The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1907-04-19
ar LASr nITcH.

The Jennings BToWard drainag
: scheme Is no more. The fatal blow {,
its existence was struck In Novembe
: last, when the people Of Florida Dc
4 clared by their votes that they wouI'
. have no more Of il, but the proverbs
: obstinaCy Of the Governor (who dofni
mates the Drainage Board, 0tberwis.
the Internal Improvement Board I'm
PEELED him 10 continus the struggle IN
drttcatO Dlortis, as 1t were. The fna
act of it's dissolution took place in Jack
sonville on Friday last, the 18th inst.
when Judge James w. Locke, of the
United States Circuit Court, after due
consideration Of the evidence, as re-
ported by the master in chancery, Hon.
Charles w. Adams, and the law, as
presented by arguments of counsel at
the final hearing on the 9Th inst, de-
cided the cases then pending against
the board.
There were pending in that court q
number Of cases (eight in alp against
the boards. The Southern States Land
and Timber Co., holding title (mostly
from the L. e. ~ X. X. Co. and other
Legislative grantees) TO more than one
million acres Of land, was the pioneer
litigant, and secured the first tempo
rary injunction forbidding the colIec-
ton Of the fve-cent-per acre drainage
tax imposed by the board under
the authority Of Chapter 5377,
1905, creating the Drainage Board.
This case, by agreement of counsel,
was taken as a test case, the result
therein TO govern the disposition Of the
others.
The total area of lands represented
in all OF the cases aggregated about
5000, 600 acres, not single acre of
which could by any possibility have
been affected physically by the drain
age observations begun land continued
in defiance Of the verdict of the people
IN November upon lands land water
chiefly the latter belonging TO the
state, but covered by legislative grants
the deeds TO which the /. |. Board. then
under the command Of former Governor
Jennings, had refused to execute.
The grounds Of the iniunctions
granted in these cases were that the
AK was inequitablej and unjust, and
hat the act Of 1905 creating the Drain.
lge Board was unconstitutional and
'oid. The Board, realizing that this
vas so, sought, by the amendment 1
which was 80 overwhelmingly defeated
asst November, 10 irrevocably fasten I
ipon the people Of the State vicious
md unlawful scheme Of oppression and q
negotiable taxation, and, at the same Y
inc create vast political machine v
aIculatcd to perpetuatc indefinitely the [
rasp of the political faction then and s
0w IN power upon the Democratic 0
arty and people of the State. a
Floridans, and Florida land owners n
yerywhere, large and small, may well il
congratulated upon the Just and in. b
Yitable result Of this costly and vexa.
Gus litigation, made necessary by the la
purpose Of the jennings n
reward Bars "straight-out" political nj
.etion to fasten itself lrrevocably and III
perpetuity upon the body bolitic. VI
Ith deliberate and almost undisguised pr
tention to become the masters and tn
lers Of the people. and perpetuate tn
cir power indefinitely. tr
~NeN~-~N~--.-----.a.-l-.-
BrOward Is to be admired because of pr
Q enemies he makes. Winter Garden wi
cOchet. No
High, lofty and dignihed, admiration Sc
making opponents to himself and an
schemes. eh ! Well there is 40 ~ ~
lbt he has made some good Florid-
IL his opponents, and IL he and the
ng are to be admired for II they are gu
leone, There are many of us who ne
Try no animus for him, who oppose
n and his allies in what we believe to on
wrong, and which we ace TO be I'M hu
L. Then, too, there are some people clA
o DO not toady to, and who do not dir
y down and worship, only that and du,
hing more. 40,
he newspaper members of the Leg ing
ture should WELD influence sufTiciapt the