The Ocala evening star., 1920-10-12
IF THE BoNDoMANIAc.s WIN


The following from the Times
Union is good answer to the soph-
jistries uttered here by Messrs. Miller
and Richardson last week:
The people of Florida are called
ION to give the legislature unlimited
power to issue bonds for building
roads. No legislature in the United
States has such power. For time
lit was thought that the bond amend
inent would give the legislature pow
Ter to issue bonds amounting IN the
aggregate to no more than five per
cent OF the assessed value of proper
ty IN the state and Attorney General
iSwearingen expressed the opinion
that this was the intention of the
Legislature but he did not say that it
was the construction that the courts
would place on the law and, when his
opinion was characterized as evasive.
he let it stand without making it more
definite
But the attorney general who will
be in Office when the bond issue would
be tested if the people sanctioned the
amendment, says that there is no limit
to the amount of bonds that could be
issued except that not more than an
amount equal to five per cent of the
assessed value of the property of the
state could be issued at one time.
eff this amendment were adopted
this question would come before At
ltorney General Buford and this wouId
be his official opinion. At that time
Mr.. Swearingen would be a private
citizen practicing law and would have
nothing to do with the case. Mr..
Buford's opinion is sustained by that
of number of lawyers and we have
not seen statement from one who
took the opposite view. This is not
saying that none takes the opposite
view, but we do not know that any
lawyer does.
But if the legislature were en-
powered to issue bonds for road
building, limited in their aggregate to
five per cent of the assessed value of
the property of the state, the legis-
lature of Florida would be given
power that no other legislature pos
sesses and the proposition to bond
Florida for thirty millions dollars for
roads contemplated more than three
times as great expenditure by this
state in proportion to wealth for this
purpose as has been suggested in any
other state.
.sif this amendment should be
adopted we would see the credit of
Florida hawked about and the bonds
tof the state go far below par. We
would see the state paying the high
est interest that is paid by any state
I'm the Union. We would see the
value of county and municipal bonds
lin Florida deprecated for the coun.
.Ities and municipalities would have to
bear their part of the burden of the
lstate debt. We would see Florida go
deeper in debt in proportion to ability
ito pay than any state in the Union.
"And with the legislature empow-
Tered to issue bonds for road building
lin such enormous sums the bond is
lsue would overshadow all others al
Ievery election. All other qualifca.
ltions for membership in the legisla-
ltlre would be lost sight of and moth.
ing would be considered except
whether the candidate would vote te
plunge the state deeper in debt fol
roads. The road question would be
.Iup all the time and it would over.
shadow all other questions. And ii
would be decided by a legislature in
which one-third of the people Of the
state and less than one-fifth of the
taxable property would have a ma.
jority.'l