DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE FLORIDA CANAL 475

 In Clay County the vote was 473 for and 47 against.
 In Duval County, which is my home county, the vote was 10,039 for and 329
against.
 In Putnam County the vote was 1,720 for and 100 against.
 In Marion County the vote was 2,115 for and 46 against.
 In Citrus County the vote was 485 for and 37 against
 In Levy County the vote was 008 for and 31 against.
 I am informed that 90 percent or more of the qualified freeholders participated
in this election. Under our law in Florida a majority of the qualified freeholders
must participate.
 Freeholders are landowners, and not less than 50 percent of the freeholders
 must vote. So, even if you have a unanimous vote for the canal, if only 49
 percent of the freeholders participated in the election, the election would be
 void. But to show our interest in and enthusiasm for this project, fully 90
 percent of the freeholders voted, and the result was practically a unanimous
 vote for the bond issue.
 May I call your attention to this salient fact: Duval County had just prior to
 that, or within a year or so, voted down two or more bond issues for local public
 improvements
 Practically all of the southern counties of Florida during the boom bonded
 themselves to where they had said they would never bond themselves again.
 The afternoon before the election I happened to be in Jacksonville. I had
 taken no part in the campaign, except to express my interest in the canaL But
 they called me and insisted that I speak before them. I shall never forget that
 night, and I hope I shall never regret that night.
 There must have been 15,000 people on Forsyth Street that night listening to
 the speakers.
 I told them that the Florida delegation had assured the President the people
 of the district would give the right-of-way as demanded by him, and if they
 did not do so work on the canal would cease when the first allotment was
 exhausted. That if they placed a mortgage on their homes they need have
 no fear work on the canal would stop. Mr. Speaker, I did that then because
 I had faith both in the administration and my colleagues.
 Perhaps I overspoke myself, but I do not think so, for I still have that
 faith and still believe the canal will be built.
 I said also to those people, "there are thousands of you listening to me
 who have been hungry and who are hungry tonight, but who have refrained
 from going on the relief rolls because you did not want to add to the expense
 of the Government in taking care of the needy. If the bond issue carries,
 and I know it will, the battle will be won and you can then secure work on
 the canal."
 I want to show you the map of that district. One of my colleagues the
 other day stated that a $1,500,000 bond issue for Florida was just a drop in
 the bucket, and for me to forget it
 This is a map of Florida, which has 67 counties. I have drawn a line around
 here to show you the canal district, which includes, as I said before, Duval,
 Clay, Putnam, Marion, Citrus, and Levy Counties. The canal starts at May-
 port on the St. Johns River. One of the reasons why that was done was be-
 cause there are 30 feet of water for about 20 miles from Mayport to Jackson-
 ville. Then there is between 12 and 14 feet of water, I should say, in the
 river down to Palatka. Perhaps that is why they can build the canal for
 $148,00,000. Then they use the Oklawaha River across to near Ocala, and
 come here [indicating on map]. Then there is no river, and they have about
 55 miles where they will have to construct the entire canal. Then they go
 into the Withlacoochee River, and into the Gulf at or near Yankeetown [indi-
 cating on map].
 This little district marked in red [indicating on map] is the canal district
 of Florida on the property of which was placed this bond issue of a million five
 hundred thousand dollars The district, as you see, is only an average of about
 50 miles wide.
 The congressional district I spoke about awhile ago, the new Fifth District,
 takes in Marion, Sumter, Brevard, Osceola, Orange, Seminole, Flagler, Volusla,
 end St Johns Counties. In other words, it is all this section of Florida
 [indicating on map]. Here is Miami, and the section running to Sarasota,
 where the main fight against the canal is coming from. There is no doubt,
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