The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-05-11
ROAD BONDS
Galloway. May 10, 1916.


called, the duty of every man that
has the interest of his county at
heart is to inform himself as to the
right or wrong of this momentous
question.
Instead of $1,O0O,OOO mentioned
in the petition, they now ask for
S1,5OO,00O-a gigantic sum for any
one county to assume. It's a good
size State debt. In fact, Alabama
has shortage of that much, the
people was asked to vote for bonds
to pay the debt but turned it down
by large majority.
| defy the good roads people to
point out single county with the
same population and property valua-
tion as Polk within 1000 miles of
this place that has bonded for good
roads to the amount of $1,50O,OO0.
There are very few people that
realize the enormity of this PROPOSE
ton. 1t means over $4,000 for every
man, woman and child in Polk coun-
ty. Equal to the war debt con-
tracted by some of the European
nations after 81 months of the most
yful war the world ever knew And
don't forget that a tax for road work
is only a part of your taxes; the
State, county and school funds must
be povided for. Hillsborough coun-
ty bonded for S1,OOO,000 for good
roads. But she has twice as many
people as Polk and seven or eight
million dollars more property valua-
tions than us. Her taxes are AZ
mills on the dollar while ours is
only 80 mills. Who can believe that
our taxes will stay as they are if the
bonds carry. The interest on the
proposed bonds will be $4,000 an
nually. The sinking fund that will
have to be reserved will be at least
$4,000, the upkeep of the convicts
they claim will cost $4,000. Alto
gether the sums mentioned is 81,
$4,000. Our income for road work
is $4,000. Subtract that from the
yearly expense and we have de-
ficiency of 100000. How can that
be met without raise in taxes, and
the worst thing is that there will
be no more roads made in other parts
of our county.
Some one claimed that as we had
such a large county-Something like
one and one-half million acres-that
it would only take $1.00 per acre to
cancel the bonds. He don't consider
the interest we have to pay annually,
and he surely don't know that
thousands of acres of cypress swamps
are practically worthless. He men
toned how nice it was to have a
good road go by your home. He is
at fault again, for the proposed
roads don't go by over 20 per cent
of the rural homes of grand old
Polk. 1t was also, so nice for the
R. F. d. work. He don't seem to
know that the route north of Lake
land don't use one single rod of the
said road after leaving the city, just
crosses it one time.
1t surely is strange that few of
our best business men and other
men that we have trusted with our
county affairs, have lined up with
the people that are working to put
through this dangerous move. A
more thorough organization is hard
to find. Competent men are employ
ed to boost the thing along. On the
other side the people stand alone, but
will be heard from later.
find that a majority of the per-
sons that favor bonds are people that
have only been in Florida few
years and don't realize the danger of
running such a risk by going in
debt. But the natives are nearly
solid against bonds. They all know
this country better than any of us,
while they favor good roads as far
as our money will build them, they
know they never failed to market a
crop on account of bad roads. They
realize that good crops and good
prices are ahead of anything else
For the last or years there has
been but little made. What we have
for sale brings but little. What we
have to buy comes higher than ever
before.
There is many things to be con-
sidered While we surely have the
best climate on earth, yet Jackfrost
comes like a thief in the night and
does considerable harm. The Cracker
hasn't forgotten 1895. He saw the
| transient element leave in a body,
and he knows if another freeze
should come, it would be the
same way again, and lands that are
selling for $50 or $50 per acre would
fall to $3.50 per acre and he also
knows If bonds are floated they
would have to be paid by the people
that are left behind.
Again IL the citrus canker is as