The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1914-07-16
MANY IMPROVEMENTS MADE
DURING HIS ADMINISTRATION
Moral Tone of City Showed Notable
Change For Better While He Was
In Power-Fought Hard For Estab-
Iishment of Mississippi's Normal
Here-Full of Enthusiasm.

DR.. ]. D. Donald, former mayor of
Hattiesburg, AMI Forrest county's rep
resentative in the state senate during
the last legislature, announces in The
News today his candidacy for the
United States Congress from this, the
sixth congressional district of Missis-
sippi.
DR.. Donald was born and reared in
Jasper county, Mississippi. He receiv-
ed his early education in the common
schools of that county and later studied
medicine and graduated from the Medi-
cal Department of the University of
Alabama, at Mobile. He began the
practice of medicine in Jones county
about eight miles northeast of Laurel,
continuing his work there and at Old
Claiborne, in Jasper county, for several
years, but later he moved to Heidelberg
from whence he came to Hattiesburg
some eighteen years ago.
In 1906 DR.. Donald was elected mayor
of Hattiesburg, taking Office in Janu-
ary, 1907, and was reelected in 1908,
serving two terms from 1907 to 1910,
inclusive. During his administrations
Of city government a vast amount of
public improvements were begun and
completed; among which may be men.
toned, additional street paving, addi'
tional sanitary ewers,xextensions Of
the water works. etc. And not alone
for the amount OF: public improvement
work done was DR.. Donalds admins
tration notable, but the improvement
in the moral tone was marked as re
suit of the commendable enforcement
of different criminal laws in the city
In 1911 Dr. Donald was elected to
the state. senate from this senatoria
district, taking his seat in 1912. Al
most Immediately he took front ranl
with the leaders in that body and came
to be regarded as one of the most in
fluential members of the Legislative
body of the state.
Fight For Normal.
DR.. Donald was one of the very frs
to see Mississippi's need for state
normal school, and Immediately pu
his shoulder to the wheel in the effor
to found this most important institu
Ition. When this effort had been crown
ed with success, the state Legislature
having passed the law providing fol
the establishment of the school, DR.
Donald was one of the leaders in the
fight to secure the institution for Hat
tiesburg and South Mississippi; an(
since his election to the senate he ha!
ever kept the growing needs of tht
Normal in mind.
The results of his efforts on behal
of the Normal may be aptly illustrated
by the fact that at the last session o
the legislature the sum of 1000 wa!
appropriated for new buildings for tn,
Normal, while no other state schoo
was allowed any money for new build
ings.
In the senate DR.. Donald was active
in the effort to have a constitutions
convention called for revising the or
ganic law of the state, but when /
was seen that this effort would fail h'
Immediately turned his efforts in an
other direction and was instrumental
in having passed resolution whicl
resulted in the submission of consti
tutional amendment to be voted on b,
the people at the November election
and by the terms Of this amendmen
South Mississippi will make sUbstar
tial gain in representation in the legis
lature, should the amendment be al
proved by the voters.
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