The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-10-23

9-l2 IA. West Palm Beach, Fla,
800, 100000 Sea Wall, Parks, Streets
and Sewer.
Voting at an Early Date
Mariana, Fla, s56,OOO.OO Public
Improvements.
Leeseburg, Fla, 100000 Sewers.
New Smyrna, Fla, $56,O00.00 Wa
ter, Sewers and Refnd
Barlow, Fla, $4,000 Paving.
I do not claim that this is COM
plete list. Other cities may have
bonded without my knowledge.
You will note that st. Petersburg
passed a $14S,000.O0 bond issue on Ju-
ly 1st, West Palm Beach $100,000.00
bond issue on September 18th and
Lakeland $165, 100000 bond issue as
late as October 9th, which was only
a few days ago. If this is not an
opportune time, why are all these
cities voting bonds. Surely few peo-
pie in Ocala, who say that the time
is not opportune, are not better post
ed than the bankers and business men
and the voters of all the list of cities
named above. These few people in
Ocala who say that the time is not
opportune insist that we should wait
for better times, wait until the phos-
plate industry, the lumber industry,
and the turpentine industry and all
other industries and businesses are
booming, until all these industries are
bidding against each other for COM
mon labor at $3.50 to $500 per day
and the mechanics and skilled labor
higher in proportion. They say by
inference: do not bond now when
work is scarce and labor is plentiful.
Do not bond now when you cannot
only get all these improvements at
great saving in the cost of both labor
and material, but can also confer a
blessing on many poor laborer and
mechanic by giving him employment
now when he needs it."
Mr.. Voter, think this question over
and when you go to the polls, If you
are in favor of the city spending mon
ey now for public improvements; now,
at time when money is scarcs, when
wages have been cut, when men are
without employment, when business
is dull, then vote for bonds. After
the bonds are voted it will take at
least three months. probably longer,
before the bonds can be validated and
sold, and the improvements started.
If you will give this matter careful
! think you will agree with
me that the time to bond is now, not
two months or two years from now,
but RIGHT NOW.
Another argument being circulat-
ed in Ocala against bonds is: Bonds
will increase taxes and impose too
heavily upon the tax payers. The peo-
pie of Ocala can't stand it," l have
actually heard this opinion expressed
by number of people and some of
them good business men too. Now, if
this arguement is true, do you not
really feel sorry for the tax payers
in the above list of towns? But, is it
true? The gentlemen who bring for
ward this argument do not give facts
or proof to back up their opinion. If
it were true, they could point to this
list of cities and bring forth indisputa-
BILE facts showing that the tax payers
in the above list of towns were stag
gering under an excessive load of tax
alton, and were dissatisfied. Why
don't they quote facts? They can't.
Now, in my opinion, the proposed
bond issue will increase taxes very
little, if any, and it will so stimulate
the growth of the city and improve
business conditions to such an extent
that the burden of taxation will really
seem lighter instead of heavier. This
is only my opinion, and, as such, is
not worthy of consideration unless
can produce facts to back it up.
Does not the list of towns which have
bonded this year, published above,
have some weight with you in this ar
gument? These towns, many of
which have passed several other bond
issues during the past five years,
could not keep on passing one bond
issue after the other if it increased
the burden of taxes. Look at our
beautiful court house! This court
house was built and paid for by funds
obtained by the sale of county script,
bearing eight per cent. interest. This
in reality was equivalent to an eight
per cent. bond issue, payable within
five or Siy wears hid If inoroaSo tho