The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-10-20

illness year and half ago 1t was with
some sense of content that he realized
that his work could be committed by him
to man still In middle life who for years
was in sympathy with Mr.. Flagler. shared
his enthusiasm and had profound faith
that the future would demonstrate the
reasonableness of those amazing and in
some sense wizard-like undertakings
which have identified Mr.. F'lagler's name
with Florida.
Mr.. Flagler was very asture reader of
men, He rarely if ever made any mis-
| take in his judgment of those with whom
he was brought In close association. For
this reason, he was rejoced that he could
commit to Mr.. Parrott the work of com
pleting the great undertaking in Florida
which he himself had begun.
How They Became Acquainted
Exactly how Mr.. Parrot and Mr.. Flag
Ter were brought into intimate business
and personal companionship was known
only to themselves. Mr.. PARROT was a
graduate of Yale % years ago. After he
was admitted to the bar he made choice
of Florida for the practice of his pro-
fession and it must have been in con-
nection with some professional employ
ment that he came in touch with Mr.
Flasler-probably about the time that
the latter began the construction of the
Florida East Coast railroad and the es-
tabiishment of his chain of hotels. Rail-
road construction in Florida was justi-
ned TO the understanding of Mr.. Parroat
Tor the same reason which persuaded Mr..
Flagler to this undertaking. The younger
man reckoned upon very great devel-
opment of agriculture in Florida and the
ultimate cultivation .of the very rich
lands, especially in southern Florida,
after these had been reclaimed from
swamps.
So also Mr. Parrott warmly supported
the profoundly original view taken by Mr.
flagler which led him to invest millions
of his own money in the extension of the
Florida East Coast line by viaducts based
upon coral reefs and encircling the lower
end of the peninsula, with a terminal at
Key West. Mr.. Flagler and Mr. Parrott
agreed that with the opening of the
Panama canal Key West would become of
Importance both commercially, and STRAIT
| egically. They looked to the great ex-
pansion of transportation between Cuba
and the United States by means of an
ocean ferry operating between Key West
and Havana
Suddenly Cut Off
| A year and a half after the death of
Mr. flagler, Mr.. PARROT is mortally
stricken at his summer home in Maine
stricken, too, with organic disease which
he probably had no suspicion was lurk-
ing in his system. The important rail-
road construction which Mr. Flagler
planned and which Mr.. Parrott was COM
pieting, by which a railroad along the
backbone of the Florida peninsula would
make available for cultivation the very
rich lands as far south as the great
lakes of Florida, must now be completed
by other hands The improvements of the
Florida East Coast line, included in which
was to be double tracking for the whole
distance, must either be suspended or be
placed in charge of some new man not
vet familiar with the conditions there
The canalization of Lake Olxeechobee so
that artificial navigation could be OBJ
| tained between that great lake and the
sea, with incidental drainage of the Ever
| glades must be undertaken by someone
whom the remaining trustees under the
| Flagler will may choose. Whether Mr..
Parrott had taken any one into his con-
/ fidence Is yet to be learned. BY the terms
| of Mr.. Flaglers will. Mr.. Parrott was to
/ be the executive head of all the Flagler
undertakings in Florida. That relation
has lasted only about Is months. He was
one of the trustees of the great estate left
| by Mr.. Flagler, estimated by some OF
Mr. FIagler's Wall street friends as ag-
gregating about $60,o0O.000.
The Two Ways
| Boston capital first undertook railway
development in Florida upon a great
scale. The late r. NJ. Pulsifer with few
business friends. constructed a railroad
from Sanford village at the head of the
st. Johns river, to Kissimmee, where
steamboat connection was made with the
great lakes of southern Florida. Mr. Pull
sifer builded wiser than he knew, but he
built too soon. Shortly after the COM
pletion of the railroad, President Chester
A. Arthur was taken over it. The Pres
| ident was greatly interested in the VEN
ture, but he said after the excursion
was finished that unless Boston capital
was very great he was fearful lest it
would be exhausted before the railroad
earned operating expenses, although ulti-
mately the country in that vicinity would
furnish profitable transportation for a
| railroad.
About that time Mr. Pulsifer became in
development in Florida, and the late John
W. Gambler. Boston merchant, at one
time a member Of the lower house OF
Congress, interested a number of his bus
mess friends in railroad construction in
Florida upon a great scale. Mr.. Gambler
| spoke to the present writer with enthus-
| ia SIN about his Florida development plan.
| He was to build his railroad chiefly
through the financing of a very large
land grant which he had succeeded in get
/ ting from Florida. This aggregated about
| 250e0 acres mile. Mr.. Gamblers plan
was to build one section, say of 10 miles.
I and in that way to secure title to the land
upon which as security he proposed to
base bonds by means of which money
| would be obtained SO that another section
/, Of 10 miles could be built and so on until
the road was carried to Palatka to a har-
boz on the gulf coast of Florida.
Only Half Successful
| The project was not more than half sue
cessful. The millions OF acres of land
which the company obtained were not
very productive. for a good deal of it was
swamp land. Mr.. Gambler proposed or
ganizing a great cattle company, belev-
ing that the rich grasses of Florida would
fatten best beef that came into the
market He did not dream that the great
Ell riches were beneath the surface. and
I; il was not until another Boston merchant,
Peter Bradley, had secured vast tracts
| of land from MIR. Gamblers company and
| disclosed after the purchase enormously
| rich deposits of phosphates that 1t was
| learned that better than cattle ranches or
the cultivation of vegetables or fruit was