The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1915-07-30
BIG DAY AT BLITCHTOS

them more or less strenuous. He has
attended some in which prominent
man needed to keep his good right
hand near the butt of his gun, ana TO
be careful who went behind him, II
he wanted to go home without carry
ing an inconvenient amount Of lead. /
So the harmonious meeting at Bitch /
ton on the 10Th was probably more |
pleasant to him than to some Of the /
younger men who have no recollection /
of political affairs Of twenty-five |
years ago.
Perhaps the surroundings had !
something to do with it. Blitchton is
a good place for neighbors to meet. !
The pretty church and schoolhouse, !
the comfortable homes, the spread
ing green of the noble trees, the fer
tile fields spreading away into the
forest, all make for peace and plenty
and quiet of mind The writer
thought, as he surveyed the peaceful
scene, and saw all the people mingl-
ing in neighborly friendship, that
perhaps instead of two counties dis
putting over the formation of a third,
that they had better wipe out the
present line and make one vast coun-
ty from the gulf to the st. Johns, and
locate the courthouse at Blitchton
Cleaving the jails where they are).
A large crowd was present when
the meeting was called to order at
1880 a. m. Mr.. c. C. RawIs (Lum
Rawls) of Montbrook presided. Mr..
Rawls is we'll known to the people oil
Marion, Levy and Columbia counties.
Although in one of the towns that
would be supposed to be a gamer by
division, he is against it. He made,
however, the most impartial of chair
men. He had a good introduction for
everybody, and very properly spoke
more kindly of those whom he op-
posed than of those who agreed with
him.
Mr.. Gus Morton of Williston spoke
first. He made a rafting good adj
dress of twenty minutes duration in
favor of division, and was warmly ap-
plauded when he finished. Gus is a
favorite wherever he goes.
Mr. L. w. Duval followed. He spoke
forty minutes against division. Mr..
Duval was unimpassioned and mathe-
NAUTICAL. He showed the history of the
division movement, proving that II
had been forced on the people OF
Marion without their consent, and
with the knowledge of the very few
He showed the people of Bloxham
right where they would stand in the
matter of expenses and taxes. He
ended his speech on the tick of the
watch, and during the remainder Of
the debate, nobody even tried to an
swer him.
Jasper Willis of WillistOn followed
Mr.. Willis voice was feeble and hi;
argument not much stronger. He
talked interestingly, however, aHC
everybody likes Jasper anyway, 81
his time was extended twice. Few
men can say as many good things
with less reason. He asked the Sta
reporter if he was getting it down
and the reporter sadly replied tina
he was getting it down better than
he (Jasper) was getting it up. Nh
Willis ended his speech with the fol
lowing little poem, which pleased tn
crowd immensely:
Levy county kicks 'em,
Marion county knocks 'em,
But just you watch us fix 'em
With solid vote for Bloxham.
But when this thing relaxes
And you all get lower taxes,
You fellows who vote agin it
Will all be glad you're in it.
Then when the battles over
And Bloxham's on the map,
Well wade neck deep in clover
And you none won't give a rap.
Rip! Hipi Hurrah for Bloxham.
After Mr.. Willis speech, the meet
ing adjourned for dinner. There WEI
a good many people present when tn
speaking tegan, and they had bee
coming in all the time. Most of thel
were from the country around, but
good many came from Willistol
Montbrook, Morriston and other par
of "Bloxham," and some from over
Levy. Ocala and nearby commun
ties were largely represented.
1t was not easy to tell which wa
4he crowd would vote. Mrs. E. 4. o
BORN, with a pretty patriotism, pr
7ided a number of handsome ribbC
badges, on each of which the nan
Marion" or Levy was inscribe
Several young ladies, among who
Miss Avalee Edwards was the leads
distributed these badges and sot
had almost every man opposed 10 {
vision wearing ore. Perhaps sOr
who favored division also wore thel
as it would take a very hard-heart
man to refuse one when Miss Avail
OF one of her charming assistants c
fered to pin it on. The Bloxham Pc
pie also wore ribbons, but they we
comparatively few. Some of the RI
bonless ones may vote for BloXham
The dinner was spread on long
lies in the grove. 1t was almost e