The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1913-12-05
STATEMENT FROM Nh. NUegNT


The financial statement that Mr.
Light wants published would sinri'
waste about $4,000 of this cOun ~
money. The statement itself Is
dreary waste Of figures. a lis. Of war
rants issued and Outstandin'. and
there Is already ON file In the clerk 8
Office and the office OF the board OF
public instruction every item - at Is
contained In this financial statement
I say. with all emphasis, that there
f. a record in the clerks office OF ev-
cry dollar that this county is spend
Ing. and Mr.. Light or any other citi-
sen can see Il. II he wants TO. The
county commissioners have never OBJ
tected 10 publishing a summary of
this financial statement. And this is
e..-c.ly what the comptroller has de-
cided to do in the matter He tells
me that the cost TO us will be, say,
$50.
Mr.. Light wants us to publish the
whole fool thing. az a cost of about
$4,000 a year. with the county owing
an immense sum. Mr. Lights neigh
bors In the country. who help pay for
this. can decide whether they would
prefer Mr. Light TO give the newspa-
pers of Ocala $4,000 for publishing a
lot of warrants that nobody would
read. or have the comptroller meet
the wishes of the commissioners and
spend. say. $50. and publish in
short summary all that they could
possibly learn from the whole state
friends OF the different commission
ers, and Mr.. Lights neighbors, and
the citizens generally, to draw their
own conclusions as TO whether the
commissioners know what they are
doing, or whether Mr.. Light knows
what he is talking about.
AS a matter of fact, and of law. the
commissioners have nothing to do
with the publishing but the paying
0AA VI NnG AaA pay AlOhNS " tiiC
ocala newspapers; the comptroller
directs the publishing.
II seems a little strange, in view
of the enthusiasm of the gentleman
al Reddick in this matter, that long
after he was back from Tallahassee
ne did not know anything about the
faw requiring this statement-pa passed
by his very own Legislature. ! know
this To be a fact, for asked Mr.. Light
about this very law, in Ocala, myself,
one day, and found. from his own lips,
that he did not know anything about
IL.
AS 10 the 5000 paid me, want to
say with all emphasis that that work
cost me, In actual cash paid out of my
own pocket. Sl65: that / made profit
OF $50 in the matter, and that the
amount paid me was wholly legal, alb
solutely square, we'll earned and very
moderate, and the comptroller of the
state of Florida-who may possibly
know even as much as Mr.. Light
told me what amounted to this a few
days ago in my office in Ocala
There is. however, one thing about
Mr.. Lights article that want to call
attention TO, and that is that while
there is no direct statement of wrong
doing, the tone of that article is such
as might lead someone who did not
know TO think that there was some.
thing wrong, and against that tone |
protest. as not being just.
No man Is justified in building his
political fences-and presume that
Mr Light is going TO be again can.
didate for the legislature. simply from
his getting in the limelight. SO to
speak-by doing any injustice TO any
one, and hardly think that Mr.. Light
Is fair in this matter.
Respectfully.
p. II. NUGENT, Clerk.