Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, 1922-06-20

time he was insane was When ne
purchased land on the island
without first investigating the
proposition, is the answer OF Andy
Anderson whose expose OF the
PaImito del Verde land selling
swindle brought upon his head the
wrath of the promoters and their
supporters and led them to attack
him In a letter printed in the
morning paper and circulated by
mail to victims of the land sellers
The letter in answer to Anderson
expose charged that he was either
drunk or insane during the time
he was on the island.
"If was ever insane it was
when l bought land on the is
i land" said Anderson. 'lr l was
drunk it was from the effects OF
the intoxicating claims Of O'Bryan
and his co-workers in the cause OF
Fleeing Salemites out of approx
mately 100000"
Anderson declares that the rosy
stories of the promoters OF the is
land are false to the core. The
assertion that the island is fit
place for white people to live is
met with the flat declaration that
the island is the fit and proper
place for a person who desires to
commit suicide by slow and tor
turous route.
"Of late the promoters have dis
carded many of the attractive sell
] ling arguments with which they
: Iopened the sales campaign in Sa-
> lem," said Anderson, "and they
3 are now concentrating then
} verbal fire on the commercial pos
4 sibilities of cocoanuts on the is
: land.
ITO anyone who has been on
0 the island and observed closely
the conditions there the talk oi
g making cocoanuts profitable
o commercial crop sounds foolish
i True, the cocoanut palms are
: grown, but their development to
e bearing stage takes years and th'
e nuts eventually grown are OF in
i ferior quality. This is due to thu
u fact that the palms have such
e short growing season each year
e They are dormant during most o
e the dry season-nine months II
IS the year-and get nourishmen
h during only about three months.
s, This man O'Bryan is smootl
II promoter when it comes t
II handling a scheme like this one
q In handling the Salem deals b
n had the assistance of Purvine an
L Archerd. About January /, 1921
is Purvine went down to the islam
I'd and remained about six weeks
es Upon his return he declared tha
it was the most wonderful plac
v that he had ever seen, and tha
OF the owners were not making an
n effort to dispose of the little Ian
e. still unsold at that time. He n
to ported that we could telegraph
to O'Bryan in San Francisco to see
Sc there was any land left, which "
OF did. O'Bryan answered that l
te would stop off in Salem on n
be way back to Canada to show pro
n pectiye investors here what Ian
remained unsold. From that tin
OF on O'Bryan and Mrs. Harper mat
be many trips to Salem, as result
Ip- which they took approximate
ed 100000 out of oregon.
RI "Purvine is related to MI
ost Harper, the head promoter,
81 marriage. Mrs. Purvine's cousi
or Mr.. Thomas, who now lives on Il
ols island married daughter
lth Mrs. Harper, who is sometim
lld called the Queen of Palmito d
ioi Verde
ide "O'Bryan says in transmittil
ate the letter Of the Palmito del Yer
nt' boosters to the morning paper tn
en- more than 1000 acres of land
tu- the island will have been clear
by the end of this year. He pre-
ably calls cutting brush cleariT
but it is only small part of t
rr clearing process necessary to pi
cU bare the island land for guilty
ton. His claim that cotton is
All ing grown on the island is laug
K a able to anyone who has been thu
the and there are many other W
and will bear me out in this asserti'
for "o'Bryan's reference to the P
lres mito del Verde Agricultural as
lud citation is the most amusing Of