The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-08-24

place in the history of Florida" when
it comes to spending the peoples
money. It's like the patent medicine
faker, who holds out his medicine to
You at dollar a bottle as he assures
you that you viii never again have
the opportunity. But as long as you
have dollar you viii always have a
chance to buy fake, patented or
otherwise, and this $4,000, 900 gold
brick is the biggest fake anybody
has ever had the nerve to try to hand
the people of Florida.
The Grower dwells heavily on the
brotherly business, mferring that it
is the duty of the big, strong counties
to chip in to help the small, weak
ones Says it thinks the good ex-
ample will make for enterprise. We
think it win only add to damlaziness.
The people in some of those counties
are not going TO do anything they can
induce the big brother counties, the
state or the government to do for
them. Marion county has spent about
million and quarter dollars on it's
roads in the last twenty years. It
viii spent $50, 900 on them this year,
and has bonded for $3.50, 900 to build
its part of two important highways.
We are going to pay about 5 per cent
in state and county taxes this year.
When you consider that the state and
the governing already is offering
these backward counties so per
you may very well ask what do they
want anyhow That twenty million
dollar amendment will be like brib-
ing a man to help support his own
family.
The Grower speaks of California.
Aside from the fact that California is
nearly three times as big as Florida,
has three times the population and
ten times the taxable wealth, have
the voters of California by an amend
ment to their constitution bound
themselves to cough up twenty mill
ion dollars every other year, il their
| Legislature says so? We trow not.
Also we trow that the people of Flor
| ida viii not.
The Grower holds up to US as an
example the city of New York, the
gateway to North America, with. trade
from the entire world pouring into Its
harbor, and trade from all the United
States and Canada pouring out, with
four times the population of Florida
and more taxable property in any one
of several of its business blocks than
there is in our entire state. And
doesn't it know the people of New
York, with all their wealth and en-
/. terprise, are loaded down with and
bitterly complaining of their taxes
When you come to talk about build
ing roads, Florida. has most of the
northern states beaten, for there the
roads are lanes thru a country set
thick with. cities, towns, villages and
farms not for a minute is a motorist
out Of sight of house; where in
Florida he can drive for miles and
never see human being, let alone a
house. It's a wonder that we have
any roads at all.
Then this argument about Florida
having no bonded debt. We believe
the state is free from this burden.
But the counties and towns and sub
districts for roads and schools are
nearly all in debt and paying out a
large amount every year in interest
on their debts. Florida probably has
a bonded debt of fifty million dollars
right now on it's counties. etc, and is
it easier to pay a dollar on a state
debt than on a county debt?
The Grower argues that if we do
not vote on ourselves this twenty
million dollar year amendment that
progress vii stop. How is it then
that progress has proceeded in Flor
ida for over forty years ever since
the yoke of the carpetbagger was
taken off its neck? How can a man
progress best with a moderate bur-
den to steady his steps, or with a
crushing load Of debt, forcing him to
the ground every furlong. only to be
scourged with the dragon whip of
interest until he rises to stagger
painfully onward
Bonds and Indebtedness for public
works are good things in their place
But sometimes good thing is too
much Of good thing and one of such
things is this twenty million dollar
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