The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-09-28
WHY NOT GET TOGETHER
AND PAY THE TAXES

The Star prints elsewhere set of
resolutions from the Palatka Whole
sale Grocers Association, setting forth
d long list of ,calamities that will oc-
cur to the counties of Putnam and
Marion if the 0klawaha Valley rail-
road is not opened to traffic at once,
asking that it be reopened and allow
ed to run until it must be shut down
for sale; also asking that the receiver
be allowed to issue certificates by
which it may pay the taxes.
1t is very touching little appeal;
reads like the grocers' association
hired a sobsister from the yellow
press to write it, but it is a good deal
o. a joke to anyone familiar with the
situation.
1t will strike an unprecedented read
er as being strange that road over
which so much business is done and
80 many people are dependent is stuck
for $4,000 in taxes-for four years.
The wholesale grocers of Palatka
have a lot of pity for themselves, but
they are not thinking much about
anybody else. Why did they let the
road go into the hands of receiver
four years ago? Why haven't they
given it freight enough to pay ex-
penses since? That talk about ship
pink to Ocala, Dunnellon, Wildwood,
ETC., is rather exaggerated. The Sea-
board at Ocala has been taking freight
from the O. ". the charges on which
amounts to four or five dollars day,
from Palatka and points along its
line The Atlantic Coast Line takes
several hundreds pounds day from
Palatka, but none of it comes over
the o. v.
The Wilson Cypress Company seems
to be much inconvenienced, for which
we are sorry. but it is by no means
so badly off as the Palatka grocers
would make it out. 1t is not connect
ed with the o. ", but with the Sea-
board, and its connections haven't
been touched. It can ship out by the
Seaboard, over a good, solid roadbed.
1t also has the river and its southern
railhead is only a short distance from
the A. C. L. at Montague.
The Rodman Lumber Company,
which did very good business before
the o. v. was built, is not blockaded.
It has easy connection with Palatka
and all the roads running out of it.
1t can ship logs from Steen to Palat-
ka over the A c. L. at very little
more expense than it did over the o.
v.
Palatka is on the trunk line of the
"A. G. L., it is the terminus of another
big road coming down from the north
west, the terminus of branch of the
Coast Line, close connection with the
East Coast railway across the St
Johns river, and the river. The o. "
is drop in the bucket to Palatka,
and the Palatka grocers are beefng.
There are about $4,000 people in
Marion and Putnam counties, and its
another palpable exaggeration to say
shutting down the O. Twill have such
a disastrous effect on them. Not ter
per cent of the people of Marion would
ever think of the o. v. if they didn't
read about it in the Star. And we
doubt that any greater number in
Putnam is concerned in the road.
In asking the controller and the
attorney general TO reopen the road
before the taxes are paid, or to accept
certificates from the receiver, the Pa.
latka grocers ask for favoritism anc
breach of law. The controller anc
the attorney general have no more
right to do such thing for rail
road than for a private firm or indi
vidual. Suppose every person whC
finds it inconvenient to pay his take:
should ask for more legal time. or en-
tire remission, what would become o.
our courts, schools and roads?
We are truly sorry for the people
of small means who live along tn,
road. They are in bad fix, and j
is not their fault they have been pu