The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-09-12

cause of the university. The same rea-
son applies TO DeLand, TO Tallahas-
see, and 10 Lake City, each of those
towns being the center of some uni
versity. But we again assert the fact
that Notwithstanding that those coun-
ties in which those towns are located
have remained practically at a stand
4 still in population.
1 1t is mentioned in Mr.. Lights arti-
Gle that the assessed valuations in
Marion county have not increased in
/ proportion to the assessed valuations
state which Mr.. Light names-of
course selecting those counties which
suit his purpose. Examining, howev-
er, his comparisons between Marion
and Alachua counties in regard to as
Isessed valuations, l desire to say that
the comptroller's report shows that
| Alachua county has assessed So, 1884,
! 10 of real estate, while Marion coun-
| ty abs assessed $3,1S4,300 in real es-
tate, or nearly as much, notwithstand-
ing the fact that Alachua county has
six or seven thousand more people
than Marion county. The public will
not be led astray by the argument
/ that Alachua county has increased its
valuations, because it is thoroughly
understood that valuations are placed
upon property by the tax assessors of
the various counties, and that when
additional revenue is needed, either
the millage or the property valuations
may be raised. 1t becomes, then, very
evident why Alachua county has rails
ed it's valuations so much; because,
after the saloons were driven out of
Alachua county, that county, needing
revenue, was forced either to raise it's
millage or it's valuations, and PREFER
ed the latter course. But the few
counties that Mr.. Light selects to
prove his contention do not, as a mat
ter of fact, substantiate his point, be-
cause the counties of the state, taken
as a whole, show just exactly what
the population of the various counties |
of the state, taken as a whole, show, |
and that is that taxes are lower in the |
wet counties than in the dry counties. |
For instance: Baker county, dry, |
levies, 1919 mills; Brevard county, |
dry, Ievies 20 mills; Citrus county, |
dry, levies % mills; DeSoto county, |
dry, levies "a mills; Duval county, |
wet, levies II mills: Escambia coun- |
ty, wet, levies 141a mills; Franklin |
county, wet, levies II mills; Herman |
do county, dry, levies % mills; Jeffer-
son county, dry, levies 2012 mills; |
Lee county, dry levies % mills; Man
atee county, dry, levies &c mills; Mas |
sau county, wet, levies IL mills; Pas |
co county, dry, levies 221a mills; Put
nam county, dry, q mills; st. Johns |
county, wet, 1872 mills st. ~Lucie
county, dry, levies 261a mills. In ad- |
dition to that, Mr.. Light has failed to |
take into consideration that in the
dry counties much larger license fees |
are paid. Marion county pays half as J
much taxes in licenses alone as
Alachua pays on real estate to the |
state of Florida, and about four times |
as much license fees as Alachua coun- |
ty pays. Therefore, when Mr.. Light |
attempts, by three or four illustra- |
tions of towns in which are located |
colleges, which have been placed |
there within the last ten years, to
show that Ocala and Marion county |
are not on a par with those counties, |
he has failed to give all the facts in
connection with the case, which prove |
just exactly the reverse of what Mr..
Light is attempting to prove.
Why did not Mr.. Light mention in
his summary of the conditions in this |
state the statistics as given above in
stead of taking a few illustrations
which suited his purpose? Is it that
Mr.. Light in his wisdom and his
searches into the facts and figures OF
taxation, overlooked these matters, or
was it because he thought that his ar
ticle would be unanswered, and the |
real facts given? We cannot say.
But, at any rate, I assert that the
comptroller's report and the census
report all prove that prohibition has
not only not benefited any county in
which it exists, but has been detri-
ment and injury to that county.
Briefly, in conclusion, it is men
toned in Mr.. Lights article that Ma
rion county's expenses for court costs
are greater than that of dry counties,
and to prove that he compares Ma
srion with Alachua and with Ley coun-
ties. Possibly Mr.. Light was ignorant
of the fact that in the last two years
marion county has been put to the
expense of several thousand dollars
in the trial of one or two cases alone,