In the Neck

During World War II, some 200 people, mostly black, lived in coastal Harris Neck, Ga., farming small plots, raising cows, pigs and chickens and fishing for oysters, shrimp and crabs. But in 1942 the Army began evicting the residents, paying them less than $10 an acre for their land, and built an emergency airbase. After the war, the 2,687 acres passed from one unit of Government to another; finally, in the early 1960s, the land was declared "surplus property" and turned into a federal haven for geese, ducks and deer. Apparently no one considered selling the land back to its original owners, many of whom were still living near by in trailers and small houses.

After waiting nearly 40 years for someone in Washington to do something about their grievance, 50 former residents and descendants peacefully invaded the Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge. They set up tents and vowed to remain until the Government was willing to discuss giving back the land, rebuilding their homes and paying $50 million in damages. Last week a federal judge in Savannah ordered the protesters to leave. When four men refused, they were arrested by federal marshals. As the men were taken away, scores of supporters stood outside the refuge's barbed-wire fence, crying, praying and singing. The four were sentenced to 30 days in jail for criminal contempt of court. U.S. Attorney William T. Moore insisted that civil rights was not at issue. Said he: "Everybody has the same rights to the Harris Neck refuge."

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