The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-05-27

what can Mr.. Martln 90
He can cause some more delay, some |
more trouble, some more expense to |
the taxpayers. What does he want to |
do that for?
The road is cut out, leveled and
graded for a number of miles. The
grade is of loose earth. Every wind
that blows, every rain washes some
of it away. A few months or even
weeks of delay will result in thousands
of dollars of damage TO be replaced at
the expense of the taxpayers. In the
meantime, not only the people living
along that part of the road, but those
of the entire county, are up in the air.
No more roads can be built in this
county until that road is finished.
1t is not to be supposed that the
people of this county will put up with
such an intolerable state of affairs.
Mr.. Martin speaks of attacking the
validity of the sale of the bonds. The
men who bought the bonds would not
have done so if they had not been sure
they were valid. Deciding theAvalidity
of securities is everyday work with
them.
1t has been street talk for some
weeks that when the bonds were sold,
there was an agreement that the mon
ey should remain undrawn upon for
at least year.
Such statement cannot be proven.
At any rate, large quantity of the
money would now be drawn out if it
hadn't been for delays that the banks,
the bond trustees and the commission
ers are not responsible for.
Unless, of course. the state road de-
partment was in the conspiracy. Can
anybody bring any proof that it was?
incidentally speaking, several thou
sands of dollars have already been
withdrawn from the Ocala banks.
The bonds were sold considerably
less than a year ago. They would
hardly have been sold then but for the
patriotism of the county banks, four
of which took half the issue and in
duced Jacksonville bank to take the
other half. It was agreed among the
banks that the money in the Jackson
willie bank should not be drawn on I'M
til that in the county banks had been
used. If anybody suffered from this
deal it would" have been the home
banks. Its foolishness to say the
Marion county banks want the work
delayed. They are anxious to have it
finished, as everybody who knows
them knows.
If the work had gone forward with
reasonable rapidity, much of the mon
ey would have been drawn out of the
banks and gone in payment for work
and road material. Why hasn't the
work gone forward?
, In the first place the state road de-
partment didn't come up to the mark
1t had to be driven into line, which
; was done with the help of other coun-
, ties, who want our road as badly as
, we want it. Then the department
made out specifications that would
! have laid our roads with rock from
hundreds of miles away, instead OF
: from the strata the road runs over
If these plans had been carried out
they would have cost Marion county
: many thousands of dollars in extra
7 freight and deprived the people of the
, county a~frst-rate market for theil
own product.
: With patience and hard work, most
of these troubles have been overcome
and if there had been no interference
} the contract for the second stage OF
= the road building would now have
J been let, and the work commenced il
a day or two. AS it is there is another
delay-which the taxpayers of Mar
y ion county must pay for.
' Mr.. Martin may as we'll make u,
!. his mind that the program he map
= out-viz, to call in the bonds, recover
S the interest and resell the bonds-i
e not going, to be carried out. 1t ism
: even going to start.
I We have always considered Johl
Martin a progressive and energetic
/ man, and we are sorry to see him, i
v only this once, go out of his way. w,
Y warn him that he is in the wron,
. crowd, and we sincerely desire that h.
: come back to his real friends an,
y leave the predestined failure he ha
e temporarily tied himself to in tn
hands of his partner, with whom W.
= doubt not it is a congenial task, an,
e who is also we'll Injured to defeat il
public affairs.
a We had better look at Sumte
county, our little neighbor to tn
n south, who sold her bonds for les
: money than Marion sold hers, bu
= went to work and is now beginning t
obtain results. She will have two O
three fine roads before Marion ha
one.