The Ocala evening star., 1915-09-11
PARALLELED WITH PINELLAs


The Star gives a good deal of its
space today to letters from citizens
of Pinellas who do not seemed to be
overwhelmed with felicity about their
new county, and who wish they were
back in old Hillsborough. Said let
ters won't make good reading for the
newspaper men and promoters of
Pinellas, and they will probably give
the Star a blowing up for printing
them.
1t is not the Stars fault, nor the
fault of the people of Marion, or the
people of Levy county, that these let
ters are printed. A bunch of politi-
clans at Williston are trying, for their
own benefit and the benefit of their
community, to carve up the two coun-
ties. They thought Pinellas was a
good object lesson and example ir
new counties, so went down there for
argument with which to fortify their
cause. And these letters which ap-
pear in the Star today are in refuta-
ton of the argument they sent for.
If they had kept away from Pinellas,
the Star would not be compelled 10
print today a lot of testimony that
isn't good for any Pinellas booster or
real estate man.
If there is any section of Florida
that has a right and an interest to te
a separate county, it is Pinellas. 1t
is geographically designed for n sep
arate county; it is big enough, popu-
lous enough and wealthy enough to
be separate county. Creating Blox-
ham, on the other hand, would be in
defiance of geography, geometry,
economy and morality.
Anybody who looks at a map can
see the reason why Pinellas should be
separate. Tampa bay cuts two-thirds
of it off from its old county seat, and
even to the remainder Clearwater is
more accessible. A man who has to
go to the county seat three or four
times a year would spend more in
railroad or boat fare, hotel bills and
| lost time than his taxes can amount
/ to.
No such reason exists in Marion
and Levy. Except for a few miles
Bronson are nearer and more conven-
lent to the people than Williston.
Also, Pinellas has population, prop
erty and resources far greater than
Bloxham could have. st. Petersburg
had fifty per cent. more people and
three times as much property as al
of Bloxham. Clearwater probably
has as many people as Bloxham, and
certainly more property. Tarpor
Springs has half as many people, anc
fully as much property. Then there
are a dozen towns anyone of which
is bigger and more wealthy than any
town in "Bloxham." All these town:
go to tighten taxes for the countr!
: people, and yet the state and count!
taxes are "a mills. Did you eve
, hear of such a tax rate in Marion
: county?
: A good many of the letters we ar
printing come from farmers. They ar
l the sort of letters the people of tn
''Bloxham" precincts can understand
For Bloxham will practically be mad
5 up of farms. 1t has forty or fit,
, business houses, not one of them a
2 large as the larger Ocala bus;nes
houses, a very few comparativel
small manufacturing enterprises-an
a farms. Expenses, two thirds of whic
f are met in Marion county by busi
d ness houses and big corporations, wi
e have to be met by the farmers. Tn
3 Pinellas business house, the Pinella
n hotel, the Pinellas railroad, all hav
d tourists to patronize them and brin
; money in from the outside six month
S in the year. They have a fairly goo
: business the other six. But the Pine
p las farmer says he receives no NOR
: from his land than he did when h
S was in Hillsborough, and his take