The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-07-22

through the bushes swan the creeks,
and scalped neighbor once in a while.
which only hurt the head, while our
highly civilized race vastly improved
upon this by "scalping" the heart Of
MS neighbor. One only took the hair
of, while the other took off all that
made life worth the living. But to get
back. The redskin didn't have the re-
hottest idea that he needed a good road
or a pad one, or a telephone, or cleo
trio lights, or an automobile, or a fly
ing machine, or a justice of the peace,
etc. until the white man, with his
modern, tax raising ideas. bounded into
the arena and bounced the poor Indian
out. But despite all this, our people
have been living in this country for
long time and have gotten along all
right without roads and bridges, and
probably could have done just as well
without the justices Of the peace, etc,
so to speak
Roads and bridges. my countrymen,
cost money, and we should never spend
money for anything. Don't you know
money spent for all such improvements
increases the value of our property,
makes our county more attractive, and
is likely to induce other people TO
come in here and share our lands with
us-all Of which would be a dire ca
lamity, and not to be thought Of for
minute. Just think of having people
from Walton and Escambia counties,
and other foreigners and near foreign
ers moving in here on our vacant
lands! 1t is also a fact that good
roads enable the farmer to make his
buggy and wagon last longer and
thereby take business from our mer-
chants and the vehicle manufacturers.
They also enable the farmer to haul
more at a load and to get his crop to
market in shorter time, and thus de
prive his drivers of several days time
each year. Good roads also make
horses and mules last longer, and thus
takes business from foreign stock
raisers and dealers. People, you know.
should never do anything that will hurt
business like this
Furthermore, good roads make it too
convenient for the people Of one com
munity or county to send their surplus
products to another community or
county, and thus tend to make some
communities poor at the expense of
others. They make ii too easy for
man to buy or sell where he can do II
to his best advantage. A man should
not be permitted to do this; he should
buy from the nearest store, no matter
what the. price charged; he should sell
his products to the home merchants.
whether he wants them or not, ard
take what he can get for them.
But, now comes a proposition, dear
people, that is a distinct jar. Whittier
are we drifting? Listen! 1t is pro
posed, bend low, to build a portion of
the national highway through our
county into Pensacola! There you are:
For utter reCklsesness this takes the
cake, in our opinion. 1t is what is
called a specific" proposition, and
should never be entertained for a nc
ment. 1t has a sorter niger in the
woodpile" look and smells like poll
tician. don't it? If our resources
should be concentrated on one roaG
that road likely would soon be built,
and then our politicians could no longer
point to the fact, in empha sizing their
promises, that the county has no.
single hard road. This would be sac.
Our road money should be divided up
and spread over the entire county, so
that there will not be enough in any
one place to produce any lasting re-
suits We are used to this and it suits
us. II a hard road should he built
through this county into Pensac cola and
rivers bridged, many disastrous results
would follow. There will be cross
roads all through the county running
into this road, by means of which peO-
pie would run out from the hard road
and examine the fine lands in this
county, and might be induced to buy
some of them and settle here, bringing
more money, more industries. and more
brains among our people. Our own
people would no longer be compelled to
await the convenience of the L. & y.
and pay her prices to get out Of and
back into the county. It would be,
manifestly, wrong to thus interfere
with the vested rights of a local insti-
tuition like the l.. g. n. and deprive her
of much needed revenue. Ferry owners
and ferry tenders would lose their jobs
and our people would no longerd he
held up for long strong leg pull be-
fore crossing a river. Some of our
people might escape to Pensacola ard
leave some of their products or money
there, and some of the foreigners from
EsCambia county might get over here
and take away some of our things.
The way to have an enlightened town
or county, and make and keep the peO-
pie thereof prosperous, is to cut off all
means Of communication possible, and
compel the people to stay at home and
keep their moneys and products there,
and keep out all foreigners. Now, if
the proposition was to bond the coun-
ty and wall 1t in, there would be some
sense in it.
Now, If you think there is any
sarcasm hidden away in these few re
marks, just peek around and find out
Yourself