The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1922-03-11
AS Others See 1t
WHY FLORIDA TOWNS AND CITIES GROW
Jacksonville Times Union.)

Jacksonville Times Unlon.)
The Haines City Herald last week made tho
rather startling announcement that the population
of that municipality has doubled in the las:
eighteen months" and that lack of adequate
housing facilities was the only thing that prevent
ed still greater growth in population in that pc
riod of time There must be reason. There is.
When any Florida city or town shows unusual
development and growth there must be contrbut-
ing causes. They do not grow and attract atten-
ton unless there is something that leads to that
growth. 1t is worth while to know what that
something" is, as it may and generally does
help other cities and towns to profit by such
knowledge.
Consider the facts with relation to Haines
City, which is located at the northern entrance
to the now famed Ridge section of central south
Florida, a section that in the past few years
has taken amazing development and growth in
production activities as well as in the building
of towns where until recent period were only
acres and acres of original wilderness although
in one of the most beautiful and attractive sec
lions of Florida True, transportation facilities
were lacking in this famous Ridge section.
First railroad penetration into the charming nat
ural Businesses made them available for the con-
quering enarance of energetic, enterprising men
I
today the Ridge section is well served by both,
with improvements still going on
| Haines City, as has been stated, stands at the
gateway to this enormous stretch of Florida ter
rtory 1t is railroad junction point 1t is in a
commanding situation, aside from being in Polk
county, where they do things of real value and
worth. Hitherto, Haines City has been a very
ordinary place, in so far as the town was con-
cerned. But it had possibilities. Men of fore
sight possessing ability as well as financial re-
sources, perceiving these possibilities have not
been unduy slow to realize them, to turn them
to advantage
| Outstanding among these men is Mr. Isaac Van
Horn one of Haines Ctys most progressive,
practical citizens. He is, first of all, a man who
is not selfish. He has less desire to accumulate
property and wealth for himself than to share
both with his fellow men, that is, provided they
will exert themselves even less than he is willing
to do Hence it Was that Mr.. Van Horn, when
he decided to go ahead with his development
plans, which he had carefully worked out, went
throughout the Ridge section, called the citi-
zens who had marks of progressiveness and laid
his plans before them. He made it plain that
the first requisite was unity of action, that all
the people, or at least sufficient number Of resi-
dents in the towns, and country round about, of
the Ridge must get together, combine their
strength and energies for the doing of what was
! proposed. To be brief, what he proposed was
promptly accepted, with the result that today the
entire Ridge section is enlisted for progress, for
development that not help but bring it's enor-
nous benefits generally to that particular portion
of Polk county and particularly to those whose
work and other resources combined for the
common good.
! OF course, it is not to be supposed that there
has been unanimous acceptance of those plans
and equally unanimous effort put forth to bring
them to maturity. AS in every other community,
there those who hold back, who would pre-
vent progress if they could. But they serve only
examples of those who having eyes see not
and of that other class both fortunately in the
minority, who stand in their own light" But
they can no more stay the march of progress
than could Mrs. Darlington sweep back from the
shores the on-rushing waves of the Atlantic
ocean,