The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-08-03
WILL EXHAUST
EVERY ARGUMENT.


keeping everlastingly at it, is a
characteristic which often is reward |
ed with the accomplishment of desired |
results, and the News wants to put
itself on record as being a non-quitter
in the matter of advocating the de-
velopment of the natural resources of
this section, and more particularly as
this applies to the improvement and
cultivation of cut-over lands. 1t is a
foolish waste of time and space to go
into detail as to what crops can be
grown to advantage, the climate, mar
kets, transportation facilities, ETC., for
these things are matters of common
knowledge to those even who never
give agricultural subjects a passing
thought. What the News is trying to
do is to impress upon the minds of
those who own cut-over lands the i'm
periative necessity of putting the lands
on the market at a price which will
be an inducement to the small farmers
of some other localities to come here
with their families and stock, build
houses and begin to reap the rich har-
vest which is in store for them.
The plan suggested by the News, to
sell the land in alternate tracts to act
ual settlers, is one which cannot fail
to impress the fairminded and impair
tial as being feasible, to say the least,
and one which gives promise of re-
| ward to the land owner. The question
to be considered is, What is this land
worth NOW, in it's present state; lot
| what it may be made to be worth af-
| ter it has been improved by the ap-
| plication of modern scientific methods
| and hard labor In determining the
value of a commodity with the view
of a prospective transfer, the owner
should first consider it's value to him
in it's present state; the fact that the
| man who buys it might, at some fu-
| ture time, be able to dispose of it at
a price in excess of that paid, does
| not enter into the consideration so
| far as the vendor is concerned, for it
must be taken into consideration that
| the man who buys always does so
| with the intention of getting the best
of the bargain in the long run, but
at the same time he realizes that in
order to do this, he must improve the
commodity or the conditions surround
| ing it to the extent that it will be
worth to it's next purchaser the price
asked for it.
When an acre of cut-over land is
sold at a very low price, it does not
by any means follow that the pur-
chaser is getting something for moth
ing. In fact, the land, so long as it
remains idle, possesses no value what
ever. and the purchaser realizes that
both time and money must be expend-
ed in order to bring it up to a stan
dard of worth. On tn other hand, a
well-improved farm enhances the value
of the adjoining tract in that it dem
onstrates what can be done with the
soil after it has been put in cultiva-
ton. In other words, the adjoining
tract under such conditions can be
sold without argument for three times
the amount originally charged.
The News has no desire to place
itself in the attitude of offering to
dictate to any one; it is merely Of
fering suggestions, the result of a
study of the situation which confronts
us and which must sooner or later be
disposed of in some way, and the soon
er something is done along the lines
suggested the sooner will the public
realize that what the News is trying
to do is for the benefit of the whole
section and no particular individual
or corporation.