The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1912-04-04


real estate dealer the world has ever
produced.
Instead of trading in a few town
lots or an occasional thousand acre
farm, the government has transacted
a wholesale business, dealing IN
thousands of square miles and on
three separate occasions the trans
fers have involved more than half
million square miles each.
Commencing with the purchase
from Napoleon in 1903 of what IS
known as the Louisiana Purchase,
a tract of S75,O25 square miles, ex-
tending from the Gulf of Mexico to
the Canadian border and from the
Mississippi river to the Pacific ocean,
for which SIS, 100000 were paid, the
United States has bought land when
ever opportunity presented itself, un-
til no European power owns square
foot of territory on this continent
with the single exception of England,
who still retains her Canadian pos
sessions.
Originally the English colonies
were supposed to extend from the
Atlantic to the Pacific coast, but IN
reality no effort was made by them
or the mother country to occupy any
part of the unknown country west OF
the Mississippi river. Even their at
tempts to expand beyond the Allegha-
nv mountains were strenuously and
successfully opposed by the French
for many years.
By virtue of owning land on both
sides of the mouth of the Mississippi
river, Spain claimed control OF that
river, thus shutting in without an
outlet all the country west OF the
then impossible mountains.
Later Spain was forced to cede the
Louisiana Territory to France; but
her sovereignty lasted a comparative
Iy short time. When Napoleon had
become so involved in wars that he
stood alone against the whole OF
Europe he saw the utter imposslD1nty
of protecting his American possess
sions against the superior navy OF
England, and gladly seized upon the
opportunity to rid himself of some
thing he could not hold and at the
same time put 100000 gold dol
lars into his Golfers in Paris. Mr..
Jefferson, president of the United
States, no less gladly accepted the
chance of acquiring the territory at
an almost nominal cost, and at the
same time taking the first step toward
what afterward became known as the
Monroe Doctrine, 'America for
Americans.
This territory of S75,025 square
miles, nearly eighteen times as large
as the State of New York, contains
the great gold, silver and copper
mines of the Black Hills and the Won
derful prairie lands which have be-
come the granary of the world. For
this rich country the United States
paid 2-3 cents per acre.
Think of buying eighteen States
the size, of New York for s15,OOO,-
900, the cost of one bridge across the
East river.
Our next royal customer was Fer
dinand VII. of Spain.
Having squandered his ready cash
in vain attempts to regain his South
American possessions, Re was sadly
in need of money to keep up his dis
sipated court and licentious indul-
gences, which had cost his country
so dearly in men, morals and money.
Ferdinand's minister of finance,
having exhausted every source from
which funds could be procured, sug-
gested the sale of the Land of Flow
ers,'' Florida, as last resort. Ne
gotiations were Immediately entered
into with the United States, which
resulted in the transfer of the jewel
from the Spanish crown to the starry
field of the Union flag. Thus, for
s5,5OO,0OO, sufficient to enable Fer
dinand to continue his extravagant
pleasures for brief period, Uncle
Sam became the possessor of 7O,1O7
square miles of territory, and one
more European thorn was drawn from
North America.
While the cost, 12% cents an acre,
was considerably higher than the
Louisiana Purchase, it must be re-
membered that in those days Florida
was much more accessible than the
territory west of the Mississippi.
In 1S4S, after the close of the war
with Mexico, that country ceded to
the United States 523,S02 square
,oiloe Of 1ond for tho sim of S12 250-