The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1911-08-18
THAT FLORAHOME
DRAINAGE LAW
Why Should County Commits
sioners Hesitate To Put
1t In Force.
Law Plain As Nose On Average Mans

Law Plain As Nose On Average Mans
Face.
The people of the Florahome district
in this county have teen seeking drain
age legislation for many years.
AT last they have it-or at least thought
they had until the unexpected opposit-
ion which developed at the meeting of
the board of County Commissioners last
week, when several men who own land
within the drainage zone made vigor-
Gus "kick."
Among those who made kicks were
the Hon. John p. Wall. Now if there is
one thing more than another that the
editor of the News diSlikes, ii is the ne
cessity of disagreeing with Hon. John
P. Wall-though he has had ii TO do on
one or two previous occasions.
One claim OF these directors TO this
drainage act is that the act defines all the
lands in the drainage zone as ''having
been found to be of the same character
and class not sufficiently drained 10 be
available for successful agriculture. "
This may be, probably is not quite true.
But Immediately following the words
quoted above the law says: and ii is
so hereby declared"
In other words, the legislature and
governor of Florida, the highest and on
ly law making power in the state, has
said that these lands could all be i'm
proved by draining, and this same power
has defined the lands TO be SO drained.
This power has also provided what
amount of tax shall be levied per acre
on all the lands in the drainage zone;
how ii shall be collected; who shall be
drainage commissioners; how and what
they shall be paid, and what they shall
do to earn their money.
The law is SO gosh dinged plain that
great big chump OF a man with
only a smattering of education could
read and understand il before or after
running for office.
The Commissioners can hardly be
cenSured for putting this matter over for
month They were bewildered by the
array of big guns who attended the Au-
gust meeting 10 oppose the act. They
will probobly get over this bewilder-
ment by September 9Th.
The Florahome muck lands ought to
be drained. These lands when proper
Iy drained are worth one hundred dol
lars an acre OF any mans money who has
knowledge OF farming.
Now, The News simply suggests that
right there 10 where all the trouble had
its inception. This fact may be the real
coon in the wood pile. !"
Why not?
Do not men with money sometimes
seek 10 bear the market for lands as well
as stocks for the the purpose of buying
cheap?
A smart" business man would make
bundles of money if he could buy up all
the undrained muck lands in the Flora
home district at "bcar" prices. Several
smart business men already know this
fact even better than the Palatka News.
1t is just possible the law does work
some Injustice TO few men whose lands
really do not need draining; but to tie
many il is an act of simple delayed JUS
tice.
Among those who opposed the law
before the commissioners last week
were some men who suggested that GER
tain OF the lands be exempted from this
tax.
They know this would queer the
whole act. If the county commission
erS exempt one maa's land from this tax
they could notlcollect from the other.
The board of county commissioners is
not a legislative body. The law was
made by the legislature and duly APPROX
ed by the governor. One action defines
the duty of the board. That duty to
carry out the provisions OF the act
"TheirS not 10 reason why,
Theirs but 10 do orr
disregard their plain public duty.
John P. Wall and the men who op.
posed this matter last week know this to
be true. And if there were any lawyers
there, they also knew it.
They know that the place to contest a
plain statute is in the courts and not be-
fore the board of county commission
erS
They know that this law lin Sec. a
says: THAT a tax of 20 cents per acre is
hereby levied annually, including the
year 1911, upon all the lands hereby de-
Scrbed within said Florahome Drainage
District" and they know that it is the
plain duty of the board TO provide for
the collection of that tax.
The whole scheme looks more like
job than anything that has come I'M
der the observation of the Palatka News
in Putnam county in this year of our
Lord.
And the News is of opinion that some
Of the members of the board are "onto"
the scheme.
If they are, they certainly will have
an additional incentive for letting the
Ia u, take ifC course