The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-03-03
PEssrMIsTs HAVE THEIR PLACE

Quite a number of the Stars friends
have Intercepted it as to the identity
of Keep Cummin and A. Coin, who so
vigorously Knocked in Saturdays pa
per the plan OF extending Ocala tol
Silver Springs.
Keep Cummin and A. Coin are two
pessimistic citizens, whose faces are
turned toward the sunset. Having
seen Ocala fail in some things and not
especially noted her success in many
things, they fear to go forward They
are like a man shivering in his bed
under scanty cover on chilly night
he is not comfortable, but he breads
the cold outside the blankets too much
to arise and procure the additional
quilts that would make him happy.
1t is well for us to recall the various
schemes In which OcaIa has fallen
down, but we should recall them for
the purpose. of avoiding other errors
and not TO stagnate ourselves into an
eternal standstin. What If OeaIa has
been advertised in the past-has not
Ocala grown? Have we not scores of
improvements, hundreds of new homes
and thousands of new citizens? IN
stead of pointing to Ocala,. which has
advertised much while it was alive
and grown some, we might point to
Ninevah, Babylon and Newnansville,
which were not advertised in print
until long after they were dead-and
it has done them no good, for they are
yet dead
The plan to make Ocala a river
town by the simple process of taking
in Silver Springs" does not seem I'M
reasonable to the Star, the editor of
which can point to many towns of his
own acquaintance which have grown
enough to cover the proposed space in
a little over a quarter of century.
Twenty -seven years ago traveller
coming into Jacksonville from Fer
nandina would ride for at least four
miles thru the pinywoods. with only a
house or two the whole distance, be-
fore reaching the city Today the
same space is almost a solid town.
Going out of town on the other side
toward Tallahassee, he would again
find himself In the woods mile from
the old F. r. & N. station. It is now
eight miles from one side of Jackson
vile to the other. Tampa has grown
as much st. Petersburg has grown
more in proportion. There are hum
dreds of towns and cities all over the
west that have grown more.
If Ocala annexes the proposed strip
to the springs, the city will prepare
for future growth by removing several
OF the obstacles to it-obstacles that
will have to be overcome at great
trouble and expense later on. The
proposed extension will add little in
expense to the city or in taxation to
the people in the new territory II
the proposed improvements are made
and they must be made-they viii
oF Nf~aff F0T1
much faster than our own people have
received them. Police protection will
have to be given at once, by an officer
either on a horse or a motorcycle
Transportation, lights and water will
follow as fast as possible. The value
of property all along the strip viii
rapidly increase to the benefit of its
owners and the city revenue. There is
an unbroken line of good building
sites from Ocala to the springs-it
would be an unbroken line of suburban
residences in three or four years and
one solid town in fifteen.
Our pessimistic friends do well tC
call attention to the failure of Herb
Anderson's railroad. 1t was a brave
and public spirited undertaking, and
our people committed great blundel
when they allowed it to fail for wan
patronage. IL Is q WHICH
90 repeat would be crime.
1t seems TO the Star that to extend
the city TO the springs. to build a rail
way thru the strip to the waters edge
and put up a good freight pier, to use
the water of the springs for city pur-
poses, is a good, solid business prop
osition. The Star sees nothing rasf
or speculative about it. 1t is some.
what unusual, but it is the unusua
that succeeds these days.
The Star doesn't wish to altogether
choke Cummin and Coin in their at
tempts to discourage. Pessimists anC
pests are not alike. despite the simfl
arity in their names, for the forme1
are useful while the latter are not. /
is well for us all to be reminded O
our mistakes, lest we forget and re
peat them. Experience is an expensive
school; it is also an useless one Z
those who never graduate.