The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1911-09-29
MR.. COLEMAN CONTINUES THE
DISCUSSION
Ocala, Fla, Sept. 2S, 1911.


had decided to say nothing more
about the new Marion county game
law, but so many have urged, that 1
reply.
was very much surprised at the
tone of Mr.. Carney's letter, for he
knows that he received my hearty
support in the last primary, and much
more than my vote
When l wrote my first article on
the game law, did not then know
who was it's author; hence I could
not possibly have had any motive ex-
cept to show the absurdity and un-
constitutionality of the law and the
humiliation of the game which would
necessarily follow it's application.
Long ago I learned that those
worsted in argument acknowledge
their defeat by the use of personal
epithets, which, in general, have no
bearing on the issue. Mr.. Carney's
defeat was shown by urging egotism
and misinformation as the leading
characteristics of my article. Wheth-
er this be true or false l leave to
those who have read both articles.
A special friend of mine, and of
Mr. Carney's as well, explained to me
that the caustic remarks directed at
me were due to the supposition that
my article was written for political
reasons. Not then knowing who was
the author of the law, it was not pos
sible for such reason to exist.
Well, I certainly do pity man who
| has to bear the responsibilities of
such a law, and, at the same time,
| wants to run for office.
l want to state that l have never
owned an automatic gun; that only
once in my life have I ever owned
any kind of bird dog, and that only
for period of eighteen months. That
do not at this time own any dog.
That | have never seen a deer run
ming wild. That I have never shot at
a turkey in Florida, though l have
been a citizen of the state for six
years: hence l cannot be classed as
an all-round sportsman.
If our senator believes so much in
this law as he asserts, why was no
effort made to have it statewide?
And especially why should it not have
been given to Sumter county by her
representative in the upper house?
Was it right to thus neglect the in
terest of Sumter county? Does the
land near Lake Bryant account for
the prohibition of running deer with
dogs east of the Oklawaha river?
/ Inasmuch as our senator had a
friend introduce the bill in the lower
house, SO that it came to the senate
in its amended form, in which form
he fathered the bill through the SEN
ate, / cannot see how he can escape
the responsibility for the wordingI
and arrangement of the bill, which,
since the discussion, he admits to be
contradictory, and that the sections
conflict
An analysis of our population
shows that living in the principal
towns and villages, and on small
tracts Immediately adjoining the
towns where there is no game, work
ers of phosphate lands, operators of
turpentine lands and those represent
ed by sawmilI interests, to be more
than nine-tenths of the people; and
less than one-tenth residing on in
closed lands where there is any game
Why should the less than ten per
cent. of our people have the privilege
of shooting the game all the year,
which is denied to the other ninety
per cent? This has been called byl
it's author a farmers law. My own
observation, and that of a number of
others, shows that ninety-five per-
cent. of the hunting now being done
is by the colored population, and
practically none by the farmers. One
turpentine man complained that the !
law was causing him trouble, as his !
men wanted to hunt instead of work. |
Our senator's article stating that
people will only kill game as they
would poultry reminds me of the pic
lures in a fashion magazine, where
the dresses and millinery are made
to look good on specially made-to-or-
der faces and figures. So the people
are made to fit his law. 1t is posi-
BILE one man in twenty might con-
serve the game, but the rest would
not.
To illustrate, the latest article in
defense of the law asserts that deer
hunting in September and October
will result only in killing of bucks. Of
the deer killed so far this fall l have
hoan ahloa RI boor 0e only, oDo b,,oI>I