The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1904-04-16
Interurban Electric Railways.
By EDGAR G HARRIS.

VI bdu EICSkIlS 1olI"dISs
Mississippi has been exceedingl.
slow in realizing the advantages to b.
derived from interurban electric rail
ways. In fact, there are only six cleo
trio roads in the State. These are il
Vicksburg, Meridian, Natchez, Jack
son, Greenville and Biloxi, and all Of
them are short lines, scarcely extend
ing beyond the corporate limits of the
cities In which they are located. In
some of the Northern and Eastern
States interurban lines have become
potent factors in rural development
as well as sources of considerable rev
enue to their owners, and there is NO
good reason to doubt that such lines
will pay equally as we'll in Mississippi
During the past several months
much talk has been INDUCED in in
various sections of the State regarding
proposed interurban roads, and it is
likely that several of them will be
constructed this summer. Surveyors
are already on the ground to locate
the proposed line from Jackson to
Vicksburg, and there is little doubt
that it will become an early reality.
1t is also certain that line is to be
built from Greenville to Leland. Char
tiers have also recently been granted
for lines from Gulfport to Scranton
and from Hazlehurst to Crystal
Springs. The line from Greenwood to
Itta Bena, charter for which was
granted some time ago, will also be
constructed some time during the year.
Once it is demonstrated that there is
money in interurban railways in Mis-
Bissippi, they will be built through
out the State, wherever the population
of the country traversed is dense
enough to justify the expenditure.
In the Delta section of the State 1t
Is believed that electric lines can be
built cheaper than good dirt roads.
In many sections there is absolutely
no bottom to the soil and gravel and
other cheaper methods of roadbuilding
have proven abject failures.
Ky
Importance of Good Roads.
The most notable convention in sup
port of the good roads movement ever
held in the South held a two days
session in New Orleans Thursday and
Friday Of last week. Special delega-
tons from all parts of Mississippi,
Tennessee, Texas and Louisiana were
in attendance, and many matters of
vital concern to the people of the ter
ritory embraced in the association
were discussed by men who have had
actual experience in the building of
roads under all sorts and kinds of con-
ditions. Chief among the arguments
adduced was a plan for the working
of State and county convicts on the
public highways and numerous in
stances were shown regarding the sue
cess of the plan in States where it is
already in practice. In conjunction
with the plea for the working of the
convicts on the roads, the convention
urged the importance of strict stat
utes for the punishment of Migrants,
giving special commentator to the
vagrancy law passed by the Missis-
sippi legislature at its recent session.
This law goes into effect on April
% and it is probable that a great
many of the counties of the State, now
working their roads under contract,
will make some arrangement to have
the county convicts sentenced, under
the new law, worked on the public
The contract system of working the
roads is now in effect in more than
half of the counties of the State and
1t has proven a success in almost
every instance.
-X-X-
En- PEASANT.
During the past several weeks the
delta section of the State has been |
visited by a large number of mill men
from the North and East who are |
anxious to get options on timbered |
ands. A number of large hardwood |
mills have already been erected in this
Iection of the State, but there are yet |
thousands of acres of the finest hard
wood timber in the world still in its