Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1917-02-08

It hardly seems possible that rlde
of forty-eight hours from the frozen
nortl. transforms winter to summer,
with a change of temperature from
around zero to eighty above, and
snow-covered landscape to carpet OF
green ard foliage to correspond, while
the songs Of birds and fragrance OF
blossoms fill the air with melody and
the odors of spring, yet such Is the
case.
The present winter 10 exceptional In
some ways. The cold wave which has
held the north in its grasp, encroach-
ed on the south, extending over Ken
lucky and the Caroli1as. and covering
the state of Georgia with mantle OF
snow but 9 magic line seems to pro-
tect Florida, and from the time the
state is entered at Jacksonville, sum-
mer weather greets the visitor, and
three hundred miles down the coast
the gulf breezes are az balmy as the
month Of June.
Climate Worth Dollar a Foot
A Catholic priest who has spent
many years at Tampa and travelled ex.
tensively over the state, said, time
ago: Much OF the land Of Florida
isn't worth ten cents an acre. but the
climate Is worth q dollar I. foot" and
the old man knew what he was talk
ing about.
Best Fruit In Florida
Why so many people spend their
winters In California when they can
visit this land, half the distance
away, and for half the money, where
clothes Of almost any kind are bur-
den, has always been a mystery. The
tropical fruits of the west coast may
be "sun-kissed" and well advertised,
but this land was producing better
fruit long before California was dis
covered, and the quality today sur
passes anything produced by the coast
state.
There is another thing to recon-
mend this land Of perpetual summer.
In California, every other man is a
real estate agent, and the rest Of the
population are boosters for the best
state in the union. Not SO down in the
peaceful, restful land where the slo-
gan is, Never do today what you can
do tomorrow" 1t would be sacri-
lege to rush around in such environ
ments, and the result is that you go
slow and rest, while tired nerves have
a chance to pick up.
The state Of Florida has been ex-
plotted by northern promoters for the
past twenty years and northern suck
ers have been captured by the thou
sands. They have invested in every
thing from the EvergIade swamps to
the sand dunes, and are still invest
ing. They had much to do with en-
couraging the great drainage system,
which proved such gigantic failure,
and which cost the state and the fed
eral government several million dol
lars.
Not Many Changes
There have been but few changes
in southwestern Florida during the
past decade, except that there are
more deserted houses and tumble
down villages today than there were
ten years ago. The army Of tourists,
which has made the east coast rich,
and which is still the principal source
of revenue, has never scattered over
the state, and aside from st. Peters
burg, and two or three other points,
the west coast is still deserted.
Fort Meyers, the terminus of the
West Coast railroad, where Edison
has his winter home, is in thriving
condition, but Punta Gorda, twenty
miles north, has gone back during the
past twenty years, and shows every
evidence Of decay. The big hotel of
one hundred and fifty rooms or more.
was closed for ten years, and then,
after spending $4,000 on it, was open
ed again, and last year was perma-
nently closed and sold by the sheriff
for $4,000.
A Deserted Town
Across the harbor from this old
town is Charlotte Harbor. This is a
typical deserted Florida town, and yet
these two remnants of better days are
to be united by cement bridge two
miles long to be paid for by bond
issue The plan is to make this bridge
part of the Dixie highway, connect
: ing Miami with Tampa scheme as
visionary as it is impractical.
This part of the state is suffering
: from an epidemic Of automobile fever
and Ford cars ara thicker than black