The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1911-04-07
GALL FOR sPARkMAN"
70 the Editor ocala Banner:

4
several days ago that the writer of an
article signed More Water Ways
would answer his critics crickets
would have been the better term-not
a word more would have come from
this writer, for the simple reason that
not a positive act was given to the
question done by the Rhodian Colos-
sus of the first congressional district
of Florida, as we simply asked his
friends to point out the official acts of
this representative, thus showing by
these acts why he should be promot-
ed. The only act or answer given was
that their hero had been for a num-
Der of years member of the commit
tee of rivers and harbors.
The writer wishes to say here that
he has nothing personal against Mr..
Sparkman nor his friends or advo-
Gates. And, further, that he has vot-
ed for Mr.. Sparkman at almost every
election, and especially at the cleo
tions where he had an opponent, as in
the writer's opinion these opponents
were far less competent for the posi-
ton than Mr.. Sparkman.
Some of these "crickets" have in
dulged in very coarse, vulgar and in
decent chirpings, which come alone
from those that are bred in the atmos-
phere of back alleys and within the
glare of red light provinces, forgetting
that they who call you fool, coward,
liar, with equal claim may plead am
pie title to the same.
One of these writer's, in his reply, or
rather his evacuation of his mess of
pottage, otherwise known as fish
chowder a la Crystal River. so COM
pletely stullifies himself, slaughters
his hero on the banks of the Ottawa
ha river. He further in his chirpings
could not refrain from casting sheer
at those who want more water ways,
by saying that at every "exudation of
grass" there was cry for an appro-
priation, and here the friends urging
the improvements of the water ways
in the first congressional district, may
exclaim, 1--WE thank thee Jew for that
word" the emulation of grass" Grass
is eaten by many animals and fowls,
bovine and geese, being first crushed
by the jaws and bills of these animals,
and then subjected to a solution of
either peptonic or ingluvinic acid, and
peristalic motion produces discharge
of fecal matter, which falls upon the
writer of more water ways, and, in the
opinion of one of the Tampa papers, |
forms crushing reply to the writer
of the article entitled "All for Spark |
man." displaying the wonderful oper-
ations of the emulation of grass
The writer has no personal objec-
lions to Mr.. Sparkman's selection asl
chairman of the rivers and harbors
committee. for in looking over the list,
perhaps he is the equal of any of the
other aspirants, as they all belong to
that class of statesmen who believe
that water will run down HILL" and
dry up at the coming of a railroad. !
And, further, the dogma that ''if there
is any stealing to be done, they want
their share;" which latter dogma was
publicly proclaimed in the upper
house of congress. We simply ask
for the enumeration of the official acts
beneficial to the people at large that
Mr.. Sparkman in keeping the waters
in the first district, which were navi-
gable at and before Mr. Sparkman's
election to office, in at least their for
mer navigable condition, but no act
has been shown in furtberance of
this benefit to the people. We merely
wanted of Mr.. Sparkman and his
friends that information requested
from the friends of Senator Bailey in
a recent issue of the Tampa Times,
which is as follows:
We are hearing unmeasured enco-
miums upon Bailey's ability, and we
would be pleased with a list of his
accomplishments. We admit in adj
vance of the inventory that he can
make the biggest and best speech in
the United States, but we want re-
cital of deeds. not words, a record of
what he has done for the party and
the country.
1t is not only true in Florida, but
throughout the United States, that ev-
cry navigable stream has been paral-
leled, where possible, by railroad COR
porations, and it is and was generally
true that representatives in congress.
in both houses were railroad attor,
neys, and II Is not tnercoyert acts of
commission that we complain of but
the covert acts of omission that have
made the waters non-navigable. The
transportation of freight and passen-