The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-07-23
THE EMPIRE OF THE SOUTH

When Disston in the late sos pu
In practice his great drainag,
scheme, whereby navigation be
tween kissimmee and Fort Myer.
was established. an enormous ares
of rich land reclaimed. one of tn,
largest sugar estates in the country
created, and several new towns pu,
on the map, the great empire in the
south began. Kissimmee, until then
mere trading post for cattle men
became surrounded with farms and
orchards, and soon began to put on
city airs and growth that has new.
er halted. The banks of the Caloosa.
hatchee were settled up, and Fort
Myers began thesplendid growth she
has ever since enjoyed.
Then came Flagler. In 1905 his
railroad reached Palm Beach. Every
thing south of Fort Pierce was then
forbidding wilderness, the stations
merely signboards, and an occas-
ional pineapple patch with it's tent
were all the signs of settlement
seen. West Palm Beach was a vii
lage of cheap wooden buildings, and
the great hotel and its beautiful
grounds were in the making. Be-
tween Palm Beach and Fort Laud-
erdale was stage route over a hor-
rible road. FIT. Lauderdale then con-
sisted of house of refuge kept by
the government and two or three
fishermen's huts What do we see
now? West Palm Beach is a splen-
did and popular city, and Fort
Lauderdale is not far behind. Miami
in 1895 was little hamlet inhabit-
ed by few fishermen and wreckers:
now she is metropolis which soon
will have suburbs in the Everglades
connected with all points in the
north and west, and with Cuba
(and later Central America), via
Key West, by the most costly and
wonderful railway the world has
ever seen.
The last of the great empire
builders was Broward, as enthusiast
tic as Disston, as brave as Flagler.
He was the father of the Everglades
drainage. Where others saw an in
mense swamp impossible to conquer,
but not worth conquering, he saw
only the rich soil beneath the water
and the figures in the surveyors
field books, which showed that there
was plainly of fall for drainage can
ais. He went back to dust, but not
before he had given the reclamation
work such an impetus that the work
cannot stop before completed. Fort
Pierce, Juniper, West Palm Beach,
Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Punta
Gorda, Manatee, Bradentown, Fort
Myers. Tampa, Plant City, Lake.
land, Barlow, Sanford-all will fat
ten from the products of the Ever
glades. Between these cities small
er towns have sprung up as if by
magic, and the next map of Florida
will be sprinkled with dots denoting
them, and, the one to follow will
have those mystery inspiring names
The Everglades, and big Cy-
press eliminated, and in their
places will be dots for towns and
lines for railways and canals.
Until 1890 Lake Okeechobee was
as little known as Lake Victoria
Nyanza, in Africa. Even until
quite lately it was known only to
a few hunters and fishers. Now we
read that immense quantities of
vegetables are sent from its shores
by canal to Miami, from there to 60
by rail to the northern markets.
Progress?
The brave men named, inspired
smaller capitalists to come and in
vest and they were followed by
home seekers. The men who inhab-
it this country are brave and hope
full, resourceful and liberal. No
weaklings would dare to trust the
untried conditions they met on every
hand. But fortune has followed
them. They abe. making money and
want to make more. They bond for
railways, roads, canals, school,
houses, court-houses. They keep
leather leggings" busy with his
transit and level, building railroads.
annals, bitches, hard roads. Flowing I
vellu for ;rr;oation 49, - -