FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
11 
pare conditions in our State with condi¬ 
tions as we find them in other parts of 
the world, or even of our own country, 
we have reason to be well pleased and 
we have moreover good grounds for tak¬ 
ing an optimistic view of our financial 
conditions. Florida is a State of many 
and varied resources, and the conditions 
through which we are, passing are not 
permanent. They will pass away ere 
long, leaving us on a sounder footing than 
ever before. 
No one acquainted in a general way 
with Florida during the past quarter of a 
century can fail to be impressed with the 
very remarkable material development 
which has taken place during that time. 
Villages and towns have sprung up where 
there were none before; towns have be¬ 
come cities and cities have added tens of 
thousands to their population. New in¬ 
dustries have come into being, vast areas 
of land have been brought into cultiva¬ 
tion, and wealth has increased many fold. 
But if because of the present temporary 
conditions, we fail to care for the educa¬ 
tional needs of the State, we do a perma¬ 
nent and lasting injury to coming gen¬ 
erations and to our State, an injury which 
subsequent favorable action will not re¬ 
move. 
The situation must be met now. The 
present session of the State Legislature 
should take the necessary steps to permit 
counties or school districts to say what 
their school millage should be. They 
should make ample and adequate provis¬ 
ion for own State institutions of higher 
learning even though taxes be increased 
and new ways of taxation invented. Ed¬ 
ucation is of fundamental importance and 
our State can advance only as its educa¬ 
tion is advanced. Thousands are flock¬ 
ing to our schools and we must provide 
necessary facilities for their training. 
