The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1909-10-15
SOMETHING RADICALLY WRONG

The Tribune has no desire to make
ia fight on the railroads entering this
state. On the other hand, the Tribune
has always been the staunch friend
of those corporations, so much so in
fact that great many people have
from time to time, characterized this
paper as a corporation organ. The
Tribune has always contended that
the corporations and especially the
railroads were the people and enter
prises who are working assiduously
to develop the resources of Florida
and for that reason it has championed
their cause on any and all occasions,
when they were, according to this pa
per's way of thinking, in the right.
There is one thing, however, that the
Tribune desires to call the attention
of the railroads to, and that is an
lequaliZed freight rate in this state
While these corporations are spending
millions of dollars to enhance the val
ue of their own property and give the
people adequate railroad facilities,
both freight and passenger, at the
same time their rates should be equi-
tably adjusted so that people all over
the state could realize a small profit
on their legitimte business, after the
railroad tariffs have been paid. AS an
illustration of this fact the Tribune
will state that the freight rate on
white paper from New York to Jack
sonville is eighteen cents a hundred;
to Tampa it is thirty-five cents per
hundred. We have no kick to make
on these rates. The rate, however,
on the same commodity from Tampa
to Tallahassee is ninety-four cents a
hundred; therefore a merchant or
business concern in Tampa could not
possibly do business with Tallahas-
see. Thus the railroads by their ar
bitrary methods of manipulating the
rates, are injuring the very people
who are assisting in building up their
corporations and developing the re-
sources of Florida. The high "mucky-
mucks" of these corporations should |
get together and see that a freight |
rate from Tampa to interior towns is |
established, which will permit Tampa
business concerns to do business
throughout the state in competition |
with eastern and western people.
1t might be a fact that Tampa ships |
very little to Tallahassee, but it is a |
fact that Tampa never will be able to |
do business with, west Florida and |
other interior sections until the rail-
roads give rates which will permit a
small profit to the people who are
working year in and year out to de-
velop Florida as a state of popula-
ton, commerce and wealth.
What is true of the Tallahassee sit
uation also applies to every inland
town in Florida. Every merchant
who reaches out for trade and every
fruit and vegetable grower who tills
the soil will testify to the truthfulness
of this assertion.
Is it possible that the railroads, by
their incapacity to grasp the situation
are going to retard the prosperity of
the business factors who are consci-
entiously working to build up the
state and at the same time minimize
their own earnings and jeopardize
their own interests by a short-sighted-
ness that i'll becomes people of recog-
nized ability to manage the railroads
for the benefit of the public, as well
as the masters who they are laboring
to serve? We hope not-Tampa Trib-
une