The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1919-11-12
BELIEVES NOT IN BONDS

BELIEVES NOT IN BONDS
Editor Star: Good roads will not
bring a good market, but a good,
strong market for farm products will
tring settlers and hard roads. Mr..
Light, in his article. tries to make it
appear that every one opposed to
bonding the county is opposed to hard
roads. Such is not the case as Mr..
Martins article, besides Mr.. Lights
article, states that the former is
good roads man and IS opposed to the
bond issue and gives valid reasons
for his position in the matter.
Mr. Voorhees, in the first part of
his article admits that it would be a
strain under the present labor condi-
tons to build and keep up the roads,
but would vote for bonds on account
of not wanting to be left behind. 1t
is better to be left behind than to be
in "a general smash-up." | have read
Mr.. MacKay's article very carefully.
An rather surprised at Friend Mac
Kay's position. South Florida is
tourist country, while Marion county
cannot be considered tourist county
at all. Have talked recently to two
different sets of tourists and they are
all going to South Florida. Six cars
OF tourists passed over the Blitchton
rad the past week.
Now / will take up Mr.. ]. r. Mar
tins article as it touches on the
farmers. His article is to the point
and is the unvarnished truth. He has
the inside facts about the farm and
labor situation here. Even the writer
has been trying since midsummer to
have fence posts got out to repair
fence and so far has failed to get the
posts. Mr.. Martin has been in the
trrpentine business and has employed
a great many laborers.f He knows
that if Marion county is bonded and
when the road building commences
that the farm laborer will leave the
formers for the road building and get
higher wages than the farmers are
able to pay.
Mr.. Martin says: every farmer or
stockman who quits. or cuts down to
just what he can do himself, makes it
just that much harder for the rest of
us to live"
That is the logical reason of the
high cost of living. There has been
steady drift from the farm city
ward. The demand has exceeded the
supply in great many places. Of
course, the farmer is expected to pay
his taxes and that after taking his
laborers away from his farm. Labor
conditions of the country are alb
normal at the present time, wartime
prices are prevailing for everything.
For our 81 100000 worth of bonds we
will get about $750.000 worth of
roads, actual value. On account of
inflated prices, we will have to pay
twice what we should for our roads.
Vixen interest and principal of bonded
debt is paid we will find that there
has been $2.750,000 paid out for
$T50,000 worth of roads if built under
normal conditions and paid for cash
down. The Kendrick hard road is one
of the first roads built in Marion
county. That Kendrick road would
be credit to any county in any state
In the United States. Will Mr.. Light
please tell me how many more farm
ers are living along that road thar
when it was first built? What has
been the increase in farm values
along that highway? Mr.. Light labors
under the impression that his taxes
will be $25 more per annum on ,ac.
count of bonds. If Mr.. Light has t.
pay in ratio according to his acreage
what the writer paid for his 191!
taxes, he will find that he will have tx
pay $63 more taxes than he paid il
1913 and the countey has not beer
bonded yet "Facts and Figures" d.
you get me?
The writer's taxes for 1919 wer
5S per cent. higher than in 1913. Eel
low farmers, if our taxes are raise,
50 per cent. in one years time, wha
will our taxes be if Marion county i
bonded for $1,500,O00? Some peopl
are catering to tourists in the matte
of good roads. South Florida is get
ting the tourists and-will get them TO
years to come. We in Marion count
live by the sweat of our brows and
great many of US do lot of sweatin:
for few hard earned dollars.
great many tourists coming to tn