The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1915-10-06
70 AID
IN HIGHWAY FIGHT
CONTINUED from rage one.3

VINO congratulated the delegates OF
their good roads enegry, but refrained
from expressing an opinion between
the two routes
Governor Hall, of Louisiana, who
was the next speaker. came out
squarely for the Mississippi route. He
declared Louisiana would make a great
mistake if she fails to align herself
with the old Jackson trail, and said
further that he believed the Louisiana
delegates on the Highway commission
would not fail to vote right.
: w. j. Haynen was the first speaker
for the Mississippians. He devoted
himself entirely to the cost of the
road, both its construction and its
maintenance. He showed that the
topography of the two sections of
country through which the two routes
were proposed will make the cost of
construction and maintenance per
mile about the same either way, with
possibly shade of advantage in favor
of Mississippi. He then showed that
the Mississippi route is 22O miles
nearer if it goes by Covington and go
miles nearer if it goes by Logtown
These figures show that the Alabama
route is forty per cent longer than
the Mississippi route, Mr.. Haynen, ar.
gued, and the cost of building and
maintaining it would, therefore, be
forty per cent greater. He then told
the New Orealns men that when the
Government is asked to maintain the
road it will be much more likely to
do so if the road comes thorugh Mis-.
sissippi than if it comes through Ala.
bama, because the maintenance cost
will be forty per cent less.
Foote Gives History.
Mr.. Foote was then introduced and
he devoted the first part of his adj
dress to the history of the Jackson
Military Highway. He recalled that
Old Hickory, when he went to Pensa-
cola TO meet the British, found that
they had not landed there, but had
sailed West. and assuming that they
would land in New Orleans. he went
to New Orleans. The trip was made
with great difficulty, because there
were practically no roads and the gen.
eral had to lead his men through the
wilderness.
so great were the difficulties of the
march," Mr.. Foote said, that Congress
determined road must be built be-
tween Nashville and New Orleans.
Nashville was then a military post and
it was necessary that a means of COM
munication be established between this
post and New Orleans. So in 1916
Just a century ago-oCngress enact
ed law authorizing tho establishment
of military Highway from Nashville
to New Orleans.
"Old Hickory and his engineers set
about to establish this road. They
examined the map carefully. Jackson
himself had marched over much of
the South and knew the country. They
considered carefully the question of
distance and maintenance and then
they built the Jackson military high
way thorugh Florence and Lowdnes
county and Lauderdale county and
Jones county and on down to New Or
leans.
Want to Repeat.
"That was a hundred years ago."
continued Mr.. Foote. "Today the peo-
pie of Mississippi want to build it as
nearly as possible along the same
route that Jackson built it; then want
to build it well; and they want to
give it back to the Government and
ask the Government to take care of
it. We have abundant proof to show
that the original route did come this
way and we have no doubt that after
we have done our part, Congress will
do its part-maintain the road in as
good condition as we put it in"
Mr.. Foote then took up the COM
mercial side of the proposition.
New Orleans already has road to
Gulfport and Biloxi" he said, "and
that road, partly destroyed by the
storm, is going to be rebuilt. II New
Orleans favors the establishment OF
this road through Alabama, it will |
aot. mean another road into New Or
leans; it will lsimply mean the extern
sion of road already running into |
New Orleans and it will be extending |
1t into section of the country which |
more properly belongs to other cities |
than to New Orleans.
"The projection of the Jackson Mil
itary Highway through the Piney |
Woods IN fba ofbar hand means that