Fitzgerald enterprise., 1903-07-25


said. about the county commits
sioners discriminating against |
Fitzgerald in the matter of road |
building. five mistake not, then
there are four convict-built roads
entering Fitzgerald; there may
be more. But our unhappy
brother seems to be wrought up
mainly by the fact that the con-
victs, when put back on the pub
lie roads in January, we're not
started to work at Fitzgerald.
There was good reason for this
action of the county commission
ers. At that time the camp was
at old Minnie, and it was deemed
best to keep the convicts there,
and work the roads within reach
from that point, until the por-
table quarters then being built
at Ocilla should be completed.
During this time the road be-
tween Ocilla and Fitzgerald was
given a good working, also the
road from Whitley's crossing out
by Mr.. VIM. Fletcher's to or
near the T. & N. E., and some
other work was done.
When the portable quarters for
the convicts were completed, the
commissioners wisely decided
that, as all the equippage was
here, it would be best to work
the convicts a certain number of
months from Ocilla and vicinity,
then move them to another part
of the county for like length Of
time, and so on till the county
had been gone over. This plan
we understand, met the approval
of the whole board, and that there
has never been any jar or clash
ing of views among the commits
sioners as to what section of the
county should be worked first
or second.
This being true, and easily sus-
ceptfble of proof, where does Bro.
Mercer's discrimination" come
in?
But the charge of discrimina-
ton, while without any founda-
ton visible to the Dispatch, is the
least hurtfu1 of his remarks
againstthe com missioners. When
he says that the faction in the
county favoring the one COM
missioner plan were instrument
tai in having Mr.. Tucker and
Capt. Smith, who also favored the
one-commissioner plan, placed on
the board for the purpose of as
sisting, by discrimination, in
making the three-commissioner
plan unpopular, ne surely mis-
takes phantasy for facts and does
injustice to two of as honest and
faithful officials as the county
ever had.
If the convict wagons had been
built at Fitzgerald, work on the
roads would have begun at that
point, thence perhaps to Irwin
vile and the western part of the
county, leaving Ocil1a to the last
which would have met with no
harsh criticism from this paper
or from the peopleof this section.
-Ocilla Dispatch.
The Enterprise would not be
understood as intimating in the
slightest degree that either of the
county commissioners are dis
honest. A personal acquaint-
ance of several years with these
gentlemen precludes a possibility
ofsuch thought in our mind, but
the main facts in our first letter
deserve their serious considera-
ton.
The fact that they propose to
build new roads and improve the
old ones in this section of the
county is not sufficient.
We are entitled to roads in
proportion to our Importance,
based on population and taxes
paid, and the route by which we
gain access to the county site isa
positive outrage on this COM
munity.
This city sprang up suddenly
in the midst of a pine forest, and
in that particular is at a great
disadvantage with older settle
ments, towns and villages. This
disadvantage should have been
removed long since, and the En-