The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-07-31
NOT A CROOKED PROPOSITION

we nave CTOOkSO creek LHdL mas
a crooked name, and grabs crooked
million while in a crooked game; to
make a crooked water power run up
a crooked hill, it crooks your Uncle
Samuel through crooked river bill
"The name of teh crooked creek is
Oklawaha; the crooked million grab
bed by the crooked creek is unearn
ed increase in land value; the crook.
ed game is played in the interest OF
one J. d. Young, who is to benefit from
the crooked water power running up
the crooked hill in Florida; and the
crooked river bill through which I'm.
Gle Samuel is crooked is the river and
harbor appropriation bill-that an
cient, and almost respectable shell
game which is annually perpetrated
on the American people by a not too
honest congress.
James A. Frear, representative in
the national house of representatives
from the tenth district of Wisconsin,
stood upon his feet in the house and
recited the above adaptation of Moth
er Goose to his colleagues. He was
referring to the Oklawaha project, on
the Oklawaha river, Florida, which
little river asks for the little sum of
$733,000, in addition to the $47,516 al
ready spent upon it. The Oklawaha
river is a crooked stream "a miles
long, emptying into the ST. Johns. On
page 20 of the report of this project
it is stated that there is no regular
boat line on the Oklawaha. The i'm
provement proposed is almost entire
ly for stretch of the river compris-
it will cost approximately $4,000 a
mile for the improved portion.
who gets the benefit of this ex-
penditure?
y" No man in his right Senses said
Representative Frear, will contend
that the Oklawaha $4,000 project
will help tax payer in Florida. Nor
will it. save a single penny to a con-
sumner from Maine to Texas or Chica-
go to San Francisco. Who is to ben
eft from this piece of arrant non
sense? ]. D. Young's 40O0-acre tract
may be improved 5000 to $500 per
acre, an increase in valuation of ST.
100000. j. D. Young's new water
power the government is about tol
construct may be worth several hun
dred thousand more. But that all
goes to ]. D. Younger does it not
Who else among the Improvement
is to be cared for on this crooked
creek project, and why?'
''The Oklawaha project is one insig-
nificant item in this vast collection of
fraud which year after year is perpe-
trated under the head of river and
sharbor improvement. ellison Gard
ner, in Harpers Weekly.
It is true that the Oklawaha river,
IL run in a straight line, would not
measure more than ninety-four miles,
but it issues out of a chain of lakes
whose shore lines will measure two
hundred and fifty miles.
The contemplated improvement will
reach into the very interior of Flor
ida up two rivers that are visited ev-
cry year by thousands and thousands
of persons, and with the contemplat-
ed improvements would be visited by
yet more thousands.
The Oklawaha river would become
the nautical playground of the nation.
The improvement in traffic would
become as great as the improvement
in travel.
1t would open up section of coun-
try whose shore line would measure
three or four hundred miles, including
the shore lines of the river, and the
traffic of the Oklawaha River Farms
furnished the government engineers
by Capt ]. D. Young would be but a
drop in the bucket compared with the
whole
We believe that it would prove the
best investment the government ever
made in the way of river appropria-
ton.
1t would open up thousands and
thousands of acres for cultivation,
and as is already demonstrated by
the actual work of development of
the 0klawaha River Farms, it can be
said for certainty that no richer
lands can be found on the American
continent.
Capt. Young is so convinced that if
this section were seen in person that
its possibilities would be so self-evi.
dent that he has offered to pay Mr..
Frear's expenses to Florida and show
1t to him in person. and If he does