The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1906-09-07

sOnville, st. Augustine and Indian Rive
railway-nOw organized as the Floridl
East Coast railway.
DECLINED TO ISSUE DEEDS.
A deed to the above reservation wa
solicited, but again declined on tn,
ground that the lands were as yet un
patented, but We were given to under
stand most Enthusiastically that when thu
patent WAS obtained, that we woULI
get deed to the land covered by THU
resolution.
When the United States patent WAS
obtained by the State to the Everglades,
in August of that year, the writer went
to the Board of Internal Improvement,
showing the resolution of the previous
board reserving the 166, 900 acres south
of township So, and asked deed to it.
The chairman of the board, Gov. w. s.
Jennings, told the writer, in the pres
ence of the board, that the resolution
was not worth the paper it was written
on, as this board did not recognize the
right of the Legislature to grant ANY
lands to any railroad company, and that
we could not have any unless we bought
them; that all the lands were for sale,
This company at once took steps to
prevent the sale of lands reserved for
it under the resolution Of February z,
1897.
With the exception o. small body of
marsh land decided to the Jacksonville
and Atlantic railroad the Florida East
Coast Railway Company has never re-
ceived one acre of land from the State
UNJUST, UNFAIR, UNDEsERvED.
Other than the effort to prevent by
injunction the sale of lands reserved for
this company by the resolution of Feb
ruary Z, 1897, no effort has been made
nor action taken "to steal" the lands
of the State; hence leave it to all just
and fair-minded people if am not justi-
fed in stating that the Governors i'm
putations against one railway in the
State are unjust, unfair and undeserved.
These are the facts. From them it is
easy to gather that the Florida East
Coast Railway Company has received
no lands up to the present time from
the State of Florida. The lands which
it received with the roads which it pur-
chased it paid for. It entered into a
contract, in good faith, with the State
Of Florida to build railroad, provided
the State of Florida would give it GER
tain lands. 1t has complied with its
part of the contract, and it only asks
that the State of Florida shall comply
with it's part The State, through its
representative, and not through its peo-
pie, have declined to carry out its obi
cation. Therefore we have been COM
PEELED to ask the courts to protect us in
our rights, which is the right of every
citizen of this State. Is there any
steal - in this? j. E. INGRAHAM.
st. Augustine, Fla, Aug. "a, 1906.
The |. l. Board. through its spokes-
nan, Governor Broward, lays great
stress upon the discovery made by Jen-
lings that the drainage of the Ever
ylades is "a matter of contract" be-
tween the United States and the State |
If Florida; but the Board, instigated
~ Jennings and dominated by Broward,
lis echo, deliberately ignores the obi
yations of the several contracts, made
~ the Legislature and recorded in the
olemn language Of the statutes, grant
ng land to those who have made habit
bile, by the building of railways, vast
egions of wilderness that now TEEN
With population and human industry
s not one contract as binding as an
ther? And is it not high time for the
lain people Of Florida, who have, with
heir posterity, been thus benefited by
uman enterprise, to rebuke such of
cial laundering and inconsistency?
hey can-and should-do so by voting
own the unconstitutional and dishonest
rainage amendment.