The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-02-27
FLORIDA Is NOT
POOR MANS LAND
WashingtOnian Writes of
What He Saw There.
PLAYGROUND FOR THE RICH
Soil Requires Constant FertiIizing
and Frost Is Serious Menace-To-
matO Crop Ruined In One Night.
Real Estate Active in Cuba.
westerners GoIng There.

Grant Parish, Of this city, who has been
spending a part of the winter in Florida
and the West Indies. writes The Wash
ington Herald from Havana some Of his
Impressions of the far South. While at
Palm Beach Mr. Parish met Henry NJ.
Flagler and talked with him about Florida
and the railroad enterprise which Is to
connect the Keys with Eastport. Me.
Mr. Parish describes Mr.. Flagler as
man eighty years old with the appearance
of oHe fifty. From him general notion
of the railroad enterprise was gained
The work OF building about ten miles OF
concrete viaduct across the open sea hav-
ing the character Of a pier, railroad
bridge and general terminal out to the
end Of the Florida keys. is now under
way Mr. Parish says this will be the
natural terminal Of railroads on the
eastern coast of the country when the
Panama Canal is finally opened to inter-
national business.
Writes About Florida.
OF Florida Mr.. Parish writes:
while in Florida I was surprised TO
requires constant feTtilizing. Even the
newly drained everglades with virgin soil.
requires artificial fertllizing with each
crop, and If omitted the crop dwindles
nothing Thus at the start planters have
a milestone around their necks.
Soil such as we know it in the North
is unknown in Florida. It means a new
face to the soil for each crop at about
$40 ton for the fertilizer. Then. again,
the uncertainty Of frost is a serious han
dicap. I have seen hundreds OF acres Of
fine tomatoes. red and ripe. all ready TO
be picked and shipped, when a sudden
'norther" would arrive between the set
ting and the rising of the sun and the
whole crop would be ruined.
Il consider Florida hard and uncer-
tain proposition for any poor working
man to lay the foundation of an agricul-
tural or horticultural enterprise. The
frost line is not sure even at Miami.
which is $50 miles south of Jacksonville,
and below that point there is not much
land fit for cultivation poor man
might better stay out of Florida.
Playground for Old People.
"As land Of sunshine, orange blossoms,
and Seminole romance. Florida is adora-
bic, and truly the playground for old
people with little marrow in their bones.
It Is the place for invalids in winter and
the chosen spot for the nabob to kill
time between the fashionable seasons OF
the North.
Leaving Florida and sailing ninety
miles in nine hours one is delighted
with Cuba and it's capital city OF Havana
a beautiful miniature Madrid, with
dazzling gay coast OF Paris combined.
The cid town is very old and ancient.
and the new town is very new and mod
ern. making a strong contrast between
the past and the present periods Of civfli-
zation.
People Unsettled Politically.
IF the truth must be told the people
here are unsettled politically. The presi-
dent OF the senate is a black man with a
following OF 10000 of the same hue.
The better classes hope that some trouble
may take place which will furnish a pre-
text for the United States to step in
and formally take possession Of the gov
eminent as an island possession.
The real estate business here in Cuba
Is at fever heat. Brokers. promoters. and
buyers mostly from the Western States.
particularly Montana and the Dakotas,
are here in swarms, en- route for the Isle
Of Pines, which lies south of Cuba. Land
that was bought year or two ago at 80
cents an acre is now selling a. $50 20 800
an acre. It is called Magic Land
Although owned by the republic OF
Cuba the inhabitants Of the Isle Of Pines
and land owners are about 30 per cent
Americans"