The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-09-21
KEEP YOUR CREDIT
IN YOUR OWN HANDS
The following from the Times
Union is very appropriate just now:
Bonds mt Amy Price

Tn order to get their arguments
down to the level Of their conception
of the intelligence of the voters OF
Florida the advocates of the bond
amendment are now making their APP
peal to the voters i'm catechism form.
This catechism clears up one point
concerning which were were i'm doubt.
Here il one question and the answer
Ito III.
"Question What Is the next step
after the amendment il ratified by
the people of Florida 4"
aAnswer-At the session of the
Legislature in the spring of next year,
1921, laws viii be enacted authoriz
ing the first issue and sale of 30-year
bonds, at the prevailing market rate
OF interest, but only enough viii be
sold from time to time to provide a
sum Of money that can be economical
lly used"
AS general rnIe-we know of no
exceptions when bonds are offered
| for sale the amount to be paid i'm IN
Eterest il stipulated and the fact Is
Ialso stipulated that they, are not to
lbe sold below par. This is not the
lease with these bonds that would
Iplace mortgage on all the property in
/ Florida. They are to pay whatever IN
lterest is necessary to sell them for
whatever the lenders Of money will
give for them.
It il known that they viii be sold
under very extraordinary circum-
stances. They are to be sold when
United States bonds In some issues
are being sold on basis that requires
more than six per cent interest and
under normal conditions a state
would have to pay about fifty per
lcent more interest than the federal
government. They are to be sold
with the knowledge that they are
lonly the first issue Of debt that will
Ihc more than three times as large i'm
proportion to wealth as any state in
j the Union il now buredned with.
They are to be sold at time when,
from some source or other, nation
wide campaign Is being Waged to in
iuce the states to issue bonds To build
roads and thus they viii be sold i'm
Ic0mpetition with demands from other
states going into the hundreds of
millions IL this campaign, OF which
i the campaign lin Florida il only q
lpart, II successful Certainly money
will cost fifty per cent more. probab-
Nv twice as much when the credit Of
I Florida il hawked about as it would
Icost under normal conditions. Then
THE idea il borrow the money what
lever il may cost.
The roads would be built at time
when road building material, already
twice as high as i'm normal times,
would be increased i'm price by the
|lcompetition Of the various states for
Hit, IL this nationwide plan Of which
the Florida plan il only a part, goes
Through. Material would cost more
than twice a much as i'm normal
times. The bondomaniacs say pay
Whatever il charged get the roads
&C once at any cost.
In other words the bondomaniacs
propose to get fifty cents worth Of
road if they can for every dollar the
people OF Florida pay for them. III
they can't get fifty cents worth they
EWill get less but they will drive their
part OF this nationwide plan Of
somebody through il they can what
ever il may cost the people Of Flor
Ida.
Fortunately the people of Florida
must decide this question for them
selves but they must decide il at the
ELECTION next November Tic they au-
/ th0rize the Legislature to issue bonds
under this amendment their credit
will be forever ont OF their own
hands.