The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-08-06
UNCLE SAM AS LAND BUYER.
United States IS Worlds Largest Dealer and
Has Made Some Good Bargains.

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Has Made Some Good Bargains.
Since the American colonies
threw off the CALLING yoke of
English rule and became an in
dependent nation ''Uncle SAM
has been the largest real estate
dealer the world has ever pro-
duced.
Instead of trading in a few town
lots or an occasional one-thous-
and acre farm, the government
has transacted q whole sale bus
mess, dealing in thousands of
square miles, and on three sep
arate occasions the transfers have
involved more than500, 000square
miles each.
Commencing with the purchase
from Napoleon in 1903 of what is
known as the Louisiana Pur-
chase" a tract of 875. 1925 square
miles, extending from the Gulf
of Mexico to the Canadian bor-
der and from the Mississippi
river to the Pacific ocean, for
which $4,000, was paid, the
United States has bought land
whenever opportunity presented
itself, until no European power
owns a square foot of territory
on this continent with the single
exception of England, which still
retains her Canadian possessions.
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 attempts to
expand beyond the Allegheny
mountains were strenuously and
successfully opposed by th e
French for many years.
By virtue of owning land on
both sides of the mouth of the
Mississippi, Spain claimed con
troll of that river, thus shutting
in without an outlet all the coun
try west of the then impossible
mountains.
Later Spain was forced to cede
the Louisiana territory to France,
but her sovereignty lasted a com
paratively short tine. When Ma
poleon had become so involved in
wars that he stood along against
the whole of Europe he saw the
utter impossibility Of protecting
his American possessions against
the superior navy of England.
and gladly seized upon the op-
portunity to rid himself of some
thing he could not hold and at
the same time put Is, 900, 900 gold
dollars into his Golfers in Paris.
Mr.. Jefferson, president of the
United States, no less gladly &C.
cepted the chance Of acquiring
the territory at an almost nomi-
nal 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 875, 1926 square
miles, nearly Is times as large as
the state of New York, contains
the great gold, silver and copper
mines Of the Black Hills and the
Wonderful prairie lands which
have become the granary of the
world. For this rich country the
United States paid q cents per
acre.
Our next royal customer was
Ferdinand VII, of Spain.
Having squandered his ready
cash in vain attempts to regain
his South American possessions.
he was sadly in need of money
to keep up his dissipated court
and licentious indulgences which
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 pro-
cured, suggested the sale of the
Land of Flowers" Florida, as
a last resort. Negotiations were
Immediately entered into with
the United States, which result
ed in the transfer of this jewel
from the Spanish crown to the
starry field of the Union flag.
Thus, for S., 100000. sufficient to
enable Ferdinand to continue his
extravagant pleasures for a brief
period, Uncle Sam became the
possessor of 70, ,107 square miles
of territory, and one more Europ.
can thorn was withdrawn from
North America.
While the cost, 124 cents an
acre, was considerably higher
than the Louisiana purchase, it
must be remembered thatin those
days Florida was much more ac-
cessible than the territory west
of the Mississippi.
In 184S, after the close Of the
war with Mexico, that country
ceded to the United States $685.
802 square miles of land for the
sum of s13, ,250,00 So, 100000 of
which was to be paid to the citi-
zens of the United States, who
held war claims against Mexico.
This magnificent property IN
11,,loL 81 ~r ~