The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1915-07-26
KILLING LEVY COUNTY

Editor Star: The creation Of BloX- .
ham county will be no very serious
injury to Marion county, but as you ,
stated sometime ago it will practical 1
" ruin Levy county. / am informed :
that it will take 40 per cent Of the :
territory, population and wealth, 1t
viii, however, take at least % per
cent. of the railroad and telegraph
assessment, thus making taxation
heavier on the citizen taxpayers. 1t
will take three of the four incorpo-
rated towns of that county, thus leav-
ing it. almost entirely rural, and as
the population of the entire county
averages only nine to the square mile
what would be left would be reduced
to about seven to the square mile
As showing the undevelOped condi-
ton of Levy county, only one out OF
every 80 acres is improved or cult
waited, whereas in this county one out
of every five acres is improved or
cultivated. AS a further comparison
the county would not have left wealth .
nor population equal to Ocala district I
in this county. Will such condition I
as that Justify county division? Was
is a premeditated assassination OF
Levy county? Did political spite play
a part in this scheme of county divis-
ion? If it was not the studied pur-
pose to do injury and ruin 20 Levy
county and if Williston could not long
err bear the ills she had, but must fly
to others, why was not new county
laid out more symmetrically7 AS
proposed it takes about 43O square
, miles from Levy and about 13S square
miles from Marion. They could have
: laid out a much better county by eX-
{ tending the eastern line to the Withla-
coochee river, thus taking about ~
= square miles from Marion and the 152
square miles from Levy that formerly
a belonged to Marion, and extending the
= whole northern end four miles into
n Alachua county or taking GO square
2 miles from that county. This would
d have made a county of 442 square
r miles. that in my opinion would DC
Y worth million dollars more than the
f 56S square miles they propose, IN
h other words the 68 miles that should
It have been taken from Alachua and the
"a additional square miles that might
If have been taken from Marion is worth
le q million dollars more than the 2Ge
a square miles that ought to have beer
lie spared to Levy, and would have put
re Williston nearer the center.
is Did Alachua have any rights they
s, were bound to respect?
n Was not the Bloxham county organ
ization in a position to have Jamme'
ANYTHING they wanted through III
legislature. Did they not go out ol
the range with branding irons be
d. fore the herding, and when the rcun'
up was made was not a large MAORI
~ tv found in their corral safely mark
ed and branded for Bloxham cum
ty? 1t may seem a little rough :
70 compare the legislature or maJorlt
of it membership to mavericks, bu
- when / see men elected from othe
70 and remote counties to Marion an
- Levy, many of whom ! presume haN
never ever been in either county, a:
- sumo to represent them to the eXcll
- sion of Mr.. Terrell, Mr.. Crosby, NJ
Henderson and Mr.. Weimer, who WEI
y elected at the last election to repre-
sent these counties. / appeal to an
reasonable man who knows the fact
of the illustration is not apt and u
- criticism warranted.
1t seems that they were not bouT
by any rule of ethics, and that OF
representative were fiouted and 1
suited, they were virtually charge
with misrepresenting the people
Marion county.
Was the passage of the bill throui
the legislature depriving counties
territory against their protest an a
of craftsmanship, or was it the resi-
e of the common legislative juggle1
i trading or cheap politics?
Bloxham has defender in Oca
a because he says he believes in loo
lie self government, but l think local s.
m fish government actuates some of
supporters, besides | think Cover
ment can be localized just little
ne much. w. w. Clyatt.