The Punta Gorda herald., 1920-04-29

in some Of the mysterious evolutions
of nature the hump" in the seas
surface at Punta Gorda might sub
side and put Ft. Myers in the same
class as the lost continent of Allan
tis. We feel sorry for Ft. Myers
when the sea level ever takes a no.
tion TO live up to its advertisement.
On the other hand, we turn to the
case of Lake Okeechobee. Let us
set up hypothetical case and sec
what the operations of the laws OF
logic bring us. We will assume, for
the sake of argument that the sea IS
level. Do not be confused, we will
not be so bold as to claim that it is,
but we will ASSUME that it is, for
the sake of drawing some obvious
deductions and discovering some fur
ther peculiar features on the face Of
Nature in our strange South Florida
physical geographical makeup, if
such an expression is allowable
Granted that the sea is level at Ft
Myers and Punta Gorda, and that no
locks will be required to lift ships to
the level of Lake Okeechobee at the
mouth of Fish Eating Greek (where
the Punta GOrda canal will con-
meet with the lake, Therefore,
there must be a depression in the
surface of the water of this lake of
the number of feet that the govern
ment engineers say the lake is high
er than the sea level. Surely won
derful South Florida grows more and
more wonderful as we study its
matchless glories We can rather
lend support to this latter hypothe-
sis, for we crossed the lake once and
had pointed out to us the general To-
cation of the mouth of this creek,
and while we had not heard of the
inequalities in the lakes surface at
that time, now that we come to think
of it, 1t did lool, like there was well
defined valley in the water in that
locality. This fact of the lake pos
essing a fftcer-foot depression on It's
western side and the consequent cor
related existence of part of the wa
ter having slanting surface where
it slopes up to meet the general level
OF lake makes it the most remark
able body of water in the world All
this is predicated upon the assump-
tion that the claims of the advocates
of the Punta Gorda route" are true
/. e., that no locks are necessary IN
their proposed canal while they are
essential in the CaIloosahatchee ca
were true, the sea level is not level,
or the lake surface is not level |
Either the sea at Purta Gorda is as
high as the lake 4 Fish Eating creek
mouth or the lake at the same place
is as low as the sea at Punta Gorda!
To call this stuff by the homely term
or bull" is to heap aIander and sac
rilige upon a vulgar but useful word, !
and lend dignity to some Of the worst
clap-rGp we ever sew in the English
language.
Tho impression in Punta Gorda is
that 4 wild effort has been made to
catch a few votes against county di-
vision ty throwing a sop in that di-
rcction. The consensus Of opinion
there is that the Punta Gorda Ca /.
nal" was made more for the floating
of votes than it was for ships.
Once again, We see the evils inher-
ont in our Republican form of gov
ernment. Politics not only interferes
with the conduct of war, but, in the
works Of peace it messes up the
srandest and best laid plans for
the bettorment of mankind In or
der to secure a few votes for self
seeking politicians the "old guard"
in Arcadia is willing to cripple and
perhaps destroy a waterway which
has already cost the State several