The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-13
RAILROADS SHOW
 GREAT ACTIVITY
WILL BE CONNECT
 ED WITH NATCHEz ON THE MIS-
 SlSSIPPI RIVER BY THE MISSES sIPPI CENTRAL WITHIN 10 DAYS.

Hattiesburg, Miss, April 12.-(Special.)- Within the next ten days the uncom- pleted gap of steel on the Mississippi Central, to connect Hattesburg with Natchez on the Mississippi river, will be closed up and the first train will make the through trip over the line.
 President F. L. Peck and General Man ager R. K. Smith of the same company are now closing contracts for the con- struction of the s5-mile gap to connect Hattiesburg with deep water at Pasca- gould and Scranton, and this work will be pushed to early completion
 It is also announced that under the terms of the consolidation of the Mo- bile, Jackson and Kansas City and the Chicago and Gulf road, by which a through route from New Orleans to Chi cago Is to be formed, Hattiesburg will be embraced in the arrangement, as the route will lie over the Hattiesburg- Beau mont spur of the Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City road.
 Whose announcements have created quite stir in railroad circles in this part of the country. and especially in this city, where these arrangements will assure to this city supremacy as a railroad center for the state of Mississippi.
 Tracklaying on the Hattiesburg-Natchez end of the Mississippi Central is now practically completed, as the rails are all laid, with the exception of the Middle Fork bridge, where delay in the com pletion of the bridge is all that prevents tx,o rThio bridge will be completed in a week. Ballasting the track and other such work will pre- vent the running of trains for six weeks or more. After that a through schedule will be installed from Hattiesburg to Natchez, and a through service from both ends of the line into New Orleans by way of the New Orleans and Great Northern from Smiths Ferry The boards of trade of Natchez and Hattiesburg are now arranging for a celebration in honor of the opening of the road. and train over the road will carry a big party of excursionists from this end of the road to the city under the hill.
 The commencement of construction on the southern end of the line from Hat tiesburg to the coast only awaits the completion of the Natchez end. The company has already built out some 15 miles in the direction of Pascagoula, where the line ends in the woods, and is used only for the hauling of timber to the mills in this city. It is possible that the Mississippi Central will pur- chase the Gautier tram road, which runs northward from Pascagoua for a dis tance of 15 miles over the course that would be traversed by the Central. By this arrangement only about 50 miles of construction would be needed to fill in the gap, and give direct connection from Natchez to the gulf by way of Hatties- burg The Gautier road recently passed into the hands of the Dantzler Lumber company and carries with 1t valuable wharf frontage on the gulf.
 The fact that Hattiesburg is included in the route of the through service from New Orleans to Chicago, by way of the Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City road is accepted as guaranteeing that the Baton Rouge, Hammond and Eastern line will be built to this city. It has been long understood that this Baton Rouge line was, to form the New Orleans con nection of the Mobile. Jackson and Kan sas City road. though there has never been any definite announcement of the point at which connection should be made. MT. l.. s. Berg, now president of the Mobile road was formerly pres- ident of the Baton Rouge enterprise,