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5fo f mtta dnrim i&mlb POPULATION The 1915 census gave PllBta Gorda a population of 1.772. It has grown steadily since then and the present population is estimated at 2,000. IMPROVEMENTS Punta Gorda has more improvements than any Other Florida town of its size, l'aved streets, side walks, sewerage, electric lights, waterworks, etc. Pimtn Gorda, in Tropical Southwest Florida, is Advantageously Located on Charlotte Harbor. One oftfe l?.TRt Laud-Locked Hays on the Gulf of Mexico, and is a Town with a Bright Future, Commercially and Agriculturally Volume XAXII Number 27 PCJfTA OORDA, FLORIDA, THURSDAY, ivl'x ,st' lwa Fire Cents a Copy; $2.00 a Year. 4 TAMIAMI TRAIL TO BE COMPLETED WITHIN YEAR IS PREDICTION Work is Progressing at Satisfactory Kate and Jaudon Predicts Trail Will bo Open CO Miami Within a Year. I crease of 32 or 3.1 per cent over the 1910 figure, but 374 or 36.9 per cent I less than the state census for 1915 ! showed. In 1885 Hernando couny had a population of 7,178. In 1887 parts of Hernando were taken to form Citrus and Pasco counties, and' in the 1890 federal census the popu- lation dropped to 2,476. - This ninn-: j ber has been steadily increased tip to1 that of the present year. It would be difficult to determine whether the 1920 figures are correct, as the popn lation is mostly in scattered country sections, and not centered around any one town. Prior to 1860 Hernando: was known as Benton. Its earliest! PUNTA GORDA WILL SOON BE CLEANEST TOWN IN THE STATE IS THERE DANGER IN USING TELEPHONES OF LOCAL SYSTEM? Cleveland and the country districts jlSj, "s line, buying their current rfom the IoC2' niunicipally-controll-ed plant. 'nation. 'ty : uper-an- Everybody Joining in Cleanup Cam- Charged that Stringing High Tension aign Inaugurated by .Mayor Wires on Telephone Poles i.-. and Council Improve Dangerous to Users of mem Apparent. Telephones. recorded population figure is 1 840. in Mr. J. F. Jaudon, president of the Chevelier Corporation, is over from Miami in the interest of the Tamiami Trail road work. Mr. Jaudon expects to leave today or tomorrow on a trip over the Tamiami Trail south UUUllll lllia ruuin. i.w 111 y...... where work is now going on in Its j construction eastward to the Monroe county line. Mr. Jaudon reports that although I Commercial Club Seeking to Improv UNSATISFACTORY WATER SUPPLYDISCUSSEDBYC.C. the promoters of the Tamiami Trail had been too optimistic regarding the length of time it would take to com plete the trail, the work of its con struction is .steadily going forward Town's Water. Punta Oorda will soon be the cleanest, neatest town in Florida if the present rate of cleaning up and mowing is kept up for the next two weeks. The sound of horse-drawn lawn mowers, hoes and trumenti for ihe destruction and grass can be heard on I and a few days' work on l lit citizens and the city have marked improvement tn me appearance. ination on the above dat. next examination will he ndangered by reason , another fmlnty i mowers, other in of weed j all sides part ot made a ; town' the lives of citizens of Punta and others U3lng the local tele- svervlce fact that wires carrying a high have been strung on the tele poles between Punta Oorda and Cleveland ? This la a question that has caused considerable speculation and possibly some uneasiness on the pai Are Cord a phone of the voltage phone Teachers' Kvan not. r, ti. tjnaver, com intendent of public Imtructioi nounces that there will be held ou , July 13lh. at Arcadia, another , u teachers' examination. All those! who desire to teach and have no valid certificate will be required to i secure a certificate in order to teach in the public schools; hence the ex-1 pense will be less to take th, exam- SLUMP IN LUMBER PRICES EXPECTED TO STIMULATE BUILDING "-ts from South and Central " of State inflfr.... ut Inten sive Ituilding Will Soon be in Progress, Part held the in YOUNG NEGRO SHOT ANO KILLED MONDAY NIGHT ot Cltl- Possible ways and means of im proving the present water supply of finHi n (' unroll..!' unnrtia nT ounnlv 1 1. n f every day and will be completed from would furnlsn the town wHh a better Fort -Myers to Miami witnin anouiei year. I all-around water than supplied Following the meeting of the Town Council Tuesday night of last week, when It was decided to take vigorous action to get tht property owners to put theil I'ossiblv be ODen for TahV the r uu a " KI'l'P " mat way, tne I OSMUiy Ut open IWI -I am- lilt- .,.... n trsr Jl.a.lnn at tho I , . . . . .u.. . . . h'tt v..uv...uuw .... Mu.ijui mswueieu m aiarsnai 10 no more likely not. The work to be .1 n ... n a nn rlnrout Imoini in tl1 it " .00lhio , -ndi .he aeriation might improve the present Piy with the ordinance, rvttO uucu, cnnW ht H ir.ao nninlH r.t th, i,.... J v. ., . extent of the work to be done until ""'E , . 7 111 w,"cu " wean up. ines. ynii- ucimuuii ouiu icuiutc lur instructions are oeing carried out by sulphur to a considerable extent it the marshal in a systematic manner. It was suggested by Mr. Oliver that ; premises or lots In condition to com- iving them zens Muring the past week, It having been stated that should lightening strike the telephone or electric wires, cutting them In two and bringing them tn contact, a person using the town telephone might be killed. The DeSoto County Telephone Company, having made arrange ments to gat current from the local plant tc furninsh to persons outside the town, has used its telephone poles to carry the electric wires, Innocent Spectator is Victim Shooting Affair. oi Willis Andrews, son of Pete An drews, colored, was shot and instant ly killed at about llo'clock Monday night by James Gray, another nejjro, as the outcome of an altercation thai occurred among the negroes at the Colored Odd Fellows hall, where a dance was in progress. According to witnesses examined Resumption on a large scale of building operations curtailed several months ago because of high prices of i materials and labor, is indicated by reports of big building projects throughout Central and Southern Florida, says the Fort Myers Press, !and cuts in lumber prices and in the prices of other building materials, it. is shown, have contributed to the ! general increase in building. At. Moore Haven, it is stated, , building lumber of all kinds is quoted at re ductions ranging from $20 to $30 a thousand feet; while other Florida points report recessions in lumber prices of from $10 to $30 a thousand feet. Organization of the Home Builders Corporation is being perfected at Uartow, the purpose of the organiza tion being to provide funds sufficient to erect about 75 homes. Tle cor- the work was actually encountered. If every reader of this paper otild see the pictures of the Tamiami Trail of the work completed and und or construction in Dade county, ho would be enthusiastic over the work being accomplished and marvel at the permanency of it. The Dade County construction crew are digging a big drainage ditch and using the bank 'brown up as a grade for the Trail, covering it with 1 met tone rock and marl, making It as smooth and hard as any eitypavement. This crew has four and a half miles of the deepest water and muck of the Everglades to go through before reaching the high prairie beyond, and in making the big ditch and grade is using a float ing dredge. Just as soon ar. this strip is completed, and work is goin-j .ahead every day upon it, it will give an outlet for the machinery, mater tall, crews, etc., of the Chevelier Cor poration road builders to go ahead at once In the construction of their patt of the road through Monroe cointy, for which the money is already avail able and ready to finance the cost ol the construction of the road through their large holdings to the Lop Coun ty line. Mr. Jaudon says Ihat the type of country through Monroe county was entirely different from the Everglade lands through which the construction crew have been working in Dade county. The Trail through Monroe County passes over a high prairie and timber land, underlaid about two feet below the surface with limestone rock, making the building of the road through this section comparatively easy as com pared with Ihe work in Dade County, and that work will go forward very rapidly on the balance of the Tam iami Trail just as soon as the Dade County craw gets througn the low- j lands of the Everglades. The worn in Lee County is going steadily for ward using a walking dredge, and utilizing the spoil bank for a grade, delegation of local citizens The character of the land yet to be Myers to attend a meeting gone through in the southern part of held there Friday this county is not unlike that of the discuss plans for the Caloosahat high pairie land and timber lands of chee bridge. It is likely that dele Monroe county, gates from other points along the The president ot the Chevller Cor-! Old Indian Trail will be present at the preliminary hearing, two col-! poration is capitalized at $50,000 stringing the latter a few feet above jored women were engaged in a quar- and subscriptions for stock now are the teloohone wires, and as both rel and when one' of them drew a being solicited. E. L. Wirt fto tpm- would not sotten It, its hardness be- , Beginning with the property owners electric and telephone wires are tin- j knife and threatened the other, Sank I porary secretary of the corporation, ing the chief objection to the prese.-t ; on Marian avenue, he has notified guarded by Insulation, it is said that ; Coleman and another man intervened I the treasurer being John D. Clark! supply. Messrs. Hewitt, Grrrett anil i about 25 persons each day. giving thin arrangement constitutes a men- to prevent a fight. Gray, who It ! Prospective borrowers will he rennlr- ace to the public. A. A. Coup, loc.il b:ipertn' lor the telephone company that their lins have Deen o, 1 A. D. Green, state telephone eer, and that th re Is from this rource. The DeSoto County Price were appointed a committee to the 10 days In which to comply. At investigate the possibility of piping water from McAdow creek, which is supposed io be fed by a spring. This committee made a trip to the creek Monday morning but failed to find the source of the creek and because the tide was coming in at the time it was impossible to ascertain just what the extent of the supply from this source might be, If any. The Waterfronts and Park Com mittee of which Jas. K. McClelland is chairman, repoited that the com mittee was active making plans for a program they expected tc inaugur ate to beautify the town and other important matters, details of which could not be announced at that time R. C. Hemitt stated that he had or dered 40 royal palms which would be planted on the Hewitt Brothers properly on northeast rian ave nue. Dr. Grunwell, who with his family has recently become a resident of Punta Gorda, buying a home here, was present. Dr. Grunwell is a re tired naval officer. He said that af ter looking about the state consider ably he chose Punta Gorda as his future home because of its delightful location and because of the pros cpets for the future growth of this section. the end of the ten days allotted the premises will be made to ascertain It they are "neat and clean" and if they are not warrants will be issued and the persons failing to comply with the ordinance will be hailed before 'he mayor, who has declared that he lbd n' says K.'d by seems had nothing to do with the j ea to own property to the amount of s(u SiijsiBJ ' U j.md it noo) 'i&ijvnb 20 Per cent of the loan for which they TO HELP BOOST BRIDGE. (Continued on last page) band as it to strike someone. Cole- apply. Several applications already man warned him not to strike one of have been received for home building the women, whereupon Gray whipped ! loans, it Is stated. Officials of the out a revolver, presumedly with the Morris Fertiliser Company, It is said Intention of shooting Coleman. The are interested in the new corporation Telephone i bullet Intended for Coleman entered I the principal object of which is to Company contemplates current to the people furninshing the of Solana, ling UlllMl right eye of Andrews, death be- i n win nt : nettim anflnnl I n ir itn M, -"FT, ' ' V. 1. H U H"vui . IJl , Blount, who examined th" wound. '.ml rows was standing nearby but 'Tvas Slander Filled Her Mouth With Lying Words Slander, the Foulest Whelp of Sin" a was taking no part In Ihe quarrel. IP Following the shooting, Gray's re- Jvolver was wrosted from hint Just as he was preparing to fire upon Oo!o Delegation from Punta (iorda Wiil (u to Fort .Myers. At a meeting of the Old Indian Trails Association Tuesday night, when Chester Val-Rez, dtrector general, and Mr Silverfrlend were present, it was decided to send a to Fort to be July second, to poration states that Miami has already constructed switching yards and aloading and shipping wharf for a municipal railroad, and that the Tamiami Trail Railroad has trackage in Ihe yards in Miami. This railroad has a right of way along the Tamiami Trail to this city from Miami and work of construction may be confi dently expected after the completion of the Tamiami Trail. For the pres ent the vast southern section holding an untold wealth inacessihle, that no way of getting anything out to the outer world, until an outlet is first made by toe Trail and later by thfiCOuntyi a8 ne understood it, railroad, making it as useless to the ! 8aiu that there seemed to be an world until that time as if it were 1 pression that the direct road located in the wilds of African bridge would not shorten the also. The local delegation is not going to Fort Myers to meddle in the af fairs of Ihe people of that town, but to present visible evidence of out interest in the Caloosahatchee bridge project and to assure the people of that town that just as soon as they decide where they are going to put the bridge and the kind of road they are going to build Punta (iorda will start on her end of the short-route road. Mr. Silverfriend explained situation In Fort Myers and the - Let I and a lui- I and dis-! I swamps. Itance to Tampa, as has been claim- Mr. Jaudon says that the future of , e(j, and that the Bermont-Arcadia-both Fort Myers and Miami is abso-1 Lakeland route is Just as direct, lutely assured by the building of theerhj delegation will be prepared Tamiami Trail. In the words of this gentleman, "The Tamiami Trail Is the key note of the opportunity and future development of Fort Myers, and the development of thj vast vir gin region to the south and east of the city." Ft. Myers Tropical News. Hernando railing Off. The federal census report on Her nando county, Florida, announced Tuesday, shows a total population of 4,548, which is a decrease of 449, or 9 per cent, from the population of ten years ago, and 1,743 or 38 per cent less than the number enumerat ed by the state census takers in 1915. with maps to show, if necessary, that the Punta Gorda-Charlotte Harbor - Sarasota - Bradentown route to Tampa is considerably shorter than any other route from Fort Myers. Organize for Division. At a second meeting to discuss 1 division of Manatee county and the j g formation of new county with Sara-1 j sota as the seat, held in Sarasota last, J Wednesday night, there was a large j attendance from every section of the; territory affected, according to the j Sarasota Times. A committee of 25 Iff citizens from various sections of the W lower end of Manatee was appointed The population of the city of Brooks- ville is given as 1,011, which is an in- to go into the matter thoroughly. g. According to last week's De Soto County Xew.s, if you agree with the Herald In Its methods and editorial expressions, you are not wanted at the "l0 C I'east" in Arcadia Saturday and you are to be plted hy Ond. The NewV abortive attempt to discredit him at and away from bomt calls for no defnese by the editor. He is willing to let the News' foul aspersion Inspired solely by. personal malace answer Itself by Its Own foulness. Here is what the News had to say: "A. I'. Jordan was one of the cleanest, brightest and niosl popular newspaper men thai ever conducted a newspaper in DeSoto county oi South Flor ida. Under his regime the Punta (iorda Herald fought bitterly and strenuously for what it thought was right and against what it thought was wrong. Straight - from -thV -shoulder manly blows were de livered by the Herald under Editor Jordan, and the man or class of men attacked bj Edi tor Jordan's pen knew that they had been attacked anil bad, in most cases, to acknowl edge defeat. Even the defeat ed wenl down with respect for Mr. Jordan, for he fought . a man's light in a manly way. "But, there was a small ele ment in Punta Gorda to whom Mr. Jordan's straightforward way of doing business was dis tasteful. Used to dark, and devious paths themselves, they desired him to follow i their methods and, as be did not do so, discouraged him to the ex tent that he, being full of years and of nervous disposi tion, as are most good news paper men, stepped down and out and let a younger man take his place at the helm of the Herald. "Then the Herald began to ippear a different newspaper. Instead of manly, straight-troDi-the-shoulder Mow. it dealt in innuendo, insidious ctnd insinuating attacks. In stead of the manly art of flsti i (ill.-, it resorted more to the feminine (and feline) methods of si rati hint and hnir-pulling. "We do not believe that It represents the majority of the people of Punta Gorda in Its methods and its editorial ex pressions. If It does, God help the people' In the parallel columns below are what Paul K. Garrett says of Arcadia's in vitation to celebrate the Four th with us and wluit George M. (jioolsby, editor Of the Wauchii la advocate, and George Adams editor of the Highlands Pilot, have to say. There is as much difference between their atti tude and tlmt of Garrett as there was between Abraham Lincoln's letter to the woman who lost her five sons on the battlefield and that of Kaiser Bill to the woman who had lost nine sons, Mr Goolshy was one Of the first men to advocate COUnty division and was In the committee 14 years ago and has been in every fight ever sure. Mr. Garrett has been in the count) less than a year and knows nothing about Arcadia excepting what he bus been told by his advisors. "To the (Hire all things are pure." Tii man who is always suspecting ot Iters of evil intentions w ill, himself, bear Watching, "We invited Punta (iorda to Come, and desired her to do so, but if her people agree with Mr viarrett and be correctly repre sents them, we want them to stay at home, for, possessing such feelings toward us and an ticipating evil, IF Garrett cor rectly pictures Punta Gorda's attitude, they would not enjoy themselves and would not feel it home. "Arcadia la NOT seeking to win back anything. She does not acknowledge that she has lost Punta Gorda's friendship, it, Indeed, she ever possessed it. Arcadia, however, is u good sport and can lose cheerfully. Having nothing to gain and all to lose, we Invited every man, woman and child In the county to be our guests. We will tie glad to have them come will ingly and unsuspiciously, and, like the Arab and the Indian, eat our salt without thoughts Of treachery on either side. If Punta Gordu agrees with Mr. Garrett, we will be satisfied if they stay at home; IF YOU DO NOT AG I IFF WITH MR. GAR RKTT, come you are wel come." Now turn to iae four and re-read our editorial "Her Last Chance," which was made the excuse for the foregoing at tack on the editor. See if you ran find anything that might be constructed as iiuiiduous or insinuating by any person whose motives are good. provide urgently needed homes for Bartow's increasing pooulation. At Clearwater it Is reported that ten substantial residency and bus iness buildings arc now in course of construction, with othtUH CO Vj built later this summer. Financiers and buaima ss men n' man again. Gray is a giant In stature ynanoo nave completed plans for a but was bested by another colored ! 500-room hotel at that place. Plans man with the assistance of others S for the building were prepared by F. and was held by them until Marshal H, Trimple, architect of Orlando, Lipscomb and Defcuty Sheriff Lewis who, with R. H, Stout, also Of tllfvL took charge of him and locked hlnicltv. obtained financial support thera and In New York sufficient to Inntirs immediate construction of the pro posed hotel. The location is on tilt northeast shore section of Lake Eola. Tho plans call lor a building of 600 guest rooms, of fireproof construc tion, with ample servants' quarters, garage accommodations, large kit chens and dining rooms, lattndrfctt, wtc. It is announced that a large ho tel operating company already has contracted to operate fJie hotel, ma terials for which have been purchased. up. Gray Is said to be a desperate char acter, having been in trouble of al Imost every description In various parts of the state, and when he was Hi taken in custody by Marshal Llps jjjlcomb, to make sure that he did not escape, he was handcuffed, leg-chaln-p ed and put behind two locks. It is j said that there was considerable feel ling among the colored people over gjthe shooting and the prisoner was H I Kept unuer guard until removed to 1 the DeSoto county Jail. ENGLISH GOVERNMENT. Was Discussed by the Citlsensbip ( lass at Last Meeting. The history ol English parliment ,ary government was briefly consid ered and the development of the United Slates Federal government, from colonial days to the present, j was the subject presented by the class leader at the last meeting of the Women's Citizenship Class. Mrs. Mason read an article on Jury service for women. Although women have sufffage in many DeSoto Has 1,648 Motor Vehicle. From the records on file In the Office of the stale comptroller has been gathered a tabulated statement of the automobile registrations of Florida counties, showing all the cars registered from ach county, up to and including March 1. 1920. This statement, which embraces all trucks as well as pleasure .cars and motorcycles Is as follows: Alachua. 1,403; Baker, 152; Bay, 315; Bradford, 31 H; Broward, HR7; Brevard, 749; Calhoun, 120; Cit rus. 211; Clay, 196; Columbia. 411; Dade, 5,463; DeSoto, 1,643; states, they have the legal right to Duval 7,437; r.scambia, 11 serve on juries in Washington and ; Flagler. 108; Franklin, 81; 1 1 California only, those states hav-lden, 885; Hamilton, 261; Infe passed amendments removing Inando, 220; Hillsborough, I ' the word male from their jury law. j Holmes, 247; Jackson, 756; 1 ! The attorneys general hold that! son, 341; Lafayette, 237; ;j"the constitutional amendment has 1,341; Lte, 627; Leon, 637; no bearing on the rights of citizen- j 4 1 6 ; Liberty, 123; Madison 532; ijship of women but deals with rights ' Manatee, 1,396; Marlon, 1,309; I ! or suffrage alone. Monroe, 363; Nassau, 281; Oka- Unit rule in juries was consider-1 '008a. 260; Okeechobee, 132; ijed In an article read by Mrs. Goldle.'i Orange, 2,58 4 ; Osceola. 527; Palm Beacn, 2,129; l'asco, 487; Pinellas 1.911; 5,768; Jeffer Lake, Levy, 1 1 The danger of compromised verdicts I 1 was pointed out. Justice Cooley Is li Quoted as saying "the requirements j j of an unanimous verdict in a civil S action is repugnant to all exper II 1 lenses of conduct and under 3 standing. It could hardly in any jj 1 age have been Introduced by a de ll liberate act of the legislature." J The desirability of uniform state g I laws was thj subject of aa article if j read by Miss Price. The natlonl Ij conference for unification of laws, j which represents the slates, and (meets In connection with the Amer 1 I lean Bar Association, furnishes the H machinery for .drafting laws that a'can properly be uniform throughout the United States. Mrs. Clara Dav's read an article on Jlnt guardianship of children. "Delaware, Florida and Tennessee still cling to the old law and allow I the father to dispose of his child's I custody by will." The next meeting will be at the Tourist Club room on Tuesday, July sixth at 3:30. The class Is open- to the public. 3,169; Polk, 3,591; Putnam, 643; St. Johns, 817; St. Lucie, 821; San ta Rosa, 406 Seminole, 84;Sumter 389; Suwannee, 704; Taylor, 307; Volusia, 2,979; Wakulla, 130; Walton, 446; Washington, 230. Pigeon l;.( e. Punta Gorda will be the starting point for a number of pigeons to be entered In a race from tuis place to Baltimore, C. W. Hewitt having re ceived a request from the Melrosw Pleasure Club to liberate the pigeons which were to have been shipped Tuesday. Mr. Hewitt, who has agreed to liberate the birds, was recommended to the club by L. J. Stallo, a resident ot Punta Gorda, who is traveling with the Krause Greater Shows, and with the proprie tor, Benny Krau&e, Is boosting Punta Gorda at every opportunity. Mr. Krause has written that he is dis playing the big banner advertising Ptinta Gorda on the midway of his show and is receiving mauy requests for information as a result. I 1 1 NMBp