Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1909-05-19
TOWN BOOSTING PLAN
How Advertising Benefited "Lost-
burg" and Paid a Syndicate.
VENTURE OF THREE HUSTLERS

Bought Up Whole Town and Outlying
Lands In semiarid State-DeveIoped
Water by Sinking WeIIs--WonderfuI
Change In Less Than Two Years.
Does 1t pay to advertise town?
Here is true narrative that proves
how greatly 1t pays. In this instance
It has paid syndicate Of three men,
and the citizens Of the town have prof.
| tied inevitably, but II these same citi.
zens had done the advertising them.
selves, as they might have done, the
big profits would have gone to them
| instead Of to the three outsiders.
In western state there was an old
town very much run down at the heels
| It had had q fairly good population In
years gone by, but owing to lack OF
interest In the home place among the
people who lived there this old town
gradually disintegrated, went to pieces,
got liver complaint or something and
finally faded almost out Of existence
It's population Of GOO to 700 dwindled
20 less than 200 Grass grew In all
the streets, so that the village COW had
no need to go afield for pasture. 1t
was fine for the village COW, but not
90 fine for the vllager who did not
own the COW and who had to earn
money there in order to buy milk from
his COW owning neighbor.
There was q railroad that ran
through this town. IRAN through Is
just what is meant. The trains ran
through, on the through line, too, the
main line, and now and then they hest
tated at the station to let of or take
on a passenger who tagged the en-
gineer. Train crews got to making
this deserted village the butt Of their
Jokes. They took Joy in commenting
upon the run down appearance Of the
place. They called 1t "Lostburg," be-
cause 1t had disappeared from the
state map and was but an inhnitesimal
point on the railroad map.
The few remaining citizens used to
20 up to the "deepo" and watch the
limited train speed by like a fash Of
oiled lightning on stormy day. They
would go up and sit beside the water
tank and chat with the head brakeman
of the local freight The local freight
sometimes stopped in Lostburg to get
q drink. Be 1t known that the lost
village was In one Of the semiarid
states, where water is scarce at the
surface. The railroad people had "de-
veloped" water. They sank q well
down about eighty feet and found
fine supply-just. the sort that locomo-
tives like to drink. The rest of the
village drank the subsurface water,
ten or fifteen feet under, which they
could get at small expense. They used
to sit around the tank and talk Of the
possibilities of Lostburg-if it only had
more wells like the one developed by
the railroad.
"Finest farming and orchard land in
seven states around here" was the
common expression, "but nothing do
ing because we hain't got the water"
"Why don't you get the water,
thenT inquired a keen looking young
fellow Of about thirty-6ve who loped
off the limited when 1t made a slight
pause one day. He loped off down
near the water tank because 1t was
water that he was looking for In Lost
burg and its vicinity.
ooh, we don't just seem to take no
interest" said the languid citizen who
had made the nothing doing" remark.
"Huhr' commented the newcomer.
The young man spent week at the
local hotel, which had not entertained
d guest in six weeks. He went out
into the surrounding lands and made
Investigations. Then he went back to
the states metropolis.
A month or so later the keen looking
young man returned with two other
men, older and just as keen. In six
weeks time they had bought up the
town - actually bought the whole
works, reasonably too They bought
also the outlying lands for miles
around, so that they had town and a
tract surrounding 1t about five miles
square.
Then they brought engineers to the
place and developed water, just like
the tank brand, here, there and every
where. The wells flowed with wonder
full regularity and volume. There was
water enough In sight to irrigate the
entire tract and plenty more on the
outskirts, or, as the keen eyed young
promoter remarked, 1.-THE underskirts."
"What happened|
Do you ask It?
Just this The syndicate sold back
to the original owners in many In
stances their houses and lots at big
profit to the syndicate. They sold also
thousands Of acres Of farm and or
chard land. They set out thousands
Of acres Of apples and other fruits for
which the soil and climate were best
adapted. They planted the plains to
alfalfa and sold other acres to alfalfa
hungry farmers. The result Is that
this town In less than two years has
upward of 1900 happy, satisfied, pros
porous people, while several hundred
more are developing farms near by.
Now the limited stops there because
there is such an thrush Of home seek
ers, land buyers. spectators and pro-
mOters.
The syndicate did all this by adver-
Using. They paid for space In city
and country newspapers They plas-
tered the plnins with posters and del
uged the deserts with dodgers.
might "a done 1t ourselves II wed
had the git-up," now says the water
tank pesslmist who knew all the time
that the country was underlaid WIFE
water.
ANY town can boost itself by adver