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

be voted and issued for the requisite
amount and no more. Any pessimis-
tic reactionary will cheerfully pay
i his prorata part of the city's one
third whenever and wherever the
ahutting property owners are ready
to pay their two-thirds and desire the
work to proceed.
Fifth: Public buildings and parks.
Expensive public buildings of archi-
tectural beauty and design, inviting
parks with winding cement walk
ways, all beautifully ornamented with
! shrubs, flowers and playing fountains,
are consummations devoutly to be
| wished, but can these improvements
take precedence over the absolute me-
cessities? Would it not be wise to
take up, deal with, and provide ne
| cessities first? When all of these are
provided for in the order of their i'm
| portance, usefulness and needs, let us
then look after the ornamental and
beautiful if our resources are not ex-
hausted.
| Sixth: Sewerage. This is an i'm
portant matter, and it occurs to me
should be settled in advance of some
other contemplated improvements.
If streets are paved before pipes are
laid, water mains extended and sew
ers constructed, then great addition
al expense would be necessarily in
CURED in tearing up the paved
streets, and the material could never
be replaced in as good condition as
before. If there has been any def
mite plan or system of sewerage de-
cided upon, suitable, practicable, and
well adapted to the purposes intend
ed, with an approximation as to the
| costs, the matter has not been made
| petent to judge seem to think that
the system now in use for the last
| quarter of century is better than
any other that can be devised to meet
the natural conditions and surround
ings; repeated Investigations have
been made and no harmful results of
any character have been revealed, or
even suggested. Observation and ex-
| perience have always been relied up
on as safer teachers than mere
theory. Let us feel reasonably as
sured before mourning heavy ex-
pense that any substitute system will
be safer and an improvement over the
| existing system. 1t is contended
however, that the present system is
now unlawful under chapter 6443 of
the laws of Florida, act of 1913. This
asst is of very doubtful construction.
| While the second section standing
alone prohibits discharge of sewerage
into underground waters within the
corporate limits of any city or town,
or within five miles thereof, the fifth
section of the act provides that such
discharge of sewerage shall be dis
continued within ten days after
having been so ordered by the state
board of health Taking the entire
act into consideration and construct
| ing it as a whole-which is the only
proper method of interpretation-the
courts would probably construe it to
mean that any existing system Of
underground sewerage would not Of
/ fend against the law until the order
| for discontinuance shall have been
given. I cannot conceive of such an
order being made by the state board
of health until some better system has
been devised and put into effect. The
city is without funds to provide for
any feasible method. The voter is
denied the right to vote separately
upon bonds for sewerage purposes.
He cannot get different system OF
sewerage now unless he takes with
| it municipal ice plant, and all the
JULIET COnlCLuPAdICo AAAPA OAAANAASo'
Responsibility therefore does not rest
! with the voter. The council evidently
| does not consider the question of sew
erage at all urgent, for otherwise they
would have provided means of OBJ
tanning it based upon its own merits
and necessities, without handicapping
/ the propositions with insurmountable
obstacles.
Seventh: Generally. In this article
! have not attempted to deal with any
legal features involved in the passage
and submission, or the subject matter
of the ordinance, but have only given
my views from the standpoint OF ex-
pediency and policy.
! l am informed that the city is so
heavily indebteded that it became
poooccaI.v for fho counpil OStenSibly