Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / April 26, 1908, edition 2 / Page 1
Part of The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
.a-A : EEC02H) SECTION : Twenty-Four Pages. second sectio:; , ' Twenty-Four Ti Gil? w u v n , . .. ... . . - . " . " J ...... " ' .. i - ..v... . Mima's, HirM ait' CoMmzaloe Heralds a New Era of Prosperity mm vv v i ' ' - ,- H , V - X i. ' . ' . ' : The, co-operative store ; and the church in the Italian, colony, designed and erected by the colonists th emselves. The centre picture is ; a birdseye view of the Italian-colony.' t , ; - , ' . " A s - ' v ' - ' ' J. I - f - - A ' v . Assured Success of This Move ' ment Means the Development-of Her Wonderful : Agricultural Re- ; sources. f l ' ' BY R. W. XfXCEST. , 1 , Wilmington, April U, 0 : North Carolina' flrrt aystematle colonlxAtlon movement ' la an assured qoeeaa. ' What thla ilmpla atatement Rieana to the 8tat can hardly, be ex- preased In worda,.Tno poaslbllitlea ara Kreat Within the 6tte ara hundreds t thouaanda of acrea of undeveloped land--Iand Dreaentlnc soil - types not urpaased In tha country fr the cul- Imoortanc of tha development of thlai vast area the untold wealth slumber ing beneath . the surface only await ing tha magic touch of the agrlcultU' Hat to bring It Into being cannot ba over-estimated, however extravagant thfluMwagr ' Nor will '.thla great movement b confined to North Caro lina.' In tha 8outh Atlantic States there 'ara countless acres of virgin land Invltlna-' cultivationnaturally ; the South will welcome a sucessful solu tlon of tha Immigration problem a auccessfyl method of colonization, and the North' Carolina prombtera have blaaed the way. Thus will, the North Carolina project serve as au object lesson and the result will ba the up building of this great section and a turning point which shall eventually lead on to the flood-tide of its pros perity. It la a movement upon which any man with love of country"" may reasonably grow enthusiastic, .for the possibilities that the future presents are limitless. , ; , , Behind this great movement stands one- man Mr. Hugh MacRae, of Wil mington, than whom North Carolina has no more sealous son. Several years ago It dawned upon thla busy , man that the reclamation of the great un developed virgin ' land of tha Bute meant much, not only to North Caro lina, but to the whole South, and he realised that Immigration waa the so- lution of the matter. The Coutbrhasi .witnessed the rise and fall of numer , ous . Immigration schemes.; and by their mistakes, Mr. ' McRae resolved to profit ' ' " e realized that If the end Justified the means, the colonization project - required careful study; that to be suo- eeasful It must have a sure founda- tlon, and ha began at the bottom. The average colonization scheme had made at least one serious error the Idea bad been to sell the ' land, and when this -was effected to let the settlers take care, of themselves. With this and other mistakes in "view Mr. MoRae atarted! out to : formulate plana .that ' must' be successful" How well 'he has eueceeded la history .now..' - "", ;, Three years ago he began his prep arations he , haa made mistakes. . lots of them, but fortunately he haa been able financially to pay for them and he has sunk thousands lntbe endeavor - that others mlght'proflt; that' he is a - benefactor of his city, Ms State and the South, goea without saying. The result of his ; labors, concretely stat ed, la that, at the present time he has founded flva colonies, peopled with over tlx hundred substantial farmers, III and a sixth la under way. That tha movement, haa ben crowned with suc cessthat Its future la assured there can be no argument- Peopled now by settlers, from the North and West the plana to Induce a flow of foreign Immigration will soon be In full away. What haa .been - accomplished and what the future holds forth is move ment la told aa Intelligently and com prehensively as possible In the article that follows. ' " HISTORY OF THE PROJECT 7 Nearly three years ago realizing the great y possibilities to the South enterprise. ; The next step was the em ployment of lawyers to Investigate the titles of this land and these bad to De clear and perfect before a purchase was r effected. - Then, samples of the soil from the various tracts of land which were widely- separated for ob vious " reasons were sent ; to. - the United . States..: . bureau -... of soil survey. Department ' of . Agriculture,-, for test - and. analysis, When these preliminaries -were com pleted the land whtch passed the rigid Inspection of, the title and aoil experts was purchased, r ' Approximately . this accepted land amounted to -? 100.000 acres, . In Ave separate, and distinct tracts. ,. The Investigation of the ductlon of this particular crop. I could not suggest by formula, a -better type than that formed by nature In this section." These vital points settled, a corps of fourteen civil engineers waa put In the field. These men, experts In their profession, surveyed the tracts, (it had been fully determined to establish Ave distinct colonies) : laid out the streets, plotted the land Into ten and twenty acre farms, fixed the system of drain age that would ensure the health , of the colonists and the success of the crops, and pointed out locations for the dwellings of the colonists. Thus was a sure and stable foundation laid, and not until then did the men be " - . v where It was proposed to plant a mixed colony, and thua was the first seed sown. . CONDITIONS AT FIRST HAND. It was the foreign colonists, howev er, upon which the company had set ttsi heart and to solve , this problem and turn the tide of desirable Im migration southward Mr. Fisher turn ed his attention. Hia first move was to arrange for a trip abroad. In order that he might study at first hand the conditions that surround tha ru ral population of Europe and view in their own natural surroundings the peopl whom it was desired -to secure as Immigrants. Armed with a foundation. The efforts In other quarters were as houses founded upon the sands, because not well organised get the immigrants, the promoters declared, and let the future take care of Itself; take no thought tor the morrow. But this was not Mr. Mac Rse's idea. Before the first move had been made toward Inducing the tide of Immigration to flow to North Carolina the plana for the future com fort and welfare of the proposed col onies were provided lor with a far sightedness that haa marked no sim ilar effort probably. In the country's history. Thus, when Mr. Fisher re tnrnrt from abroad, ready to begin his labors In earnest he had some- isf: Aft - - - ---B. u 0 ; . - ARTESIA t , B-jKAKAtfAmtCWj.. ' s?' A -jV C ' " COLON I E 3 . NrWBMtlHi ; Car-mam Ca4a ' 'Vr,. ' ' N ' x MtsUiiW ,V - V ' I ' : ST, HELEN At' Nartk Ialla, CA4 - ' g , r-T ' -X"t ! ' v -. castlcmayncS', m;. CoUnu1 ' .A' J . -.-.. Carolina iruckmjIJeveloPTnaint Co. . MAff ATNON t w Talis k , Caltnu , , " . ' " fc 'TT'TT' ' ' - I . I V !;"- J' -': ' - l. ''SSXS!' ': : '; St. The'map shows the location of the various colonies. .The picture in the upper .left.hand . corner is a group of Italian .colonists at that lay In Immigration of the' right sort Mr. Hugh MacRae ' conceived the project of establishing a chain of colonies around Wilmington. His first Idea was that the rich alluvial lands lying between Wilmington and South port on either side the Cape Fear river land now used largely for the cultivation of rice If properly drain ed would provide the most : suitable soil for raising of truck. The first step, however, was to secure options on a sufficient quantity of land to warrant plenty of room for the col onists once the scheme waa launched. Agents working quietly secured op tions on 461.000 acrea before real at dealers wr awake tthfaet that something was afoot and of course the price of - land went on. That however, did not deter the man who waa planning a work of such magnitude, and hla agents were told Lthat they could continue to take op tions on good land at any reasonable price, for no such obstacle waa .to' be permitted to stand la the light of this government soil. experts, which were thorough and conclusive, opened the eyes of Mr. MacRae and his associates to two Important facts: The rich al luvial lowland lying along the river that by commonly accepted belief was thought' to be the best trucking land In the State, Is not best for truck growing, and second that the aaady loam lying south, west and north of Wilmington waa especially adapted to tt .' "-- '"v .-- ' THE BOIL IDEAL While . the plans for s colonization were under way soil experts from the government Agricultural - Department visited the tracts and not only eon firmed theTeportaTof the original la vestlgation, but grew enthusiastic de claring that the soil on which it was Intended to plant the colonies was the exact aoil for the growth of vege tables and small fruits. One expert said: "Should I ba asked to pre scrlbe a soil for lettuce, for Instance, describing the . exact chemical ele ments necessary for the proper pro- Helena. hind this movement take up the prob lem of bringing Into the Bute colon ists who are to play so Important a part In Ita development . . ; FINDS THE RIGHT MAN. : Casting about him for the -proper person to undertake this serious task Mr. MacRae hit upon Mr. C. L. Fisher, of Missouri.-.Mr. Fisher had beea en gaged in Important Western railroad colonization schemes and had been successful. ' ' . - '' ' A rare Judge of men, Mr. MacRae seldom -errs in his estimate of them, and he engaged Mr. Fisher aa gener al agent, of the company. Hla duties ara to secure future colonists and see that- theyriira,comfoTtaMy-1ocatd. Sounds' like an easy task but It isn't It was In November. It OS. that Mr. Fisher came from hla home In Mis souri to take up the duties of his new position and as a nenclaus for one of the projected colonies he brought with fclm a party of twenty Illinois farmers. A number of these Invest ed In truck farms at - Castle Hay ne. letter of Introduction to foreign dip lomats In high places, directed In the channela In which It was thought they would best serve his purpose, Mr. Fisher -went abroad and there spent four months, visiting Germany. Italy, France and ether countries In which agriculture la the chief pursuit Here he studied the conditions surrounding the small farmer; hla handicaps, the disadvantages under which he labors, the soll the climatic conditions and particularly hla methods of farming. Naturally, with his keen perception and Intellect Mr. Fisher learned much. In fact acquired the knowledge be had set out te attain, and when he returned to North Carolina was radr to undertake the jigantic tsk planned for him a task that the Southland haa tteen working vnon for a decade -and tea as yet taken but a few faltering steps toward Its so lution, and these in the wrong direc tion. -' -And that la where the South as a whole has made Ita great mistake lack of systematic, substantial plans- thing substantial to offer these strange folk when ha besought them to come and cast their lots in North Caro lina. First the aoil unrivaled any where In the country for truck farm ing; the climate open, mild winters which permit of work all tha year round; healthfulneas, good markets for their product and far better prices than they could obtain In their awn country and last but by - no means least the boon of citizenship In free America, un harassed by plague, pestilence or famine.. TAKING THOUGHT FOR FUTURE. But there waa still more to these well-laid plana, they went further. Mr.. MacRae's Ideas did not. by any means embrace leaving the colonists to their, fste after t W -were settled ion hla farms upon this one rock have buy eucn coionrtanon schemes split and. by these mlstakta he haa profited. Capable, efficient auperin tetidenta experts In sells and agricul ture were employed to take charge of -each colony, look after-the com fort of the colonists, teach them the fl History of the Carolina TrucU ing Development Company's Pro ject and the Re sults flceqm pllshed, ; ' seasons for planting and help them over the rough places that they must needs encounter in beginning, life in a new country, and under; radi cally different conditions. Then barns and atables were established on each colony and In these the su perintendent keeps mules and' up-to-date- farming implementa that might be hired to the colonists who are un able at first to buy their own mulea and Implements. Schools and churches . were projected and everything that could be planned In advance for the welfare of the colonists until they could get a start was arranged. The company even gives them work at good wages Improving the roads, clearing the land, etc., while wait ing on their growing crops, in order -that they may not need to be Idle. This. then, was the foundatldn. and knowing this one cannot-marvel at the success of the. project and tha bright outlook the future, holda J WHAT HAS BEEN DONE. A'cIosaTrnsyrt-'tnto the environ menu surrounding the new colonies the soli; the climate and healthful neas of the Wilmington - section may be of Interest. .... . ' r v' First, let us see what has been done , in the way of successful trucking in this section, for that after all., is the chief argument used in Inducing a ' man to change hla location and, aoma of the Intending settlers, perhaps, are from Missouri." From carefully, kept books at the test or demonstra-. tlon farm maintained by. tha com-, pany. It received in 107 from, care fully measured ground the following cash returne per acre for the, area actually piantea: , j tLettuce Strawberries Beets Cauliflower . Snap Beans Cucumbers .. Cantaloupes Radishes .. 'Onions .. .. Peppers ..... Egg Plant . Carrots a Sfiflaf too aaeesr S0t a4 a .... 71 a 13 uj tie ........ 7M Cabbage 1" . ftnlnach .... ... . ,. lfia Turnips .- ... v W Tomatoes .' va Asparagus-.. ,.' . ' : . . ' 7M English Peae-ji ir-,r-..--V. V . Irish Potatoes .. ...... .... .'. .... .... 171 - IS Sweet Potatoes .. .. .. Force la added to" this 1 showing when It Is known that the demonstra tion farm . la located on one "of the" poorest soil types of any land owned by the company. The crops enumer ated only occupied the ground for a period of .from six" weeks," to"- live months, except strawberries, and the ground -waa than- replanted la other, crops; thus by careful rotation from three to four crops are- gathered from the same piece of land each year , Here la another example of what has been accomplished In thla section so wonderfully endowed by natures " "one mans succEsa ; ; i' Mr.t Oeorge? W. Traek. who has a farm-.of. 0-acrea three mllea north ol Wilmington. ; received $12,000 from 14 acres of lettuce In 1007. three acres being under canvas and 11 acrea In ha 'open. , - " ' - V . Mr. Traek bought his farm In 1101 for $1,090 entirely ton credit At the end of two years he had It paid for, had built a barn at a coat of $00 and had $M0nin bank. ' Thla year he hat -built new modern house costing ap proximately $5,000. What Mr. Traak has done.4 others can do If they use common sense and energy. . .- - -.- The crop which brought $11,000 did -not occupy the ground more than fout v.- Pi mil ... J-v -
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 26, 1908, edition 2
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75