The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1906-05-11
MILLIONS ON A LAWSUIT.

somebody else for their probable ulti-
mate profit.
MILLIONS ON A LAWSUIT.
What would be thought of a man who,
while engaged in a lawsuit involving
the title of a piece of land, proceeding
with full knowledge of the lawsuit and
with full knowledge of the fact that
the courts might finally determine the
lands did not belong to him, to spend an
enormous sum of money in the improve
ment of such land before there was a
final adjudication of the litigation. He
would be regarded as little short Of in
sane; and yet this is precisely what the
drainage board is doing and what Gov
ernor Broward says he intends to per-
sist in doing; spending not only the
money of the owners of the land taxed,
but also the funds of the trustees of
the Internal Improvement Fund, and
that, too, without the slightest author
ity of law.
When the act of 1895 was passed the
suit of the Louisville & Nashville Rail-
road Company and of the other roads
claiming these lands was and is still
pending. The Governor and his associ-
ates knew this when they created the
drainage district. Four of the five mem
bers Of the drainage committee cOnsti-
the Board Of Trustees of the Internal
Improvement Fund They have official
knowledge of the suit of the Louisville
and Nashville Railroad Company claim
ing these lands. As the Board of Trus-
tees of the Internal Improvement Fund,
they are def endants in that suit. And
yet, with this knowledge, they are ac-
tually expanding the fund held by them
. in fCp "a IF
Florida and taxing the owners of over
8, 600, 600 acres of land an aggregate Of
over $3.50, 900 per annum for the benefit
of these very lands, the title of which
is now in litigation. No amount Of con-
fidence in the result of lawsuit war
rants any such reckless expenditure Of
public money as is involved in the pro.
ceedings of the trustees of the Internal
Improvement Fund. If the Louisville
and Nashville Railroad Company wins
their pending suit, every dollar eXpend-
ed by the drainage board is so much
money made a present of out of the
funds of the trustees or out of the
, pockets of the taxpayers now taxed to
the railroad company, or as absolutely
thrown away as if the money had been
made a bonfire of and burned
AND FOR WHAT?
And if the trustees of the Internal
Improvement Fund win the suit, to
what end will this money have been eX-
pended in the absence of any knowledge
of the extent or scope of the work now
starting. The drainage board has not
the remotest idea whether it will cost
500, 900 or 1925, 600, 900 TO drain the Ev-
erglades. 1t has not the remotest idea
how much of the land when drained will
be fit for cultivation or for any other
profitable use. 1t has plunged in blindly,
without investigation, without survey,
without scientific data of any kind, eX-
cept the cIudest ard most Cursory, to
spend the money belonging TO the peo-
pie of the State, and T. mulch the tax
PAYERS in the extreme southern end Of
the State Of over $50, 600 per annum
/ The members Of this board have
plunged into the work in a
Hang the expense spirit, dem
onstratirg with what cheerful ard phil
osophical indifference some men can
spend other peoples money if they get
a chance to spend it. If they fail, they
are not losers except in the public Oh
loquy which will follow them, and
submit that men who will roctei with
such ttoughtlessn, IS and plunl e in o a
public work of such magnitude with
scarcely more than a semblanCe of in
vr-tigat.on are rot likely 20 consider
tie Consequence TO then selves, either
lol,oI ally or IOlit Caliy, resulting from
lh"lr failure 20 Ion r as that failure d, es
not m any way affect the. pc, uliar for
tunes or touch tfeir poke books in
the .ghtest degree Its the tx pay
els a i the people Of Florida whose
money will have been wasted, and h re
again the damn the public" spirit in
which this work has been precipitRtely
forced upon the people Of Florida is not
only worthy Of Vanderbilt but sur
! a. Sc. not only Wand, rhllt, but in reck-
less Gisrepa ard Of the rights Of the prop
erty surpasses all the plutocrats put
together and must n axe the sOulless
corpc ratons Governor Broward is so
fond Of denouncing lard that ! myself
at times found it necessary to denounce)
blush 20 think they have been so mod
crate and gentle with the public and so
regal dful Of the rights of property
AND IF THE RAILROADS WIN.
Ard if they succeed in draining the
Everg lades and the railroad corpora
tions claiming these lands win, will
these gentlemen be able TO give an ade-
quate excuse or explanation 20 the peo-
pie Of Florida and to the tax payers
they have been despoilinR, why they
will have made a present Of hundreds
r 6 80 .,tII;,,g q I,li.