The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1923-05-31
STATE IS SUFFERING
FROM SURPLUS LAND
Originator of the Hannah Plan
for Development of South Mis-
sissippi Addresses State
Editors.

MiSSlSSlppiS only major trouble Is toC
much surplus land, and the only cure
is additional manpower, ]. B. Hannah
director of development for the Gulf
Mobile and Northern Railroad, and
originator of the "Haman Plan" fol
the development of the cut-over re
gions of South Mississippi, addressed
the Mississippi Press Association neal
here Thursday on mississippi De
velopment."
The meeting of the Association was
held on a special Pullman train op
Grated by the G., NJ & N, for the
benefit of the editors who were Ell
route to Mobile for three-days' joint
session with the Alabama Association
Mr.. Humans address in part follows
Mr.. President Ladies and Gentlemen
II is certainly an honor to be In
vited to address the Editors of my
native state, and especially so when
given such a subject as Mississippi
Development" | esteem it not only
an honor and a privilege to address
you, but deem 1t compliment indeed
that | should be selected to talk to
you on such a vital subject.
In the past few years we have
heard a great deal about What Is
the matter with Mississippi" This
subject has been handled and man
handled from every conceivable angle
We have had the politician to exploit
his side of the question and we have
heard the farmers complaint of low
prices and short crops. We have sal
in meetings and howled ourselves
hoarse about high taxes and ineff1
cheney in government, and we have
heard learned discussions of the eco
nomic reasons for this and for that
and none of them to any avail.
We can no more reduce taxes In
Mississippi by adopting resolutions al
whereas" meetings than we can i'm
prove crops by complaining about the
weather.
Mississippi, my friends, is suffering
from too much surplus land. That is
her only major trouble. OF course
she may be temporarily afflicted with
a political toothache, or something
like that, but those things are matters
that can be easily rectified, and pains
that all states suffer with occasion
ally.
Our only worry should be the utili
cation of our surplus lands, and when
that worry is relieved our ailment
will be cured.
Now, | am not going to tell you
that we need legislation to relieve
the situation Perhaps we do, but
leave that for those who really think
so to discuss. Nor am | going to
promise that II you will elect me to
some office l will handle the affairs
of state in such way as to bring
about a decided change for the bet
ter.
We have forgotten our state In the
furtherance of our own selfish aims
Some of us have done so deliberately
others through mistaken judgment
Selfishness can play no part In the
development Of our state.
want you to forget that we have
political differences in Mississippi
drawn along business lines, forget oul
i'll feelings and our neighbours short
comings, forget our selfish purposes
and everything else except that we
are Mississippians, and let us glory
together in that fact I want you to
forget that l work for railroad-an
agency so thoroughly despised by
some people in Mississippi-and re
member only that | am Mississip
plan, loving my state and ready to
make any sacrifice for her develop
ment.
We have talked lot about the nat
uraI resources of Mississippi, bHt II
is possible for a man to live over the
greatest deposit of gold in the world
and still starve to death. After all
our greatest natural resource is MAN
and men constitute the greatest need
of our state today. We are afflicted
with too much surplus land, and the
cure is additional manpower.
We have a given overhead govern
mental expense which has to come
regardless. 1t does not cost any more
in the aggregate to run our county
affairs, with a population OF 5000
than it would with a population OF
$4,000. We must have the same mum
Der Of officers and practically the
same expense. But when it comes to
bearing the cost burden the individual
in the county with $4,000 inhabitants
is much better off than the man in a
county with 5000 inhabitants, because
there are more between whom to df
vide the overhead governmental ex
penses.
There are thousands and thousands
of acres of land in Mississippi today
standing idle, not even earning one
cent toward the tax that must be
paid on it. The tax money must
come from some source, and there
are only two other sources from
which it can come. First, the land
devoted to agriculture, and second
the land with standing timber on 1t
1t is this fact that makes our burden
of taxation so heavy. Our acreage In
timber is decreasing and each veal
the burden on that devoted to agri
culture is increasing.
If every acre of land in Mississippi
capable of being farmed was in cult
walton, 1t would necessitate a popula
ton many times the size Of our pres
emit population and would cut our ta1
levy in so many ways that compared
with the present burden we woult
hardly realize we were paying taxes
at all-this due to the fact that every
acre would be earning its own tai
money.
That being the case, IL the energ.
spent in shouting for lower taxes a
our whereas" meetings was used II
trying to bring new people into the
state and in keeping those we already
have, for the utilization of some o.
our surplus lands, we would soon Sc
cure our lower taxes. In addition Il
that we could afford better schools
better roads and better living condi
dnns, because there would be more
LEESBURG