The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1886-04-01

west Ek0EhOA-
Mr.A.T Sims writes in the Greenville i'd
rocdte urging that the press continue TO agltate
the question of annexing the Western part OF
the State of Florida. Mr.. Sims was in Florida
last winter and talked to many people about ii
and found nobody opposed to letting us have 1t.
Three things may be set down as existing facts:
All that part of Florida west of the Chatta-
hoochee, with the possible exception OF few
politicians, want to belong to Alabama.
Alabama wants this section of our neighbor
State.
All Florida east of the Chattahoochee with
the possible exception of Tallahassee, Is perfectly
willing for US to have that part of their State
west of that river.
The remaining question is, what will Florida
charge us for that part of her self which geo
graphically belongs 20 us? Mr.. Chas, IL. Jones,
editor of the Jacksonville Times Cnton says we
can have it for nothing. If the rest of his people
are of the same way OF thinking, we Will take II
on those terms. But can we get it without pay
ing for it? That is the question.
Alabama cannot go in debt, and II II should
take either cash or bonds the question would be
fatty answered already. But the possibility and
even probability that the public sentiment OF
Florida will demand no payment at all, renders
it Alabamas duty to officially investigate the
matter The annexation of West Florida ought
to become q live question by the meeting OF the
next Legislature, and il Alabama has any appre
citation of good thing when she sees 1t, she VIII
confer with Florida, get definite proposition or
make one, and have the matter settled. All the
indications are that we can get this valuable ter
ritory if we will make the effort Let's make ii.
Montgomery Adpertiser, March &c.
This is cool, to say the least of it. Be
sides, it shows no small amount of igno-
rance as to what call that part of Flor
ida west of the Chattahoochee" really does
want" In 1869, when the clrcum-
stances favoring annexation were quite
different from what they are now, only
small majority of the people voted that
way. The question was on accepting the
proposed cession Of West Florida and was
confined to the coveted section, only six
counties, however, ont of the eight vot-
ing-the other two jackson and Cal
houn) not voting either way. 1t was
understood at the time that these two
counties were opposed to annexation, and
for that reason the polls were not allowed
to be opened by the politicians" The
total vote cast was only 1904, divided as
follows: For annexation, l,o45 against,
s59-majority in favor, 3s6. AS we have
said, the vote was confined to West Flor
ida. Had it been general throughout the
State. we should never have heard any
thing of Remembering Florida to crafty
the greed of Alabama, so overwhelming
would have been the condemnation OF
the people against the proposition. The
figures cited, however, show that even
West Florida has never been much in
favor of annexation. Had the vote in
1869 been a fair one, We verify believe
that the majority would have been the
other way. At any rate there can be no
doubt how the sentiment is to-day.
There are no advocates for annexation now
as they were then. The whole State,
too, is against it. We do not believe
that the advertiser correctly quotes the
editor of the Times Union, who is too
sagacious man ever to have uttered the
language ascribed to him, meaning it.
There was In LHe NdIudUic tcitieOiy
coveted by Alabama, population of 5s,-
$50 in 1885, against 47,o1s in 1880,
and $s,l54,7l3 of taxable property in the
same year (lss5) as against $s.ess.s2o in
1880, showing handsome increase in
the population, and oyer 100 per cent.
addition to their wealth in FIVE years.
West Florida is really just beginning to
aboom." and does our contemporary
suppose that any consideration Alabama
might offer, could induce US to give up so
much merely to crafty an ambitious
neighbor? No, no; the idea is prepos-
terous. West Florida will never be sep
arated from the balance of the State. The
building of the P. & A. Railroad, and the
growing importance of that section con-
sequent thereon, has forever closed that
question. AIabamains would be foolish
to suffer themselves TO be humbugged
into the belief that such thing is among
the possibilities. And so say we all,
I" politicians " or what not