The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-08-14

town, N. Y. Is concern making
grapefruit marmalade out of Florida
grapefruit and what is worse You may
ind their product on the shelves Of
the grocers of Florida.
also believe that certain farm i'm.
Iplements can be manufactured here
just as well as any place in tho coun-
try. Think of the long and expensive
freight, hauls that could be saved
Oldsmar already has it's tractor fac
tory and other factories are going in
there now. along this line.
There is no reason why we might
not have more cigar factories. Com
petition is the very life of trade, and
| am very sure that our friend Palmer
would welcome dozen ii we could
get them. 1t was great mistake to
my notion when the men of Lakeland
allowed Mr.. Streeter to go to ST. Pc
tersburg instead of assisting him the
little he needed. What would Tampa
be with one cigar factory or Detroit
be with one auto factory as compared
with what they are today.
| believe business could be built
up here in fertilizers to supply a large
district round about. We certainly
have plenty of phosphate near at
hand. l have seen it stated a number
of times that some Of our lakes are
vast deposits of marl the like of
which is being shipped from Florida
to the North at dollar a ton and
bought back by the Florida farmer at
from $50 to $50 per ton. / do not
doubt this statement at all.
Here we are in the midst of a SUI,
gar famine, with our farmers more
than glad to raise the finest cane in
the United States, if we will but give
them market for it. We can raise
cane right here in Polk county that
can not be surpassed in succrose con-
tent by any except possibly that from
Cuba. And it is repeatedly stated
that 1t equals the Cuban cane. All we
want is a central grinding plant to
turn this cane into a marketable pro-
duct. At first we could make syrup
for which there is already market and
later put in the necessary machinery
to make at least the crude sugar
which will in time lead to the COM
pleted article. 1t is conceded that
Florida could produce enough cane to
make sugar for the entire country,
and profitably, too.
How about barrel factory? I tried
for two weeks to locate a barrel fac
tory and finally was compelled to 20
to Quitman, Georgia, for the nearest
supply. The potato dealers were com
PEELED to use sacks this year to mar
ket their crop.
UP North they put an automobile
tire factory any old place and they all
seem to thrive and grow fat. We are
sure as near the market for rubber
and cotton as hundreds of places |
Know up North in which are running
today large factories making times.
Could we but make few of the tires
used here in Florida we would have
some business. / know of one con-
Germ that started with plant or
buildings smaller than our plant now
occupies, and have grown in very
short time to occupy a number of
acres.
could go on almost indefinitely
with these examples and so could you
all, and | do not believe we ought to
say we can't have factories and in
dustries because we have not the raw
materials. All we want is the men
that have the vision and the men who
have the nerve to back the man with
he idea.
would not do justice to myself if
let this opportunity so by to say
every disease and explain that it is
something to you of a personal ma
ture. l think l may be pardoncd for
so doing, when | am not doing If 10
but rather to try and poirt
out wherein feel that Lakeland
lacks enterprise and push that is alb,
soiutely necessary, and wherein she .
must turn over a new leaf, if she ever
hopes to take on new growth she
should and can have. OF course II
inc majority are satisfied to drift 1
along, taking things as they come,
without ambition for anything much
better, that is easy, but it is not easy
&c build city, l went to 81. Paul
when 1t had a population of about 3d.
700 and saw 1t grow in a few short
years to almost 100000. and it took
lots OF hard and patriotic work by its
CITIZENS to bring this about, They or
sanized all kinds of schemes to secure