The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1938-05-26
SOUTH At CROSSROADS SAYS GOVERNOR WHITE

50 VVO1VVV cAoaAG AlllC6
which comprise the southeastern
region.
Mississippi is willing, she is anx.
ious, to serve as a laboratory in
which to prove and perfect the
principles and the findings Of the
farm chemurgic program. Not be.
cause Mississippi believes that
through such = process she can
reach, single-handed, her highest
development; but because Missis-
sippi knows that unless the farm
chemurgic process is perfected and
applied throughout the entire
southeast, both she and her sister
states tara threatened with econ
omic disintegration no destructive
~ to threaten the very foundations
Of their civilization.
That Is the challenge l bring you
tonight from the southland, .
challenge which puts into your test
tubes and crueibles the future
happiness Of Is million people
Is million people who have much,
yet know how to use but little, who
have resources and manpower but
lack the scientific knowledge and
industry through which to convert
them into wealth.
Here h . region with . eombina.
ton Of climate and soil 70 which
nearly all Of the nations import.
ant crops are indigenous. Yet e
million acres Of that soil, mors
than the entire area Of he state
Of South Carolina, have been utter
~ lost through erosion alone. Add
to that the millions more which are
now In process Of destruction; add
the millions more which suffer ~
70 million tons Of southern plant
food are annually washed to the
sea, and you begin TO get Z glimpse
Of the magnitude Of the challenge
which 10 yours and mine.
A challenge indeed, for there IA
nothing inevitable about that loss.
1t il al the more tragic because
It Is preventable. It Is all the more
pathetic because it Is born Of lack
of knowledge through which to
utilize vast and eve unrecognixed
human and material potentialities.
And ~ the southeast's land has
gone, so have its people. Within
thirty years the South has lost SA
million men. Here Is more man.
power than the population Of the
southeast's most populous state.
And may ! urge upon you the
importance Of the time element in
this challenge which l bring. The
destiny Of the South for genera
tions to come will be decided with
in the next five years. Desperately
she 10 fighting to shake oft
forces Of destruction which have
been sapping the strength Of her
soils and the strength Of her sons.
Yours il the weight which II
thrown fully to her support can
bring to her . victory that will
mean = new level Of civilization
for her own people and increased
prosperity for the nation Of which
she ID 90 vital I part.
Spirit Of South
The task, while difficult, lacks
much Of being hopeless, for
throughout the South today are
millions Of men who are conscious
OF the magnitude Of the job that
lies ahead. conscious Of the con.
sequences Of failure on the one
hand and the certain rewards Of
victory OF the other. They are de-
termined men, imbned with Z spirit
Of progress and aggressiveness
which already has come to be re-
ferred to - the spirit Of the New
South"
And may I assure you, n one in
position to know and to judge that
spirit, that it bears no whit Of nm
friendliness or antagonism toward
any other state or section Of this
nation. The South wants industry,
and the South 10 going to get It.
But the South wants primarily
those industries through which it
may snake industrial use Of its
farm products through applied
science" You will recognize those
words as . direct quotation Of the
announced purpose Of this confer
ence. You win recognize that the
industries we seek are those to
which q U Of material
and men entitle US.
Some Of the industries the South
is going to get will Of necessity
come from other sections, but that
is because they should never have
been in other sections.
Other industries the South is GO
ing to get win be new industries
which will offer stern competition
to industries in other sections, but
it will be . competition based on
advantages ordained BY nature and
freed 1t last Of the artificial i'm
pediments Of m unnatural econ
omic structure.