The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1947-11-21
Crowded Court
Hedrs Testimony
At WdYnesboro

ing conducted by the United
States Corps of engineers on
the proposed construction of the
Pat Harrison inland waterway
was scheduled to open here at
10 a. m. this morning at Lin
coin Hall with testimony to be
taken from representatives of
counties in the Southern part of
the area affected.
The first hearing was conclud-
ed Wednesday at Waynesboro
with Col. Joseph j. Twitty, head
of the Mobile District engineers,
and his staff, presiding.
A capacity crowd of approx
mately 200 drawn from counties
in the upper area of the Leaf
and Chickasawhay river basins,
filled the court room at the
Waynesboro courthouse and tes-
timony unanimously in favor of
the project was submitted, both
written and orally, by Industrial
lists, business men and farmers of
the area.
Testimony presented Wednes-
day touched every phase of the
proposed waterway from flood
control to an estimated savings
of freight revenues in the area
amounting to $500, 900 annually
through use of the barge-water
transportation the project would
afford shippers in the Hatties-
Meridian area.
Support of Governor
E. A. Khayat, president of the
Pascagoula-Mos Point Chamber
of Commerce, acted as modera-
tor at the hearing and introduce
ed witnesses who wished to sub
nit testimony on the project.
Written testimony introduced
at the opening of the hearing
included a letter from Governor
Fielding l.. Wright, read by E.
H. Bacot, who represented the
governor at the meeting.
Governor Wright pledged his
full support to the project and
pointed out the economic bene-
fits which would accrue to the
entire Southeast Mississippi area
through its construction.
Other written testimony in
cluded statements from the City
of Moss Point through F. w. Cir
lot, mayor; the Jackson county
board of supervisors, through K.
w. Burnham, president, Cole
Towing Company, L. N. Dantz-
Ter Lumber Company and the
Rev. John w. Moore of the Main
Street Baptist church, Hatties-
burg.
First group to introduce oral
testimony were Meridian repre-
sentatives, which included Meyer
Davidson, president of the Junior
Chamber of Commerce and repre-
sentative of the st. Louis Junk
Co., Obie Shelton, general man.
ager of the Chamber of Com
merce, and R. L. McLaurin, man.
ager of the Southern Traffic AS
ISOLATION of that city.
Mr.. McLaurin cited differen-
tials in rail freight rates applied
to shippers in the Meridian area
as compared to shippers in SINH
lar areas where water transpor-
tation exists.
Water transportation brings
about competitive freight rates."
he said, land an area or q locali-
ty cannot expand and progress
under the disadvantages of adj
verse freight differentials."
The Clarke county delegation,
composed of the county board of
supervisors, business men and
farmers, submitted testimony on
the advantages such a project
would afford in both the indus
trial and agricultural develop
ment of their county.
Would Project Land
we have 35 producing oil
wells in Clarke county. S. B.
Kirkland of Quitman said. 'The
oil from these wells is now being
piped to the Tombigbee. If this
project was completed the Chick
asawhay river would afford wa
ter transportation 80 miles closer
to these wells"
William Estes and Alec Taylor,
Clarke county farmers, testified
that some of the best farming
land in the Chickasawhay basin
is useless because of annual flood
ing of the stream. The proposed
project would control this, both
said, and bring back into cult
walton thousands of acres of rich
lands.
The Wayne county delegation,
headed by T. o. Slaughter of
Waynesboro, pointed out the de-
veloping oil industry of the area.
and cited figures to prove and