NEW HORIZONS

[Music] The old south, a gracious ious land where dwell a gracious people. Here in all its storybook romance is the land of Dixie. Along this southeastern seabboard, on the slopes of these blue ridge mountains, American history was made. On these fertile plains, men fought and died to make freedom ring throughout the land. Here are the statues and monuments raised to the hearty pioneers who saw it here in the new world. These are the honored halls in which that freedom was proclaimed to the world. Against this background, names were made great, illuminating the pages of our great historical tradition. Princess Pocahontas, Captain John Smith, General George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and others revered in hallowed memory. This is the south of romantic legend whose beginnings were the beginnings of America itself, where almost 350 years ago, the first colonists came to live and build for the future that is our proud heritage today. Way down south in the land of cotton. In song and story, in the strong light of living reality, for years that stretched back through bygone generations, the world has looked to the Southland for a picture of life peculiar to that region. The calm, unhurried way of good living. The charm of southern cities, the peace and quiet of the southern countryside, of southern towns and villages, of heroes, of women of melting beauty. All these and more from time out of mind have been the heart and soul of the great American Southland. That was the old south of yesterdayester years. But today there is something else. A new spirit that gives pace and tempo to modern living. A new mode of existence born of a spirit of progress has arisen on the foundations of the south of song and story. The temple of life is quickened in step with the times is the keynote of the day. And so this story emerges. The story of a new south whose roots are embedded deep in the honored traditions of the old. Building always for the greater Southland in industry, in agriculture, in science, in education, great universities dedicated to higher learning, fine institutions for the teaching of the arts and sciences of modern times. Speaking proudly of this great region, a southern poet has said, "There is a power here that grips the mind. That power is deep in the rocks and in the mountains. That power is in the fruit of the good earth, giving life and sustenance to us and to those with whom we share our bounty. That power is in the spirit that fires our hope and lights our way to even better today and tomorrow. The wealth of a nation or any part of that nation is measured by its natural resources, its industries, its distribution facilities, its people. This southeast corner of our nation is blessed more than most with the riches of a fertile soil and mild climate, untold wealth in minerals and forests, and a vast network of modern transportation. [Music] This fertile soil, warmed and nourished by the soft sunshine and generous rainfall, provides a steady, neverending parade of buried crops. Florida oranges and grapefruit, pre-ripened bursting with health-giving qualities of this soil and sun, shipped to the tables of the nation and the world. Luscious pizzas and juicy watermelon sent to every corner of this land of ours. [Music] Vegetables in great abundance and amazing variety from the lush soil of the southeast for the markets and tables of the nation. Tobacco from the time of Sir Walter Rally to this day. A product of prime importance to the economy of this region. [Music] [Music] The raising of livestock. Dairy cattle for the expanding dairy industry. Blooded beef herd for the emerging meat packing industry. Paws poultry assuming greater and greater prominence in the economy of this region. Their value measured in millions of dollars. Cotton once the foundation of southern economy. today still the principal crop of the agricultural south. These are the words of Henry W. Grady, a great southerner in speaking of cotton. It is the heritage that God gave us when he arched our skies, established our mountains, g us about with the ocean, tempered the sunshine, and measured the rain. Ours and our children forever. Fused with the widespread agricultural activities of the Southland is the rapid industrial growth of the region. Not only in basic heavy industry, but also in other fields that have become a vital factor in the pattern of modern industrial development. Industry must have raw materials, either close at hand or within easy shipping distance. What has the Southeast to offer along these lines? Iron ore and coal from the same field. An unbeatable combination for industrial utilization. Clays, cement, gravel, phosphate, rock, granite, limestone, ka, mars. All of these are nature's heritage to the southeast. A great part of which still remains to be revealed and unearthed through the uses of modern industry, building, construction, and agriculture. Now, a glimpse of another great natural resource, the forests of the south. The most extensive in the country. An asset of tremendous importance to the nation. [Music] This vast timber supply today furnishes a large part of the nation's lumber and wood pulp needs, supports a great furniture industry, and it's the basis of the rapidly expanding pulp and paper industry of the southeast. The south has made remarkable strides in the development of its wood cellulose industry. And today this region plays a leading role in the production of paper, building boards, insulating materials, rayon, plastics and other products derived from wood cellulose. The manufacturer of textiles is one of the country's great and everexpanding industries. Today, more than 90% of the rayon manufactured in the United States is derived from wood pulp. Under the magic wand of the chemist, new frontiers of industrial expansion are being established in the manufacturer of rayons in the widening fields of plastics, in cellophane, lacquers, film, and many other kindred products. All based on wood fiber as the principal raw material. Here again, the potential is great. The opportunities for building are at hand, ready to be grasped and utilized for the betterment of life today and tomorrow. The world's principal supply of naval stores is in the southeast. Long leaf and flash pine trees are tapped for the crude gum from which tarpentine and various oils are distilled. The spirits of tarpentine distilled from the gum and the rosin or residue are shipped to world markets for uses ranging from medicinal to the manufacturer of rubber and plastics from the making of paper to the manufacturer of textiles. Crucial to the expanding economy of the south as it has been to the historical and industrial development of the country as a whole is adequate rail transportation. For more than a hundred years, the common denominator of American industry and today a vital part of American progress. As the railroad grew in strength, so the country grew. The history of one was the history of the other. Railroads and nations, each growing in size and power, each dependent on the progress of the other. Through those formative years and into the modern era, the Seabard Airline Railroad has kept pace with the march of progress, blazing new trails for the advance of agriculture, industry, and the arts of modern civilization, forming an important link in the great steel web within which American life and economy operates. Today, the Seabard Airline Railroad forms one of the nation's leading railway systems with main lines through Virginia, the Carolas, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Serving the capitals of each of these states, their seapports and inland resources, their principal cities and vacation resorts, operating as a powerful, smoothly functioning connecting link between the southeast A railroad's importance to the communities which it serves is almost immeasurable. Its passenger trains afford luxurious comfort, safety, and convenience to the traveler. Its freight trains make possible the fast daily flow of raw materials from forest, mine, and farms to manufacturers. and the finished product from manufacturer to widespread consumer markets. The shipping of freight by rail has always been the lifeblood of modern American industry. Today, the railroad continues as the very basis of the economic life of the nation. representative of the new spirit that is building for the greater Southland of today and tomorrow. The seabboard in freight traffic as well as in passenger service is a notable example of the drive and knowh how characteristic of the entire field of rail transportation throughout the length and breadth of our country. Routting shipment between south, north, and west via fast seabboard freight ensures safe, sure, and swift transit all the way from point of origin to final destination. It means careful handling of shipments by men especially trained in this important work in loading, in transit, and in unloading. It means low freight costs and on time shipping schedules, important in the modern scheme of business. An important part of Seabard's organization is the agricultural department. This department works in close cooperation with southern farmers and planters toward the goal of increasing agricultural income from greater yields of old crops and the planting of new and diversified crops. [Music] Seabard's industrial department is a powerful force in the industrial progress of the new south with a noteworthy record of pioneering in the development of new industries and aiding in the expansion of old. New industries such as the vast and important pulp and paper industry and related enterprises made aware of the immense potentialities of this region have been encouraged to share in the resources and to reap the benefits of the expanding economy of the Southland. And when it comes to holiday fun and recreation, all for the taking and within the easy reach of the rail line serving this area. [Music] [Music] today. The great Southland thrilled with a consciousness of growing power and prosperity. There is a spirit here that grips the mind, a fort and a power that has brought new life and vigor to this region. Today, something has been added to the mellow tradition of the old south. Today, the south is more than moonlight and magnolia. A new spirit of industry and progress symbolizes the southland of today. But in the secret heart of the true southerner, there will always live a sense of the land itself, of the things that grow in it, the seasons that sweep it, the rocks and rivers and templed hills that give it grace and feature. This then is the heart of the Southland today. The factories, the white beaches, the farms and forests, the schools and plantations, the cities, the towns, the villages, the countryside. a region of charm and party hospitality. Today and into our many tomorrows, as in the yester years of generations gone by, a blessed corner of this land abounds. [Music] [Music]