The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1906-12-14


been announced that 2O0, 900 sores more
Of the peoples land have been sold 20
raise funds (s6O, OOO with which to
continue the drainage operations IN the
Everglades. This sale, At Is cents per
acre, II surrounded with some rather
extraordinary circumstances.
me sale was made TO the Florida
Coast Line Canal and Transportation
Company, which for several years has
been engaged In the work Of opening
. waterway from the mouth Of the st.
Johns river TO Biseayne bay, under
charter which granted swamp and over
flowed land corresponding with its COM
pleted distance, and amounting, when
the work should be completed, to some
thing like one million acres; Of which
amount, sos, 778 acres had been con-
veyed To the company, for distance
completed, previous TO the beginning
Of the Jennings administration. In
accordance with It's peculiar policy"
the Jennings I. l. Board refused to
convey other lands, claimed as earned
by the company under it's charter.
Besides this refusal, when In 1906 the
Legislature enacted q law extending
the life of the company's land grant,
Governor Broward vetoed the bill; 50
that, at this time, the company's land
grant, having expired by limitation, Is
no longer in force. Notwithstanding
this fact, under the announced condi-
lions of this sale, the board has not
only sold lands TO q corporation In
direct conflict with its boosted policy"
but 1t has assumed legislative powers,
and undertaken TO revive the company's
expired grant, by agreeing to extend
the same for FIVE years beyond the
date of expiration; and has also con-
tracted TO convey an additional pa, 900
acres, conditioned upon the completion
of the canal, thus deliberately repudi-
ating the Jennings pet theory, that
legislative grants of land to railroad
and canal companies have no value
which the board Is bound to recognize.
1t Is not, perhaps, surprising that the
Governor and his board should, In order
to defy the people of Florida who have
voted to order halt In his drainage
scheme until the legitimate action of
the Legislature can be invoked, sell
the peoples land at sacrifice prices;
but that the board, in order TO uphold
the Governor in his defiance Of the peo-
pie, should stultify itself by deliber-
ate reputation Of a policy" which
was claimed as the chief glory of the
Jennings administration, is somewhat
remarkable.
The official attitude Of Governor
Broward in the premises Is still more
remarkable. Whether, or not, this
hold-up Of the canal company was de-
liberately planned In advance, the fact
remains that II was the Governors
little veto which made It's execution
possible. The alleged reasons for the
making Of the present deal with the
canal company the completion Of
great and necessary public work are
in direct and irreconeilable conflict with
the action and reasoning Of the Gov
ernor In destroying the land grant, and
making impossible, so far as he was
able TO do 80. the completion of this
great work, for the continuance and
completion of which the board now
takes to itself so much credit.
Although neither the Governor nor
the board possess the constitutional
power which they have usurped, Of UNI
doing the work of destruction wrought
by his veto last year, It is not at all
unlikely that the Legislature will con-
firm the effort by legal and lawful
action; but the sale to the canal COM
pany of lands which were already
claimed by It as having been earned
under It's charter and grant was moth
ing less than an act Of OFFICIAL BRIG
ANDAoE, for which it's perpetrators
will yet HAVE TO ANSWER; and, of
course, there Is but one way to prevent
the further wasting Of the money of
the people, derived from this sale, and
that IL through an appeal to the courts;
and as the legal and official representa-.
tlves Of the injured people are the very
ones who are causing the injury, no
redress Ii possible unless some patriotic
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