The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1921-12-02

million dollars. The planters who
raised the most bitter objections fif-
teen years ago are now numbered
among the wealthiest men of that sec
ton. 1t cost them from ten to twenty
dollars an acre for road and drainage
improvements combined, but the
lands in that district are worth from
hundred to three hundred dollars an
acre, and the value of its annual pro-
duction ranges from one hundred to
two hundred and fifty dollars an acre.
Mississippi, ST, Francis, and Crit
tendon counties are veritable Garden
Of Eden. If the balance of the valley
lands of the state were developed to
the same high degree as these three
counties, the value of agricultural pro-
ducts of the commonwealth would be
quadrupled. 1t can, and will, be done
as soon as good roads and drainage
bitches are constructed, and these i'm
provements will be created as rapidly
as money can be obtained.
l asked one large plantation owner
in Chicot county if the road and drain
age bonds would not act as burden.
He instantly replied: Improvement
issues should not be considered as tax
es. Every dollar spent in road and
drainage construction is just like lay
ing out one dollar to get five dollars"
THAT statement is a statement of
fact, not of fiction. | do not believe
there has ever been dollar spent on
drainage or roads in the entire valley
section of Arkansas that has not re-
turned at least five dollars in enhanc-
ed value of agricultural lands to the
taxpayer"
From my observations, | believe the
statements of this planter are correct.
at is true that there were certain
road districts, especially in the up
lands, where greenhorn commissioners
attempted to assess railway property
outside the bounds of reason, but they
never had chance in the world to
discriminate against these corpora
tons or any other taxpayers. When
the districts were advertised, the cor
porations or individuals Disseminated
against took their cases to court, and
had no trouGle a. 81 ~ preventing the
issuance of bonds for construction OF
roadways,
"The taxpayers the state are am
ply protected against unreasonable
discrimination if they exercise their
right at the proper time.
owe have every protection in this
state that they have in any other
state, and, we believe, whole lot
more"
One feature of Arkansas assets
that appealed to me more than any
thing else was the fact that in my
trip throughout the state | did not
hear foreign language spoken, not
even a foreign accent, nor could l
learn of single |. W. W. being with
in the borders of the state. People
looked at me with amazement when |
asked them if there were any revolu-
tionary radicals. They took it as an
insult. One workman in an indus
trial town assured me that he had new
err seen an |. W. W.. but he had heard
of one about two years ago. He said:
"Mr. Rogers, done heerd of an |. W
w. about fifty miles south of here two
years ago. He landed in town just be-
fore dark one evening and started to
talk. He didn't talk long. Between
shutdown and sunup he just naturally
disappeared, and he's never been heerd
tell of since. You can draw your own
conclusions as to what happened to
him." l did.
1t was a wonderful relief to spend
two weeks in state where every
other man was not grumbling about
the government-where there were nc
strikes or threats of strikes. / never
heard so much real loyal, one hundred
per cent American talk as did dur.
ing my fourteen-day stay in Arkan.
sas. A state in the Union that all who
believe in the Constitution of the
United States should take their hats
! off to.