The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-12-20
GET OUT OF THE ROAD.

GET OUT OF THE ROAD.
In reading the state exchanges, is struck with
the unfaling attitude Of fairness towards the
centennial exposition, the newspapers of the
state leaving the question the state commission
and the cities which have named rivals
for state honors.
Not with the Palatka News, however, which ap-
with editorial regarding the eentennia
The remarkable thing about these leads is the way
they change their tenor from day to day. At first
the editorial expression mainly directed tic
boosting Palatka for the centennial city. Now thai
there be little possibility of this, the edi-
tora1s directed to killing the centennial move
nnent altogether. The Palatka exchange says:
We have the sorry spectacle of state
commission ordered into court to notify all
concerned just why it Is In existence. and if
proven it has right to exist why it doesn't
do something.
The last legislature put many egisla-
tive banalities. One of them bill pro-
viding for the appointment of commission to
select site for the holding of exposition
commemorating the purchase of the State of =
Florida. The bill further provided that the
exposition should open its gates later than
November 1920, and a fund of ten thousand dol
lars voted expense money for the
mission.
Under the constitution the appointment of
the members of the commission should have
been left to the governor to the people.
but the legislators assumed the dutnOrlIy ana
placed the names of the members of the COM
mission in the act. The constitution vo-
lated according to legal authorities.
It seems to us that the commission met with
out any conceived idea of what it's duties
what it would demand before locating
site for the exposition. Had the members
sembled in preliminary session and mapped
out the in which the exposition
be financed, how much would be the mini
final decision the
location to a vote of the people, at least
base it upon accessibility, the present troubles
would not have arisen.
The trouble with the commission has been
that it has yielded to influences back home.
Tampa didn't want Jacksonville with a big ex-
position, did Miami. They thought to split
it up would probably kill it altogether, which
in the present light seems to be a reasonable
presumption.
The and substance of the whole mat
ter is that the legislature appropriated ten
thousand dollars for commission to spend in
vestigating something that the legislature
had any idea of receiving report seeing
materialized into anything tangible.
Reading the comment in the Pa1atka pape
each day, ii appears, first boosting for Palatka
then for Tampa, then, seemingly trying to kill tn
movement altogether is forced wonder jus
which side of the fence Palatka IS anyhow.
It seems almost impossible to understand VIII
Palatka should be concerned A centennial 70
Pensacola cannot possibly hurt Palatka an
other section of the state.
West Florida takes pride in the fact that thi
section has sought to throw monkey wrenc
into the machinery of any other Florida enter
prise. West Florida has Systematically lent it
support to the Florida state fair; representative
from this section time and time again have len
their Influence and cast their for projects
which were for the good OF the of the state.
Now. if the balance of Florida is interests
in the centennial movement those cities and sec
tons might at least keep quiet, and the cite.
which Interested settle the question in thei
way.