Middletown transcript., 1915-05-01
A NEW TOWN WILL
Be ESTABLISHED
Colony From Canal Zone to
Settle in Charles County.
is HELPFUL TO THE STATE
About Forty Families Of Canal EN-
pIoyes, With Combined Savings
OF About $4,000, Will Make
Their Homes Here.

A great boom to Southern Maryland
is the purchase of $500 acres of land
in Charles county by a colony of en-
ployes of the Panama Canal and their
families. They have organized them
selves into the Canal Zone Club. Added
to this tract is the acquisition Of 1000
acres of adjoining land by company
which will improve and develop it.
The Southern Maryland tract ac-
quired is between White Plains and
Waldorf The average price was
$1s.75 per acre. The colony, which
realized that new homes must be
secured with the completion of the
q suitable site for a settlement. That
committee visited 16 States before it
decided that the Charles county prop
osition was the most attractive. The
land is in the Popes Greek branch of
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company on
the new state road, and is within a
few miles of Washington. The pros
pective settlers have combined saw
ings of about $4,000. They will
acquire $500 acres from the purchas-
ing company at cost, with expenses of
searching titles, deeds, ETC., added,
giving long time notes in payment.
Their capital will be spent in erecting
homes, outbuildings, fences and in
other developments.
The land was not acquired until its
fertility and productiveness had been
fully investigated. This work was
done by DR.. S. r. Hopkins, formerly
professor of agriculture at the Uni
versity of Indiana After a chemical
analysis of the soil he said tnat it was
capable, after development of produc
ing any kind of crop that can be grown
in this latitude. He said the improve
ments to soil would cost SIG per acre
and with this expenditure the land
would be as productive as that in the
Indiana corn belt, where the loves
price is 800 per acre.
Aided the Enterprise.
Instrumental in securing the colony
for Maryland were the Southern Set
tlement and Development Organiza
ton, of which S. Davis Warield il
president; W. L. Marbury and Rober
Grain. Edwin Warfield, Jr., son of thu
former Governor, has taken a deep in
terest in the enterprise and has aideC
It financially.
Mr. Marbury consented to act tenn
porarily as president of the company
which has acquired the land. He will
hand the managerial reins over tt
Clement s. Ucker, manager of thu
Southern Settlement and Development
Organization. Mr. Ucker was one o
the most capable men in the govern
ment service.
Canal Zone Club.
The Canal Zone Club is an organ
ization consisting of some 80 or 40 mel
and their families, who have been en-
gagged for seven or eight years pas
in work connected with the construC
tion of the Panama Canal AS tina
work approached completion, thes'
people, who had been living togethe
so many years, conceived the design O
securing a tract of agricultural LAM
somewhere in the United States AM
settling upon it. Many of them ha,
previously been engaged in agricu
tural pursuits, and these various fam
flies had accumulated savings amount
ing to about $4,000 or $4,000.
They desired to purchase a goo
agricultural land, well located wit
reference to markets and with prope
transportation facilities, making
small initial payment, the balance G
the purchase money to be paid in IL
stalments running over a period Of 1
years, and thus reserving the bulk c
their capital to equip and improv
their farms.