The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-12-30
WITTY AND WISE"

Strange that Secretary Franklin K.
Lane, who is so interested in the set
Element of soldiers in Florida, had not
time to visit other, parts of the state
as well as Palm Peach.-Tampa Tri-
bune.
Most of the philanthropists who are
trying to work off swamps on the sol
diers live at Palm Beach or other
East Coast towns, or Kansas City, or
Tallahassee, or some other wholly
DISTINGUISHED locality.-Ocala Star.
The foregoing paragraphs are of
the witty and wise class. They under
take to kill, by the so-called witty
paragraph method, things that they
do not take the trouble to explain to
their readers, so that they may judge
for themselves. Secretary Lane has
no plan which includes the idea of
"trying to work off swamps" on the
soldiers. His idea is to have the gov
eminent build homes on such lands
as may be found good for cultivation
and put them in shape for immediate
use and sell them, preferably to SOL
diers, on easy payment plans. His
idea is to build in community form
and not isolated tracts. All this may
never be realized. 1t will require leg
islation. Secretary Lane is only try
ing to see what can be done. Why
will our brethren of the press con-
tinue to make little prejudicial filings
at a subject they do not explain to
their readers Gainesville Sun.
Well, colonel, one reason why a
Photographer doesn't explain in a par
agraph is because if he did it wouldn't
be paragraph, but half column,
and then few people would read it.
Another reason is that any para
grapher who knows enough to hold
his job on daily paper refers only to
| those matters which he has a right to
believe his readers are acquainted
with. When you read the illusions of
the Times Union, Tampa Tribune,
| Ocala Star and other great para
graphers of the state, you always un-
derstand what they are writing
about. AS matter of fact, para
grapher on a daily paper writes most
| ly about matters that have been fully
explained in the columns of his paper
the day before. or about some other
matter the public is well informed on
If he. wrote in such a manner that
people didn't know what he was re-
ferring to, he would lose his job.
| Now, as for your lucid explanation
of Secretary Lanes efforts, man as
well acquainted as you are with
Florida affairs must have known it
wasn't Secretary Lane the Star re-
ferred to in connection with swamp
| lands. But it does look strange
that a high democratic" official, sup
posed to be engaged in a work for
the benefit of common soldiers re-
stricts his visit to the East Coast Sec
ton to the most snobbish and lux
urious spot on the said coast. This
matter had been. fully discussed in
both the Tribune and the Star weeks
before-why should they preface two
small paragraphs with half col
umn explanation No, colonel, that is
all right for. a lawyer, but not for a
| newspaper man.
And, by the way, colonel, we notice
that sometimes you pick up para
graph a week Or two old from a con-
temporary, and comment on it from
the standpoint of something that has
happened since the paragraph was
written. That isn't playing the game
colonel; not these days. What is evi-
dence one day is thrown out Of court
the next.