The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-04-08
ORLANDO MEETING
OF THE STATE CAPITAL
REMOVAL ASSOCIATION
(orlando Reporter-Star, April 81

(Orlando Reporter Star, April 81
The Florida State Association for
Capital Removal held a meeting here
yesterday and put machinery in mo-
ton to perfect permanent organiza-
tion TO take the place of the tempo
rary committees appointed at the
initial meeting at Ocala.
The meeting was held at the audi
torium of the courthouse, which was
filled when the session opened at 2:30
o'clock, according to the roll call
seven counties being represented.
The work of getting a permanent
| organization under way proceeded
smoothly through the election of a
president, George FL. Wilder of Plant
City being chosen, and the adoption
of a constitution.
The proceedings then ran into a
bog. And by the time the assemblage
had argued an hour over the election
of vice presidents, fully half of the
audience had left the hall.
Meantime Rev. DIR. c. Fl. Jordan of
Crescent City, a Presbyterian divine
and president of the Crescent City
Chamber of Commerce, had made q
speech declaring that he heard talk
all around him that the meeting was
dead and needed pep.
Former Assemblyman Newton Of
Winter Garden, declared that he did
not like to hear the term dead" ap-
piled to the meeting; that there was
serious undertaking in hand, and he
was assured there was plenty of en-
thusiasm in South Florida to put cap
ital removal over with a rush.
1t happened that there was mo-
| ton before the house when the dis
cussion took place which was, by the
| way, elaborated by the remarks of
Louis H. Chazal of Ocala, who assert
ed that the Ocala people were enthus-
iastic enough to send down a delega-
tion of eighty strong. (Applause).
The motion being entertained was
for the meeting to adjourn for fifteen
minutes, while the county delegation.
got together in an endeavor to select
vice president from each group.
President Wilder declared that this
talk about enthusiasm was all right
but that the thing to do was to get to
the business IN hand.
eff you came here expecting to sea
the shingles torn off this courthouse
roof" he asserted, "you have the
wrong idea of an organized meeting.
i The bugbear that threatened for q
i time to cause the meeting to be ad
journed without further action was
the formation of an executive com
n,ittee, which was 70 be composed OF
the vice presidents of the organiZa
tion. And Il was planned that this
executive committee should be III
nucleus Of the entire capital removal
movement, inasmuch as each execu
tive committeeman was TO be th'
head of county organization, and #
was asserted that the success Of th.
pIan to remove the capital depended
!. upon the efficient work IN the variou,
. counties.
But it early developed that ther'
were breakers ahead in the selection
of the executive committeeman 500,
after the meeting got under way thu
proposal was put before the house tt
: call the roll of counties, and to have
the county representatives that re
sponded to the roll call name vic,
president from his county
This proposal was carried through
until DIR. Jordan got up and declare;
!. that the plan wasn't working salts
factorily. As a matter of fact, onl,
| two vice presidents were named IN
der this plan. the majority Of the del
egates refusing TO take the responsi
bility 70 nominate an officer, assert
ing that the job was of too much i'm
portance TO be handled In so casual ;
wav-
t In tnis crisis, Willis Powell, secre
: tary Of the Lake County Chamber o
: Commerce, rose and suggested tia
the secretary Of the association be m
structed 70 write to the chambers Q
commerce OF the cities of the stat
. interested IN capital removal, an