The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1885-04-23

Z Thee il soon 10 be built a railroad from Lake
Weir 10 Silver Spring. This road Will be built,
owned and equipped BY he people Of the Lake.
sod wiA be ssr1c1iy q sscal read -Ocaia Banner
Frosn time = tins we find in the pa
pers Of the Pseinsula paragraphs like the
above, and they are chronicles of fact.
The people of q locality discover that
they need q railroad, decide to have q
railroad, and they go to work and build
it Ten, fifteen or thirty miles Of road
are needed to connect with 4 main line
and open their country, and soon suffi-
cient money is raised among the land
owners and business men to assure its
construction; the value of property and
the value Of products are At once largely
increased, and the light of prosperity is
let in upon the community. Orange groves,
farms, town lots aud hotel sites are OF
little or DO value if they lack means of
communication with the outside world.
That attained, and presto the poor man
is become a man OF means or SURE re-
sources. 1t is SO easy to build railroads
in South Florida that We are puzzled
when we try to understand why it is SO
hard to build them in Middle Florida
Can success there and failure here be &C
counted for thus that there they build
the roads themselves and here we
wait for others to do it for US: Not en-
tirely, for railroads can be constructed
more cheaply over their fat country than
through our billy section. Yet these
hills do not amount to a reason why we
should not construct the short piece OF
road so essential to the prosperity Of our
community. Public spirit being equal
we believe that greater means are avail
able here than have sufficed to secure road
construction at some places elsewhere
The work from Tallahassee to the Geor-
gia line would be expensive compared with
work beyond TO the line Of the :. r. and
w., and yet not very expensive-not to be
compared with that of road building in
many parts of the country north, where
natural distinctions vainly defy the skill
of engineers and the power of capital.
A strong man easily walks between
sunrise and sunset the distance that sep
arates Tallahassee and point which will
give us the benefit of connection with
the Georgia system of railroads the lit
= l.. 1icta oh
and much prosperity. Our people fully
understand all that such connection means
in the way Of cheaper lreights and pas
senger fares, faster mails, quick outlet to
markets and assured increase of number
Of visitors and investors. Not one intel
ligent person will say that such route is
not essential 10 the full development OF
our locality, and We 10 not believe that
one will express a doubt that the road
will be built-sometime; that the urgency
Of Its need and the promise of its bus
mess will certainly cause its construction
sometime. But who can saw that the
years Of waiting 10 come shall not exceed
those that have passed since the necessi
ty for the road was first apparent
They certainly will if nothing but talk is
done and outsiders DO not come in TO
help those who make no suffice effort
to help themselves. Year may follow
year of hope deferred, while We cry
! aloud 70 the Hercules Of foreign capital
to help us, unless We put our own Shout
ders TO the wheel, and then Providence
helps those who help themselves