The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-09-06
(By Claude L'Engle)


To say just exactly what yol
please, to whomsoever you please
whenever you please, and whereve
YOU please, about all matters pend
ing and proposed; to discuss clearl
and forcibly, on the floor of tn,
House, every measure up for con
sideration, without regard to any
thing whatsoever except the meri
or demerit apparent; to vote OF
every question absolutely on it!
merits. without regard to how Il
might affect the interests of any
person, section, or association; ant
then to get through two or three i'm
portant measures of general scope
beside looking after local measures
and, at the same time retain the
GOOD will of everybody, and to b.
acknowledged as one of the hall
dozen leaders of the House-is go
inb some" for an amateur serving
his first term in the legislature
THIS, however, is the batting average
of F. A. Wood, of Pinellas county
Florida.
have been more or less init
mately acquainted with some fifteen
legislatures of this and other states
which | have attended in the ca
pacity of a reporter. in which it was
my business to observe closely and
carefully. l have some acquaint-
ance with the House of Representa-
tives of the United States Congress
where | had to pay close attention
to what was going on, and have
never met, nor known of, man who
came nearer making his legislative
action register his absolute con
viction of what the right Legislative
action for the good of the whole
state, and all the people in it, than
this same F. A. Wood.
| do not mean by this to say that
he was stubborn or headstrong, and
so in love with his own opinion that
he would listen to nobody whu
didn't talk in line with it. What |
do mean to say is, that after listen
ing to everybody, and DISCUSSING
some himself both inside and out"
side the House, this Wood person
would let no tales of expediency-
or being a good fellow" or this
does not affect your county, so you
help me out with this and will help
you out with one of your bills" or
this is popular measure and you
had better get on it for a nice joy
ride. keep him from opposing on
the floor, and voting against, any
bill, every bill, that he thought was
bad bill, nor from advocating and
voting for every bill that he thought
was good bill, considering the state
o. Florida as whole, and all of the
people in it as the lowest possible
unit, in his view of every question
submitted. And, when a man who
acts like that is never absent from
the House, never misses a roll cali
or committee meeting, and is
therefore. always ready to express
his views, and to cast his vote; II
is not a perfunctory expression, but
an expression of plain fact, to say
that he had much influence on legis-
lation, and that influence on the
side of good.
do not just now recall how many
bills introduced by Wood of Pinellas,
became laws. l do know, however,
that he prepared, introduced, and
worked for until final passage, the
bill creating State Highway Com
mission, and the bill creating
repositories for county funds when
the county treasurers go out of Of
fee; both of which are now on the
statute books. There may have beer
more Wood bills that became laws,
but these two l am sure of, and both
of them are general bills of real
merit. | also know he worked hard
for the passage of the bill for the
conservation of the fish and game
that belong to the State of Florida
and while giving everybody an o.
rortunity to take advantage of thnso
great natural resources, would have
protected the rights OF everybody
else in these same natural resources
by making everybody who used them
for his own private purposes, pay
q reasonable amount into the State
Treasury for the privilege. addins
largely to the States income which
everybody in the state has share
of.
This man Wood, sat at the same
table at which Speaker Hardee and
l sat, in the hotel dining room
during the whole of the session