The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1913-03-28
AN INTERESTING LETTER

Taylor, president of the Gainesville
board of trade, to the chairman of the
county commissioners of 'Alaeaaa
county, is straight to the point, ard
contains suggestions which, if carried
out, will mean the bigges- agricultural
and horticultural show ever pulled off
in Florida:
Gainesville. March p. 1913"
Mr.. c. c. Pedrick, Chairman Board of
County Commissioners, Gaines
VILE Fla:
My dear Friend Pedrick: I am en-
closing carbon Of a letter being mail
ed today TO D. 5. Williams at OcaIa
wish as soon as YOU receive this that
you would advise me what date your
board meets and about the hour you
would suggest delegation visiting
you with the idea of presenting some
reasons as 10 why this county should
for the present, at least, join with Ma
rion county in a tri-county fair 1
don't keep straight on your meeting
days, for which reason l am asking
that YOU advise ME a. once, as there
are a number of gentlemen who desire
10 appear before you.
Il believe you understand that 1
have no crystalized ideas, nor any set
scheme or plan, concerning what
should be done in connection with this
fair. l am satisfied though, Pedrick
that competition among our own peo-
pie Will be the means of great benefit
to all concerned, and out of these
fairs there is no doubt that warm RI
valry springs up. You know in trade
the word competition has been elm
mated, and in place Of competition we
now use ''cooperation." 1t is a better
Interpretation for the old saw. All
your life you have heard that com
petition is the life of trade" How
much more truthful it is TO say that
cooperation is The life or trade. If l
am striving TO do more hardware bus
mess than my neighbors it is not nee
essarily competition, but it is coopera-
ton; for if it is the life of trade it is
benefting to both of us, and the same
thing holds with our rural commun-
tiles. If competition or cooperation
viii spur our citizens up to improve
the quality of the chickens, the quail
ity of their live stock, or the grade,
quality and quantity of any farm pro-
duet it is directly adding to the wealth
of the community. l find in my ex
perience that there is one fundamen-
tai fact that nine people out of ten
lose sight of, viz: That every single
dollar that is brought into a commun-
ity is adding just exactly that much
to the wealth of the community. 1
f,yvr Inv q y-oc y,
for $25 and send your money to North
Carolina for it; somebody from New
berry comes in and gives you $40 for
the same wagon, you have made SIS,
but the community in which you live
has made $50. for the community has
got $40 more in it than it had to begin
with Every single thing that is done
that brings money into a community
is absolutely adding that much clean,
clear profit to the community. We
have got that much more money to
| play on.
Il saw an article In the sun signed
| by a man named Roberts that was all
right in its way, but entirely wrong in
it's method There is no use for Alach-
ua county to say that they won't join
with Marion county because we want
u fair of our own. If you were to
start out to get fair in Alachua
county you know as well as l do that
( it would be practically hopeless job.
! If we start in a modest way TO CO.
1 operate with Marion county it viii
not be many years before the actual
need of an Alachua county fair will be
brought home to our people and we
VIII have it, and it Will not be in COM
| petition with Marion county, but viii
be cooperating with Marion county. [
would like to see a chain Of county
! fairs that started at Pensacola and
went slam to Key West. They wouldn't
be in competition with each other in
any sense. 1t would be entirely coop
erative They could get better attrac-
tions for less money, avoiding long
jumps; for, after all is said and done,
these county fairs are very largely
local What we want to do is to start,
and the way to start is TO begin at the
bottom and build up-not wait until
we think the time is ripe to start at
the pinnacle for as invariably follows
that effort we viii wind UP in the cell
lar Everything that ever amounts to
anything has got to grow TO it, and
/ any OlueF IQed iiISul dS ven Ne us
missed in the beginning.
Il wish if you are giving this matter
the thought it deserves that you would
advise me from time to time of fea-
lures as they present themselves to
/ you.
L made up my mind a long time ago
that l would never appear before the
county commissioners, or any other
board in authority, and suggest or urge
anything that 1 did not thoroughly
believe in myself. That is one reason
! that you never see my name on a pc
! titton unless it is some meritorious
project and, while do not always get
YOU gentlemen 70 see things as I do, l
don't want you TO get the idea that a
chair and pair of mules could ever
! pun me before a meeting Of the coun-
/ " commissioners and say one single
word that l didn't believe in from top
to bottom, nor to suggest one single
/ thing that l would not be willing to
subscribe TO personally. l am no
| boomer or booster, and YOU know
there is mighty little hot air in my
( f~- ?