The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1908-04-08
GOVERNOR HAS X
MADE GOOD
Hon. NJ. 3. Broward Gives his Record
as Proof that He has Carried
Out His Promises
Jacksonville, Fla, April 4. 1908.

wrote you a letter i'm behalf of the
candidacy Of our late lamented friend
and senator Hon. w. j. Bryan. Since
that time, as you know. he died as the
result of typhoid fever, from which
he was then suffering.
His. kinsmen and. many of his
friends and mine have requested that
become a candidate in his place for
United States senator before the DEM
ccratic primaries soon to be held.
have concluded to do so and I there
fore now ask you TO support me. 1t
nay seem harsh to receive letter
from me making this request so soon
after the death of our friend, Senator
Bryan. but it is only about month
and a half before the primaries and If
am to be nominated it is necessary
that speedy work be done.
l assure you that if nominated and
elected to the United States senate
will do all that 1 am capable of for
the benefit of the people Of Florida
and of the country at large.
1t may be well here to render you
ali account of my stewardship as gov
ernOr.
L WlleI
your governor, to veto any bill re-
pealing or weakening the primary
election law and the railroad COM
mission law. These laws are still on
the statute books and / vetoed two
II eaSureS tending to weaken the pri-
mary law and have approved several
Strengthening the railroad commission
law, some Of them being in direct line
with my recommendations as gov
ernor.
I promised to employ every meanS
III my power to save and reclaim the
public domain for you. /, as trustee
of the Internal Improvement Fund,
Il gether with the other trustees, have
done everything in my power to ac-
compliSh this end. We have defend
cd through the courts the litigation
brought by the railroads and their
successors under the legislative land
grants, and have recently effected
compromise by which these claims,
covering all the remaining public
land, were assigned to the State Board
Of Education, thus saving the people
approximately 2,250,OOO acres of land.
an area larger than the states of
Rhode Island and Delaware COM
bined, and $4,000, which land, when
drained, will be worth many millions
of dollars. We are now selling re-
claimed land near the canals at from
SIS to $40 per acre, several hundred
acres of the reclaimed land being now
Under cultivation and bearing heavy
crops.
The trustees of the |. 1. Fund, of
which |, as governor, am chairman,
Rave after due investigation of the
feasibility and practicability of the
drainage of these lands, had two mod
ern dredges built and put to work.
They have cut through the rock rim
OH the east side Of the 'gladeS in two
places and are now progressing with
the work economically and satisfac-
tOriy. We hope to. be able to con-
struct and put to work two other
dredges in the near future, one in the
Miami river and the other in the Ca
lOosahatchee river at Fort Thompson.
We have applications now for the
purchase of lands in the Everglades
ear Miami, from gentleman engag-
co in the sugar beet industry in the
west. and from several other gentle
men who intend putting in a large
sugar beet manufacturing plant. \
hundred citizens of Miami have agreed
to- purchase about forty sections of
Rand, the proceeds to go to into build
ing a dredge with which to reclaim
the lands in the vicinity of Miami
A drainage district has been created
in the Everglades and O drainage tax
levied by the last legislature, but
sufficient amount has not yet been
collected with which to do any con-
siderable work. The expense OF the
entire drainage operations so far has
been paid by the proceeds, from sales
Cf some of the same lands, and not
hy taxation.
AS your governor l have devoted
every power Of mind and body to an
honest effort TO serve the people, not
Withstanding statements made by
certain newspapers TO the contrary,
and l propose to go out of office with
conscience which tells me that 1
have in no instance violated the con-
fidence of the people.
l will say this TO you in conclusions
the state and her people need friends
in office. | believe l have proven my
self a friend Of the masses of the peO-
pie, and all L expect to enjoy from
holding public office is the applause
OF the people for duty we'll performed
Yours very truly,
N b. Broward.
P. 81 propose 10 sent out in a few
days to all voters in the state a
Pamphlet defining my position on all
of the most important public nroh-