The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1922-03-30
OUR NORTHERN CONNECTIONS

Secretary r. w. Pearman, Jr of the Sanford
Chamber of Commerce, has sent out circular in
which there are set forth certain facts in connec-
ton with the expenditures made by the State Road
Department on State Road No that which
eventually will traverse the northern tier of Florida
counties between Pensacola and Jacksonville. On
the face of these statements is to The effect that
when the contracts for paving awarded since Janu-
AIRY Of 1921 have all been completed, THE depart
ment will have spent on Read No. ! more stale
and federal aid road money than it will spend on
all the rest of the roads in the state" 1t is further
said that it will cost s. 100000 to complete
the hltythree miles between Jacksonville and Lake
City. The North Florida road program also in
cludes the completion Ct No. | from Lake City
through 10 the Apa!achcola river. which stream is
now being bridged by substantial structure of
concrete ard steel. The road work alone on this
western end will be in the neighborhood of ST.
900O0000, it costing about $4,000 per mile
fer construction, the counties paying about 81 900
per nile and the state the remaining $4,000
An appeal is being made 10 stop read building
operations in North Florida, call eff all the road
forces and bring them to South Florida Candidly
and frankly this cannot be done in Justice TO the
State at large, However much the situation may
be dcpcrcd, it is now loo late 10 put into effect
any radical action CT this kind The only pity
is that former highway boards did not concentrate
on these northern roads, Ignore all ether pleas and
build the means Ct access tic Florida FIRST We in
he southern section Of the state must admit, after
due reflection, ihat had Ii not been for the pro-
gresyiveness of Duval and St. Johns counties in
providing the first highway into the lower section
CT Florida, it would have been utte4Iy impossible
ior The vast amount of traffic to get through to
those counties and those cities that have benefited
a ihoasand.fold more than have the counties that
have invested hundreds Of thousands CT dollars,
net in local reads, but in through routes, the traffic
ever which is fully ninety per cent foreign. So
we say to Friend Pearman that with the work in
North Florda under way, it would be better to
alicw this improvement to go on to completion
Furthermore Ibis Stale Road Nc IS The eastern
terminus of what is now advertised all through the
Soahwes: as The Spanish Trail, running from Los
Angeles, California to TIE Atlantic coast of Flor
ida. A concerted and systematic effort is being
made e induce traffic to focyy this route which
Passes through southern Texas, reaches New Or
leans and then comes to Florida by way of Mobile
and Pensacola 1t is a safe assertion to make that
paved highway across the entire length of north
eTn Florida, built as a portion ct a through and
direct read to California, would open up an ave-
nue. CT travel to class CT people who would do
Florida vast amount CT good In this day and
generation it is net wise policy 10 halt any road
building program South Florida ought to know
by this timc that until the highways to The North
are ihrcwn wide open and advertised as real high
Ways, we cannot hope to attract the attention CT
a class OF PEOPLE who would be glad 10 visit this
section CT Tie country but who have so far been
unable tc do SO simply because Florida had to
admit there was no decent way to set here. Polk
county can afford to take its chances on retaining
a large percentage of those who come here to
see what we have