The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1922-04-03
SEEKING RESULTS

There is division of opinion among the news
papers of the State as to the ACCESSIBILITY of holding
good roads conferences in view of the definite pro-
gram mapped out and being followed by the
present State road department. A hesltancy to in
terfere with the departments work would
both ethical and natural. At the recent ST.
Augustine conference the warning was sounded
that too much agitation might result in the abol-
ton Of the road department. Such action is scarcely
possible for many reasons, the principal one being
that with the abolition of this department would go
all federation aid for Florida highways Then
toe, there would be an utter lack of coordination
in road work, and without coordination no goal
could ever be reached whereby Florida could claim
to have state highway system. in fact, that
has been largely the trouble heretofore. Instead
of the members Of the department mapping out
their program without regard to the pulling and
hauling of selfish interests and building reads that
went somewhere, connecting the important centers
of population, the funds available were spent in
placating this section OF that with the result that
nothing very definite was accomplished. That Is
why there is today no paved outlet or inlet at the
northern boundary of Florida highway that should
have been the first to be built AS the program has
been developed the roof has been placed on the
house before the foundation was ever completed
so that motorists drive over velvet highways in
South Florida and then wade through deep sand
in order to get into Georgia or Alabama. 1t is
we'll that the St. Augustine conference did not
seek to interfere with the present program on the
other hand the sense of the meeting seems to have
been in the direction Of aiding the road depart
ment by securing a modification of the present
federal highway specifications and requirement, re-
garded wholly unnecessary for this section OF
the country and for this climate Florida for
tunately does not have to take into account zero
temperatures that in the North cause Jack
Frost to creep below shallow pavcments, upheaving
and breaking up the surfacing. Road building
in Florida and California would naturally be of
quite a different type than that necessary else
where but Washington has net taken this into
consideration, requiring specifications identical to
those necessary in Vermont or Maine
Among the ST. Augustine recommendations are
lwo-cent tax gasoline instead of the present
one-cen tax, the levyng Ct mill state lax for the
general road and bridge fund.- the retention of the
present basis CT automobile license tax namely by
weight of the vehicle; lastly. the distribution of the
license tags through some county official instead of
through the Office of the state comptroller in TalIa-
hassee. These suggestions go to the State egsla-
ture and inasmuch as President w. A. MacWil-
hams of the Senate and Speaker Jennings of the
House were in attendance the views of the good
reads enthusiasts will be fairly and strongly pre-,
sented at Tallahassee. In the meantime the state
read department will push ahead with its road pro-
gram and should be able to make good showing
by the end of 1922.
With spirit Characteristic of the city, the peo-
pie of Clearwater have raised an amount in ex-
cess of $1,000 which will enable the school author
tiles to carry on the school term the full nine
months.