The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1919-08-11
THOMAS
FURTHER IN ERROR
Councilman Can't Steer His Argu-
ment ia a Straight Course

DldlHlIlE "IldI HG SdIu dIId A~
didn't say In his first one. This was
bad policy. A wise man said, GA wom- |
an who explains is lost" and he might
have added, "most men also" When |
you write or say anything, you must
expect people to believe what you
write or say, not what you mean. This
is the rule the world over. When you |
try to explain, people think you have
found out what you first said wouldn't
do, and are trying to profit by the
experience.
The trouble with Mr.. Thomas and
Mr.. Goldman in regard to the Ocala
House seems to have been that they
thought that because Judge Bullock
said that 100000 was too high a
valuation for the Ocala House, they
must therefore come down to what
the owners of said Ocala House were
willing to pay. 1t is hardly necessary
to say that Judge Bullock laid no such
obligation on the council. If the coun-
Gil had made a new valuation and as
sessed the Ocala House at 5000, he
would nave had nothing to say unless
the case was brought before him
again.
Likewise, Messrs. Thomas and
Goldman seem to have been obsessed
with the idea that Mr.. Osborne intend
cd 10 vote with them on the valuation,
cut from what Mr.. Osborne himself
Says they had no foundation for any
s;;cn confidence.
Ii woUid have made no difference if
- Nha
reduction 1t would have been wrong,
the people would have resented it,
and the Star would have expressed
thc-T resentment, just as it is doing
lIow. We did not say anything about
1t Until discCntentment mad been voic-
"a 70 us by many citizens, some we'll
to-do and some poor, and every day
We receive more approval from them
for what we have said.
Mr.. Thomas remark that Il did not
intend to refer to this if possible to
avoid it. for the simple reason that it
would poison the minds of other de-
linquent tax payers of the city," is
very naive, and would make even a
wooden Indian giggle, for if there
ever was an action likely to encourage
other delinquencies it was that of
himself and Mr.. Goldman in laying
down before the Ocala House bluff.
There are lots of people in Florida
who know more about the law than
we do, but we know as much about
the libel law as anybody needs to
know, and when Mr.. Thomas refers to
Mr.. Goldman's letter he is likely to
again affiict the wooden Indian with
spasm of mirth. Sometime, when this
is forgotten by the public, we are
going to take Alderman Goldman
aside and ask him to tell US, just be-
tween friends, how much of that let
ter he wrote beside the signature, but
what he says shall be treated in strict
confidence.
We entirely agree with Mr.. Thomas
when he says he wishes we had law
to make every man give in his taxes
each year, accompanied by an aff-
davit, and with a penalty hanging
over him for false returns, and if
such a thing is done we have no doubt
that some of the more wealthy will
howl-but did he reflect that the peo-
pie interested in the Ocala House are
as well off as the average citizen of
our town?
1t was a very small majority that
Mr.. Thomas won by in 1917, and it is
very likely that if the Star had made
fight on him, and his opponent had
made strong effort, he would have
been beaten. We accepted his cleo
ton and we have no desire to put the
skids under him. He has made some
mistakes since taking Office, and we
have criticised them, and if he makes
more we will criticise them also. On
the other hand, we have praised him
for some good work, and expect and
wish to praise him for more. And
when his four years are up, we think
it likely he will have to be strongly
encouraged if he tries for another
term. The Office of alderman cf Ocala
is not a very desirable one.
Mr.. Thomas says: "Mr. Benjamin
winds up his letter by saying that he
does not know what ne would do if he
was in another mans place and if /
would stop to consider the matter that
l would admit to myself that | would
not know what | would do, if / were
in another mans place. This may be
true and | am free to admit that if |
were in a certain other mans place
/ in the city Of Ocala, and paid less
than 1925 city taxes, / would certain
ly stop bowling and censuring other
people who have and are still trying
to make a success"
| If some rhetorician will take Mr..
Thomas by the hand and lead him
gently thru that paragraph, he may
be able to show him where he has
directly contradicted himself. He has
also made an insinuation, which Is
something he spoke of in a disparag.
ing manner in former letter.
Il We are the man Mr.. t. refers to
and we asl. our fellow citizens if We