The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1947-04-25
States Oil Follows Waste Pattern Of
Timber, Says Hatiieburg Leader

a detailed analysis OF the basic
economic interests of the South
Mississippi region was presented
here last Friday by Alexander
Currie, Hattiesburg attorney,
who spoke on a visit Of a Hatties.
burg delegation 10 confer with
local leaders on the possibility
of developing a deep water chan
mel in the Pascagoula and Leaf
river system.
Mr.. Currie traced the rise and
fall of the numbering industry
in this region and warned that
the oil industry Is developing
in the same manner, delivering
Mississippi only a minute frac-
ton Of the revenues which should
rightly come to this state. He
urged the development Of a state
tax program which would encour-
age the rise of a refining indus
try within the state, and which
would discourage the whole
scale expectation of crude oil to
be PROGRESSED and increased in
value beyond Mississippi's bor-
ders. Side by side with this pro-
gram for Homegrown indus
try. Mr.. Curris urged that South
Mississippi thoroughly explore
the possibility of developing a
river channel and port facilities
as part of a native shipping in
dustry, rather than continuing to
send the major volume Of this
profitable business to out-of-
state ports like New Orleans and
Mobile.
Regional History
The Hattiesburg delegation
conferred here Friday at a lunch
con meeting with members of
the Port Commission and the
Chamber of Commerce, after
which the party made a survey
trip up the river aboard the
Cole tug Ripple"
MI. Currie reviewed the C o
nomic history of South Missis-
sippi, recounting the now al
most legendary story of the
bounding Of Hattiesburg by old
Captain w IL Hardy, shortly af
Ger the Civil War.
Captain Hardy. then interest
ed in developing railroads
through the undeveloped regions
between New Orleans and up
state cities like Meridian, pick
ed out the sight for Hattiesburg
named after him wife-when
the countryside there was still
in river forest.
Following Immediately upon
the establishment. of the town
and the construction of the rail-
roads," Mr.. Currie said. there
came a number of people, large
" from without her borders. to
possess, manufacture and export
the great natural resources of
the surface, the various timbers,
and especially the long-leaf yell
low pine. the like of which was
not to be found OF such are
quality and abundance as in south
Mississippi"
What Is Left?"
This great resource is now his
tory, and one may well ask what
has Mississippi profited thereby
There remains practically no bus
mess enterprise n Mississippi to-
day as a consequence or result
of this vast resource. Purchased
at a merely nominal price, de-
vastated with the most ruthless
avarice, the timber was export
ed from the Home land OF its
nativity TO unnumbered destina-
tons, there to be processed, re-
fined and manufactured into un-
limited products and again plac-
ed upon the markets of the
world, much of which was to be
returned to its native home as
such finished product, Mississip-
pi thereby benefiting only, in
the main. for whatever was paid
for common labor for the remoV-
al of the timber from the forests
to the lines of transportation,
and may we add that the lowest
scale for common labor paid for
the service rendered"
1T may then be said with prac-
teal certainty that MississippI's
CONTINUED On Page z, Sec. y