The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-10-02
is AN ICE PLANT A MUNICIPAL
PURPOSE?

would have eliminated that feature of
it empowering the city to construct
and operate an artificial ice plant In
deed, when the mayors veto message
was under consideration and the ed
! itor was asked by the council as to
his opinion regarding it he publicly
lstated that he thought the bonding or
dinance would be strengthened with
that feature eliminated. This paper
has no fight to make on the ice plant
NOR does it believe that that is the
purpose of the council. 1t has heard
very few complaints about the prices
being excessive or the service being
Anything but excellent. 1t will say
further that it holds the owner of the
ice plant in very high esteem. In the
erection of an ice planc, a crate mill
and a cold storage establishment Mr..
| Taylor is to be commended for add
ing his full quota to the growth and
progress of the city. ffe has given
| employment to a great deal of labor
and his weekly pay roll has entered
into the various arteries of trade, and
many have been benefited thereby.
| So. in the discussion the bonding or
dinance necessarily entails, this pa
per hopes that neither Mr.. Taylor nor
| his friends will regard as personal
anything it may say in advocating the
adoption of the ordinances by the vot-
ers at the polls. Its heartfelt desire
for the growth, progress and prosper
ity of the city is it's only excuse for
its advocating the adoption of the
bonding ordinances.-Editor Banner.)
The mayor, in his message to the
city council, vetoing the bonding or
dinances, asks the question: as an
ice plant a municipal purpose?"
Perhaps the mayors question may
be answered by asking: as a gas
plant a municipal purpose?"
A great many cities own and oper-
ate gas plants, so they must be re-
garded as a municipal purpose.
Is an electric light plant? Is wa
ter plant? Is a telephone plant? Is a
street car line? Is school?
In some cities-indeed, in many cit
ies-they are all so regarded.
The mayor then goes on to say: eff
an ice plant is a municipal purpose,
then would not a laundry or any 9TH
er enterprise, useful to the citizens
generally, be likewise a municipal
purpose?"
Then he tells us that mo franchise
whatever from the city is needed as
a condition precedent for any citizen
to own and operate an ice plant, and
he is free to engage in the same, just
as any other industrial enterprise not
requiring city franchise
Is a franchise a condition prece-
dent" for making thing munich
pal purpose?"
Does one have to have franchise
to operate a school? Yet is not a
school regarded as municipal pur
poser"
Our schools are now operated and
paid for by the commonwealth. 1t
was not always so.
When the editor of this paper was
boy schools were not regarded as
municipal necessities, and he was de-
prived of their advantages.
Finally, when they came to be re-
garded as coming within the scope of
the municipality or commonwealth it
was contended that the common
wealth should not be saddled with
the higher branches, but should be
confined to teaching the fundamen-
tals-the three R's-"reading, 'riting
and 'rithmetic."
Behold what we are doing now in
this direction. We are just complet-
ing a sixty thousand dollar structure,
are equipping it with the very finest
furniture and appliances, and are
teaching all the higher branches.
New occasions teach new duties.
Accurately speaking, a laundry or
a bakery are more of domestic than
municipal purpose.
The difference is this: The house
wife can do her own washing ana
ironing, and her own cooking, if she
is forced by necessity to do so, but
she cannot make her own ice-that is
| beyond her reach.
Our medical experts and boards of
health have declared that ice is a
necessity" especially in the south.
| So declaring, and health being so
! important to the body polite, why
would it be entirely proper for the
municipality to operate street car
line, a gas plant, water plant, an
electric light plant telephone plant,
ct hoe genus omne, and yet be wrong
and all out of place to operate an ice
plant, putting ice within the reach of
| the INDECENT Moor IN nrOtact fhe nuh1ic