Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1925-08-21
DIR. FREEMAN
AND THE BOOM
Seted Virginia Editor Tells of Condi-
ti0ns in Florida

DR.. Douglas Freeman, editor of tn
Richmond News-Leader, spent sew
eral weeks in Florida In one of hi
letters, he describes conditions Their
in way that investors may well bea
in mind. He says:
Where is the boom to end. ant
when? The optimists answer con
sistently, 1t never will end so Ions
as the sun shines warmly in FIorid;
in winter. The country has none,
for luxury now. The people will come
here to spend it during the colder
months those who are a little less
confident than the real plungers sa,
that the feverish sale of business
property in the west coast cities will
end when all of it is bought up to
the figures now reached on some OF
the principal business streets Sub,
urban real estate, they affirm, will
continue active for at least three
years, and probably for longer. be-
cause of the steady influx of new set
tiers Why said one of the opera
tors when his attention was directed
to the fact that in two subdivisions
there were not less than 5000 new
lots, what of it? Six thousand lots
means homes for only 10000 people
and that many are coming to Tam
pa in year Undeniably, the west
coast cities are growing in industries
and in favor as winter resorts How
prospective growth compares with the
extent of suburban development is
another and undetermined question.
Men who are satisfied as to the flu
ture of Tampa, st Petersburg and
nearby townS-men who are invest
ing heavily in suburban property for
sub-diyision-share the skepticism of
the conservative bankers regarding
agricultural lands at a distance from
the cities. They look upon the acre
age men as enemies who are ruin
ing the game They admit that in
the present boom considerable num-
Der of Adventures have come to Flo
rida and are resorting to many
doubtful devices. There are plenty
of crooks here one Virginian adj
mitted, while another said candidly,
Lot of people are getting stuck by
I nnNuinu ipe 81
What is apprehended by all those
who look beyond their immediate
profit is that the crooked promoters
of remote, infertile acreage will at
tempt to make this in the north
among small, uniformed investors,
and that the result will be. diseredit
TO all Florida real estate There's
a lot of money to be made here still,
one long-headed financier of the west
coast says, but it will be made by
those direct-buyers who know what
they are doing, and by those who
purchase through reputable real es-
tate men, And that is for Virgin
ians and other outsiders, the conclu-
sion of the whole matter, except as
it is spectacular expression of the
mob-mind in typical craze If a
man wants to gamble on Florida
lands, he can go there in person and
make his fortune or his funeral If
a man wants to invest in Florida, he
must understand that if the returns
are large, the risks are large also,
and he must establish connection,
carefully and deliberately with some
bonefde real estate firm that has
character, capital and experience But
beware of the fiy-by-night and be-
ware of the man who travels through
the rest of the country selling lots
or small farms or acreage 1t is
simpler and less troublesome to
throw your money into the sewer,
than to invest in Florida acreage
of which you know nothing"