The Ocala evening star., 1908-05-07
THE sPARR PICNIC

The political picnic al Sparr yester-
day was q great success considering
the threatening weather of the MORN
ing and the rain that began falling
( sbout 10 o'clock. which drove the peo-
pie from the grove to the school house
Tor shelter. ~
Mr.. Lee, Grantham, the young com
nitteeman from that section, presided
and proved an unusually acceptable
presiding officer. Mr.. Light opened the
speaking. The program was varied
and not all the legislative candidates
u spoke in succession, but other county
office aspirants interviewed.
The speaking was continued at the
school house until 1880 when, the rain
I ceasing, the crowd repaired to the pic
mic grounds where dinner was spead
end such a dinner! We wonder how
can 1t be possible to surpass the spread
!, Of this and that precinct that rally to
heariTthe' candidates, but the last
seems, lbut this in part only exists in
the Imagination. All the same, the
1 ladies of Sparr fairly outdid them
selves in their culinary efforts.
Nothing special or sensational de-
veloped in the speaking. The argu-
n,ents used were about the, same. Mr.
LIght said he was the man for the
legislature to pull up the suckers and
assured the voters that he would make
legislation that would dig up the $50
millions of wealth and place it on the
tax books where it could be assessed
Mr.. W. l.. Martin, the Sparr candf-
date for the legislature, doubted Mr.
Lights statement, as just as good,
capable and honest men had been sent
to. the Legislature before and they new
}er did succeed. And the editor of the
Star remarked that unless Mr.. Light
or some other man brought about the
millennium and made every man a
meek and lowly follower of the Savior
OF mankind and do as Christ would
Z have done when he was on earth, the
same old human nature would act as
: it had In the past about this tax mat
ter
OF course all the candidates made
rrofuse promises for economy, but
favored every move for the continuance
end Improvement of public utilitiess
which, of course, does not do away
! with taxation.
The editor of the Star had to assure
the people of Sparr, strange as it may
have seen1ed, that he was not the cam
didatesof the saloon men and the base
4 reportt that they induced him to run
was false. He assured the audience
that IL sent to Tallahassee he would
be the last man in the legislature to
deny the people Of the state the priv
siiege granted them by our republican
Institution to express their wishes at
the polls as to whether they desired
Florida to BE a prohibition state or
continue under local option Is,
While the EDITOR of the Star ID trac-
ing down reports and denying them,
l lei us stop to say that the report cur
rent that IL Mr.. ]. p. P.'Galloway was not
dominated for sheriff at the pri2ary
OK May 10TH, he would run at!the No
yember election as an Independent
candidate. has been denied by that
4 gentleman and branded as false.
Drs. Baskin and Griffith, of Dunnel-
Ion, came on TIE scene in their auto
jest as the meeting adjourned for din
ner and, in the absence Of DR.. Griffith
the editor of the Star spoke for him,
as he sfterwards,did for Prof. BlJn-
son. candidate for superintendent of
public Instruction and Mr.. J. L.. Beck,
3 who desires a reelection as registra-
crowd gladly heard Dr. Griffith, who
made a talk in line with the arguments
or. all the other candidates, except he
never whispered prohibition once, and
neither did Mr. w L. Martin.
Candidates w. ]. Crosby, of Citra,
w. A. Younge of Fairfield and l., B.
Marsh, of Daisy, for county commits
sioner from the fifth district, spoke.
Mr.. Crosby made fine business like
/ statement. The other two simply said
they were candidates, bowed and with
drew.
The audience, while not demonstra-
\ tive, gave the closest attention and
rome more so than the ssladies, who
greatly .enjpyed.the tilt between Can
cidates Ayer>>and Phillips. In their
argument the wet,or. dry question was
unearthed. Aver insisted as both wet
and dry voted for him he could. not
takes sides with either; did not sign
the petition for a wet Or dry election
because that would have committed
ham to vote dry; though he never voted
n wet ticket in his life. and in the wet
cI dry election Of 1888 he stumped the
county for the. dry cause.
Messrs. Carney and Graham thrash
ed out the law concerning keeping the
tax books open until the day the de-
linquent tax list was published.
1t was 4:30 when the speaking came
+ to a close. Allen Stevens sold ice
cream and soda water for the benefit
cf the new Baptist church d4 Sparr,
now under roof, in whict1 building the
! ,af3ioa Cod bless them have lahored