The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-01-03


desire to be, and like Solomon of old
] lift my voice to the Supreme Archi
tect of the universe today for these
great gifts that | so much desire and
need, and as he said, so say l, Mas
ter am only little child before
Thee. | know not how to rule this
great people, which is like the dust
of the earth in number. Give me, o.
Lord God, / pray Thee, wisdom and
knowledge, that may judge this
Thy people and rule them Alright.
"Citizens of my beloved and adopt
ed state, there are many problems
to confront us in the next four years,
and with your help and confidence,
and with the mutual respect and con-
sideration for each other by the leg
islature, the senate and the chief ex-
ecutive, we hope to master many of
these perplexing problems.
Drainage of Everglades.
'The most important thing facing
Florida today is the drainage of the
Everglades, and if the incoming adj
ministration can succeed in doing
! this in the next four years, an event
of as much moment will have trans
pired in the history of Florida as
the opening of the Panama Canal
was to the world The first step in
this direction, as see it, would be
an awakening of the people of Flor
ida to the greatness of the project.
l have recently returned from trip
through the Everglades and Lake
Okeechobee, which showed me the i'm
mense richness of the section to be
drained. To my mind, this is now
the richest section undeveloped on
earth today, and so rich is the land,
and so fertile its quality, that the
land itself might be taken up and
shipped just as it is as a fertilizer
to the poorer sections of the state
and the union. This rich, black muck
! land runs six to eight feet deep
throughout nearly the extent of the
millions of acres, and produces the
greatest crops | have seen anywhere
in all my travels. One trouble about
the matter is, the people living in
other sections of the state are not
in sympathy with the drainage of the
Everglades as they should be. This
we desire to develop by speaking
tour through the state at no distant
! future, so that spirit of co-opera-
ton and enlistment may be awakened
everywhere. The first great project
after this will be the floating of the
first (about) $3,000,000 worth OF
bonds, and after that 100000 more
which should put the whole section
largely in a condition of cultivation
and after the first crop is made or
this land you may look for prices
to soar until the fabulous prices Of
California will be nothing to what
this, the richest land on earth, viii
bring. I guess ! had better stop be
fore you call me prophet.
Cutting Out Waste.
"The next thing that will claim
our attention will be the cutting ou
of all waste in the administration o.
state institutions and industries.
is an established fact that when tn,
same officers continue too long a
their jobs, that sthey let in extrava
gances here and there, until by ant
by great methods of waste are es
tablished, and the state loses man,
thousands of dollars per year becaus
of lack of system upon the part o
those whose business it is to see afte
her affairs. Our idea will be to effec
: changes in these matters by rotatio
in office and putting in new men a
: far as we can do so practically; an
in case these men do not make gooC
: put them out and put others in unit
we find the right men.
Giving Board of Equalization Nor
Power.
"The next thing that will CLAN
our attention will be giving the boar
of equalization of taxes more power
so that they shall not only have tn
right to equalize large and vast es
tates of private persons and corpc
:. rations, but their privileges shall b
!, extended to the vast systems of raj
! ways now penetrating our state. W
) notice that they have already effect
g ed great good in St. Johns count
: in the matter of the Flagler estat
r whose taxes they raised from SIS
} 600 to tax on $l6.000,000 which IL
creased the taxes of St. Johns ceuAt
; $107 900, state and county. ~ b.
= creased the millags ess@ Tn nj
to five. This wilk1&v tAsar salaxia
for many years and sAsws wk&k u
would do were they a1sQanesay s4ulz
| ped with legal autheTAY 81 I'D q
right kind of men on the bnazA
will be our pleasure to try to get :.
J legislature to see that this boo