Hattiesburg daily news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1907-1908, 1908-03-11
The Call For Railroads.

Mr.. B. F. Yoakum, chairman OF
the executive committee of the Rock
| Island-Frisco system, has written for
the Manufacturers Record an inter-
esting and suggestive article, Illus
trated in striking maps, showing the
| necessity for more railroads in Tex
as. He points out that half of the
great empire of Texas is practically
undeveloped, and that no other portion
of the United States so capable of
such development is as sparsely settled
as Texas. The reason is obvious
| Texas needs additional railroads, and
Mr.. Yoakum believes that it needs
badly 10000 miles more than its pres
ent 1880 miles of railroads.
What is true of Texas applies in
greater or less degree to the whole
south, nearly one-third of the area
of which is embraced by Texas. If
anyone doubts the benefits to be de-
rived from increasing the railroad ia
cilities of the south, and especially of
Texas, he need only to compare the
south today with the south of 1880 and
to try to imagine what the south OF
today would be had not its railroad
mileage more than trebled since the
earlier date. For instance, with the
railroad mileage increasing from 10000
miles to more than $4,000 miles, the
value of real and personal property has
Increased from $7,0O,000,000 to at least
$22, 900, 900, 900, the value of the south's
mineral production has increased from
about $1S,0O0,000 to more than $500,
900, 900, the value of manufactures
from $57,O0O,OOO to O0,O00,000, the
value OF agricultural products from
5 $500 900 900 to 1925, 900, 900, and the
r value of exports from Southern porti
, from 1855, 100000 to $7O3 100000.
Who would dispute the dominating
part played by railroad construction
: in this wonderful development within
e generation, and who can fail to ap
( preciate the wisdom of words uttere,
n half century ago when, though tn
natural resources of the south were a
great as they are today, the aggregat
wealth of the south was not $4,000, 900
$ 900? At that time, when activity Il
r railroad building in the south wa
Z greater than in New England and tn
middle states combined. James D. F
;, Debow, one of the south's creates
q prophets, said:
/. God may have given you coal ant
=, iron sufficient to work the spindle
and navies of the world, but they vii
sleep in your everlasting hills unit
the trumpet of Gabriel shall sound III
less you do something better thai
A build turnpikes. You may have graz
II aries sufficiently stocked to feed mar
!. kind, but mankind will. starve an
perish before bushel Of grain cal
n reach them.
u. II DeBow were living today. he coul
40 not fail to realize the significance {
M the halt in railroad development in tn
IA south, and it is likely that, confron
-. ing the menace to Southern develo
m ment in agitation hostile to the
vestment of money in railroads an
A. other corporation, he might be move
A to paraphrase his earlier statemen
or reach them"
no Your billions Of tons of coal al
es iron, of granite and phosphate win !
s. turn to their sleep in your everla
ing hills and plains; there viii be /,
la longer anxiety about tho exhaust
he Of your forests; your hundreds
BIS. thousands of acres of truck lands VI
Elk revert to barrens or wastes of weed
err the crescendo of the music OF 70
100000 spindles will become iii