The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1915-12-17

collars per annum 10 the people OF
the state. Then, upon application of
your Board Of Trade and those of
Gainesville and Palatka, the commits
sion required the Atlantic Coast Line
to operate the convenient schedule of
trains which are now running into
the above named points, and with
which you are familiar And lastly,
we have ordered the construction of a
union depot for Ocala This includes
everything that l know of that Ocala
has ever asked for, except the rates
which were desired in order to aid in
the re-establishing of wholesale con-
Germs in your city. This last propo-
sition, l am glad to say, we are just
about to accomplish.
You remember many of your peo-
pie thought that the "Long and Short
Haul Law" would prove a solution of
the wholesale question, and some in
Guiding yourself, / think were dis
satisfied because we did not decide
the matter at once. The commits
sioners gave this matter a great deal
of consideration but the more we
studied it, the more convinced we
terror towns at all in the solution of
the problem which they desired
solved. For instance, if we had
forced the railroads (which we did
NOT have artho-i+xy 70 JoA 70 ora-o+o
the same rate from Jacksonville to
Ocala on grain as they formerly OPP
Grated from Jacksonville to Tampa, it
would have reduced your grain rate
from Is cents to IL cents per hun
dred pounds. While this would have
allowed your wholesaler reduction
of A cents per hundred pounds, yet
the Jacksonville jobber could have
shipped his grain into Ocala on the
very same rate, so that he would
have had the same advantage over the
Ocala jobber as he now has-the only
differenc, being that the rate would
be lower.
! More than year ago, We took up
the matter with the traffic officials of
the two principal railroads at anoth-
er angle, and with arguments, per-
suasion and threats of carrying to the
Interstate Commerce Commission,
latter many meetings and many dis
cussions with them, we finally got
them to agree to a scheme which /
am sure will go long way towards
giving the people of Ocala and other
interior Florida towns what they have
wanted. This plan will be put into
effect at an early date.
All these matters you know have
had to come step by STEP The rail-
road commission has passed from one
fight with the railroads to another
just as fast as it was possible to do
so.. As soon as we have secured one
concession from them, we immediate
1ly prepared to get another.
When these rates are put into eff
feet, we will then have accomplished
everything for Ocala that she has
asked for, so far as know, and you
and your Peep. will certainly have
no right to complain of any lack of
performance on the part of the rail-
road commission.
i After considering the above ac-
complishments, it seems to me that
any fair minded man must admit that
my record as a commissioner is not
only good but extraordinarily so, and
that when we have, as shown above,
forced reductions in rates which have
amounted to many hundred thousand
dollars per annum in savings to the
people of the state, that it is unfair
for the public to overlook all of these
really great accomplishments, and
censure our whole record because
some of the public disagree with US
concerning some insignificant detail
of our work. If we reduce the rates
on a thousand articles is the entire
Accomplishment worth nothing be-
cause in doing it it is necessary to
raise the rate on few articles?
If we order depot to be construct
ed that will effect the capitalization
of the road several thousand dollars,
and be a large improvement to the
town and great convenience to the
public must we lose all credit for do
ling our duty in issuing the order be
cause some people disagree with the
commission concerning some detail of
the plan or about the date of con-
struction? It occurs to me that this
is unfair.
AS soon as the jobbing rates re-
ferred to above are ready for publ
cation, I will take pleasure in send
ing you a copy with explanations, in
order that you may give your read
. iers the benefit OF it.
Yours very truly,
3 ROYAL C. DUNN.