The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-04-11
POLITICAL CON;
TAKE YOUR CHOICE
The InimitabIe Joe Earman Sizes Up
The Situation as it Now
Exists in Florida
(Tampa Tribune)

with the nOLaUoI, heledseu 1of
publication in the Tampa Morning
Tribune, Sunday morning, April 9,
1922" and the caption, political Con;
Take Your Choice" Joe l.. Earman of
West Palm Beach, has forwarded the
following, in which he pays his re-
spects to various prominent figures in
the political affairs of Florida and the
nation. Thus saith Joe:
81 thought l was out of politics.
81 am.
81 am not a candidate for Office.
81 am not going to be,
"I have been a democrat all my life.
81 believe in white supremacy, and
therefore believe in a white primary,
and it should not be confined to twenty
per cent of the voters as is in demo-
cratic primaries in some counties in
Florida
Notwithstanding this, l do not
want office, will continue to vote, have
my opinion and exercise citizenship.
"Being without political ambition
and having had political experience,
can write this article without fear of
being politically punished or contra
dicted.
"A few days ago | received a COM
munication in a large envelope sent
by frst-class mail, the postage being
16 cents, in which was enclosed num-
Der of petitions addressed to the Hon.
orable William Jennings Bryan, Mi
ami, Florida, requesting him to be-
come a candidate for the United
States Senate from Florida, and ash
ing me to circulate said petitions.
'"This matter is a most serious one
for the people of Florida, but | am
of the opinion that it will not be so
considered by the democratic voters.
When | say that | do not believe the
democratic voters will seriously con-
slider the matter, l mean that the
democrats will swallow the Honorable
Billie and elect him to the United
States Senate from Florida.
81 have had to cast my vote for
democratic electors whom | knew
were going to support the Honorable
Billie for president of the United
States, but | did not do so because /
wanted to. So | am between the devil
and the deep blue sea- and it may be
that the wisest thing for me to do is
to follow the crowd and vote for the
Honorable Billie like | have followed
the crowd in campaigns gone by.
"Florida has been sorely afflicted
with confidence men who have COM
pletely sold the people of Florida their
schemes. When was boy and lived
with my parents in a small town ir
the north central part Of Florida, one
day saw a team of four white horses
drawing a great, big vehicle drive VI
in front Of the court house square anC
stop. A handsome young man jumped
out of this vehicle, placed box at the
rear of same, mounted it and sung {
lot of songs, told some funny storie!
and therefore gathered a large crowt
of citizens around him. When he haC
finished, another man with big mus
tache and long-tailed coat got up OIL
top of the box and proceeded to sci
to the crowd bottles of the remed.
known as wizard oil.
"After these confidence men ha'
finished selling this remedy to tn
residents of the rural county sea
where l was raised, they moved OIL
southwark.
"a few years later this handsom
young man who sung the songs an
told the stories was elected to be gov
ernor of Florida. He was a relativ
of the Honorable Billie.
at is not particularly discreditabl
to sing songs and sell wizard oil
which has a pungent odor. l mysel
have done things more reprehensible
"After him came the Honorable Ma
poleon Bonaparte Broward. He tol
the people of Florida a miserable stor
of crop failure in Hamilton count
and terrifying tales of lawlessnes
and violence committed on the hig
seas by him against his governmer
during the Spanish-American wa
when he was skipper of the Thre
Friends, and embellished his conf
dence scheme by relating wonderfV
dreams in regard to the Everglade
of Florida. He sold his scheme to til
people of Florida, and his dreams
the Everglades have not yet bee
realized. However, it is thought the
will be if roads or transportation a
perfected in that section of the stat
"The latter part of the above par
graph is to save my hide and Ike,
the friendship of the Everglades lam
promoters residing in Palm Bea
county.
"Broward was governor. After hi
there appeared among US great, b
laundering character who laid befo
the people of Florida an old Chine
fable relative to three monkeys, a
he went about with these three mo
keys and sold himself to the good pc