The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1908-04-03

consume space in repetition of things
already said.
Reams of literature have been plac-
ed within easy reach of the people
concerning Ocala, and much that has
been written has already passed into
the tomb of inertness, having been
laid UP for reference and forgotten
by reason Of the careful manner in
which il was placed away.
The glory Of Rome cannot fade,
and the spices of Araby need no sup
pleu enJary aroma; the gold of Ophir
gathers no value from grueled gossip,
and the tranquility of the Haven of
Rest : .oC pcrtUrbed or enhanced
by adyar adye t.siHs IF the saints;
Helen gd.4s no charms in the TO-
mants Of versifcation, and no per
Torrance Of the pen could make the
hi5eousness of Quasimodo more hid
aCus.
What CLINT of glory could this rheu-
matte pen attach to the glistenng
pa~arets OF OcaIa if attempts were
made 20 write it up, or what effect
would follow an effort to write it
down.
E-srvbady knows that Ocala was
/ the scene OF tha Coming Out Conven-
tion-Jaat political innovation incu-
Jated i'm the cercbeIlum Of the editor
OF The Pmta Corta Herald and hatch
I'd out by the energy of the Ocala
Ranuer-who has been irreverently
and iaaptly called the Nest-egg Of the
Florida press. Fe is ID nest-egg He
/ is the responsible senior scratcher Of
a brood Cf less worthy scratchers, with
q mo.herly feeling for all the queer
ana motley brood and has made his
nest 50 comfortable and secure that
every chirpcr OF them does him rev
crcncc and veneratiOn in measures
mstinted. though they have libeled
him in their desire to give all that is
coming TO him Some of them have
estimated the age of Frank Harris of
three score years and ten. The wOr-
! by spirit that inspired the libel was
! the same that inspired Eugene Field
- write to Charles A. Dana on the
latteI's birthday. these lines:
Why. bless We, Mr.. Dana, may We live
a thousand years,
! To kind o brighten up things in this
vale o'human tears
And may I live a thousand, tOO-a
thousand, less a day,
For | should hate to live to say Id
seen you pass away"
Though Ocala is famed for many
things, it is best known as the habitat
and abiding place of Frank Harris,
whom we found to be a well preserv-
ed youth of 81.
| The scratchers who scratch in sat
isfying the demands of the grocery
man need indulge no vain apprehen-
siOns that he will not get his due I'M
der the biblical apportionment. The
editor Of the Ocala Banner is yet in
the enjoyment of his pristine vigor,
and wears no cOndemning badge OF
accumulated years except a prOtec-
tive perplex of whiskers, which he
keeps closely culled to the clinging
form. There are no street cars in
Ocala, and Editor Harris does not
believe in trailers. He has method
in his work, to be sure, which may
by some be mistaken as a habit in
duced by age, but to the more refiec-
tive this is considered more correctly
Ia be the operation of a well tutOTed
mind. The most of us waste half our
lives by failure to economic the
hours. The prOdigal who spends his
forenoon with reckless regard for its
value consumes the evening with in
effectual regret.
Ocala is 60 years old and Frank
Harris has been forty years in the
newspaper work. He has made the
Banner the best and most widely read
paper in the State outside the large
cities. The mornings he spends in
observant leisure and the afternoons
and evenings are spent in the edito-
rial rooms of the Banner. Systematic
and thorough, he puts readable things
in his paper, and this accounts for its
success. Port LeavengOod is the bust
ness man of the establishment, and
he manages so well that the life OF
Editor Harris is one Of unsullied free
dom from financial cares, and the