The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-03-18
FAITHFUL ARE THE WOUNDS
OF A FRIEND
Somewhat Severe and Not Altogether
Deserved Scoring

The smoking compartment of the
Pullman sleeper is a trysting place
where many condolences are exchang-
ed. many PHILOSOPHERS evolved, and
many political candidates cussed and
discussed.
The last half day in the through car
from Cincinnati to Jacksonville sees
the crowd thinned out until the few
who remain are Florida tourists of
some sort, and it is interesting to note
the entire lack of interest and infor-
nation regarding the interior of the
state and the enthusiasm exhibited re-
garding the coast towns A steady
and increasing stream of gold divides
at Jacksonville and flows around us of
Ocala. If only a moderate portion of
it could be diverted to US values here
would go up 100 per cent.
If the inland route up the st. Johns
and Oklawaha rivers could be popular
lied, Ocala would be much benefited,
and then if we had a nice clean city,
with good accommodations, good wa
ter, adequate sewerage and a fine park,
we would be ready to pry these
Yankees loose from their ducats and
incidentally locate some of them on
the fertile soil of Marion county. The
permanent prosperity of any section
finally comes to depend upon the soil
and if representative men here would
make a sincere effort to locate new
comers on fertile land where ultimate
failure is not a foregone conclusion,
instead of leaving them to be exploit
ed and robbed, then Florida real estate
would in time come to bear a much
better reputation than it does at pres
ent.
In the few years that l have known
Ocala, values have very materially
advanced and so far as I can see, that
advance in values has been greatly en-
hanced by the wide notoriety of the
Burbank exploitation which I regard
as a semi-fake if not all-fake institu-
| tion. Whoever wrote the Burbank ad-
| vertising was an artist in his line, and
| if the scheme had been projected with
some of our good land as a foundation,
| the section would have been perma-
nently benefited.
| I have known few men who came
| to this section and tried farming who
gave it up in disgust and left the
| country, and 1 have been struck by the
unanimity with which they gave as a
| reason, that their wives could not en-
| dure the monotonous isolation of Flor
| ida rural life, and when one thinks of
| it it is easy to believe. And those who
| leave for this reason are the very best,
| for a woman who does not long for
social ties is poor creature and by
analogy her husband must be still
| worse.
Over in Michigan the county officials
| donate the use of nice airy room in
| the court house and the ladies OF the
town-Lord bless 'em-get up what
they call a literary society and all the
country cousins attend. They read and
discuss matters literary, phi1osophic,
| social and economic, get acquainted
and have a general how de-do. I be-
lieve the Woman's Club of Ocala could
do a good work along this line.
We have two organizations here de-
voted to the betterment of this local
ity-the Board of Trade and the Wom-
ans Club, and my estimate of timber
| values is that one club welded on i'm
mediate issues, is worth two boards
nailed to a contingency so remote that
| it never gets anywhere, and so while
| the men dream of an international
| canal through Ocala the ladies had bet
ter keep on working until they turn
| that mosquito marsh over by the ice
| factory into a park, and get such hor-
rible open sewers as that opposite
Giles new building out of sight and
incidentally they ought to make life a
| burden to the city dads until they
work the hummocks out of our streets
so one can ride down them in a calm,
dignif1ed manner without danger of
having his spinal column telescoped,
nor his false teeth Jared loose
Maybe we can get the Oklawaha
river straightened and a canal to Sill
yer Springs, but meanwhile it is wise
to encourage responsible farming
| constituency to turn these velvet beans
into high-priced beef and raise vege-
tables enough for our own use.
1t seems to me a sugar factory would
work well here. l am told they are
not now expensive. Nearly all our
land will raise cane as well as poll
ticians Why don't some pious soul
start a factory, turn deaf ear to the
; trust and give US cheap sugar?
Scorer.