The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-05-08
Noted Writer
Praises Florida
Write to Railway Companies to Elk
press His Good Opinion of
the State

Richard H. Edmonds, editor of the
Manufacturers Record, thinks so
highly of Florida, where he habitual
" passes the winter season, that he
has written to the Florida East Coast
railway, Southern railway, Seaboard
Air Line and Atlantic Coast Line rail
way companies to express his views
concerning this state. His letter fol-
lows.
have thought that it might posi-
bly, interest you to have some impress
sions which a continued study Of
Florida has made upon me as to the
future of this state'
AS you know, have for some years
been spending my winters in Florida,
transferring my editorial Office from
Baltimore to this state, in order to
get the benefit of the superb winter
climate with which Florida has been
marvelously blessed AS I have con-
trasted the amazingly bright and
beautiful weather during the entire
winter with only two or three cloudy
days since before Christmas) with
the fearfully cold winter OF the north
and west, | have been more and more
| impressed with the tremendous value
Of Florida's climate as a national as
set. 1t seems almost impossible to
comprehend the difference without a
personal study Of it, between the
splendid weather through the winter
with the glorious sunshine which
floods this state and the warmth
which lures every one out of doors
every hour of the day whenever pos
sible, and the fearful sleet and snow
and bitter cold Of the north and west
AS compared with Florida, those
sections are tremendously handi'
capped in doing business Of all kinds
and prominently so in agriculture
It takes large part that the average
man can make in the north and west
to bear the strain Of the heavy ex
pense of meeting the bitter cold Of
the winter The cost Of farming, ant
ESPECIALLY of live stock raising, Il
enormously increased In the nortl
and west by the long bitter winters
during which most that the farmer
has raised must be fed to his cattl,
, and hogs to keep them alive.
In this state, on the contrary, out
door life is delight during the en-
tire winter. Live stock roams every
, where, never knowing the need O
protection or housing from cold TIL
:, farmer can work every day in tn
! year from January 1st to Decembe
31st with rare exceptions; for tn
cold is never too severe for outdoo
work, and the heat is rarely, If ever
too much for outdoor activities.
And this reminds me that Florida
|, summer climate is probably NOR
q thoroughly misunderstood than tn
Q climate of any other part of Amer
@ ca. During the last five or six year
O have made business of talkin
s with hundreds of business men, mel
chants and farmers, and with man
9 people of means who spend the Ell
d tire year in Florida They tell m
i that the summer climate is far pre-
=. ferable to the climate of their oil
h homes in the north and west hav
l. repeatedly known of people VIII
Is dreaded to spend summer in tn
It north or west after having spent
D summer in Florida, for they tell m
l. that the heat in midsummer her,
i although 1t lasts longer, is never S
o severe or enervating as the heat
,other sections. A few days ago
IS heard Of young girl who had 70
e some years been living in Floridi
q Relatives back in the central we.
o had been so long trying to persuad
her to spend a summer with thel
that she concluded to do so. But a
ter being there few weeks sh
J. wrote her mother and begged her |
h make some excuse to call her hom
W for she said she could not possibl
j. endure the heat of the middle we,
le after having enjoyed the mild.climat
ell of Florida.
I have never been in Florida
i Continued on Page 81