The evening leader., September 11, 1916, Image 1

About The evening leader. (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) 191?-19??

Image provided by: University of Florida

                
VOL 3. SINGLE COPY 5 CENTS.
TAXPAYERS WILL GET JUSTICE OR THEY WILL KNOW “INSIDE” FACTS
++++* ++ + + ********* 4. 4.4.4. 4.4.4.4. 4. + + *4. 4.*** + 4. 4.4. 4.4. 4. 4.4. 4. 4.4.4.4. 4. 4.4. 4.4.
AND WHAT OFFICERS DESERVE THE SCORN AND CONTEMPT OF PUBLIC
NEXT MEETING
CENTRAL FLORIDA
HIGHWAY ASSN,
»
At Fort Myers, on Wednesday, Sep
tember 13th, the September quarterly
meeting of the Central Florida High
ways association will be held and will
be called to order at 8:45 a. m. in the
City Council chamber. This should
be one of the most interesting ses
sions of the association and will be
business from start to finish.
The routing of highways—the Dixie
Highway, the Tamiam Trail, the Par
aise Loop and others, will be discuss
ed as well as the Federal Road act
with reference to the $33,000 which
this state will receive, and some dis
cussion as to where that could best
be spent.
The afternoon preceding, on Tues
day, September 12th, at the Bradford
hotel, the directors of the association
will have a meeting at 2:30 and the
executive committee will meet at 3:30.
Several matters of importance will
be taken up at these meetings. Fort
Myers is arranging a pleasant enter
tainment, and every member of the
association should make an effort to
be present, and bring other good
roads boosters with him. This asso
ciation should have additional mem
bers this year, and you are requested
“to sign them up and send in the funds.
Yours very truly,
'L. P. DICKIE,
Secretary.
FOUNDRY INDUSTRY PROSPERS
Cleveland, 0., Sept. 11.—Thanks
the European war orders, the foundry
industry in**.~ merica is now in the en
joyment of the most prosperous pe
riod of its history, according to re
ports brought to this city by the dele
gates to the annual convention of the
American Foundrymen’s association.
The convention will continue through
the greater part of the week and will
be attended by leading representa
tives of the industry from all parts
off the United States and Canada. In
connection with the meeting there is
a big industrial exhibition of machine
tools and foundry and metal working
equipment.
FORTRESS OF
SILISTRIA FALLS;
RUSSIANS WIN
London, Sept. 11.—Continuing their
advance in Western Dobrudja, the
German and bulgarian forces have
captured the old Bulgarian fortress of
Silistria, which lies on the eastern
bank of the Danube about twenty-five
miles northeast of Turtukai and sixty
miles east of Bucharest, the capital
of Rumania, and about an equal dis
tance south of the Constanza-Bucha
rest railway line. The capture of the
fortress is announced by the "Berlin
war office which adds that the Ruman
ians and Russians fighting in Dobrud
ja apparently have suffered very con
siderable losses during the last few
days.
In Banat, north of Orsova, however,
the Roumanians are keeping up their
advance against the Austrians, having
compelled the Austrian right wing,
after it had pushed them back two
and a half miles, to withdraw to its
former position under a strong coun
ter attack. Attempts by the Ruman
ians to advance against heights west
of Csik Szereda, were repulsed. In
Southern Bukowina, near the junction
of the Hungarian and Roumanian bor
ders, the Germans are in contact with
the Rumanians.
Russians on Offensive Along Entire
Front
Berlin and Vienna concede a gain of
ground to the Russians in the Carpa
thians, near Zabie, to the west of Shy
pot. The Russians, says Berlin, are
on the offensive from the Baltic to the
wooded heights of the Carpathians,
(Continued on page 4)
THE EVENING LEADER
BAND CONCERT
SATURDAY NIGHT
WAS ENJOYABLE
!
The concert given by the band last
Saturday night in front of the Royal
theatre was an agreeable surprise to
our citizens. We overheard one man
remark that “it was the best small
band that he had ever heard play in
the state.”
There are only nine members of the
band at present, and an effort will be
made to increase the membership and
bring it up to proper band propor
tions. It seems that this ought not
to be a difficult undertaking in a city
the size of Tarpon Springs, and cer
tainly would not be if our citizens dis
played the right civic pride and inter
est in it.
Sarasota, a town no larger than
Tarpon Springs, boasts one of the best
bands in the state, tastefully uniform
ed, and the people down there are
justly proud of it. They are in con
stant demand for all kinds of public
affairs. In Kissimmee, we are told,
the citizens of the city have contrib
uted a monthly purse of SSO to be
paid the leader of the band for his
services and trouble in keeping up the
band, getting the members out to
practice regularly, etc. This plan
might be adopted here, or some other
plan calculated to bring about the de
sired results. No better advertisement
of public spirit in Tarpon Springs
could be devised than to have a splen
did, uniformed and drilled band from
this city waken the echoes on the
streets in Tampa some day during the
forthcoming South Florida fair, and
at the festivities at Plant field. In
our hsJul are three young girls, the
Smith sisters, each one of them a
first-class musician, ranging in years
from 10 to 18, and this fact alone
would excite the admiration of those
who heard them play and make the
Tarpon Springs band the talk of the
state.
From away up in the Santa Ynez mountains of Lower California, where
but few persons outside the old mountaineers and their families have ever set
foot, came these two oxen. “Tom” and “Jerry,” along with the old cart, to play
a most important part in “Bluff,” a forthcoming Mutual Star Production fea
turing Kolb and Dill, the famous stage comedians. The coming of the strange
outfit into Santa Barbara, where the American-Mutual Studios are located, with
the fupmakers driving the heavy footed creatures, was indeed a most unusual
spectacle and one not long to be forgotten. It was the first time the oxen had
ever been out of the mountains The type of cart, still in vogue among the
mountaineers, is a striking illustration of bow far behind the times they are.
EDISON’S VOTE
WOR BY WILSON
NOTED INVENTOR HAS HERETO
FORE SUPPORTED REPUBLIC
ANS—LAUDS MEXICAN POLICY
Saratoga, N. Y., Sept. 11.—Thomas
A. Edison, inventor, lifelong republic
an and strong supporter of Theodore
Roosevelt’s candidacy for the repub
lican presidential nomination, made
the announcement of his intention to
vote and work for President Wilson’s
re-election. He gave out the follow
ing statement:
“Not since 1860 has any campaign
made such a direct call on simon pure
Americanism. The times are too se
rious to talk or think in terms of re
publicanism of democracy. Real Am
ericans must drop parties and get
down to big fundamental principles.
“More than any other president in
my memory, Wilson has been faced
with a succession of tremendous
Kolb and Dill, famous American-Mu- { - .1-;;.™^®
tual comedians, driving “Tom’’ and
“Jerry” in “Bluff,” next of their Mu- -TM: ’v •’ *
tual Star Productions. SBflnHMKk/',
TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1916.
* MEETING OF BOARD OF *
* TRADE *
* *
* There will be a meeting of the *
* Tarpon Springs Board of Trade *b
* on Friday, Sept. 15th, at 7:30 *
* o’clock. *
*b Business of vital importance *b
* will come before the meeting for *
•b discussion, and a full attendance *
* is earnestly desired. *b
*********v*******
KENTUCKY STATE FAIR OPENS
; Louisville, Ky., Sept. 11.—The an
! nual Kentucky state fair was opened
here this morning for a week’s en
| gagement. The management has
i been working hard to make the exhib
its of more than ordinary interest
this year and the results is one of the
, largest and most varied displays of
the state’s products ever shown.
ENGINEERS IN SESSION
I Minneapolis, Minn., Sept. 11.—An
elaborate exhibition of the latest me
chanical devices connected with steam
engineering is a prominent feature
of the thirty-fourth annual convention
of the National Association of Sta
tionary Engineers now in session here.
Upwards of 2,000 delegates, repre
senting all sections of the country,
registered for the opening of the con
vention today. The women’s auxilia
ry is also holding its annual session
The convention program covers the
entire week and provides several not
able features of entertainment for the
the visitors.
TODAY’S SPORTS
Opening of the Great Western Trot
ting meeting at Milwaukee.
Championship tournament of Ten
nessee State Golf association opens at
i Memphis.
Opening of Kentucky State Fair
horse show at Louisville.
Opening of New York State Fail
horse show at Syracuse.
New Jersey State championship
tennis tournament opens at Montclair.
Johnny Dundee vs. Ever Hammer,
15 rounds, at Kansas City.
Joe Rivers vs. Phil Bloom, 10
rounds, at Brooklyn.
problems, any one of which, decided
the wrong way, would have had dis
astrous consequences. Wilson’s de
cisions, so far, have not got us into
any serious trouble, nor are they like
ly to.
Peace With Honor
“He has given us peace with honor.
This talk about the United States be
ing despised is nonsense. Neutrality
is a mighty trying policy, but back of
it are international law, the rights of
humanity and the future of civiliza
tion.
“Wtih reference to Mexico, I think
that the president has acted wisely,
justly and courageously. It was right
that the United States should not
have recognized such a murderous
personality as Huerta. I do not be
lieve that we should have intervened,
nor do I believe that we should inter
vene now. Mexico is a troublesome
neighbor just now, but war and con
quest are not going to make her a
better one.
“It has been said that Wilson at
first was against preparedness. Per
haps he was, but when convinced that
intelligent public opinion was over
(Continued on page 4.)
St. Petersburg Independent Declares the Fight Has Just
Begun and That the “Combination” Will Be
Driven From Cover
COMMISSIONERS AND BOND TRUSTEES WILL PROB
ABLY INSPECT LUGGED BRICK ROAD ON TUESDAY
St. Petersburg Times Deserves Credit for ‘inviting” Them-May Result In
Some Good Being Done But We Don’t Expect Much
From County Commissioners
SHOULD THE TIMES OR ANY OTHER PAPER HAVE TO “INVITE,” ARRANGE
WAYS AND MEANS, AND INSIST ON THE COMMISSIONERS INSPECTING
COUNTY ROADS AND GUARDING COUNTY INTERESTS? DIDN’T
THEY SWEAR ON HONOR TO DO THIS VERY THING?
The St. Petersburg Times has issued
invitations to the five county commis
sioners—John S. Taylor, C. E. Jack
son, D. Byrd McMullen, George Ed
wards and G. W. Stahl—and the three
trustees of the $715,000 bond issue,
Messrs. Harrison, Hagadorn and
Louden, to meet at the point where
the section of the brick road which
has caused so much complaint is be
ing laid, and to inspect the quality of
brick, manner of laying, etc. The
Times believes this is the proper way
to go about settling the question as to.
whether the road is right or wrong.
If these gentlemen will only inspect
the road without first blindfolding
themselves they cannot help but see
that the lugged brick are of inferior
grade, rough on the sides and held
apart by the lugs allowing grass to
grow between the brick and water to
go under and undermine the founda
tion. But we will bet dollars to dough
nuts that the county commissinoners
will “see nothing wrong” witji this
road and will declare it O. K. in ev
|ery particular, for the chief engineer
of the McCrary company has said this
road and these lugged brick were the
best ever, and he will receive $30,006
for his superior knowledge concerning
roads, though he has admitted that he
never saw lugged brick before, and
that they are an experiment which has
never been tried out, also that they
are cheaper than the other brick being
used in the county roads.
Again, why should the county com
missioners have to be “invited” to in
spect these roads? Is it not their
duty which they have sworn on oath
to perform, to inspect and know ail
about the work being done by the
county? If they do not represent the
people and protect the interest of the
tax payers what are they expected to
do? Surely they were not placed in
office by the public vote for the ex
press purpose of seeing nothing, do
ing nothing and being nothing, unless
forced into action by public clamor
and direct “invitation” to perform
some specific duty? Should they not
inspect these roads often and know
what is being done and halt any work
which appears to be inferior? And
yet haven’t some of them admitted
that they have not seen this section
of the road and never saw a lugged
brick ?
The Times, in another paragraph,
criticizes The Leader for asking some
tax payer to stop the laying of the
lugged brick by mandamus proceed
ings and next day saying that the lug
ged brick may make a good road if
laid on their edge with the lugs in the
ground as they were manufactured to
be laid. The Leader still declares that
the lugged brick should all be con
demned and that the contractors
should be compelled to comply with
the specifications laid down in the
contract as to the description and
class of brick placed on the roads.
The Leader feels absolutely certain
that the county commissioners will
not condemn these brick and that they
would not condemn anything which
looked like a brick even if it was soft
enough to crush up in your hand unless
they were compelled to do it by the
public who elected them for the pur
pose of guarding the county’s inter
ests. Why have they waited for the
Times to “invite” them to inspect
these roads ? If those roads were be
ing laid on property personally owned
by any one of the commissioners or
the bond trustees they would not have
to be “invited” but would “invite”
themselves often to inspect the work
and the work would be done exactly
as the contract said it should be. But
you can hardly expect men to look
after the interest of the public like
they would their own personal inter
est—self-preservation is the first law
of nature and often if a public officer
insists on the public getting a fair,
square deal, he finds out that he has
not placed self before duty and that
he has not prospered as he surely
would have had he placed self first
and been blind as to the interest of
the public. It’s a fact that a man
who performs his sworn duty to the
public often finds out that he can’t
be re-elected for it takes money and
he hasn’t any left, but he can hold his
head high for he had kept his oath.
'The Leader being convinced that
there is no hope of the county com
missioners compelling the contractors
to take up the inferior lugged brick
which are being laid on their side to
make them cover more ground, it sug
gested that it may be possible to get
the commissioners to see that the
brick were laid on their edge as they
were intended to be laid by the mak
ers, with the lug in the ground and
the smooth surface on top, and said,
no doubt, this would make a pretty
good road. The Leader feels that a
compromise is better than to lose en
tirely and the Times takes advantage
of this statement to toss a lugged
brick at The Leader. We are a little
inclined to think that the Times sees
the lugged brick through smoked
glasses and feels their rough sides
with gloved hands. And we predict
that The Times will print a story
next Wednesday stating that “some
of the c ommissioners inspected the
‘invitation’ of The Times, accompa
nied by a representative of The Times,
and they all declare the work satisfac
tory and the road good as the best,”
or words to that effect, while the St.
Petersburg Independent, which is
making a hard fight for the tax pay
ers and does not seem to be courting
favors from either the commissioners
or the brick people, or the contractors
or even the McCrary company, will
continue the fight against the contin
uation of the building of inferior
roads, and against the county’s money
being wasted and paid out for the
benefit of contractors against the best
interests of the taxpayers.
The St. Petersburg Independent is
fighting for the taxpayers of Pinellas
county as will be seen in the following
from Saturday’s issue, and we ask the
taxpayers to note the difference in the
attitude of the Independent and the
Times on this big question and decide
which of them is in sympathy with the
taxpayers of Pinellas county:
COMPROMISE SUGGESTED
The following appeared in the Tar
pon Springs Leader yesterday after
noon:
“It is not reasonable to suppose that
the wire-cut lugged brick which are
being laid on a part of the Pinellas
county roads have absolutely no mer
it. The manufacturing company no
doubt knows, and the brick themselves
prove, that they were manufactured
for a purpose, and that purpose was
not to build a lot of poor roads in Pi
nellas county.
“The lugs on these brick were in
tended to be laid in a cement founda
tion. The lugs would then make each
brick solid in its own place, even
though a small space was left be
tween each brick. This would be a
good thing were the brick being laid
in a cold climate where the ground
froze in the winter, which would
cause much contraction and expan
sion at different seasons and the ten
dency would be for the road to bulge
up when the brick expanded. The lug
on the bottom of the brick, if set in a
TEN CENTS A WEEK. NO. 206. -
cement bed, would make it possible i*
allow for this expansion, as each bric|
would be a single unit doing its pari
in the whole road plan.
“In Florida it is different. The foun
dation is soft sand. And yet, if the
brick were laid with the lugs down,
they would tend to hold the brick
steady to a certain extent. And again,
the opposite side from the lug is
smooth and even and would allow the
brick to be jammed close together and
thus prevent the grass growing be
tween them and the water going
through to undermine*-the road.
“The brick were made to withstand
great pressure if laid with the
side on the bottom and the smooth
side—or, rather, edge—on top.
“We have been told that the con
tractors for the Pinellas roads pur
chased the lugged brick because they
were the only ones available at the
time. It is stated on good authority
that they are cheaper brick than the
usual paving brick used. This, beinf
the case, and it being evident thafc
they are going to be laid whether Pi
nellas people want them or not, the
next best thing is to compromise.
“What we want is a good road, and
if the brick are laid as they were
manufactured to be laid, no doubt the
road will be equal to the other sec
tions of brick roads in Pinellas. But
it will take more brick laid on edge
than it would if laid on their sides
to cover a mile of road.
“Well, so be it. The contractors sav-.
ed money by purchasing the lugged,'
brick; now let them lose a little by:
being compelled to lay them properly*
“It is not reasonable to suppose that
a brick which was manufactured for
the express purpose of being laid oii
its edge will make a good road if laid
on its side—and' this is just what has
caused all the condemnation of
contractors and the brick.
“The St. Petersburg Independent is
making a noble fight for the people tn
Pinellas county, but they haven’t a.
ghost of a chance to win against the
combination which is opposed to
them, and the suggestion offered above
is a compromise which it may be well
to force through when it is so evident
that it is the best we can hope to at
tain. We will be glad to hear whai
The Independent has to say on this.’
subject of laying the lugged brick bn
their edge—lugs down and smooth’
surface up as they were made to be
laid.”
As to the wire-cut lugged brick be
ing laid on edge. The Leader is cor
rect. If laid that way, with the smooth
finished edge making the road sur
face and the bricks fitting close to
gether, they would no doubt make an
excellent road. That might be entirer.
ly satisfactory as a compromise. AU
The Independent wants is that the
people of Pinellas shall get good roads
for the $715,000 voted to pay for goo£
roads. It has no prejudices in the
matter, no preconceived ideas to be
carried out, no selfish purpose to
serve. It thanks The Leader for its
kindly words of commendation, and
thanks it still more for joining in file
fight to get good brick roads for the
people of the county. r:
But The Leader’s statement that
The Independent and the good citizens
fighting against the substitution of in
ferior and objectionable brick “have->
n’t a ghost of a chance to win against
the combination which is opposed to
them,” doesn’t take into full account
the mettle and determination of tHti
fighters. The “combination” is indedfi
a strong one and well intrenched, but
it is going to be forced to give to the
taxpayers of Pinellas county good
(Continued on page 2.)