The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1906-03-09
~ BRILLIANT wATTERsoN.
WRITES ABOUT FLORIDA
Naples on the Gulf, 1906.

. Gears ago could nave falled TO
K, .ne certain future of Manhattan
.a Yet there, as elsewhere, mon
- been lost, no less than gained,
I. the development
Refore Henry NJ. Flagler came to
,,.r,da there had been a boom. a re-
lion. and what seemed to be a col
,.,sa He bought upon a market
-.s,cb had reached apparently the bot
.oDIess pit. He had a long purse.
.owever. and he knew what he was
.,,nt The result has been that,
..,,ng converted desert into para
s,se he is getting his returns.
doubt whether any of the invest
.,snts Of Standard Oil profits will in
80 long run yield as much as what
s,r time went by the name of Flag
,.r,s folly, and may indeed have been
,sought by Flsgler himself to be rath-
- the qualification OF fancy than
~ actual foundation of fortune.
This fortune is likely to outlast any
cher destination possible to the dol
,.rs shoyeled in with such prodigal
hand during ten. or twelve years of
,.aehing forecast and dead game self
confidence.
what Flagler. his millions and his
genius. have done for the east coast
Of Florida, nature. destiny and the
panama Canal hold in reserve for the
vest coast Hamilton Diston, who
-tane down here twenty years ago
with reclamation scheme, had the
right Dig by the ear. But he was
ahead Of time and his pocket was not
deep enough. 1t had rent in it, where
II needed to draw its supplies from an
exhaustless well. He sank a few mil
lions and was forced out when a few
millions more would have sufficed.
He threw up his hands almost in the
presence Of victory. AS certain as
the sun shines the Lake Okeechobee
region will one day blossom like the
rose. AS sure as the Isthmain water
way Is completed will there be a wa
and Kissimmee county from the At
lantic to the Gulf of Mexico, shorten
a.. tha 5istopaa hatuaan tba or,,If
ports and the ports of the east At
lantic many hundreds of miles.
The east coast of Florida is rapid
" filing up. The Flagler railway con-
Meeting the railway systems on the
north with Key West, with the prom
ised increased railway speed, will
make it possible presently TO travel
over night from the Hudson to the ST.
Johns. The gold mines in the Klon-
dixie and in South Africa; the silver
and gold sideshows in Colorado and
.eyada are turning out the precious
metals faster than commerce can di-
o~0e sHCui' oSSVuiitihS IOT the Indtn-
moth fortunes that know not what to
90 with themselves. The money scep-
Ter has already departed from Lom-
bard street and come to Wall Street
New York is the money center of
cnristiandom. Twelve hours from
New York the tropics, bursting with
axurianee, of Iimitless production,
oeckon the surplus millions. Wha!
snail the magnates do with their ac-
cretions? Rockefeller and Carnegie,
reduced in their wits to penury, to alb
lect want-in seeking some practical
uotlet some recompense and relief
are giving the stuff away. Within ten
years there will no longer be any
waste places or cheap realty on the
me OF the road from St. Augustine
- hey West. and the flood will begin
% pour down the gulf coast toward
'ne Tampa Bay and Charlotte Har-
Dor.
narring the Flagler improvements,
MINK the west coast more attractive
'aan the east coast. But, whether it
= 0r not II cannot be held back when
1e golden tide sets in and begins to
A0% and the heavens of the west
uoasl Is the region Immediately about
Fort Myers and Sanibel Island. Tampa
= good, but Punta Gorda is better
eesng more at sea-which is only 10
~ mat Charlotte Harbor is a finer
1ouy OF water than the bay of Tampa.
."nat Is wanted down here just now
votes. "You just wait" observed
native to me the other day with
s"'en'ious wisdom. It'll Lee county
se's more population and see is we
1'nt sock it TO ole Steve Sparkman
II make him jump" He meant that
representative from the congress-
'Vnal dictrict.- Mr.. Steve NJ. Sparkmen
man Of Tampa, devotes himself main
g those counties that count" in
~ eieetiens, and suppose he is right
the end. however as Schley said
-oso' glory at Santiago, where there
""l DC money for Florida both i'm the