The Oskaloosa herald., 1911-02-09
CLIMATE IS fine, BUT
c. E. Howar Gives His Impressions
of Southern Texas.

the following letter, which will be
read with interest:
San Antonio, Tex, Feb. Friend
John: Your letter received several
days ago. ad was awful glad to hear
from you. We are all getting alog
fine and the weather is simply grand.
suppose Tim Fritch will be here to.
day. ! noticed by the paper he
would star Monday.
4 Well, John, think this is grand
place to winter in, but aside from
that there is nothing to it. They
can't raise anything. 1t never rains
here and you can't irrigate, as the
/ water from the artesian wells is min
eralzed and kills the crop. They
simply raise nothing here. The town
is made up of land sharks. There
are over 700 land agents in this town
north. 1t is a shame the way they
bleed the northern people. There is
nothing to keep this town up except
tourists. There are no factories or
any enterprise that employs labor.
The richer element comprise people
who have made their money else
where and come here to live on &C
count of The climate, and it is great
place for poor people as it does not
cost as much for fuel and heavy
clothing as in the north.
Everybody is lazy who has lived
here any length of time, and it
seems. to look at them, that every
body is trying to see how little work
he can do and live. The stores are
far below the stores in our country.
This is a town of 100000 population
and | am positive that nine-tenths
of the grocers have not got stock
that will invoice over two hundred
dollars to the store.
The residence district has some
beautiful homes. Every home is set
on cedar blocks or posts. There are
no cellars. Rents are very high. On
Huston street Chat is the main bust
ness street, a room 20X60 feet will
rent for from $500 to $3.50 per month.
The United Cigar Stores Co. has a
store here on the corner 17X22 feet
They pay $500 per month, | got
pretty we'll acquainted with the real
estate agent we rent the house of,
where we live, and he asked me the
other day if | thought | could inter-
est some of my friends in the north
to invest some money down here in
money, 100 per cent on land, by get
ting an option on thousands of acres
at from SO to $3.50 per acre 3nd
selling it for $50 and $40. l listened
to his talk until he got through, then
told him that | considered these
agents worse than thieves, for
shief will only take what you got in
sight, while these land sharks take
all you could pay down and then take
all you could rake and scrape every
month for five years. The slickest
sharks are the lady land agents.
They stand around on the streets
and when they see a grey bearded
tenderfoot from the north looking at
the tall buildings, they land on the
guy, and in about fifteen minutes
they have got him on the street car
taking him out 20 show him some
fine lots, where they expect to build
a suburban city in the next few
months. Inc lady agents only work
the old men. 1t is fun to watch hem.
am surprised that they get so en-
Unused over their country. They
can't market anything if they did
happen 20 raise it, There is no mar
ket in this part of the country. You
know we hear so much about the
Bermuda onion down here. Well,
this is the answer to that: The on
ion grows fine and dandy until just
about a week before lime to pull
them, then there is an insect called
the onion fee that crawls down the
stem and sucks the life right out OF
it and the onion rots in As hours.
The real estate graft is even de-
nounced by the local papers. The
Texas Republic, leading local paper,
on January 81, contained the follow
ing editorial comment:
Land values have been boom
ed and exploited by San Antonio
real estate dealers far beyond
their JUS or possible future val
ues-boomed and exploited not
for the purpose of peopleing this
vast section of country with hon.
est, frugal, Industrious homeseek-
ers, but purely for selfish and
pecuniary profit. Lands that
would noS yield a profit on two
or three dollars an acre, have
been unloaded on credulous and
innocent purchasers at from ten
to twenty-five, thirty, forty, and
even fifty dollars or more an
acre.
at Is a crime, the manner in
which innocent hOmeseekers have
| been despoiled. Usually they
are required 20 pay from one
| fourth to one-half the purchase
money on taking possession;
when the balance falls due, eth
er the owner or the land agent
! takes possession.