Business: Arkansas Catalyst

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Strawberries & Industry. Such intensified efforts have created an atmosphere in which citizens and businessmen's groups across Arkansas are putting their shoulders to the task of attracting new industry. The result has had a startling impact on the state's economy. The sleepy little town of Searcy in central Arkansas, which once lived off strawberries and cotton, has already been transformed by the prospect of four new plants worth nearly $5,000,000 (two already built), and its population has doubled to 7,000. In 1956 alone, 12,521 new jobs were created in Arkansas, 194 industries either brought into the state or expanded during the year, $130 million laid out in capital investment. The state's per-capita income went up 9.3% (to $1,062). Most important of all, Arkansans are coming back home: the state's population climbed last year for the first time since World War II. Taking notice of such progress, the Arkansas legislature this week was ready to appropriate a healthy $500,000 budget for the commission, was preparing to pass a raft of new bills that will help the commission do its work better. Perhaps the most satisfying feature of the industrial renaissance for Arkansans is the fact that other Southern states such as Mississippi, Alabama and Texas are making inquiries to find out how Arkansas has done so well. Says Executive Director Rock: "When you get Texas asking for advice, you know you're doing a good job."

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