The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1949-05-27
what State Line, What Law "

"Wh0t State Line, What Law
A strange case of buck passing surrounds the continu-
ed and uninterrupted operation of the Sage Patch out in
the area known as the Free State of State Line. The Sage
Patch runs wide open -. dice tables, slot machines, king
size bingo pots and what have you. Uncertainty as to
whether or not it is in Mississippi or Alabama is the reason
local law enforcement officers cannot touch it, we are told.
This question of the location of the state line was to
have been settled three years ago by Attorney General
Greek L. Rice after the 1916 legislature appropriated $4,000
for a friendly" suit with the State of Alabama to estab-
lih the line. Legislative action was taken at the request
of Attorney General Rice.
Now comes an amazing twist to the circumstances,
more than three years after the appropriation was made
amid hullabaloo and fanfare and statements as to what was
going to be done.
We quote in full a letter addressed to l. X. Mcintosh
of Moss Point under date of May II, 1949, over the sigma
ture of Attorney General .Rice:
Honorable L. K. Mcintosh
attorney at Law
Moss Point. Mississippi.
Dear MIR. Mcintosh.
7 have your letter of May IA, ls49. about the suit
against the State of Alabama. to establish the line between
Mississippi and Alabama. as authorized by Chapter ia and
Chapter 3s, Laws of 1916.
You are advised that l have made a careful investi-
CATION of this matter and reached tho conclusion that the
suit would hardly be justified. 1t would cost SO much money
and. from my investigation. I found no real need for the
re-establiahment of this boundary line. The Governor and
agreed that tho suit should not be brought.
The appropriation made for this suit has lapsed and
before a. suit could be filed another appropriation would
have TO be made.
1880 Yours very truly.
Greek L. Rice"
Now let's review the record of General Rice's State
ments at the time the bill authorizing the survey was pass
ed more than three years ago.
On March ID, 1916, the bill authorizing the survey was
introduced in the Mississippi House by J. Guy Krebs, then
floater representative for Jackson and Harrison counties
and now sheriff. An Associated Press dispatch of that date
says: .
"The bill provides that the survey would be made I'M
der the direction of the Governor. Cost would be borne
jointly by the two states. It also authorizes a friendly
case in the United States supreme court to validate the
line agreed upon by the two states.
The bill was drawn by Attorney General Greek L.
Rice after he and William MCQUEEN. attorney general for
Alabama. had conferred on tho matter"
Then on March IA another Associated Press dispatch
out of Montgomery, Ala, read as follows:
1.-THE US Supreme Court will be asked to settle the
Alabama-Mississippi boundary dispute, Attorney General
William M. Mcqueen (f Alabama) said today.
Mcqueen said he and e.. L. Rice, attorney general of
Mississippi, had agreed to let the latter state file action in
the nations highest court. Mcqueen and Assistant Attor-
ney General Prime F. Osborn conferred with Rice last
week at Jackson" 81
Now we quote from a news story in the Chronicle1Star
and Advertiser dated March Is, 1916:
Concrete steps were taken this week in the move to
establish the Eastern boundary of Mississippi to protect
the states oil rich tidal lands and end the reign of lawless-
ness in the Free State of State Line
Attorney General Greek L. Rice told the Chronicle
Star and Advertiser lover the long distance t~elephonel that
he and Alabama Assistant Attorney General Prime F. Os.
born had agreed at a Jackson meeting to let the United
States Supreme Court settle the boundary dispute by Mis-
sissippi filing a friendly suit against Alabama.
Alabama Is as anxious to have the matter settled as
we are. Mr.. Rice said. Mississippi is filing the action only
because our legislature is in session and 1t will expedite
the settlement"
Then, almost a year later, on February 10, 1947, an
Associated Press dispatch out of jackson, Miss, had this to
say:
Attorney General Greek L. Rice SAID today that he
was going to Montgomery in May when the Alabama leg
islature convenes in regular session where he will seek to
get enacted a bill by that state to pave the way for legal
settlement of the Alabama-Mississippi state line.
The Mississippi legislature a year ago passed a bill
setting up machinery in the state for settlement of the 100
year-old dispute which grew out of an ambiguous survey
and description of the line in the Mississippi constitution