The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-04-12

| ing on into said property to ware
house so that the cars can be left or
siding and be clear of the street and
traffic. Yours very truly,
S. H. Christian Agent.
1t will be seen by the wording of
this petition that the place where
track was to leave the main line is not
specified. 1t might have been any
where from Jake Browns warehouse
to the end of the yard beyond South
Third street. Perhaps the councilmen
knew, but if they did there is no re-
cord on the minutes that they did. The
record simply says that on motion of
Alderman Thomas the permit was
granted. We have not been able to
find any permit. Mr.. Christians re-
quest, as reprinted. is on file in the
clerks office; we also find that Mr..
Christian obtained copy of the res
olution granting his petition; but
neither of these is a permit, which
must specially designate where such
track will leave the main line and
where it shall go.
Mr.. Yonge went to the council meet
ing Friday night and asked the alder
men why they were willing to block
the street in front of his home, and
they assured him they had no such
intention; no; newer! Yet they
must have so intended, or gone to
sleep on the job entirely. For the
only other way this track could come
in alongside Pillans & Smiths ware
house is from the south, across Third
street. And this, the Atlantic Coast
Line, has solemnly promised not to do,
on account of Third street being so
much used by children going and
coming to school. And while the
Coast Line men may break their
promises, as their predecessors did,
we don't believe they will.
There need be no doubt that the in
tention was to set switch in front
of Mr.. Yonge's home, and start a
track there, blocking the entrance to
his home and also blocking a section
of very busy street to the annoy
ance of large number of people.
Mr.. Collier says: "May / be permit
ted to state few facts as I see
them," etc., etc. Again. Mr.. Collier
means well, but there are some things
he does not see well, and many that
he has not seen at all.
Ocala has never made war on the
Coast Line, but the Coast Line has
made promises to Ocala and broken
them, and then tried to punish the
town because the town didn't like be-
ing lied to. Sixteen years or more ago,
the Coast Line promised to take it's
old chicken coop of a freight depot
out of Osceola avenue and put up an
other in a better place if it was allow
ed to run tracks across some of the
streets. 1t ran the tracks across the
streets and they are there now, but
did not put up the new depot. It's at
tention was called to its breach OF
faith. The superintendent of this di-
vision came to Ocala and went be.
fore the council and in insulting Ian
guage told the aldermen that Ocala
might take what she could get. The
aldermenA did not have spunk enough
to resent the insult, and the Coast
Line was very chesty. Up to that
time, nobody in Ocala dared to say
anything above a whisper about the
| Coast Line. Then the Star went after
the Coast Line officials and told them
in undiplomatic and sometimes i'm.
| pious language what they were. II
found out and exposed some of THEN
delinquencies- of which was tax.
! ing an old, nasty, out of date jimcroW
car and putting it on the Homosassa
division for white people to ride in
1t made them abolish that slough Oh
despond in front of their passenger
station and did several other things
that the people appreciated then. even
if they have forgotten some of them
now.
Ocala never had any chance to get
the railroad shops, and the streets
Mr.. Collier speaks of are occupied and
held by the Coast Line. tho the city
council, or determined move by the
people, can make it vacate them any
time. The supreme court has ruled
that the right of the people to the
streets is inherent. and no council can
give it away.
Some half dozen years ago there
came into power a council that the
Star did not entirely approve of, but
it got together with it in some things,
and one of those things was making
the railroads understand that a city
can be boss in its own limits if it will !;
and that council made the Coast Line
take its freight depot out of Osceola
street and started several other things
that its successors should have finish
ed.
About two years before America
went into the war, the Coast Line
adopted different policy howard
Ocala. This was owing a great deal
to the good sense of the district sup
erintendent, FL. o. Macarthur, who be-
lieves in railroad being friends with
the people of the territory it runs
thru. He did his best to allay all ex-
listing irritation and prevent any
more. When he made a promise, he
kept it. We venture the assertion