The Palatka news and advertiser., 1915-09-03
ECONOMIC REASONS
FAVOR BOND ISSUE
For Building Vitrified Brick
Roadsat the Present
Time.

The subcommittee OF the board OF
trade charged with conducting the
campaign for bonds for brick roads
in the East Palatka-Federal Pointer
ange Mills -Yelvington-San Mateo-Pa-
latka Hights- -Peniel- Creek spe-
cial road district, and of which At
torney H. E. Marryday is chairman
of the committee on publicity,
has given out the following clear eco
nomic reasons why the present is 4
most favorable time for building
these roads:
Now is the time for public improve
ments to be made because the making
Of these improvements now will serve
two most laudable and proper pur-
poses.
First: 1t is an absolute economic
advantage for US to build brick roads
while materials, such as brick and ce-
ment are cheap. Manufacturers of
these materials, like a great many
otner industrial enterprises are hun
cry for market and consequently the
bidding will be keen and the prices
low, whereas if we defer, or procras-
tinate speaking more properly, until
more prosperous times we will find
that the brick-yards and cement man.
ufacturers will have all the orders
that they can fill and the prices will
be correspondingly higher than now.
Now is the time that the public's dol
lar-your dollar-has the greatest
purchasing power.
Second: If governmental bodies
and subdivisions of political corpo-
rations, such as counties, would make
their public improvements in times Of
/ financial depression such work would
furnish labor for many who would
otherwise have idleness enforced up
on them. 1t is certain that no matter
in what manner the roads are built,
whether by contract or otherwise,
that home labor will be employed
wherever it is possible to employ
same. 1.-THE work is done by con-
tract, the contractors, from tinan-
cial standpoint, will employ their la
Dor here if it is possible to do so be-
cause to employ labor elsewhere
would necessitate the furnishing of
quarters and building shanties for
such labor brought from the outside,
at great cost to the contractor. Sec
ond, it would necessitate the payment
by the contractor of the cost of trans
portation of the laborers from other
points to this point, another item of
course that no contractor will incur if
he can possibly avoid it. Third, Be-
yond any doubt it will be stipulated
in the contract, if the work is done by
contract that the contractor shall en-
ploy all the labor possible right here
in the district.
In addition to the two main reasons
above stated, both Of which are self
evident truths, it might be added that
insurance companies are compelled by
law to invest certain percentages OF
their moneys in what are known as
bankable securities; and in all of the
definitions of bankable securities mu.
nicipal bonds or bonds of political sub
divisions, such as counties and special
road and bridge districts and school
| districts are known as Bankable Sc
curities. And it is also provision of
the law Of the state of Florida that
bonds of the character to be voted on
lin the coming election cannot be sold
for less than their par value and the
accrued interest at the time of the
sale. But such bonds always bring
premium because they are always
safe and in a time like this when in
dustrial bonds or bonds of private en-
terprises, depending as they do upon
market conditions for their value, are
/ far less safe therefore less marketa-
BILE than municipal bonds. Capital
not invested earns no interest. Capt.
tai always wants safe investment
and in times of uncertainty is all the
more anxious for safe investment be-
cause it never feels secure unless safe
ly invested.
We might say then that there are
three economic reasons for voting in
favor of the special road and bridge
bonds. First that the money derived
from the sale of the bonds will have
greater purchasing power now than
! it would have in more prosperous
times. Second the work furnished to
our labor will relieve the local condi.
tions. Third, there is actually at this
time a better market for municipal
bonds than in prosperous times when
municipal bonds have such strong
competitors as the bonds of prosper