The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1919-12-03
BONDS BARELY BEATEN


from all it was able to hear, it expect
cd bonds to be beaten by at least
TIN ee votes in five. The more sanguine
of the anti-bondites claimed they
would win by two to one. During the
last few days, almost every prominent
bond advocate has expected the cleo
ton to go against bonds, and many
felt quite discouraged over the pros
pect not only of this election, but of
any that might be held during the en-
suing five or six years, by which time
Marion coun'y would be hopelessly
out 6istanced by the rest of the state
The very slender majority by which
hOnds were beaten goes far to sup
pert the Stars assertion that a ma
jority of the people of the county
we mt good roads and only differ in the
amount to bond and the method of
building. We are quite sure the peo-
pie will heartily agree on any plan by
which they may secure the sum Of
S280,000 offered by the state and fed
eral governments, provided they do
rot have TO load themselves too
heavily with taxes to obtain it. The
Dizie Highway will be worth more to
the county than another railroad
thru it, but the people hardly want to
pay five dollars to obtain one. They
might be willing to pay two or three.
Az soon as the Star learned that the
proposition was to bond the county
for million and half dollars, it felt
like it was more than the people
would stand for. They have come a
great deal nearer standing for it than
we expected. The two reasons to
which we attribute defeat are, first,
the sum called for was too great, and,
second, the road system proposed
spread out so much that the people
feared that either the promises made
could not be kept or if they were kept
they would not be kept fully. AS for
the argument that this was no time
tn build because of high prices, we
think that influenced comparatively
few.
Mr.. P. H. Nugent, in the Star of
Nov q, made very sensible PROPOSE
ten. He said:
"Let the people living along the
Dixie Highway, say for two miles or
three miles or whatever width is best,
on either side of the Dixie Highway,
from the Alachua county line above
Mcintosh to the Lake county line be-
low Weirsdale, and going through
o. ala, constitute that territory into a
sub-road district and vote bonds in
that district and build the best Dixie
Highway in Florida, through Marion
county, and turn it over to the state
fo. maintenance for all time, because
the state will take it when done. Then
later, the rest of the county can take
like action if deemed best"
| It is the Stars opinion that if the
commissioners will take Mr.. Nugent's
advice and call for such an election
at once, that bonds will carry in the
sub district named.
| 1t is also the Stars opinion that if
the commissioners call an election to
build in addition to the Dixie High
way one good road from Ocala to the
Levy county line thru the northwest
part of the county, and another from
Ocala to Orange Springs, via Citra
with a spur to Fort Mccoy and Eu-
reka, that the people will vote for it.
Such a system of trunk roads would
couple US up with the other counties
and leave most of our people either on
an improved highway or in a few
miles of it. We are quite sure the
people would prefer such a simple
plan of the best highways to a rami-
fication of inferior roads.
Whatever the commissioners do
they should stop at once their very
faulty program of two or more road
gangs with a boss and a housekeep.
ing force for each. We daresay that
the bosses of the road gangs are as
good men of their kind as can be
found, but they are not engineers
and it is a waste to break a force OF
twelve to twenty men into fragments
We want county road engineer, and
a consolidated force. The county bud
get calls for $4,000 for roads this
year, but a well-informed county of.
fetal tells US the amount spent will
be nearer $4,000, and everybody who
speaks to us about the roads-farm.
ers living beside them and travelling
men who go over them every week
say they are becoming worse all the
time. We have heard more than one
employer of labor say that if his men
worked no better than the men on the
county roads he would soon be bank
rdpt. Let the commissioners chuck
their Anticipated methods of road
bt ilding into the discard, employ an
ur-to-date engineer and give the peo-
pie $65, 900 worth of work in return
for $4,000 in taxes. The present sys-
tenn is an imposition on the county