The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1904-01-08
OUR COUNTY HARD ROADS.
Mr.. L. S. Light Thinks oeaIa Pre-.
einet is Getting More Than
It's share.

hoNO oOSh paying very neaVy ROAD
taxes in the last seven years to build
hard roads and improve the county
roads generally.
To some tax payers the building of
these hard roads and i'm the manner
they were built and the policy of our
county commissioners pursued in the
building of same were at variance
with their good judgment.
We have passed the experiment
stage in this matter, aud believe it is
now time to take an account Of stock
in this business and see whether we
have received pay for our investment
in hard road tax or not as well as to
arrange for the future.
There has been spent on hard roads
about Sc, 900 and nine tenths of this
amount in Ocala precinct, and we
think it is nothing but fair to Ocals
and the county to find out what are
the results of this expenditure TO the
county as a whole.
OcSls's population in 1890 number
ed 29O4, in 1900, 1880, q gain of 476 in
ten years, or q gain of less than 50
inhabitants per year, or about Is per
cent in ten years time. Msrion's
population in 1890 was 20, 796, in 1900
was "A, 403; an increase Of 3707, or
about Is per cent. while the state at
large increased IS per cent.
By this We see that the county, with
no hard roads, and comparatively
little mOEey, according TO their pro-
portion of taxes, has gained faster
than Ocala, with the large sum OF
money spent to improve her condi-
tons.
There were ia 1880 $4,000 people in
the county of which in round num-
bers there were but 5000 whites and
$1,000 blacks and there were but 24OO
white men in the county of 81 years
; of age and over.
The county covers an area of 1900
square miles or fifteen white and
black to the square mile, less than
six whites to the mile and less than
two black men to the mile.
There are between 400 and 500
miles OF public roads in the county to
take care of, and to keep up these
county roads as they should be and
the building Of the hard roads as
they have been built with the rev.
enues received, have compelled our
officials to neglect in many places |
the county roads and have spent the |
most Of the road fund on the hard |
roads and to so have burdened the |
tax payers with Z per cent interest on
OverdrRvn account.
Our tax assessor reports to the
comptroller but $4,000 acres of land
in the county in cultivation, or less
than two acres to the soul and as
our county is an agricultural county,
naturally the query arises how can
we prosper with but this acreage in
cultivation, and keep up our county
roads and the same time spend as
much as $1,000 per mile and more on
hard roads.
The stations of Anthony, Spar,
Martin and Reddick, with nothing
but county roads, and they but poor
ly worked, hauled through the sand
TO the depots over 5000 tons of vege-
tables last year, and we asked those
whom know to tell how many even
crates of vegetables have been hauled
over the hard roads around Ocala.
After spending $50, 900 on hard roads
around Ocsls, and the county roads
neglected, the county has
gained more than Ocala in popUla-
ton, and with the vast area of our
and its sparsely settlement
with trial of seven years of hard
roads experience we think that now
the county's turn should come, and
instead of hard roads all in one pre-
cinct, we believe that each precinct
in the county should have the priv
lege of having its road tax spent in
n own Dreeinot