Smyrna times., 1954-08-12
MAYORS ASSO.
AT REHOBOTH
George M. Blendt Represents
Smyrna at Annual Meet
ing on Sunday
t. G. HECK SPEAKER

annual meeting of the Delaware
State Mayors Association held at
the Henlopen Hotel, Rehoboth
Beach on Sunday night. Theodore
G. Heck, field representative of
the Greater Philadelphia della
ware-South Jersey Council, ad-
dressed the meeting and said that
a forty-foot channel on the Della
ware River from Trenton, N. j.,
to the sea will generate a wide
range of new industry which
should greatly benefit the entire
state of Delaware. Heck said
that "boom conditions such as
those which occurred in Bucks
County, Pa. with the advent of
the huge Fairless Works of the
United States Steel Corp. may
follow in other areas of the tri-
state region when the deeper
channel becomes a reality. But,
Heck warned, if the various areas
are to get their share of the
bonanza they must be ready and
willing to welcome new industry
to their communities. Even
though the eyes of businessmen
throughout the nation are turn
ing to the tri-state region, at
tracted by such developments as
a deeper channel and other major
improvements, in some commun-
tiles there is still hostility to new
industry industry which can
mean financial salvation for some
towns, he said.
Must Make Preparation
Adequate land must be set
aside for expansion of existing
industry and for location of new
industry if the region is to con-
tinue to prosper and grow, he
continued. $50 often we find
housing Developments, but no
room for the plant and factories
which would help feed the fam
lilies living in them, he said.
Heck added that modern, high
grade industry today is building
handsome one or two story plants
well Handicapped and attractive,
which are the pride of their
neighborhoods. Such factories
can carry tax burden equal to
that of hundreds of families, cas-
ing the monetary load on the
municipality, particularly in re-
gard to schools Heck said. "Sky-
rocketing costs of municipal SER
vices make it imperative that our
cities and towns do all in their
power to attract new industry to
help strengthen the tax base, he
said. Industrial development is
the key to a prosperous future
for the area"
Regional Problem
"Ours is a regional problem of
development, calling for concert
ed action to improve conditions in
every part of the three state dis
trict, for the betterment of the
whole, he added. Heck said that
no one could accurately forecast
with exactness what tremendous
effect the 40-foot channel would
have on the tri-state region.
But, he added, everyone that
1 talk to seems to feel that the
sky is the limit for industrial de-
velopment once deeper water is
an accomplished fact" The speak
er said that not only Delaware
River ports, but communities as
far as 100 to $50 miles inland
should gain from the channel,
particularly in the form of satel-
lite industries for the largest
companies. Prosperity in Della
ware, he continued, can help i'm
prove conditions in neighboring
states, and prosperity in Penn
sylvania and Southern New Jer-
sey can help strengthen the po-
sition of Delaware. The Greater
Philadelphia -Delaware-South Jer-
sey Council is the planning and
economic development affiliate of
the Cahmber of Commerce of
Greater Philadelphia. The Coun-
Gil not only encourages planning
but supports public works activ-
tiles of regional nature. In
describing the activities of the
Council, formed in 1948, Heck
pointed out its recent, widely
commentator proposal for ST.
OO0,00O,0O0 network of super
highways in Eastern Pennsylva-
MIA, Southern New Jersey and
Northern Delaware, designed to
gear the transportation picture
with economic and industrial
growth.