Greene County herald., 1906-02-16

ated that nothing but colOn1StS lnlaD-
it this section. There are numbers Of
Mississippi families right there that
are enjoying great prosperity and sue
cess 1.-THE fruit and trucking bnsi-
ness. DR.. Mckay, father Of John f.
Mckay, was a pioneer in the culture
of berries and the industry is kept go
ing by the son until the present time.
Hon. r. C. Lee owns one Of the most
valuable farms in the State and his
berry and fruit shipments are en-
ormous. Mr.. j. T. Dameron owns
some 300 acres Of land that no modest
amount of money could buy, and his
berries alone cover a field of thirty
acres. Numbers of others are ersoy-
ing great period of prosperity and
cultivating lands that formerly pro-
duced $40 worth of cotton in berries,
fruit and truck that produce from I 100
to $500 per acre. The actual eI yer-
fences Of some Of these men uld
make a book well worth readin al
though those who had not been D0n
the ground and seen for thems es
what was being done, might be tile
skeptical as to the results obtain9
Now what is this developmel as
made by the Highland Colony Co.
worth to the State of Mississi pi?
More than any man would considef at
first thought. In the first place, lands
that were assessed at from $1.25 to
$1,000 per acre are now on theH ak
rolls at from $1,000 to $4,000 per
acre. This means a good deal in itself
to the people OF our State who are
amazed at the increased expenditures
of government and a deficit in the
revenues. There are millions upon
millions of acres in the State suitable
for just such development, all that Is
needed being people who know how
and will do the work. If depart
ment OF agriculture, commerce and
immigration could handle a million
acres of land in two years as did the
department of like nature In South
Carolina in the same period of tine,
would it not have paid many times
The cost Of maintenance? Assuredly
50. The promoters of this colony are
not philanthropists In the general
sense of the word While they IRE
making money for themselves, they
are at the same time developing the
resources of the State and increasing
taxable values in like proportion.
The example set and being exton-
sively followed by our own people Is
a valuable asset. Many who had toll
de through the seasons at the end of
the year gathered three bales of cot
ton and barely enough corn to go
through the winter, are now living
il excellent houses upon land owned
by themselves and enjoying a period
Of prosperity that was never dreamed
Of. Five acres Of land is producing
more than thirty acres did before in
dollars and cents, The people live in
better houses, dvive better stock
hitched to better vehicles and have
bank accounts that in numberless in
stances are good to behold. Although
four towns are embraced in the ex-
tent Of this colony and the popula-
ton is far denser than any other sec
ton of the State, there is no lawyer
living within its bounds except Hon.
r. C. Lee, who is U. S. District At
torney for the Southern District of
Mississippi and does not practice in
the local courts which are rarely in
session.
The section described in this arti-
Gle is not the only one of its kind in
the State, although it bears the dis
tinction of being the only one with
a strictly white population and man
aged by colony company. Durant,
Water Valley and other points to the
north; Crystal Springs, Hazlehurst
! and Wesson and points to the south
are very similar in productiveness
and the development of the trucking
and fruit industry. They are all in
what might be termed a poor section
Of the State, but with the progressive
ideas used have become the richest
and most productive anywhere. Crys-
tai Springs is the center of a sec
tion rich in productiveness, shipping
as high as twenty car loads of toma-
toes in single day. When one-third
of our hill lands are made to produce
in this way the taxablevalues will have
doubled more than one time and the
burdens of taxation materially les
sened. Then twill be a "Greater
Mississippi"
The monied men of Belzoni ap-
preciate the necessity of a cotton COM
press, and have organized company
to build one. Belzoni is in the center
of orc Of the greatest cotton produc-
! ing sections of the State. and there is
every reason why the enterprise
should be a success.
Minneapolis, Minn.-All the judges