The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1916-02-18
DELTA PEOPLE WILL BUILD
THEIR OWN HIGHWAY

DELTA PEOPLE WILL BUILD
THEIR OWN HIGHWAY
Hi B:llies Used Steam Roller on The
Delta
Commercial Appeal, Feb. 10.
Men from the hill country of Mis-
sissippi, at least 800 strong, carried
everything their own way yesterday
at the two sessions of the good roads
convention called to discuss the route
for the proposed Jefferson Davis
Highway through Northern Missis-
sippi.
The advocates of the hill route
succeeded in having that route in a
general way designated as the official
route, although there are a number
of minor points of difference that
still remain to be settled.
The convention was a big one
Memphis looked like a real Missis-
sippi city all day. More than 1900
delegates to the convention were
registered and several hundred more
were going and coming to and from
the convention hall in the Hotel
Chisca during the sessions. All the
other leading hotels were filled with
prominent M~ississippians, and there
was a gathering all over the city Of
M~ississippians who had not seen each
other since the last political campaign
in that state.
The hill mems victory may be only
temporary, for the delta route advo-
Gates declare they will have a road
started within three months and then
will appeal to the Jefferson Davis
Highway commission to name their
road the Mississippi section of the
Jefferson Davis Highway.
Though the conference adjourned
sine die at 6 o'clock last evening, the
Delta delegations held a session at
7 o'clock last night to discuss plans
for continuing their fight, and the
hill men will meet at 9 o'clock this
morning at the Hotel Chisca to settle
a dispute among themselves as to the
hill route.
At this mornings session the hill
route advocates also will make all
preliminary arrangements for a meet
ing to be held at Grenada, Miss,
within 80" days, to make definite
plans for starting work on the road,
as provided in a majority committee
report, which officially awarded the
name of Jefferson Davis Highway to
the hill route.
The two hill routes, from which is
yet to be selected the official route
for the highway, r as follows:
No. From Memphis through
fernando, Senatorial, Sardis, Bates
vile to Grenada.
No. 2-From Memphis to Olive
Branch, independence, Tyro, Oxford,
Water Valley, Coffeeville to Grenada.
Delta Men Still Determined.
There is no quarrel among the hill
people over the route south from
Grenada, but they are agreed IS to
the route from Memphis to that city.
The so-called Delta route would
have touched Clarksdale, Greenwood,
Lexington, Canton, Jackson and on
south to Beauvoir.
1--WE are going to build the Delta
route anyhow" was the declaration
of W. M. Hammer, of Greenwood, one
of the floor leaders for the Delta
delegation. "We will have our route
completed before the hill men get
started. So far as naming the hill
route officially, the action of this con-
ference doesn't settle that. After
our road is built we are going to ap-
! peal to the jefferson Davis Highway
Commission. Those hill folks don't
know what they are up against"
A large number of the delegates
from the Delta counties held an in
formal conference last night and de-
cided to build the road they advocate,
| regardless Of what the counties in the
hill section may do.
They will issue a call at once for
a road conference, to be held at
Greenville on March 1, to which all
road supervisors and county officials
| and others interested will be invited.
Members Of the delegations from
many of the counties stated that al
ready sufficient funds have been
! pledged through bond issues to build
{ the proposed highway through three
fourths of the counties to be travers-
ed, and that with public sentiment so
aroused in favor of better roads they
believe that after the Greenville
meeting every county interested will
be ready to proceed with the road
building work, not only upon the main
highway, but upon the proposed con-
Meeting roads.
R. A. Douthat of Yazoo City, ex-
pressing the sentiment Of his fellow
de1epates. said in summing IN the