The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-04-03
IN THE HANDS OF THE PHfLfs-
TINES

missioners on the long and short haul
.ilaw it was that the whole interior OF
Florida is in the hands of the Philis
tines.
i We are more completely bottled VI
than was the unfortunate Severa.
j The more authority given to the
railways that have us by the neck the
more exacting they are for their
7ound of flesh.
It was shown that the railways go
upon the assumption that they are al
most entirely dependent for existence
upon the traffic that they get from
the seaport cities, sc acting upon this
assumption they foster and pamper
Those places by giving them a rate
Sthat is out of all proportion that they
Egive to the interior points. to the hurt
land injury of these latter places.
! They feed them, so TO speak, on the
rich. luscious meat, and feed US on
tthe scraps and bones.
They go upon the assumption that
most of the freight originates and ter
inmates at seacoast cities, and if they
did not operate their systems of roads
in their favor all the railroads of this
country would quickly go into bank
ruptcy.
We beg to say that their assump-
tion and their fears are wrong in toto
! They are looking through the wrong
end of the telescope.
/ 1t is the interior that gives life and
-.-itaIity to the railroads of Florida
and the railroads all over this land
not the seaport cities.
| Whence Genes this freight, and
whittier does it go?
Where is the great crop of corn
grown that feeds our teeming mil
lions? Where is the great cotton
crop grown that furnishes clothing
for almost the entire world? Where
igrows the hay, oats and barley, the
horses, hogs and cattle? Where are
the apples and oranges grown?
Where are the trees grown from
which our homes are built, and our
furniture is manufactured? Whence
comes our coal and iron ore, our
phosphate, lime, turpentine and ros-
|! in?
Do sensible men stand up before in
telIigent audiences and say that if
they depend upon the freights derived
from the interior that they would
quickly go into the hands of receiv-
ers, and, acting upon this suppOsition,
that they must exact their pound of
flesh from the interior in order to fos-
ter, promote and build up the few sea
port cities?
So far as it's recollection goes this
paper was the first newspaper in
Florida to advocate the creation of
the first railway commission.
The people in their sovereign ca
pacity created that commission and
the present commission to see that
these freight determinations should
not continue.
| In what respect have these rates
been adjusted, and the hopes of the
| people realized?
Is it right? Is it justs Can it be de
Tended on any principle of equity
that freights should be allowed to be
shipped through Ocala for a hundred
miles and more further on at a lower
rate than if the same freights were
stopped at Ocala?
Well, that is what we are up
up against. That is what is done I'M
der the sanction and approval of the
railway commission of this state.
We elected them to see that these
inequalities were done away with
What is the result of the continu-
ance of these inequalities?
/ Mr.. B. A. Weathers, a merchant of
Ocala of forty years standing, told u.s.
He said that he had borne the bur
den of attempting to do a wholesale
business just as long as he was able,
but the load became too oppressive,
ftoo burdensome, and he finally had to
make an unconditional surrender,
His environments did not permit
him going to a seaport city, but had
he done so and had pursued the same
business methods there that he pur-
sued here he would have grown rich,
/ as others had done who closed up
{ their places of business in the inte-
| rior and fiocked to Jacksonville.
In the seven hundred miles of terri
tory stretching from the Perdido .riv-
er to Cape Sable, is there a single
wholesale establishment worth while
!, Is there single place off the sea-
coast of Florida entitled TO be called