The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-03-06

of Fourth street could not, by reason |
utilized by the general public as a /
thoroughfare If the writer were &C
quainted with the conditions prior to
the passage of the ordinance referred
to, and those subsequent thereto, he
would ascertain that there has not
been a particle of change in the ex-
listing status of affairs from the time
the ordinance was passed until now.
He seeks 10 appeal to public passion
and prejudice by making the impress
sion that Fourth street, closed by the
ordinance In 1904, was a valuable
thoroughfare of the city of Ocala, and
that the railroad company had taken
advantage of such an ordinance by
blocking and closing this great public
thoroughfare, when in truth and in
fact Fourth street remains today pre-
cisely as it was when the ordinance
was passed, and the fact remains that
if there were no railroad within one
hundred miles of Ocala that portion
of the plated Fourth street referred
to in the ordinance of 1904 would not
have been and could not be used by
the general public.
The present proposed ordinance
provides for the closing of Fourth,
Sixth and Seventh streets, leaving
open Fifth and Eighth streets Any
citizen at all interested in the mat
ter, by visiting the premises, will as
certain that neither of these streets
had ever been opened up for a public
thoroughfare, and that neither of
them are needed for public use; he
will further ascertain the fact that
practically all the property between
Main and Osceola streets has been ac-
quired by the railroad company for
the purposes of these improvements,
and that no private individual will suf-
fer a particle of harm, but, on the
contrary, every individual owning
property within the vicinity of the
contemplated improvements will be
/ greatly benefited thereby.
4 Something has been said, either edi-
torially or otherwise, regarding the
city's right to close or abandon
streets, and / deem it unnecessary to
} enter into any argument on this ques-
ton further than to cite section 1923
of the general statutes of Florida,
which offer o;+;pg uoparaJ pomarc oe
the city or town, includes among such
citations, the following: And the said
city or town council shall have the
power and authority to alter, widen,
fill in, grade, pave, or discontinue any
public park, street, avenue alley, high
way, or any other way" If such right,
power and authority did not exist,
then any property owner who may
plat off his lots within the limits of
} the city of Oca1a could compel the
city to keep up and maintain the
streets between such lots. When the
} city exercises its right and authority
to discontinue a part of any street,
it may not deprive the property own
er, injuriously affected, of his right
! of action against the individual or
corporation who may block such
street This has been looked after,
as explained in the early part of this
article, by the absolute purchase of
| the property on each side of the
| streets proposed to be closed by the
ordinance in question; and, regardless
of the opinion that may have been
rendered and given by the learned at
| torneys, T assert it as a legal propo-
sition, under the laws of this state,
that the owners of lots On each ide of
| any used or plated street owns the
title to the center Of the street, sub
ject alone to the public easement.
In closing Fourth, Sixth and Sew
enth streets, between Osceola street
, and Main street the city council would
be only closing plated streets unused
by the general public, with the rail-
road company owning the title to the
center of each street, and the only
thing that the city may be giving is
a mere declaration upon it's part that
it will not keep up and maintain, as
a public thoroughfare, these plated
streets within the limits mentioned.
When the Atlantic Coast Line &C
quired the properties, privileges and
franchises of the Florida Southern
Railroad Company, it acquired them
as those properties at present exist,
and so far as my connection with the
A. c. l.. Railroad Company as an at
torney may be concerned, openly de-
clare that my interest as a citizen of
Ocala is superior, and that in the en-
tire handling of this complex matter
have attempted, so far as / was able
to accomplish it, to have the railroad
company make any and every reason
able concession, and in the ordinance
as last introduced this feature has
had prominent influence. Personal
ly, / cannot conceive of a greater BEN
eft that would result to the city Of
Ocala, and it's property generally,
than the passage of this ordinance,
doing no damage whatsoever to the
general public, and doing no damage
to any individual property owner, the