The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-11-11
SOUTH FLORIDA'S WORK
ON A LARGE SCALE
extraordinary Sums Are Being An
propriated or Requested For
Advertising

ocala and Marion county will have
to catch the vision of South Flor;d.
and decide to spend money and do
Things on a big scale if the citv and
county are to show any considerable
development and gains in population
and If they are to compete with the
cities and counties that are growinv
SO rapidly AT dinner on Thursday
night the Orlando Chamber of Com.
merce began a two-day drive for .
publicity fund of $4,000, which added
&c the funds already provided will
give that chamber a total budpat or
$4,000 for the year On Tuesday
orange county voted a one-milI tar
Tor the Orange County Chamber of
Commerce. During the dinner renra-
sentatives from those cities said that
the st. Petersburg Chamber of con.
merce would spend $4,000 this vear
Miami Chamber of Commerce $3.50
OOO and West Palm Beach $50. .0o0
they are spending these large sums.
they said, because they have found
that it pays. They are getting results.
The population of those cities in in
creasing by leaps and bounds. And
In this connection it should be renen,-
oered that only one-twelfth of the
LANDS In Marion county are produc-
ing, and carrying the burden of the
non-producing.
ocala and Marion county are not
ready for spending large sums of
money for advertising, but should be
spending far more than they do. The
outstanding immediate needs of the
county are system of first class.
highways and real estate Develop
ments that will provide modern. well
equipped, attractive places onto which
settlers can move at once. Some adj
vances IN this direction are being
made IN the county. Real estate in
South Florida is being sold because it
IS being improved and made attract
I've. Ummproved and rundown farms
and groves cannot compete in the real
estate market with places that are
modern and that have been laid out
with some regard for beauty. People
come to Florida because they expect
to find places here more attractive
than they have had in their own
states.
The South Florida people are con-
Vlnced that the proper way to finance
their chambers of commerce and to
provide their various forms of pub
ilclty Is by taxation, which distributes
the burden upon all. The meeting on
statewide advertising held in Orlan-
DO Thursday, at which there were rep
resentatiyes from every section Of the
state, went on record as favoring a
statewide publicity tax, but took the
| position that the people of the state
as whole are not familiar enough
with the tax and the results obtained
oy similar taxes to vote for ii at this
time The meeting favored the rails
ing of fund by public subscription,
therefore, with view to convincing
the people that advertising pays.
| A city tax of one mill gives the
Orlando Chamber of Commerce s14.-
900. The Orlando Magazine provides
$4,000 from advertising, and member
ship dues amount to $4,000. These
sums with the $4,000 now being rails
ed make a total of $4,000. The ST.
Petersburg Chamber of Commerce
gets $4,000 from city taxes and s4O.-
900 from dues. Miami Chamber of
Commerce gets $4,000 of its total of
$4,000 from city tax and $4,000
of it from dues. The West Palm Beach
Chamber of Commerce gets S37. .O0u
from the city, $4,000 from the county
end $4,000 from dues. It is signifi.
cant that these are the Florida cities
mentioned first when Florida towns
are talked of these days.
Marion county's employment of 9
county highway engineer is conmens.
ed on most favorably in South Florida
The present condition of Marion conn.
ty roads is always referred to. Thers
is no estimating the cost to this conn.
ty of the adverse publicity resultine
from the bad roads.
These are some Of the things tha,
viii be reported to the Marion Count,
Chamber of Commerce by Secretar,
Louis FL. Chazal, who attended II.
meeting in Orlando. Mr.. Chazal saw,
that the meeting speaks much for tn.
future of Florida. There were renre
lsentatives present from evtry sect;o,
o fthe state. The cities and counties
instead of fighting each other, are co
Operating more and more.