The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-10-10
WEST FLORIDA DEVELOPMENT

WEST FLORIDA DEVELOPMENT.
you may tel lall the world of the
beauty of your harbor; of the fact
that you can. accommodate the navies
of the world, but until you do more
than talk about your natural advan-
tages and prepare to untilize what ma
ture has given you. you viii never
grow to your full capacity" In these
| words, ]. B. Morrow, general secre-
tary of the Mississippi Valley Asso-
citation, challenged Pensacola to take
advantage of its natural gifts, and
to do its part toward its own de-
velopment.
Mr.. Morrow is only one of the many
business men of national Importance
who have visited this port and have
made this same statement. But COM
ing from Mr.. Morrow it means more
than it did coming from most men
who had no special interest in Pen
sacola development. Mr.. Morrow has
a real interest, as a member of an
association of clear headed, sound
thinking business men, who have de-
, termined to fight for the rights of
the Mississippi Valley section and
the Gulf ports, through which the
interests of that section seek outlet
There is much that Pensacola can
do for itself, and one of these things
is crystalizing in municipal docks,
which will be bullt-provided, it may
be said III passing, that the city COM
missioners ever decide upon the
site.
Another great achievement is the
voting of the 100000 bond issue. And
thi$s is particularly encouraging, be-
cause many opponents declared that
the men in the rural districts would
never vote this bond issue, because of
the fact that through the building of
one of these roadside Gulf Beach
Highway-the people of Pensacola
would directly profit. But those
who made this statement based their
assumption on the belief that Escam-
bia county men were not well in
formed, and so proved that they were
unaequainted with the type of men
who are the very backbone of this
county.
Those men are progressive. They
are well read. They know that Pen
sacola tax payers bear nearly thirty
per cent of the road taxation. But,
most important of all they realize
that the expansion of Pensacola
means the expansion not only of Es-
Gambia but of all West Florida.
One of the reasons for Pensacola's
failure to grow more rapidly has
been that until recent years the city
and the rural districts have not been
so closely related as they are today.
The increased agricultural develop
ment is one reason for, a closer union
at present between Pensacola and
the adjoining territory, and another
is that even the limited road i'm
provement has served to bring city
and county folk together. And this
bond should be strengthened.
If Pensacola had the backing which
some of the other great ports of this
country enjoy, we should see this
section of the state increase thou
sandfold.
Let us take the cities of Los An
geles and Galveston as illustrations.
Los Angeles includes within its in
corporated limits $50 square miles,
or about $4,000 acres of land. The
extreme distance from the northern
to the southern part of the city is
4S miles. From the extreme wester-
~ to the extreme easterly point, it
is about 80 miles. This remarkable
extension of the city limits has been
produced through the building of the
Los Angeles aqueduct. The thirty
millions of dollars which this aque-
duct cost is represented by bonds, a
share in which is assumed by the
districts which have been annexed
and which adjoi nthe city.
Los Angeles harbor has become
one of the most complete, modern
and highly efficient steamship ter
minals in the United States. And so
that the city might be able to provide
the necessary capital for the complete
development Of the harbor, in con-
nection with the United States gov
ernment, the cities of Wilmington and
San Pedro were annexed to Los An