The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1915-12-02

able weekly, the Auburndale
News, was moved last week to
print column editorial CRITICS
Ing The Herald for its brief com
mendation of Editor McCreary CT
the Gainesville Sun, for expos
ing the schemes of the Everglades
and spectators. T" Col. Hann;
avs that he was surprised to reao
such an expression in The Pun
ia Gorda Herald, which," he re-
marks, lis certainly one of the
fairest and most impartial papers
in the State md he, therefore,
asks in the headline, "Will Edi-
tor Jordan explain?"
The only thing to be explained
appears to be The Herald's ex-
preston quoted above, "the
schemes Of Everglades land spec
ulators," for that is what seems
to have provoked Editor Hanna S
criticism, and he appears to re-
gard the expression as "abuse Of
the people in the Everglades ter
ritory," hurting torrent of a.
buse at the good farmers who
were actually living on and de-
veloping Everglades lands and so
forth and so on. AT any rate, he
enlarges on the subject of
schemes" and vigorously de
tends the Everglades farmers a.
gainst being attacked and "a
bused" as schemers
Now, if this is correct state
ment Of the casus belli, as it
seems to be, an explanation is
easily made.
First, the offensive words were
not intended to apply and do not
apply to any Of those actually en-
gagged in cultivatillg Everglades
land, nor to any innocent pllr-
chasers of such land nor to any
reputable and honest dealers in
land, not even to r. j. Bolles and
his associates, who were indicted
in United States court charged
with being promoters of fraGdu-
lent schemes" in selling Ever
glades land. The Herald be-
lieves that Bolles and associates
dealt fairly and honestly, but
there were others--one other, at
least-who schemed" to make
the state a cat 's-paw and at the
same time deceived innocent
farmers and others into buying
their lands,
Editor McCreary fully explain
ed how these schemers attempted
to "put one over" on all the tax
payers of the state by getting the
state officials or the next legisla-
ture to put the credit Of the state
back of the Everglades drainage
bonds, Notwithstanding they had
solemnly promised not to do this
very thing. And when God sent
a flood of rain over there that ov-
erfowed the lands of the victims
of the schemers, these shrewd
schemers" diverted the wrath
of their victims to the Internal
Improvement Board, and indigna-
ton meetings were held in Miami
and insulting kilograms and let
tiers were sent to Governor Tram
nell and the other members of
the board, and the people over
there were so wrought up against
our state officials that they
to send a thousand
men to Tallahassee 10 "get JUS
tice' or know the reason why.
Surely, Editor Hanna read all
about this in the East Coast and
other newspapers. Surely. too,
he read the answer Of the abused
and insulted state officials, in
which they charged that the
chief instigator Of all the trouble
and uproar was a schemer," one
who had bought Everglades land
at six or eight dollars an acre and
was selling it for thirty TO sixty
dollars. Doubtless he had de-
ceived farmers into buying his
lands, telling them that the state
would Immediately drain them:
and when they became submerg-
ed fearing the wrath of his VIC