The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1921-07-30
MISSISSIPPI NOT
FRIENDLY TOCAP|TAL.
AND TO INVESTORS.
Former Mississippi Capitalist Tell.
How State Is Driving Away
Business Men and Others
By Fool Legislatures.
PERSECUTION OF WEALTH is
APPARENTLY ON.
w. J. Blodgett, Manufacturing Cap.
italist, Is Selling Out and
Removes to Michigan.


Mississippi, and the administration
thereof, have been, in many in
stances, against the best interests Oh
the State is admitted by many
shrewd and far-seeing men, and that
they are driving capital from the
State and preventing investments is
also admitted.
Showing that this is true, the Hat
tiesburg American is permitted, says
the Poplarville Free Press, to publish
part of private letter written to
N. Batson, of Poplarville, by Mr.. w
j. Blodgett, who is now located in
Grand Rapids, Mich. Nearly every
person in South Mississippi has
heard of Mr.. Blodgett, the little town
of Blodgett and the big lumber in
terests of the Blodgett Company.
With fire insurance gone to the bad,
with other laws unfavorable to in
vestments, Mr.. Blodgett is closing
out all of his interests in the State
because of the unfavorable action of
the State and its constituted authori-
ties, an thus the State is losing a
man who has become fond of it's
delightful climate and it's many nat
ural advantages.
Here is what Mr.. Blodgett says !:
was somewhat surprised to note
as the result of the 1920 census that
Mississippi stood almost alone as the
marked example of all the states of
back the United States that had
gone backward In wealth and popu-
lation.
"Of course, one does not have to go
far to learn the reason why. The
plain English of it is because Mis-
slsslppi has been ruled largely by
demagogues, and it has not played
fair with the people who invested in
their State. | could give hundreds
of example of what l mean. A case
in point is the suit against L. o..
Crosby relative to the timber on
those two sixteenth sections in Pearl
River County.
"The people in Pearl River county
know as well as they know that they
are alive that they sold all the tim
ber there was on those sixteenth Sec
tions. They know that the inten-
ton was to sell man all the timber
there was at the time that he cut it.
They know that the majority of six
teenth sections in South Mississippi
have been sold and have been cut
under the same basis. The attempt
to make Mr.. Crosby pay for this
timber again is absolutely dishonest
and unfair.
The same thing is true of the ac-
tivities of the Revenue Agent in
continually agitating matters so
that if man buys into a business he
has no assurance that he is not
buying dozen lawsuits with the
State
"Of course under these circum-
Stances, and with such a reputa-
ton, capital cannot be induced to
invest in Mississippi.
THE INSURANCE COMPANIES.
"The move against the insurance
companies was the worst advertise
ment that Mississippi could have. Eve
rybody has to write insurance and
they all know about this insurance
action in Mississippi. The result is
that if you attempt to get capital to
invest in Mississippi development to-
day, from any part of the United
States that | know anything about,
you will meet with fiat refusal.
Think of Mr. Crosby for insance
He has come in there and built a
huge operation in Pearl River coun-
ty. He pays more taxes and does
more to develop the county than any
man who ever came in there and then
they attack him in this unfair and dis
honest way.
Il am aware that a majority of the
people down there are honest, but,
as | say they have been ruled by de-
magogues to very large degree.
Il am selling out of Mississippi
very rapidly, but / cannot help hav-
ing sneaking azection for the peo-
pie there so long, and / do dislike to
see the old State, having been inter
ested, going backward through the
fault of a small minority of its peo.
pie, when the other States are forg.
ing ahead so rapidly"
With all of our love for Mississip.
pi and her splendid people, we are
bound to admit that what Mr.. Blod.
gett says is largely justified By the
facts. We hae had too much demag.
ogism In politics, and we have elected
men to Office in many instances who
have felt that it as the popular thing
to do to bleed big corporations in eve.
ry possible way, even to the enact
ment of laws that will prevent invest.
ors from other sections from placing
their capital here where it will BIZ
harassed in a way that the investor
is continually defending suits, of one
thing and another, and is not giver
the chance to conduct his business
to which he is justly entitled and
which is allowed in other State where
the rule of the demagogue is not san.
toned.
It has always been understood that
the sixteenth section lands which are
sold for 80 years would be used by
the purchaser in the same way and
for the same purpose as il it were
bought in fee simple. The purchas.
er so expected and was so Informed
in most instances, and at least knew
that it was the custom to cut timber
from this land for mercantile pur-
poses.
Mr.. Blodgett refers to the action
of the State Revenue Agent in bring.
ing suits against these leading insur.
ance companies Of the country IN