LAKE HIGHLANDS CLUB HOUSE
CLERMONT. FLORIDA
Jan.IJ, 1922.
Mr.H.B.Ayres,
Managing Director,
Old Spanish Trail,
The Battle House,
Mobile,Ala.
My Dear Mr.Ayres;—
According to the Tampa Tribune,of yesterday,Jan.12,the idea of commemorating the 400th anniversary of the landing of de Narvaez by the holding.of a world13 fair,in Tampa,during the winter of 1928-9, was endorsed by the board of governors of the Tampa board of trade, t	at	a meeting held Wednesday.
,	So far so good,but the newspapers of the state and particularly
1	of	Tampa haven’t caught the spirit of the thing. I am not so inter-
ested in having a world's fair held at Tampa as I am in having given the newspapers,not only of Florida but of the entire United States and the world,cause for printing pages about Florida. The Jacksonville papers have given the idea more space and better headlines than have the Tampa papers. The latter gave the fact that the idea was endorsed by the board of trade but 20 lines down in the body of the story covering the board of trade meeting. I have written Col.W.F. Stovall,editor of the Tribune regarding the importance of the suggestion but I can't get a rise out of him further tten to have the matter furnished him for publication,printed in the paper.
While I am discouraged I am not lying down on the proposition.
I am still writing letters to influential individuals and stories for the newspapers with the hope of nursing the idea to a point v/here it can force itself along. I still regard it as Florida's one chance to get into the newspapers of the world on a news basis. Personally I haven't anything to gain by the holding of the proposed fair,or to lose if it is not held. I live in Texas and I am going back there. But, having started the thing I want to see something made of it. If the Tampa newspapers will only get out and get under in the right way they can put .it over a,.d put it over big. If they can't or won't see it the only thing for the rest of us is to drop it and find something else with which to amuse ourselves.
I am glad to see you move eastward. There has been too much
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