The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1920-09-03
Shall Florida Have Good Roads

Elmer w. McCreary in an editorial
in his own paper, the Gainesville
News.
Open confession is sale to be good
for the soul. The Herald submits that
this, coming from a leading daily of
Alachua county, is a confession of all
that this paper has felt called upon to
say with reference to the attitude the
counties in the northern part of the
state have assumed toward the pro-
posed bond amendment to the state
constitution.
The News freely acknowledges that
the roads in Alachua county, for one.
are disgrace to modern civilization
But it says, in almost the same breath
that this bonding proposition will
provide Alachua county with a system
OF good roads, and that what few
roads will then be left to construct
after the state of Florida has finished
its work. will cost that county little
or nothing.
No wonder the Sun is a convert to
the bond amendment proposition. 1t
realizes that the northern counties
Of the state, Alachua among them,
will receive all the roads the people
will care for at practically no cost to
themselves. In other words, they are
very willing that the people of other
counties should pay for the roads that
Alachua county and other counties
have neglected to provide for them
selves.
No other paper among the few that
are supporting the bond amendment
has been quite so frank in confessing
that it is for the bond amendment
because the county in which it is pub
dshed will get something for nothing,
out of this statewide movement, If it
succeeds.
The Sun very graciously says that
it is not opposed to appropriations for
the eradication of citrus canker, al
though Alachua county produces no
Citrus fruit, and makes the state
ment, probably, in the belief that ap-
preparations for the eradication of
canker are on all tours with this prop
osition to bond the state to provide
good roads for all the counties of the
state, including the counties that al.
ready have them.
But there is very radical differ
ence in the two propositions. The
eradication of the dread disease, cank-
er, probably saved to Florida it's
twelve million dollar crop of oranges
and grapefruit, to say nothing of the
trees upon which the crop was grown
and upon which other crops will come
from year to year. The fact that the
citrus fruit groves in Florida are able
to produce this vast quantity of wealth
makes the land upon which the crops
are grown immensely valuable They
would be practically useless if the
trees were destroyed. The wealth
producing property appears upon the
tax books of the various counties in
which citrus fruit is grown, and these
counties contribute their full share to-
ward the states expenses and by that
much reduce the taxes of Alahcua
county and the other counties that do
not produce citrus fruit. The state
has already received back. or will
soon receive it, all that it spent in
eradicating citrus canker.
But this road proposition is differ
ent matter. The counties that object
to the bond amendment have already
spent or are spending their money
in creating road systems. They are
now to be taxed to provide Alachua,
and other reluctant counties, with
roads. There will be no return to
these counties of the money they will
be called upon to surrender, for, pro-
portionatelly, if an increase of real
estate values result from the addition
al roads, every county will be still
carrying it's own burden.-Miami
Herald.
Warning to Opponents of Good Roads
There are more ways to kill cat
thao oh0lyin0 ~ RI dnath - Tho rail-
road papers and lawyers of Florida
are united in an attempt to defeat the
bond issue for good roads. The auto
owners, who must bear the burden,
are almost unanimous for the project;
great business bodies have heartily
endorsed the movement, believing it
will mean a blessing to all Florida.
The method in the madness of the
railroad opposition is that good roads
will result in less freight cars, and