Thirteen hundred Richland County landowners today Will receive letters from Fort Jackson authorities, inviting them to meetings to be held next week in various parts of the county in connection with the acquisition of trespasser rights on 150,000 acres of land.

Seven hundred more landowners in Kershaw and Fairfield counties, where approximately 115,000 more acres are being sought by the army, will receive similar letters in the near future as soon as plans for meetings in their counties have been arranged.

Central committees and all three counties, composed of prominent citizens there in who will act in a co-operative capacity between the landowners and the army, have already been formed – Richland County’s last week and Kershaw’s earlier this week.

Fairfield’s committee, announced yesterday, Will include Mayor John S. Emunds of Ridgeway, chairman; W. W. Turner, Fairfield County superintendent of education; R. L. Kelly, John L. Dixon, R. A. Rabon, J. M. Nelson, Frank Branham and V. E. Barnett.

Ridgeway Meeting.

the committee was formed as the result of a meeting yesterday at Ridgeway in which participated May Edmunds, Mayro W. R. (“Bill”) Elliott of Winnsboro, and Maj. A. R. Wellwood, Jackson rents and claims officer, and his staff.

Fairfield County Farm Agent R. H. Lemmon told Major Wellwood he was “100 per cent” behind the maneuver training program and offered his co-operation to the major.

Mayor Edmunds told Major Wellwood that he himself had already “lined up” 4,300 acres of land in Fairfield County on which trespass rights will be given to the army. The land is owned by the mayor, his brothers and his business partner.

Altogether, the army is seeking the use of 150,000 acres in Richland County, 80,000 in Kershaw and 35,000 in Fairfield, all of it bordering the main 53,000-acre reservation of the fort, for large-scale maneuvers to be held in the spring.

Use of Land.

The army does not offer any money for the use of the land, but will compensate the owner of the land for any damages suffered by the property as a result of its use for the troops. The army asked written permission from the land holders for their troops to pass over and camp on the property during the maneuvers.

Fairfield County, major Wellwood and his staff will meet at 3:30 next Monday afternoon at the Ridgeway high school with members of the county central committee. Plans will be discussed for group meetings between Major Wellwood staff, in charge of acquisition of the rights, and the landowners involved. Times and places for the group meetings will be decided on.

in Kershaw County, a meeting of major Wellwood and his staff of the Kershaw Central committee, and other interested parties, is scheduled for 3 o’clock tomorrow afternoon at the Blaney high school.

Committee Members.

Richland County, former state senator James H. Hammond, chairman of the Richland Central committee, said that at a recent meeting of the committee, it was decided that at least one member would accompany the officers of Major Wellwood staff to the group meetings with Richland County landowners, which began Monday.

The committee member, it was decided, also the service chairman for the meeting.

Army authority said that they had mailed out letters to every Richland county land owner who might possibly be concerned in the rights-acquisition program, but that it was possible that some one landowner might have been missed.

“if you’re in doubt,” they advised, “write to Major Wellwood at Fort Jackson for information or, better still, come to meetings even if you’re not certain your land is affected.”