Evening star., 1925-10-15

let: If you know nothing more of
Florida or locations than may be learn
ed from a casual study of a railroad
map, then--in simple but emphatic
language, lay or.
"The present Florida boom is largely
a gamble. If you are lucky, you stand
perhaps a slightly better chance Of
winning than you will If you go out
to one of the Maryland tracks and bet
on the ponies. Florida, on the other
hand. has by no means reached the
peak of it's development. There are
beautiful. worthwhile and valuable
properties for sale which have sound
backing. The State has advantages
which should make it the vacation
spot for the Eastern United States.
1T has been delayed in getting
properly discovered. But this dis
covery has been followed by the same
reactions on the part OF the pop-eyed
public which always mark the dis
covery Of gold. of oil. or Of the source
Of extraordinary good beer OF illegally
high alcoholic content.
Trusting POpulace Slightly Mad.
"The trusting populace. it would
seem, has gone slightly mad. Values
have become enormously inflated.
The thing is economically unsound.
If a crash comes. and many believe
It necessarily must. the fellow who
bought the last time will be holding
the bag, and, s history has a way OF
repeating itself on such occasions, 1t
will be the little fellows, and not the
big boys, who come out at the little
end of the horn. The thing which
has happened in other booms prob
ably will happen in Miami, where, re-
ports state, the people are scrambling
for lots more madly than elsewhere.
Folks will so to bed some night feel
ing not only healthy. but wealthy and
wise. They will wake up the next
day to find that buying. for some
reason or another, has stopped. The
bidders will have quit their bidding,
the suckers will have ceased their
biting, the 'snow-birds' (as the North
ern visitors are sometimes describ-
ed) will have paused in their flight
to search for roosting places else
where. The purchaser of the 100000
lot will discover that it has shrunk In
value to the original $4,000 cash pay
ment, leaving him obligated for the re-
naming $4,000.
What will happen in Miami. if
predictions are true. will happen in
many other parts of Florida where
prices now are beyond reason. De-
flation will follow throughout the
State. The courts down there will be
swamped for years to come with realty
litigation. Many thousands of those
who went to Florida to live, lured by
magic tales Of golden harvests, will
find themselves without work, pack
their belongings In the rusty flivver
and journey back to the States which
gave them birth. which sheltered them
in their innocent youth. And Florida,
destined in later years to become a
great and prosperous State, will re-
turn to normal and begin a healthy
and progressive development.
Crash Would Have No General Effect
"A crash in Florida. il one should
occur, will have little effect on the
country at large. Florida'S present
population Of real estate statesmen and
real estate purchasers Is drawn from
every section of the country includ.
ing the far West. While the total
is large, the quota for each state or
city is small The losses will have
little general effect.
"Such predictions are based upon
the economic theory that while there
is demand at present which brings
enormously high prices. the demand
lacks a substantial foundation. In
Miami, for instance, where the prop
osition seems largely to be confined
to purchasing and Immediately sell
Ing lots for a higher figure, some city
values are reported to be higher than
those along Broadway. in New York.
But what has Miami to offer in com.
petition with New York. or, for that
matter, with Washington, the Nations s
Capital? Miami has the sunshine the
obliging Gulf Stream which keeps the
temperature exactly right, according
to the salesmen. and the. deep, blue
ocean. But 1t ends about there
There's little in Miami or around