Evening star., 1925-10-15

tContinued from First Page)
has It. they grow on trees and may
be had for the plucking.
Panied at Flight Of Dollars.
Nor is this condition peculiar to
Washington alone. Chamber OF COM
snerce throughout the land are becom-
sng a bit apoplectic at the sight of SO
many worthy citizens leaving for
Florida. They are asking. even de-
1nanding. that something be done
about 1t. They are deeply panied
at the manner in which SO many
good American dollars, which 50
profitably could be invested in the
old home town, have taken it into
their heads to roam southwark to the
land OF the pineapple, the seashore
and the taxless Inheritance. Better
business bureaus throughout the land
are deluged with Inquiries concerning
place called Florida: are being asked
for real facts on the. Blue Hyacinth
or the Red Tulip Investment Corpora
ton, whose silver tongued statesmen so
adequately present the chance Of a life
time to purchase a lot which will sit
up on its hind legs and double. treble
or quadruple in value at the mere snap
of a finger or n slight inclination OF
the head
Buying real estate in Florida is no
new game of the great outdoors. There
are few families whose members can
not boast the tradition of how Uncle
Tom. Aunt Sue or Cousin Harry, back
in the nineties. bought an orange
grove, a coconut farm or an Angora
goat ranch, and, upon closer and per
sonal inspection, found themselves
a tn, TriN kXr
business in Florida real estate is as old
as the hills. People were getting stung
on Florida real estate before the gold
brick came to be accepted In polite So
Ciety. Yet people in Washington, as
we'll as in every city throughout this
our native land. are buying Florida
real estate as they never bought be-
fore. Not long ago it was difficult, we'll
nigh impossible, to escape the pest
with the latest Coolidge Joke. Now
adays this same man no longer re-
lates Mr.. Coolidee's response to the
lady who sat next to him at the
Eskimo relief fund ball and asked him
if he believed in bell-bottomed trous
ers. Instead this fellow will tell you
the latest Florida story.
A Flyer in Figures.
"A friend Of mine" he'll say, went
down to Florida with 5000 last week
Night before last 1 met him down on
r street drinking a lemon soda and
he told me he'd cleaned up $1,000"
The story may then be retold. substi-
tuting the figures 100000 and 100000
it makes little difference.
Or maybe you'll hear the story of
the man who put an advertisement in
the paper to sell his lots for SO 900.
The next day a man came along and
told him he would give him $25 900 as
q cash payment and note for the bal
ance payable in 80 days. The paper
had made a typographical error and
the $4,000 had read 100000.
Or your frin will tell you about
Jim.
"J:m's In Florida now. Making ten
-twenty-thirty thousand dollars a
month. Lots better than working for
the Government at s., 400 year. eh?"
Florida, as q matter of fact, Is put
ting it all over the Ford automobile
for getting itself advertised through
becoming a general and popular sub
Ject for conversation. But what about
this Florida boom? Is everybody max
ing fabulous fortunes overnight, or is
IL true that only the winners are talk
Ing, that the suckers who got stung
are hiding around the corner some.
where, not letting on they know where
the State of Florida is? l endeavored
to find something about what Wash
ington bankers and real estate men
think of the present Florida boom.
interviewed number of them. They
told me plenty. but they declined to
be quoted In the privacy Of their
Offices they will probably talk to you,
IL you know them, as they did to ME.
Here's What They Think Here.
The following resume Of what some
Washington bankers and real estate
men think of the Florida boom is
placed in quotation marks to empha-
size the fact that it is one opinion. 1t
reflects, as accurately as 1 can make
it, the belief Of those with whom l
talked
Investment in Florida real estate
at this time presents much the same
general problem faced in the purchase
of any real estate. 1t is reasona BILE,
for instance, that you should make
the same careful investigation and ask
the same questions concerning a lot
in Lollapaloosa that would occur to
YOU before purchasing a lot on Con-
necticut avenue. And if you can af
ford to pay the price asked. and the
proposition is attractive to you, why,
20 ahead. But. on the other hand, If
your available funds are limited. II
what you know Of your prospective
purchase is CLEANED from an experinced
Ice L irh Se-J