Plan Protect Farmers From Possible Damages In Maneuvers – Hopkins

Conference Slated Today At Ridgeway

Richland County Agent David R. Hopkins yesterday endorse the armies program to obtain trespass rights on 265,000 acres of land bordering Fort Jackson on which military training maneuvers, involving thousands of troops will be held.

“I feel safe in saying that the farmers of Richland County will co-operate in maneuver training program 100 per cent,” he declared.

“In this statement,” he added, “I would like to add my personal endorsement of the maneuver training program. It is a splendid thing. It makes it possible for the farmers to do there a bit and national defense and, at the same time, be protected in case troops crossing their land cause any damage.”

Since the acreage salt by the army for its maneuvers includes property in Richland, Fairfield and Kershaw Counties, contacts with leaders in each one of the counties are being made by the army as a prelude to face-to-face conferences with all of the 2,000 landowners involved.

Confers With Elliott.

Yesterday Maj. A. R. Wellwood, rents and claims officer at Fort Jackson, in charge of plans for acquisitions of the rights, conferred in Winnsboro with Mayor W. R. (“Bill”) Elliott and W. W. Turner, Fairfield county superintendent of education.

Mayor Elliot arranged a conference, to be held today at Ridgeway, with Mayor James S. Edmunds of Ridgeway. Major Wellwood, Mayor Elliot and Mr. Turner Will be present to discuss the arrangement of meetings between the army and interested landowners in Fairfield county.

Proximately 80,000 acres of land in Fairfield County, in the south east corner of the county wind on the north by Route 34 between the personal County line and Ridgeway and on the west by route 21 from Ridgeway south to the Richland County line, are being sought for use during the army maneuvers.

The acreage includes all of school district number six and parts of district number eight, number 16 and number 22 in Fairfield County.

Committee Announced.

In Kershaw County, where approximately 35,000 acres are in the proposed maneuvers area, President John de Loach of the Camden chamber of commerce announced the appointment yesterday of a six-member Central committee to serve in a cooperative capacity between army authorities and Kershaw County landowners.

The committee will be composed of J. Team Gettys, Camden attorney, chairman; Mrs. Kathleen Watts, County superintendent of education; Sheriff J. H. McLeod, L. I. Guion, Jr., W. T. Redfern and L. P. Rose.

Major Wellwood conferred in Camden Monday with Mayor F. M. McCorkle, Mr. de Loach, Mrs. Watts and Mr. Gettys. A meeting of the Kershaw county landowers was arranged at that time for 3:30 Friday afternoon at the Blaney high school, where the landowners will be invited to hear Major Wellwood explain the purpose of and the machinery for the acquisition of the rights.

At a meeting Saturday in Columbia, at which the trustees of the 16 Richland County school District affected were guest, Major Wellwood pointed out that the landowners would not be paid by the army for the right to use their land but would receive compensation should any damages be incurred.

He explained that most of the maneuvers would be along roads and highways. But in cases where crops should be hurt or livestock injured, he said, the army would pay the farmer in question for any such damages.

“It’s great,” he said yesterday on his return to Columbia from Winnsboro, “to find that people so thoroughly appreciate the serious need for an area in which to train troops on a large scale. The hearty welcome we have received every place is a tribute to the national defense program as a whole.”

To which Mr. Hopkins, the Richland county agent added:

“The farmers of this county are progressive and now that they understand that the welfare of their soldiers at Fort Jackson made up and a great deal upon this training program, I know the farmers will co-operate to the fullest extent.

“We all know that there aren’t any better Americans in the United States than the farmers of South Carolina.”