The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-07-16
Polk COunty's
Proposed Bond Issue
By Albertus Vogt. c. E.

'N~-N dllu
phosphate gravel surfacing.
| can drive in one hour to five
OF these practically inexhausti-
BILE conglomerate rock deposits
lndependant of any phosphate
mine and they are all in the
Lakeland precinct or commits
sioners district.
In the Shippers branch and
Boreah precincts there are mil
lions of tons OF this conglomerate
rock with constituent of bog-iron
ore. carbonate and phosphate
pebbles and that because of its
iron contents it does when
crushed almost with the first
rain resolve itself into a cohesive
and almost unbreakable mass.
| believe the owners of the
lands carrying these rock depos-
Its are all OF them sufficiently
public spirited to give, or to sell
at mere nominal price to the
county any and all such rock for
road building, and who knows
that the billions of tons of ball,
or feldspar clays all about in
Polk county may not be burned
into some form OF vitrified or
calcined road building block?
Now let us figure on the two
millions of bonds and let us be
generous about it.
If these bonds may bear 5 per
cent and run for so years, every
body knows they will appeal
very much more to capitalist,
than will any foreign loan,
whether for the arts of war or
peace.
Assuming they were all sold
at once and the monies accruing
were at once deposited in Polk
county banks, on properly Sc
cured time certificate deposits
at 8 per cent of say an aggregate
amount of $I,6oo,oOo X 8 per
cent equals 100000 for the first
years interest, and thus leaving
us an available and instantly
ready for use fund of $500, 900
cash in bank for our first years
road construction, and with this
we can at $1,000 the mile build
500 miles of hard road like that
from Christina to Brady juno
ton in the first year. But admit
ing that it cost $4,000 the mile,
to build these permanent roads,
we could with the first years
available cash OF $4,000 build
29S miles. but by leaving one
half of this 100000 in the banks
for 6 to 9 months of the first
year at interest we could do even
better, and leave all of the reg
ular annual road tax accumulat-
ing at interest in the banks and
thus providing both interest on
and. sinking fund with which
to retire the bonds. And our
banks would have these ample
monies to lend, to safe business
enterprises in Polk county, at the
legal interest rates of Florida.
This much having been accom-
plished, then let us, under the
capable guidance of intelligent
civil engineers with road building
sense and experience, give entire
ly to the citizens, and working
people of Polk county, and their
teams all of the construction
work OH these county roads. We
can thus have our. pie, and eat
it too" and the hundreds OF
thousands of families who will
settle in Polk county because of
these easily possible and heart
gladdening conditions, they and
their children, will help us to en-
JOY and to pay for these human
izing Joy making good roads,
and bv the end of three or four
years we'd have all of the Polk
county hard-roads in operating
order and interest of say $780,
900 added to our original bond
accrued 100000 road building
capital, not to reckon the good to
accrue to the people because of
financing our banks to finance
our people.
And | believe the United States
will furnish us, gratis, the best
engineering talent to general
manage our county road con
struction.
AS to the desirability of crude
oiling or asphalting the surfaces
of the pebble-hnished roads,
suggest we go easy and watch
that section between Mulberry
and Bradley Junction that is
now oiled and advisedly know
that the oil portion of this mod
ern road maybe lastingly better
than the unoiled portion.
However by the time the
! bonds are voted. sold and the
cash therefore is in hand. that