The Ocala evening star., 1908-04-13
GOVERNOR eRoWARD IN ocALA

tOVernOr BroWard was listened to
very attentively in the hour and a
half speech he made in the courthouse
Saturday afternoon. Mr.. John NJ.
Graham presided and introduced the
distinguished speaker.
The governor referred to the death
of, Hon. w. J. Bryan, which caused
the speaker to offer for the United
States senate. He admitted the prize
was worth striving for and the re-
ceipt Of over 100 letters and kilograms
made him feel he had a good many
friends who thought as he did. He
then paid a glowing tribute to the
4 possibilities Of an American youth,
and what the people want out of their
|, servant who Is to serve them in the
senate. He touched on the drainage
project: the carrying out Of a prom
ise he made when he appealed to the
people to be made governor and how
in this he had made good and saved to
Z the schools of the state nearly two
million acres of this land.
He referred to the twenty million
acres Of land the state of Florida had
and the seventeen million acres claim
ed by the corporations for the build
Ing OF their roads. The governor
said the state now had a proposition
\ for the Everglade lands from a prom
inent syndicate of wealthy men who
had visited the dredges and seeing
what had been accomplished and the
crops growing on the drained lands,
wanted to take every alternate Sec
ton of this land and give for lands
thirty-nine miles from where the
drR6prpS OF
rs per cent of this money for the con-
tinuance Of the drainage and 25 per
cent for school purposes. He believed,
as a member of the Internal Improve
. ment Fund trustees, that it was
good proposition, but he had to con-
suit the rest of the board
Miami desired forty sections of this
undrained land. So ithe drainage
proposition was not after all as CHI
merical a scheme as his opponents
contended 1t would be-
He again referred to the service the
K people had a right to expect of their
servants and he for one would dem
\ onstrate that there was work to do
and would labor night and day in the
interest of the whole people. He real
ly wanted the job. He spoke of the
objections urged against his candi-
dacy. Some said he was poor and no
account and wouldn't pay his debts.
Others said that he had grown rich as
governor and feared the tendency of
his wealth. Well he said, If he had
no money to pay his railroad fare he
could walk. One thing was certain
in his mind, he could render as good
service to the people as any other
candidate i'm the field
He spoke Of all men being equal be-
fore the law, but all were not equal
in making opportunities and carrying
(, out career of usefulness to them
selves and the public. He referred to
the primaries and the laws governing
the same. He said two amendments
to the law were his suggestions.
He also answered the critics who
censured him for not carrying out it's
provisions. He referred to- the Editor
Stoneman case at Miami The facts
are: Stoneman under the laws of the
state was not eligible to the office of
county judge, hence when he was re-
ported the nominee after the primary
and the election he referred his case
to the attorney general of the state,
4 who turned StOneman down. Now that
is all there is to not commissioning a
man after being elected He also re-
ferred to the difference in political
procedure in America and England
In England every aspirant appears
and appeals to his constituents and
tells them in what he belives and
stands for in governmental matters
The opposite is the case in the United
States. Here it is to stand for office
and conceal ones position on every
important question. This state of af-
fairs existed up to the time of the
primary law and now every candidate
for legislative honors, high and low
must define where he stands and in
what he believes. This state of af-
fairs had come to pass since William
Jennings Bryan in 1898 set forth his
ideas along these lines. He with a
few master strokes of thought out
lined how conventions were made up
and governed. The people were not
consulted Jim Jones and Tom Smith
did the business. Jones had ten sons
and enough votes in the primary to
make Jim delegate to the county
convention. while Smith ran a saw
mill and had hands enough to lift him
in as another delegate and the county
was fixed, generally solid, for some
other man higher up. But the primary
relegated these pernicious methods to
to the rear.
We were great in our schools and
the studies taught, but when it came
TO teaching the right king of political