The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1911-04-19
MR.. W. S. THOMPSON STATES
THAT MISSISSIPPI LAND is
IN DEMAND.
TWO LARGE TRACTS WANTED
Plan to Put Out Large Pecan Orchards
Final Plans for the Exhibit
s. in New York.

terest created throughout the country
by the first Associated Press publica-
tion of some of the details
of our colonization proposition,
said Mr., w. S. Thompson, of
the Mississippi Colonization Asso-
citation to representative of The
News this morning. Mr.. Thompson
had just reached Hattiesburg from
tRo weeks business trip to New York
and Chicago and was in fine spirits
: over the progress of the big colonial
tion prospects.
81 met number of good people in
the North who were very anxious to
discuss the matter with me-" he said.
zone case in New York and another
in Chicago were especially encourag-
ing. Two especially strong organiza-
tions sent for me to discuss colonial
tion plans in Mississippi. They both
desired to purchase tracts of land in
conjunction with our colonization plan.
nSy appreciate lHdl lH6 bblll61S
our gift campaign would bring would
increase the value of adjoining acre.
age, and the Chicago people asked that
| select a tract of from 10000 to 3d.
900 acres, which they wish to pur-
chase for the purpose of selling to
people in the middle west. They wish
to confine it to middle west colony.
"Their plan is to purchase the land,
remove the stumps and plant pecan
orchards in such a way that it can be
sqld in units of ten acres-say, 10, 20,
u or 40 acres to each purchaser, and
each case instead of contracting
to- take care of this tract for a period
of years, they will seek to have the
settler come and handle his own prop
erty.
'The New York people have in
mind that during the New York Land
Show they would be able to handle
about 5000 acres, which they would
clear and plant between now and the
time of the opening os the show.
eve have made our final arrange
ments for the exhibition at New York
and Chicago, all of this to be done in
the name of Mississippi, though we
personally take care of the proposition.
1T was very encouraging to meet
the railroad heads and witness the
enthusiasm with which they enter into
our colonization plan. Their co-opera.
tion in the way of newspaper advertis.
ing and literature, and the distribution
of information from all other offices
over the entire country, would be a
most valuable part of the general plan
k,-~Snterest shown by everyone
wi-'7.7m we came in contact was
realr-- barprising, but there was a gen.
eral lack of information on the part
of any of these people on the true
conditions in Mississippi.
with little vigorous publicity work
however, these things can be over.
come.
"of course, Mississippi has to con.
tend with the fact that cut-over lands
in Oregon, one of the best advertised
states in the union, can be bought to
day for So an acre, and that the maga,
zines of the country have not hesitated
to give much free publicity to this fact
We must show to the people of the
country at large that Mississippi has
just little bit better lands than Ore
gon, especially considering climatic
= conditions.
"The railroad people, even where
they do not reach directly into the
territory where the largest settlements
probably be made, are the first
to appreciate the vast importance OF
the work, and are first also to realize
the opportunity of spending some
money to make the movement large
success.
when you give them something tc
talk about, the magazines and news
papers everywhere are seeking an op
portunity to give you plenty of free
advertising. They publish what the
people want. When the people want
to know about Mississippi. there will
be plenty Of channels through which
they win find out"