The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1911-11-24
PROGRESS AND CONSERVATION
DO the Editor ocala Banner:

role of an ordinary scold, or public
scold; still, little scolding is as ne
cessary for the good of a community
as IL is for the household. We scold
our children when we see them idling
away their time, when We want them
20 spend their time in equipping them
selves with knowledge. and we do
this scOlding because we know that
knowledge is absolutely necessary, if
they are TO make of themselves pro-
gressive citizens.
A community is nothing more than
a large family-tne same rules apply
I'm a progressive community that ap-
ply i'm a progressive family.
There exists in the south a DISPOSE
ton TO do things in temporary way.
These things done in a temporary
way usually remain an eye-sore when,
in fact, the cost of the temporary inn
provement, with the cost of it's up
keep for a few years, would have
built "a thing of beauty, a joy for
ever"-permanent.
To progress is to keep pace with
the advance of time-to take the mi
tiative-make a step in advance when
an opportunity presents itself. TO
conserve our natural resources is to
use them in a way that produces the
maximum results.
The utter disregard for this con-
.servation in the past has resulted in
their exhaustion. Our beautiful for
ests are practically gone, with the
net result that few-very few-have
been successful, while the many that
failed can trace their failure to the
extravaganza of the times-this lack
OF conservation.
The same disregard for the conser-
walton exists today as it has in the
past. The writer makes this state
ment because of things that happen
even now.
Just a few years ago a lot of our
progressive men combined their cap
ital to utilize a power that had been
running to waste for centuries. Our
forests were, and are. being annihi-
lated TO produce the very power that
these men want TO furnish.
dare say that these men would
not have touched this project if they
had not thought that they are living
I'm a progressive age and a progress
i've community.
Now they have completed their pow
er plant and are ready to furnish us
with hydro-electric energy that is pro-
gressive. is conservative, is beautiful,
tion of forests for wood or the burn
ing of Goals all but perpetual.
say the same disregard for con-
servation exists today because when
approached by this power company
with proposition to furnish the COM
munity with electricity we neither ac-
cepted their proposition or made
them one for their consideration. In
other words, we let them severely
alone. without one bit of encourage
ment to keep up the good work that
they had the nerve and capital to mi.
tiate.
The question naturally arises: How
are we ever to progress? How are we
TO conserve our natural resources if
We will not encourage those that have
the courage to make these conditions
possible?
The time is coming when hydro
electric energy will perform the many
useful and beautiful things for us
that it is doing for others, north, east
and west of us.
The writer has lived in cities where
this hydro-electric energy is so cheap
and so satisfactory that even the box
factories and planning mills use it and
sell their shavings and sawdust to
laundries and other industries that
must have steam power
To encourage these progressive cit
liens of ours would result in the up
building of our cities and towns 1t
will beautify them as nothing else can
do. The merchants could afford all
sorJs of electric signs; the construc-
ton of inter-urban lines of railroad
would be encouraged. These things
exist today in more sparsely settled
countries than ours.
The writer has driven into little
towns the size OF Anthony and Belle
view i'm other states where the ap.
proaches to the towns would have
beautiful electric arches over them
with bright letters of electricity spell.
ing out the names of the little towns
and inviting you in by spelling out
the word. Welcome" All this is
made possible by water power or by.
dro-electricity.