The Pascagoula chronicle. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1905-1920, 1919-11-01
WHAT MEANS TO PAscAGouLA

WATT MEANS TO PAScAGoulA
The music and the flags, the great
throng the jolly good humor oil the
crowd. and the praiseworthy pflae
with which we welcomed our guests to
witness Mississippis first steel ship as
she gracefully glided into the Pasca-
goula river. with our sincere congratu-
latious to the international Ship Build
ing Company, upon the success ana
splendid management with when the
huge undertaking was accomplished
was all very appropriate and proper.
Yet to the thinking citizen OF Pasca-
goula as he held his breath and viewed
this immense vessel OF 5000 tons take
her place among the great multitude
of ships which compose the world S
merchant marine, there must have oc-
CURED thoughts of far more serious
cbaracter-of the far reaching results
to our city and our state, and the pos
sibilities of the Gulf Coast OF Missls-
sippi. 1t was an epoch in the states
history, vital moment TO Pascagoula
future. To the citizen OF Pascagoula
must come the realization of increased
responsibility as a citizen and COM
munity builder, an increased RESPONSE
bility OF his duty to those who are to
follow
We of Pascagoula owe double duty
in this matter, not only to ourselves
and our successors, but to those who
have come into our midst and created
the opportunity of building here
great manufacturing seaport-one
civic and the other a personal effort
to create comfortable, convenient and
pleasant conditions and environments,
evidences that we appreciate their
coming and their accomplishments.
From a civic standpoint, looking to
municipal improvement there has been
made a generous response and sue
cessful start apparently slow, but nee
essarily so, because of our financial
COnQltlOQ. we nave HOl, uO"tfci,
lived up to our personal duty in the
way of individual investments, and de
velopment, house building and the set
ting in motion the organizatio of
agencies looking to the retention in our
city of all the fruits that the perma-
nent establishment, of possibly the
To- chi ht,il Mo N q
South has produced in our midst.
Four hundred houses, built by indi
viduals or building association, would
have rendered the operation of work
ingmen's train unnecessary. The in
yestment of the amount of money by
confidence in the outside capitalist,
which might have meant a modern
hotel, with many other necessary i'm
provements that such confidence dis
played by us would have inspired
No citizen of Pascagoula, or else
where could have viewed the launch
ing Of this magnificent ship, all the ma
teriat of which was fabricated and all
the machinery built here on the site,
and suggest that there exists a shadow
OF doubt as to the permanency OF this
plant. Can the International Ship
building Company, which has con
structed $50 houses for its la Dor, es-
tablished a three and a half million
dollar plant, completed five $500 ton
wooden auxiliary ships and one 5000
ton steel ship, with four similar steel
ships on the ways, and with contracts
for eight 5000 ton and four 10000 ton
steel ships, and making Pascagoula a
port of export and import, do more to
create spirit of enthusiasm and con-
fidence in this port?
Will outside capital and new blood
come here if we, who are the benefici-
aries of this great enterprise hesitate?
Will we, who have sustained the
community in the long lean years that
have gone before, now that we have
the opportunity and the DUTY to our
selves and our own, permit Others to
ScAiS III anu Sdtuci the TlpeHeu lTulJ
and perform the duty that opportunity
has thrust upon us?
These are thoughts that the great
event of Wednesday must have i'm
pressed upon a thinking mind This is
the serious side. Let us then be up
and doing. The eyes of the whole
gulf coast, our beloved state, and the
outside capitalist are focused on us
Let us do our duty to the great enter
prise nov here. and by so doing pre-
pare q welcome to CT -fs which. if we
do o. par; as citizens. will follow, as
night the day" We will not only
bring prosperity to ourselves but op-
portunity to our children, and build
here the greatest city in the South.
Sewerage, paving and public docks
and warehouses are already assured.
The necessary school houses are built.
or building, but we need houses to keep
at home the labor that belongs here.
We need a hotel We need a Building
Association. We need a financially
strong Chamber of Commerce, with
every citizen an active member We
need to display both civic and indus
trial confidence and pride. We need
cooperation With these all else need
full will be added.