The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-07-31
COLONEL PETER KNIGHT MAKES
MARVELLOUS STATEMENT

The Chattanooga Tradesman, pub
LEGATION devoted to the exploitation
and development of the south, in its
quest for information, recently ad-
dressed a letter to Colonel Peter O..
1 knight, who is first a farmer, and
incidentally engaged in trade and the
practice of law.
! Colonel knight is president of the
Tampa Hardware Company, and the
letter from tn eTradesman was ad-
dressed to him as it's president.
Colonel Knights reply is an eye
opener. 1t fills one with pride who
loves the state and is interested in
it's rich embodiment.
The letter reads:
by way of illustration, the Tampa
Hardware Company has grown from
! a $4,000 concern in 1901 to 100000
concern at the present time. It's cap
ital stock is 100000, in addition to
which it owns subsidiary company,
which company is simply a real es-
, tate company, on the property OF
! which is located the wholesale house,
making an aggregate capital invested
of nearly 100000. This indicates the
growth of this section
"It would be difficult, in little
letter, to set forth fully the resources
of Florida. Concretely stated, when
| located in Tampa in 1890, the de-
posits of the entire state of Florida
were approximately two millions of
dollars. We have several banks in
the city of Tampa now that have de-
posts in excess of that amount. The
bank deposits of the state of Florida
at the present time approximate eigh
ty million dollars, which are greater
, than North Carolina, greater than
South Carolina, considerably greater
than Arkansas, and more than twice
as great as the state of Mississippi.
And yet we are new state, prac-
tically, with only thirteen people to
the square mile 1t is worthy of note
that our bank deposits have increased
more from 1910 to the end of the year
1913 than they increased from 1900
+ to 1910.
"The Florida East Coast railway
alone last year shipped 2106 carloads
% he T. ocfi C0nfinn
alone shipped $1,000,000 worth of
Irish potatoes. Although it is not
known as a corn state, the value of
our corn crop now, each year, is
about $2,00O,0O0 more than the entire
state of Florida cost the United States
when purchased from Spain; and the
citrus fruit crop this year amounted to
/ twelve and a half million dollars,
which is two and a half times more
than the entire state cost the United
States when purchased from Spain.
We shipped 1000 carloads of water
melons last year. We are now ship
ping approximately 10000 carloads of
perishable stuff, all told, per annum.
"The only portion of the United
| States in which citrus fruits can be
grown is southern California and the
southern part of Florida. We, there
! fore, have no competitors.
1.-The United States is increasing at
the rate of 100000 per annum in
population, nearly, and it is a con-
sentative statement to say that it will
have 100000 more people in TWEEN
| ty years from now than it has today.
| The people are becoming better off
every day, and are demanding more
| luxuries. When it is recognized that
south Florida and southern California
are the only places in this country
that can produce citrus fruits, and
that we are largely the only place in
the United States where winter vege-
tables can be grown, you may imag-
inc what the growth of the United
States in the future will amount to
so far as south Florida is concerned.
One can hardly hazard a guess as to
it's future for fear he will become too
optimistic. There is more real, solid
prosperity and more optimism here
now than in any other portion of the
United States, and it is by reason of
the fact that we are dealing largely
in Injuries and not in necessities"