Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-08-17
SESSIONS GIVES OUT
Purposes OF LAND
CONGRESS IN STATE

WAYCRoSS. Ca, aug. 17-The fol.
loving statement of the purpose of the
Georgia Land Congress to be held al
Waycross, Ca, on August 23rd was
given out today by Alex k Seasons,
chairman of the committee on organ
ization:
1t is proposed that the owners of
undeveloped lands in the state of
Georgia shall effect an organization
with the following broad purposes:
1st-To provide a medium for the
exchange of information and views
based upon experience, as TO what they
shall do with their lands.
2nd-To bring about, if possible, a
concerted plan for the realization of
profit from their holdings.
AS to the foregoing propositions-no
extended argument is necessary.
Who among the large land owners of
idle land in Georgia has any well
defined plan as to what he will even
tually do with his holdings? Where
the land is still covered with uncut
timber, the saw-mill and turpentine
farm offer opportunity for immediate
activity and profit. But what about the
lands that will soon be left, and what
about those millions of acres already
cut over, and covered with nothing but
stumps? Shall he hold all, or any part
of these lands for REPRESENTATION for
the future lumbermen and turpentine
ard what shall be the policy? Shall he
offer them for sale as agricultural
lands? If so, to whom, and when, and
what if anything may he do to hasten
the time when they may be SO develop
&c, and sold at profit to himself and
with fairness to the purchaser?
These are living questions as yet
unanswered, and their solution is
fraught with golden possibilities. There
are twelve millions of andeveloped
acres OF land in Georgia. Give these
acres an added value Of ten dollars per
acre each, and colosson fortune Of
($120,0O0,O0O) one hundred and twenty
million dollars is created. This is not
mere hypothesis. It is simple prob
lem in business arithemetic, and with
such stakes to strive for why should
we not at least make the effort to has
ten the day when it shall be at our dis
posal?
Organization will accomplish that
which individual effort will totally fail
to reach-and what could be more OBJ
vious than the advantages of an org
anization of intelligence and effort of
owners of large acres of land into
common policy of self service, and
therefore, public service. Because it
necessarily follows that that which
righteously serves the individual
serves society.
What are the problems confronting
Georgia land owners which when APP
preached individually are almost bound
to be impossible, or at least impracti-
cable but which approached collec-
lively give every promise of successful
accomplishment Let us name few
of these problems:
1st-The immediate eradication of
the Texas fever cattle tick, as an alb
sclutely necessary step to make our
lands available for profitable live
stock industry, as the necessary basis
for a self supporting agriculture.
neutrality-suspicious. drainage is
is justified by circum-
stances.
3rd-Road making to render these
lands accessible.
4th-The systematic supervision OF
individual developments. How many
developments begin and thrive for
time and finally fail disastrously?
These failures are highly damaging to
q community, and what right has an
- - s,.to n mona O. ndQ that