The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1909-09-30
PAGE TWELVE
Hoe and Why I Bought the Land
CONCLUDED FROM PAGE NINE)
{ CONCLUDED FROM PAGE NINE

[ asked the depot-agent to lock the treasure
up in his safe, and he did so. After I had
gone to bed, at the hotel, [ got to thinking
of that $4,000. All sorts of ridiculous fears
took hold of me, and shook me about. [
thought to myself, "Suppose burglars break
into the depot tonight Or suppose there's a
fire, and the safe comes apart Or suppose
that agent runs off with that money!"
Well, sir, the thing pestered me SO that [
had to get up and dress. Then, after vainly
trying to reason myself out of the folly,
went to the agents house, reused him out of
bed, took him to the depot, drew the $4,000
from the safe, jumped on the midnight train
with it, travelled on by Thomson to Augusta,
and never rested until the Georgia Railroad
Bank had my clients share of the money,
and the land-debt had mine.
| took possession of the old home previous
to the arrival of the family. They reached
Thomson at night, and walked out [ was
sound asleep, and was awakened by the glad
voices OF the returned wanderers. My faith
er's first words expressed his delight at the
growth of the shade trees, which he had
planted when he first brought his bride to live
there. My mothers joy seemed to be greatest
when on the arrival of the early spring days.
the yellow jonqulls sprang up, and threw out
their beautiful banners along the squares and
triangles in which she had planted the bulbs
during the sunny period of the honeymoon.
Whose rights were invaded by me when [
purchased that large slice of cheap, thin
land? There were those who jeered at me,
saying that it was ''too poor to sprout COW
peas. One encouraging critic told me that
the soil of that place would ''blister dogs
foot on summers day.. A neighbor walk
ing over the place with me, remarked, "You
ought to buy my place to manure this one
with"
How was Society hurt when I bought that
home for my folks? What individual was
harmed?
Proudhon, one of the founders of Social
ism, declares that "AU property Is tAeft".
From whom did [ steal?
Whose opportunities in life were lessened
by my purchase of a home? In what way
was it made more difficult for some other am
bilious, energetic youth to do likewise?
In this same county, an industrious boy
can do, now, substantially as [ did,-some of
them have done it, and others are doing it.
AS to the supply of land, it is practically
ineXhaustible. The Government has hun
dreds of millions of acres, awaiting the ac-
tual settler. The states have enormous guam
titles. The desert areas Of the West are be-
ing redeemed by irrigation. The Everglades
of Florida are being dredged Texas, alone,
could give homes to millions of city-unem-
ployed.
Wig don't the Socialists do something to
connect the jo6-zess man acith the man-zess
job?
They never do a single thing in that direc-
ton. They spend millions of dollars every
year circulating incendiary literature and
oratory among the unemployed when the
same money, spent on transportation and the
operation of Bureau of information, would
give every idle man a chance to work.
Thelo IS land ouO1LnL and an0uL ell0aLnh f0l.