The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1912-02-16
{. ROY MILcENT ON FLORIDA
An AIIuring Pen Picture of the Land
of Flowers, Sunshine and
Prosperitv


Mr.. E. Roy Milcent, in a recent
number of the Cosmopolitan Maya
zine, says:
ST have been all over the great
state of Florida. / have been up one
coast and down the other. | have
seen all the famous show places Of
the state. / have seen the mighty re-
suits of Florida's wonderful and in
comparable soil. Last year I saw
the human trend of travel to Florida
like great army of invasion. have
seen land values rise several hum
dred per cent. in only few months
because of this tremendous demand
for Florida land. l know the beauty
of her exquisite climate, her growing
yerdure, her draped trees festooned
with the dreamy moss, her pines,
palms, palmettoes, her wonderful
streams, unlike those of any other
region of the world, and / have felt
the gripping charm of her out of
doors that seems to hold one en-
tranced as though by a spell.
"All the wonders of Florida it has
been my peculiar pleasure to have
visited and viewed during the past
two years. I am wholly and CON-
pletely subdued and infected with the
index finger on the right hand of the
world. Here are soon to come the
| tireless greyhounds of the sea, carry
ing full cargoes to all parts of the
universe on their way to and from
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans
through the Panama canal. The en-
tire state is one gigantic field of ac-
tivity. Development is in the air ev-
erywhere. The madness of money
and opportunity has grasped hands.
The government has appropriated
many millions for the improvement
of Florida waterways. This points
to the nearby future, when Florida
shall stand forth to the world with
the most important ports of call for
the thousands of ocean vessels which
will have directed their course to-
wards the Panama canal and Florida.
There are more stupendous undertake
ings in this state than in any other
section of our nation.
FLORIDA has been known heretofore
as the rich mans playground but it
has now become the poor mans par
adise.'
1--WE people of the north and east
west do not know what life is I'M
til we have spent some time in Flor
ida.
"The beauty of the sky and land
scape, the beauty of climate and
health, the voluptiousness of foliage
and farms, are nothing to be compar-
ed with the great and limitless OPP
portunities for the man of ordinary
means to establish himself upon just
a few acres and make those few acres
give him all there is in life to own.
II have seen ten acres of Florida
land produce at the rate of more than
| $500 per acre. The man who owned
| this garden patch of ground came to
Florida to die, after he had sickened
his body bending over a dirty desk
| for fifteen years in a northern city;
and, mark you, this man knew moth
| ing of farming when he came. Today
he is rich beyond his widest dreams
of youth. He can go out any day of
the year and pick growing things for
his table. His wife and babies are
simply bubbling over in generous
health, and this man is every bit as
much a prince as though ages of roy
al blood flowed through his veins.
have visited the many successful
colonies which have sprung up over
| Florida, and 1 have seen there more
peace, pleasure and profit to the
square inch than has ever been my
good fortune to behold before
| Ih1hu yOu, CnCOO uOl tuCln lilC1 duQ
women who are filling up Florida are
not a few hundreds in numbers, but
they can be seen by the thousands
and scores of thousands. You may
talk with them from the windows of
your Pullman as you travel along, and
the universal answer to your question
is: I would not go back home for
anything in the world
Nov, when the whole north is set
Ting down to six months of ice, idle
ness, large coal and plumber bills,
and the northern farmer is doing
nothing but chop wood and mend
fence, the Florida farmer is tilling his
fields, planting his third crops which
he will send to market in midwinter
and sell for prices that would set a
northern farmer by ears with envy.