Evening star., 1933-09-03

acre and I'm now goin' home to sell
it as lots and git my money back!'
There was the man from Blrmlng-
ham who bought mountain acreage 81
miles west Of Muscle Shoals. This land
is generally SO rugged that even noun
taineers have abandoned it. He got the
land for around S5 an acre, had 1t sur
veyed and mapped. then returned TO
Birmingham and sold it to colored resi-
dents and foreigners OF small means
for Ground $50 a lot. At the rate he
bought it the land cost him Is cents to
so cents a lot. This land, like so much
sold there was represented as IN the
vicinity of Muscle Shoals
Bordering on the west side OF Flor
ence are about hundred acres of flood
plain in its day about the richest farm
ing land in the valley. Every year or
so the Tennessee River would flood it.
leaving thin deposit OF silt. The END
nearest Florence jutS against low
bluff, at the foot of which are large
number of springs forming swamp
that for years has been a breeding
place for mosquitoes Recently at
tempts have been made to drain this
swamp but the work has been only
partly successful.
BOOM SpiTlt heNlEcu.
As time went on this land became an
airport, then it was cut into lots and
sold at high prices Today the de-
veloper will tell you the building OF the
Cove Greek dam will prevent its being
flooded in the future. Let us hope that
will be the case and that eventually
the swamp at the north end will dis
appear At present however. any house
built upon it would have to be placed
on stills 10 to 20 feet high to protect
it from floods.
Since this lot-selling orgy two Presl-
dents have vetoed bills for releasing
Muscle Shoals power and the depression
has swept the land. and for years
Muscle Shoals seemed a forgotten
dream One may say the Ford boom
was simply water over the dam. that it
should have no bearing upon Muscle
Shoals today. But is this true?
No sooner came the announcement
that the Roosevelt administration in
tended to do something about Muscle
Shoals than the old boom spirit was
renewed People who had lost their
lots for failure to meet installments or
pay taxes began to try to get their
properties back to unload on neWcom-
ers Investors started to filter into the
district once more, but this time far
more cautiously. The old optlon
racket started again.
Real estate thoroughly deflated dur
ing the depression began to jump back
to boom prices At the time the Muscle
Shoals bill was signed the district was
straining al the leash to start another
wide-open boom. All that prevented
this have been the determined attitude
Of the Government to prevent boom
and the fact that there is SO little
money left for speculation.
Also, under the new deal, the circurn-
stances are totally different. The de-
velopment of the valley is firmly in
the hands of the Government, and the
Government does not intend building
any city IS rifles long at Muscle Shoals
or to give the section 81 industries.
Further. the Tennessee Valley project
contemplates regional planning lnstead
of subdivision wildcatting. From all
that can be learned. the plans are prl-
marily agricultural, and have to do with
storage of flood waters, checking OF SOIL
erosion and establishment OF subslst-
ence farms of about 10 acres, where
the unemployed may find homes where
they will grow enough food for their
own needs and spend part OF their
time in small industries to be estab-
Will Scatter Industries
Industries are to be developed. but
they are not to be concentrated around
Wilson Dam. They are to be dlstrlb-
uted through the valley, with Muscle
Shoals forming only one settlement IN
many. and not very large settlement
at that
If this idea is carried out at Muscle
oIav
tate values may be expected. ana TINS
is the principal reason the buying OF
real estate at Muscle Shoals is so
speculative today. AS Earle S. Draper,
regional planning expert for the Ten
nessee Valley Authority, told the Mus
Gle Shoals real estate men, the SUD.
divisions were laid out without regard
for plan and without adequate provision
fer parks or decent living conditions. A
city built along the lines now prevailing
would be a nightmare. The Wnole area
would probably degenerate into SUM
particularly if industries are mouceo 10
locate here.
1t is likely. therefore, the Govern.
ment may replan the entire area. II
seems inconceivable an administrator
willing to spend millions to clear up
existing slums would permit the pu!lo-
ing under its direction OF a city tnat
would result in vast slum area. But
even If it should do SO, great many OF
the lots sold at high prices would de-
cline drastically in value.
Replanning will probably mean the
Government will have to buy large
tracts now subdivided and owned by
hundreds of persons. It is most I'M
probable the Government will buy this
land for from $4,000 to $50 600 an
acre when its value was around s25 an
acre before the wild-catting. Further,
since little of this land has been I'M
proved in the sense that buildings have
been erected upon it, there Is small
reason why anything more than a fair
acreage price should be paid. Today
most of these subdivisions are merely
pastures.
At any rate, the small investor who
bought lots at boom prices, or who IS
buying them today. stands to lose
good deal. and the estimate OF IS per
cent set by President Roosevelt and
Chairman Morgan seems very conserVa-
tive. The chances are that the losses
may average much more, particularly