UF00083548_00026.pdf

UF00083548_00026.txt

UF00083548_00026_pdf.txt

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OCALA, FLORIDA

Gubernatorial candidate Farris Bryant of Ocale this week called
for immediate action by his opponent, incumbent Leroy Collins. and
the Florida Citrus Commission to prevent the dread Mediterrsnian fruit
fly from crippling the state's citrus industry.

it a television broadcast from Orlando Monday night and again at
a homecoming rally in Ocals Tuesday night, the former Speaker of the
State House of Representatives said that if necessary the governor
should appropriate emergency funds to prevent the spread of the fruit
fly from where it was discovered last week in Dade County into the
State's truck farming and citrus growing areas.

"And if emergency funds are insufficient," added Bryant, "your
governor should call a special session of the legislature to deal with
this problem. The fruit fly must be prevented from spreading into our
multi-million dollar citrus industry at all costs.

Bryant's Tuesday night speech in Ocala, which was carried over
a 33-station radio network, marked his last appearance there before
the May 8 Democratic Primary. He was introduced by Ocala Mayor R. C.
Cumming and spoke for a half hour.

The candidate blamed the lack of effectiveness of the Citrus
Commission on the fact that Collins had not lived up to the spirit of
its creation in appointing its members.

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"The Commission when created by the Legislature was to consist
of 12 men, five of whom were to represent the processors, the remain-
ing seven, and I quote from the law 'shall be growers not connected
as paid officers or employees under any crtrus packing, shipping,
processing, or marketing organization or aesocietion.'"

It is the obvious intent of the law that the citrus commission
shall be controlled by the growers of Florida rather than by the
processors. However, I have been amazed to learn that in fact there
is not a single simon-pure citrus grower on the Collins Citrus
Commission."

He also called for immediate action to deal with another problem,
racial integration.

Following Honday's ruling by the 0.8. Supreme Court abolishing
segregation on intro-state busses, Bryant said that there must be an
immediate concentration of the State's political power and its best
brains in other fields to prevent the mixing of the races in Florida.

As a member of the 1955 Legislature, he pledged himself to take
part in "any reasonable meeting" called to deal with these problems.

Bryant declared that the present governor's claim to having
completed some ninety percent of his program was not borne out by the
record, which indicated that the figure "should have read ten percent."
He went on to list 22 major items backed by Collins which had not been
accomplished, and added that nothing of a controversial nature had
been passed by the Legislature.

JEN
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