The Era-leader., 1918-08-22


being developed and during that pc
riod of prosperity before this tim
her has all been manufactured into
lumber that it will be too late.
They are big enough and have
business sense enough to know that
unless first-class roads thru the
country are constructed so as to con-
meet the country people with the
towns and cities on the railroads,
which will create a demand for coun-
try property, and which will create
taste for country and farm lie
for the soldier boys when they re-
turn from war and for the rising
generations, that the grass and weeds
will ultimately take the streets OF
the towns and cities, and that the
railroad property will have to dis
continue operation for a lack OF
freight and tonnage. If these peo-
pie are willing for their property to
stand just proportion of the taxes
to build the roads to be used by the
residents and the people who live IN
in the country especially when they
together with the people of the towns
pay nearly 2-3 of the taxes, now
much more reason we, the residents
of the country, should seize the op-
portunity for ourselves and for the
sake of our children, and for the
sake of our children's children, to
build good roads and substatial pub
lie improvements while we may.
There are a good many counties
in Alabama and in southeastern Mis-
sissippi and a few parishes in the
STATE of Louisiana which were rich
in timber resources. Non-residents
were the owners. They came with
a great deal of business energy and
push and soon cut and manufactured
all this timber wealth, and pulled W
their tram roads and abandoned
their mill properties, and mill sites
and left the country desolate waste
with nothing but tree tops and
stumps and abandoned shacks an(
sawmill sites to admonish and re
mind the native residents of tn
country of lost opportunity
Whether or not the owners of thl
timber wealth in these counties AM
parishes were willing to be taxed t.
build good roads during the time wa
being manufactured into lumber, W
do not know, but we are rather o
the opinion that they naturally eX
pected that the home people or res
ident people would take the initia
tive with the view of putting in thes
substantial Improvements, and i
they neglected to take such initiativ
it is certainly not to be expecte
| that the owners of the timber, VIII
| live in other parts Of the country
| would do so any more than if yo
owned a skyscraper in New Yor
| City and lived in Louisiana woul
take the initiative in move to lev
taxes in New York City to bull
| streets and schools there.
II Therefore, we are especially f;
vored in Washington parish in til
fact that the Great Southern Lumbe
Co. saw fit to build their great plar
in our midst, because that was tt
= means by which the the N. O. G.
= Railroad was brought here. Now "
! have two lines of railroad that pa
\ entirely thru the parish along tt
valleys of our two great rivers, IL
y Pearl and Bogue Chitto. This gre
} company built city, the marvel
the whole country, which is renow,
ed for its cleaenliness and progre
J. siveness and patriotism, which eli
II already on fifty per cent basis ca
- ries an assessed valuation of mo-
u than three millions dollars and tt
City Of Bogalusa with it's assesst
valuation of more three millions
dollars, headed by Mr.. W. H. Sui
in van, its Mayor, who is also the chi
If representative of the Great Sout
lg ern Lumber Co., is willing to jo
ct the rest of the parish in voting
to bond issue to build roads thruo
g. the country. So, if we neglect
ht vote the taxes now when we a
ne given this opportunity, what excu
st will we have in days to come VIII,
he our children and posterity come ,
of to realize that the timber is all 90,
K? and nothing left to show that it w
tie used at the proper time toward +