The Dawn of a New Constructive Era 155 



I, personally, am engaged in general farming and commer- 

 cial dairying on cut-over land. I believe the business has great 

 possibilities, and, in view of my interest in the efforts of many 

 of my friends along our line, who have cut-over lands now lying 

 idle, in the interest of our railroad, which, unless you develop 

 your land, will have an inactive railroad through your inactive 

 land, also in behalf of the railroads generally and the many 

 thousands of people desiring to locate on inexpensive land, I 

 earnestly hope that these problems will be put to the front to- 

 morrow and constructive efforts inaugurated. I regret that I 

 cannot be with you. 

 (Applause.) 



What Florida Is Doing in 

 Land Development 



By James R. Murphy 



President of the Florida Land Development and 

 Colonization Association 



On behalf of the State of Florida, which unfortunately is 

 very poorly represented, I must tell you, if you will bear with 

 me for a minute or two, what we have done along the lines of 

 organization. I have no inference to what has been said here 

 by anyone, but it may in a measure help to solve the problem 

 that confronts us all. 



I have the honor of being] president of the land development 

 and colonization interests of the State of Florida. We have in 

 Florida, at the present time, 141 recognized land development ^,^ Concerns 

 concerns. Of that 141, we have 20 of them in our organization Successfully 

 We have an area of land in Florida of some 36 million acres. Operating 

 Of that 36 million acres we have less than 5 per cent of it under 

 cultivation. In our organization we have a representation of 

 about 3 million acres of land, mostly cut-over land. Florida 

 has been in the public press through the exploitations of some 

 of her unfortunate land operators in the past to such an extent 

 that it was almost impossible for a land operator to make a liv- 

 ing in the state ; and realizing that this existed throughout the 



