The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1916-04-11
Brookhaven, April I. 1916.

is Highway:
Brookhaven, April Z, 1916.
Down this way in Lincoln County
we desire to except to statements in
the Ciarion-Ledger of the Goth instant
in your editorial under the caption
asleep at the Switch
In the first place your editorial in
dicates to US that you would prefer
that the Jefferson Davis Highway
through Mississippi would extend
along a course different from that de
cided upon at the convention of South
Mississippi counties held at Brookha-
ven although you allege to the con,
trary in your editorial. We maintain
that you should not take such a Pc
sition unless better reasons can be Of
Tered than those contained in your pa
per.
In the first place You say The course
through Kinds, Copiah, Lincoln, Pike,
Walthall, etc. is anything but a
straight line" Mr.. Editor, if you
adopt the straightline course in going
from the Tennessee line to the Gulf,
YOU might miss several very important
cities, including the Capital Yon
could rot even start out OF Jackson
down the Gulf G Ship sland railroad,
as you suggested. Besides the straight
line course is wrong in principle. Some
general course through the State
should be adopted but the proposed
highway should pass tie centers OF
population, somewhere along a trunk
line of railroads. and where the soil
foundation and ready road building
material are favorable to good roads,
and where the people generally have
already shown a willingness to build
good roads. On all these points we
commend to you the course through
our section.
Again you say our course is longer
than would be a road located along the
line OF the Gulf & Ship Island railroad.
We invite you to study the exact mile
age Of the two routes. We understand
the road through out section from
Jackson TO Gulfport and on to Beau
voir would be less than ten miles long
er than the railroad mileage down the
Gulf & Ship Island road. Unless you
construct the highway down the rail
road by way of Star, BraXton MenGen-
hail to Hattiesburg, and on to Gulf
port Independent of the present lines
Of the roads, that course has no adj
over ours on the score of mile |
age Our proposed road extends an al !
most direct and straight course from |
miles and the angle made in |
Jackson to Magnolia a distance OF one |
the course as we leave Magnolia and |
directly on to GulfpOrt is rather a |
weak argument against cur section. |
In the next place, you say True,
here are goo dgravel roads through |
Kinds and Copiah and fairly good |
roads in Lincoln and Pike as far as !
but beyond that the roads |
are poor till Harrison county is |
We think you are hardly |
air in this statement. The gravel |
'Oads in Kinds are good, and in Copiaa |
hey are better. The roads in Pike !
are as good as any gravel roads in the
State, and the gravel roads in Lincoln
county are as good as those in Pike
md Copiah.
We wish you had informed us how
much CT your proposed route down the
). & S. |. is already grayeled and how
much of that course is yet to be gray
lied and graded, and how much, if any
hing the counties along that course
propose to do in the matter of general
good road construction We take il
he counties down the G.. & S. !. would
lasten to construct the one line Of
.ravel road through that section, but
low much OF general road construc-
ion as feeders to the Jefferson Dav- /
s Highway would these counties down L
here offer as an advantage to that
curse? From Jackson 10 Magnolia Il
here are only two small links of road
l3king about fourteen miles in all,
nd both links being in Lincoln coun- L
Y, where the roads making our route
re not already constructed and ready
or travel. Lincoln county has already
oted to issue another $4,000 or
more bonds for good roads. and its
5oard Of Supervisors at the April
Meeting are expected to issue these
onds, so that within only q few
lonths this fourteen remaining miles
etween Jackson and Magnolia will
e grayelled also. This done, and we
ave already 100 miles of the highway II
ompleted. A movement is about to be