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

Mr.. Freeman's Letter
Arcadia, Fla, Oct. 16. 1914.
Mr.. NJ. J. Roess, Ocala, Fla:
Dear Sir-Your of the 9th received.
In 1908 we bonded for $4,000 for wa
ter, sewerage and street improve
ments In 1912 we bonded for $780,
/ 900 to extend the above. | am going
to put before the city council at It's
next meeting a proposition to bond
! for $4,000 to build city hall and TO
, improve our fire system, and | feel
that we will have no trouble In car.
rying it. l have heard no complaint
about the way the bond issue was
handled, or the rate of taxes being
too high. We have a real and person
al property assessment of S1.S43.3S2:
millage, IA mills. Total taxes. $25.-
, S0S.75. We have a population OF
about $500. | am satisfied the bond
ing of our city was the cause Of its
great growth in the last three years.
Business has been good. winter and
summer. ever since we started the
above improvements. | hope your
bond issue will carry. I am sending
you, under separate cover. our local
paper, which will give you some idea
about our growth.
Yours truly.
A. C. FREEMAN.
Mayor.
Fifty New Homes Are Being Built
There are no less than fifty homes
under construction at this time" said
one OF the local real estate dealers.
who made tour of the city In an an.
to yesterday.
Arcadia is about TO break her rec
ord of building 200 homes in $50 DAYS,
record the city made from January
l to July of this year. There Is no
let up in city building. Everywhere
there is evidence OF continued growth
and continued prosperity.
Architects and contractors are now
preparing plans and specifications for
some forty or fifty new residences.
which are to be erected within the
next sixty days. Various other i'm.
provements are being made and con
templated.
Arcadia will go into the new year
with record of building 500 homes In
one year, IL the record OF the past
eight months continues for the next
four months, and the indications are
that the record will be surpassed
Arcadia Enterprise.
After reading such letters as these.
l do not see how any voter, either
white or colored. in the city of ocala
can doubt but that the present bond
issue, IL passed, will stimulate the
growth of our city, will increase the
value of real estate and personal prop
erty, will improve business conditions
and will do so without any noticeable
increase in taxes. After reading
these letters l do not see how anyone
can possibly vote against the propos-
ed bond issue.
In my next article I will publish
some more letters and hope to be able
to give you some more reasons why
the bond issue will not increase taxes
noticeabiy.
Before closing this article. ! want
to reply briefly to the objections offer
ed against this bond issue on account
of it being punched" There are
some excellent reasons why the sew
er, water and paving bonds should be
punched" However. since the pub
lie seems to have criticised the bunch
ing of the bonds more severely than
anything else in this bond issue the
matter was brought up informally az
a meeting of the council last night
and / believe that, as a result OF this
discussion, every voter will be given
an opportunity to vote for or against
each and every proposition separate
ly.
Very truly yours,
NJ. ]. ROESS.