The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-11-06
CORPORATIONS
MUST ALSO PAY
Governor Broward Says
They Must Put Up
Their Share of Tax.
THAT, HE SAYS, is WHY THEY
ARE FIGHTING THE DRAINAGE
AMENDMENT so HARp-THE
MATTER DISCUSSED.

Crowded out of The Journals
Sunday morning issue)
DeFuniak Springs, Nov 3.-During
the time that Governor Broward was
here he was suffering from severe
cold which compelled him, imme-
diately after his debate with Hon.
Chas. Dougherty, to take to his room
at the Brown house. He was lying
on the bed rolled up in a heavy quilt
when The Journal representative en-
tered and, although so hOarse that he
could hardly speak above a whisper,
extended his usual cordial welcome
and signified his willingness to be in
terviewed upon the question which
he is so profoundly interested, the
drainage of the Florida Everglades.
There are some things in connec-
ton with this important question that
are not exactly clear in the minds of
the voters of Escambia and other
West Florida counties and it was for
the purpose of clearing up these
things that the interview was re-
quested. The Journal representative
went straight to the point and the fol-
lowing interview resulted:
Governor, you stated this after
noon that the work of draining Me
everglades was already authorized and
that the work was being pushed for
ward as rapidly as possible and the
gist of the whole question at the pres
ent time was whether the voters of
Florida wanted to pay for the entire
work or whether they wanted the cor
porations that control several million
acres of the land in question to pay
their share also Will you please ex-
plain this propositions
Why the Corporations Kicked.
That is absolutely correct" re-
piled Mr., Browayd. There was never
any question about drainage until the
corporations were called upon to pay
their just proportion of the expense
and then there was great hullabaloo
and an attempt has been made to
fool the voters Of the state. The au-
thority to drain the everglades has
already been provided for. The law
explicitly states that the lands shall
be paid for by the sale of the lands
that are reclaimed. The money that
is now being used in the work is cash
received from the. sale. of the swamp
and overlooked la1fds of the state and
ii is being applied strictly according
to law. The law. also provides for a.
tax of not to exceed ten cents per
acre in any one year, to be assessed
against the property that will be
benefited, and it, is this tax that has
caused such ,rumpus Instead of as
sessing the lands at ten cents per
acre, as could have been done under
the law, the land has been assessed
hve cents per acre, or just half, and
the state has already paid the FIVE
cents per acre upon the land which it |
owns. 1t is now up to the voters of
the state to say whether or not the
other fellows shall pay their share or
whether the state at large shall bear
the whole expense. 1t is a very slnple |
after all, notwithstanding
the efforts of the corporate interests
to muddy the water"
A Matter Easily Explained.
Mr. Dougherty alleged that the
people in the district to be drained |
were opposed to the scheme and. as
you will remember, read a petition
signed by the office holders of Osceo-
la county protecting against it,"
That's very easily explained" re-
piled the governor "The fact of the
matter is that every signer to that
petition was elected by corporation
money and when the corporations
pull the string they have to jump.