The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1913-03-21
Mr.. BURROWS OH,
CLEANTNC'KTVEK
Is Ready to Cooperate In Plan For
Strengthening and Cleaning Out
the River. '''"S
lie Flore. Miss, March 10, 1914.

Editor Sentinel:-l have just finisbsdI
the reading of Mr.. w. M. Dubard's ar
ricle, Cost of Yalobusha River Over.
flows. Being among the number, men,
toned, also one who is affected mora
or less by the said waters, l feel con-
.tralned to say a few words to. helm
create a further interest. We moved
from the busy city of Memphis, Tenn.
to this place last September and have
heart and soul united in interest with
that of the Lefore people and tie
people Of Grenada county. We were
Tennesseans while there, my wife, six
children and myself having been born
and reared there. But now we are
Misssissippians, having moved here
with our two sons, Carliss and Jeffer-
son, for the purpose of making a home
on some of Mississippi's good. alluvial
soil with you, and a to aSsuN y1u
that we are with you in every move
toIbetter u country by cleaning out
the Yalobusha river and strengthening
its channel and that also of its tribu-
taries, so as to lower the high water
mark and lessen the days of a; swpilen
food. ! am persuaded that this can
be greatly helped by cutting. through
such crooks Is the::Oxbows, beginning
at or neal Needle Point. Here l am
told by some that the river is forced
to pass a distance of about sixty or
seventy miles with only a fall of about
IL feet, and has only gained a distance
toward its mouth of about three miles.
Here this river would doubtless make
its way if it was helped a little. /
will venture to say, if the twenty-five
thousand acres affected by these waters
we're put into cultivation and the pro-
duce put to the above use it would
pay the expense, if so, will it not pay
to make the effort?
Good drainage and good roads VIII
bring u country to the front. and
double the value of our lands many
times. But who will make::this forward
move? Shall we, who know own the
lands, or shall we leave it for the next
generation? l have been talking this
matter whenever L could find a listen
ing ear. All say its the thing to do,
and it will be done some day. Then |
ask: why not now? Why not you
and | do it?" And / now put this same
question to the landholders mentioned
by Mr.. Dubard and all interested, in
Guiding the Y. E. M. v. railroad from
Greenwood. l am told that they would
be greatly benefited by such a thing as
the draining Of this river. Will not
Mr.. Dubard or some one give us some
plan or plans and the approximate cost
for carrying out such a scheme as he
has mentioned? Doubtless somess0f
these men who know the country and
the river can do this. Allow me to
say right here, that the cost of these
overfows to %landholders and others
affected by it, in timber and crops, year
by year, will almost equal the sum of
money what it would take to do this
work and save our timber and be- sdts
Of a crop. Yes, l repeat, ''be sure4t
a CROP" For these lands rank ri
production among the best lands
in the world, not only in Americas
Mr.. Roosevelt made the statement
when down here in Mississippi
and Louisiana hunting a few years
ago. He said: "the lands are among
the finest in the world. ME-. JOSEPH
S. Wing of fredericksburg, Ohio, while
visiting Noxubee, Miss, last Aug az
reported in the Commercial Appeal thu
morning of the 25th, said: "Pleast
pardon me if | speak very plainly to
you. Your lands have been so rich, Sc
enduring that they have had 70 stane
use that few if any lands in the worlt
could endure"
Ifthis is true of Noxubee lands, is /
not of ours also? Surely it is, for the!
have no better land than we; if ther'
is any difference we have it if we vii
improve it. Please remember that
am not quoting from some one'ofh'
experience or repres entative when
mention Mr.. Wing, but from a Inf
student of the soil; also one who is
statistician of great reputation, HAVING
been sent to South America by tn
tariff board to gather facts there an
to Australia on a similar mission, AM
visiting Great Britain and MexIco' Nj
to a company of Noxubee farmers: .
am delighted. Do you know that yop
country impresses me somewhat a
did the level plains of black soil in Al
gentina, only you have more trees tina
one sees there. You have here natur
ally a splendid fertility. 1t is so mac
better than you realize, that ! wlAh
could take a lot of you with me :
ahoc, .,l~A 49,. ko dopo IN similar lands