The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1949-03-25

Vancleave last week marked
the start of Jackson county's
rural program. One of these
bulldozers, equipped with a
stumper and blade, was recent
ly purchased by the board of
supervisors to be used in the
rural program by rental to small
farmers for stumping and clear
ing Of land at a cost they can
p%rofitably afford. The demon
STATIONS showed what this mod
ern e. uipment can do, and the
county-owned bulldozer will be
the basis of building a perma-
nent pasture program in Jack
son county second to none.
Purchase of the bulldozer.
however, should be only the
first step in a long range pro-
gram that will have as its OBJ
Jective the use of the county's
resources by the board of SUI
pervisors for the development
OF the county's own natural adj
vantages. We see no reason why
the county could not finance
the purchase of a stock pile of
modern heavy farm machinery,
out Of reach of the small farm
er or dairyman, to be rented to
our farmers on a non-profit
basis to help build and increase
the rural economy of the coun-
ty. 1t certainly is as reasonable
as building a factory with coun-
ty funds for an industry, or Civ
ing tax exemption to new indus
tries to encourage their location
in the county, or even using
county funds for the dredging
OF the Pascagoula ship channel.
All OF these expenditures, in the
final analysis, are designed to
give more and better jobs to
county citizens and to increase
the flow of money into the nor
NAL trade channels of the
county.
Mississippi's forests are still
creating jobs in other states.
During 1948, a recent report by
Bruce Van Zandt, head of the
state tax commissions timber
severance tax showed, 81 per
cent of the sawlogs and pulp
wood harvested were shipped
out OF the state for processing,
with only 43 per cent being used
in Mississippi industry. The
state is also spending $3.75 to
every ST. collected on timber
shipped out of the state. Mr..
Van Zandt also said that during
the past year 25 per cent more
timber was cut than was pro-
duced on our forest lands, adj
ding that a better timber har-
vest is mandatory "if we are to
save our forests" 1t seems un-
believable that Mississippi is
still shipping well over half of
one of her greatest natural as
sets to other states where, in
the process Of being converted
into finished goods and shipped
back to US, it at the same time
creates payrolls and jobs. This,
of course. is also happening to
our oil and gas.
In the latter case Mississippi,
as we recall it, ranks sixth in
the nation in the production of
oil, and is potentially one of the
nations major producers. At the
same time, our state ranks vir-
tually at the bottom of the heap
in the number of jobs produced
by this oil and gas production.
One of the major pipeline COM
panys is presently building a
gas pipeline from the Baxter
vile field direct into Mobile
where a huge quantity of nat
ural gas will give Alabama in
dustry cheap fuel, offer the
medium for industrial expan-
sion and create more jobs for
Alabamans. Mississippi oil, at
the same time. is shipped by
pipeline and tank car to re-
fineries in other states for pro-
cessing.
Our states virgin timberlands
should have been the factor to
build years ago an economy
that would have brought us
from the bottom of the list of
states to a position where we
belong. Instead, the timber was
cut and wasted. shipped to in
duStries in other states and 9TH
erwise harvested with Missis-
sippians receiving only the ben
efits of minimum wages and a
few private fortunes. Our gas
and oil are now travelling the
same route and unless steps are
taken to control it, the result
will be the same.
The Alabama States Fighters
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