of sepa-
rating the Western farmer from his
none too large bank account, never
very successful. was superseded by the
interurban electric line promoter. a
scheme for a line from Chicago TO
Denver in ten hours SiphOned lot OF
money out of Western pockets and the
written contract TO give the buyer
life pass over the road led TO many a
sale Of brightly printed CeTtlhcates IN
inteTUIban corporations at a cut rate
The paper roads have nearly all gone
into bankruptcy and the receivers are
pal 10 l6l1lS OAA NAAS BANN~N0S -
their stewardship
The West is just now land crazy
On the main street of Lincoln or ad-
jacent thereto are twenty-five Offices
Of brokers who are advertising South
Dakota. Canada, Colorado, Texas, New
NJ exicO, Oklahoma, Montana, Idaho,
Washington or Oregon lands All OF
them specialize in lands in a certain
section.
And They Actually Buy.
Each Tuesday or Friday an excuT-
sion TO some part of the West starts
out of Nebraska headed for some gar
den spot and led by a land agent
The same is going on in Omaha, To-
peka, St. Joseph and Kansas City
Thousands of farmers and city men
are hurrying on trains every week to
examine some land that they have a
notion they may want to buy. Some
are going Northwest, others South
west, and what is most astonishing,
about so per cent of them actually
buy.
SO great has the craze become that
bankers have begun to sound notes
of warning When the farmers first
began laying aside SURPRISES from
their crop sales, they began buying
the farm next them for their sons or
sons-in-law or for themselves. This
demand soon ate up all the supply but
the bank balances kept On pliIng up.
The farmers began looking else
where, some of them for cheaper lands
for themselves after having sold out
their old holidays around 800 a acre.
Canada was invaded and lands went
I'D there with a rush. Texas ranch
/
holdings and selling them off.
Picnic For Land Brokers.
The land brokers in the cities early
saw their opportunities, and aided by
the railroads with their low rates, Civ I
en- to encourage immigration and the
building up Of country they had in .
vaded, began a systematic and extern /
sive boosting. Over at Waterloo. /
Iowa, was a man of about thirty, who /
had worked in recent years for a num- /
Der of farmers. He made a contract (.
with a South Dakota land agency to /
bring a lot of Iowa farmers up there. /
About sixty composed his first /
party. He sold q quarter section /
apiece to fifty-twO of them made so /
much money on the deal that he start /
I'd in business for himself
liz L NAc+S 4dLANAEo " CA Z bCS5 LlAA1AAAS
10 break up and the young IOwan /
Ourneyed down there and engaged TO /
sell al the divided up holdings of one |
IF the big cattle kings who was going |
lUt of business at a commission of 50 /
IN acre. Another train load of Iowa
'aTmeTs went down there under his
guidance, and so per cent Of them
bought, all because they had known
heir fellow tOwnsman as a man who
vas on the square and whose word
.ouId be depended on
Within a few months the IOwan
vas buying big tracts Of land outright
md dispOsing of them himself He
ent out circulars advertising for
gents in every county in Nebraska,
Kansas, Iowa and Missouri To these ,
le offered money for the furnishing
4 names of men who were looking
or land and willing to buy it for
lmOs- any price In Washington and
oregon land with fruit trees at or
lear the bearing age is selling for ,
500, $1,000 and more an acre.
In Montana. where no extensive
experiments have yet been made, fruit
and IS selling for about $500 an acre
Tor this price the company agrees to
uTnish the trees, usually apples, set
hem out, attend TO them and at the ,
nd of FIVE OF six years turn them
'ver to the purchaser They employ
xpeTt orchaTdists to look after the
LetaiIs OF the work, and 10 COmpen-
ate themselves for the work raise
'OtatOes-they produce up there as
Ugh as 200 bushels to the acTe-plant-
d between the rows of growing
Tees." /,
And Why Not Florida? +,
Now. does il not appear that these
leOPle should have their attention at
raCted TO Florida. where they can
make as much on ten acres as they
an of of fifty in the sections to which
bev are TUSning2 9,