The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-08-21
| IMPROVEMENT OF
THE OKLAWAHA
Meeting of Body OF Representative
Citizens at Leesburg Thursday

II SCCA4S ~ TIE STAR II there ever
was term of Congress at which
.ivers and harbors bill should pass,
II is this one.
The war has arrested many move
ments of industry and paralyzed
some. How better can the govern
ment spend the peoples money than
in now giving employment in work
that will be useful as soon as com
pleted and from then on to all time,
Such is the work planned in the
rivers and harbors bill, all approved
by skilled engineers of the war de-
partment, (none of whom have any
reasons for graft, and all anxiously
hoped for by the people whose To-
calities it effects.
1t is possible that this bill would
have gone thru ere now, but for the
noise made by the muckrakers, and
the silent, but powerful opposition
of the railroads, all of which latter
are opposed for selfish reasons to the
| improvement of any waterway.
Theodore Roosevelt makes some
very telling remarks once in while,
and his characterization of a certain
class Of people as "muckrakers,"
took term from old-fashioned lit
erature and put it where it had
place to fill in latter-day politics
and business.
The name of muckraker applies
most plentiful1y to a number of pub
| locations which pose as reformers
and friends of the people, and style
the rivers and harbors bill as the
pork barrel" Either these publica-
lions have not investigated the mer-
| its of the bill, and denounce it on
| the same principle that they de-
nounce everything they are not pc
cuniarily interested in-trying to
make capital for themselves with
readers who desire all that is hon
est in public affairs, and are rather
inclined to be taken in by any ex-
preston that sounds outspoken-or
else they are making a display of
| honesty to conceal some bigger ras-
ca1ity.
Let us take up for instance the
| bearing the rivers and harbors bill
| has on the peninsula of Florida. This
part of the state is covered with
network of lines, by three big rail-
road systems. If these roads were
fair to the peple in their rates there
would be very little need for I'M
provement in our waterways. Very
| few places in the state are depend
ent on water transportation. But
the railroads are not fair. They
have put up rates so high that all
the people are unduIy taxed, and
| they are also discriminating in their
charges so that some places
| that already have water trasporta-
ton, by the way-can do fairly we'll,
| while others can barely exist.
Now, the OklawaIa river, IN
which this section is most interest
ed. is narrow and crooked stream,
but it has been recognized as as nav
fgable by the government for over
| three quarters of a century. In the
course of it's windings, it touches
many important points, either locat-
ed on the railroads, or near to them,
and it is perfectly certain that as
soon as freight business attains its
just proportion on the Oklawaha,
railroad freight rates must he reduc-
! ed.
So the Oklawaha river approprfa
| ton would at once put large num-
Der of people to work-people, by
the way, who need work, and would
spend their wages right at home.
There is no reason to make any allie
cations of graft in connection with
| this undertaking Everybody who
knows anything knows that men who
carry out contracts for the United
States government earn their money.
And when this work is complete
it will increase the business, in
crease the commerce and lower the
expenses of the people of seven big
counties, with over 200, 900 popula-
ton
Isn't there a good deal of reason
to believe the railroads, which have
SO fully proven to the people of pen
insular Florida that they are against
reasonable and equable freight rates
are working against this PROPOSE
ton, which if carried out will make
the people so much better able to
help themselves in freight transpor-
tation.
The Star, while most interested
in it's own plan for improvement, is
willing to believe from what il
knows of the needs of its own peo-
pie and possibilities of its own Sec
ton that the river and harbor bill