Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 May 1902 — MILLIONS OF CHEAP ACRES, [ARTICLE]

MILLIONS OF CHEAP ACRES,

Railroad Officials Promoting Colonization in the Southwest. Officials of the Union Pacific, the Southern Pacific and the various other Harriman lines have been holding meetings in Chicago of late, with a view of perfecting the largest colonization plan ever attempted by western roads. It is the purpose of the men controlling these lings to provide occupants for millions of acres of fertile and unoccupied lands in southern California. Texas and western Louisiana. The general plan will be to lend into the Middle and Eastern States and possibly into some of the Northwest States ffllly 1,000 immigrant or colonization agents, whose duty it shall be to induce immigration to the territories mentioned. Many of these agents have already been employed, and the traffic and advertising departments of the various lines are busy getting out the necessary advertisements to lie used in connection with the work of the agents. “In the Southwest," said one of the men back of this enterprise, “we have over 3,000,000 acres of fertile land which would make good homes for industrious people. We believe that no section of the United States has a more brilliant future than Texas and western Louisiana, and we are convinced that all that is necessary is to let the public know what we have got. There is not another portion of the country where you can see the traffic sights you see every day iu Texas and the Southwest—l mean great train loads of any one and all of a dozen commodities, such as real, iron, cotton, precious metals and corn.’’ It is announced that within a short time every one of the 1,000 or more agents will be at work throughout ’he States east of the Mississippi river. From time to time homeseekers’ excursions will be run to the territories mentioned, and special inducements will lie offered to get the public to visit the Southwest and southern California.