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PROCEEDINGS OF
THE
Boll Weevil Convention
CALLED BY
Governor W* W. Heard UBRARY
DOCUMENTS DEPM
IN
New Orleans, Louisiana,
Nor. 30th and Dec. Jst, J903.
HON. ABE BRITTIN, PRESIDENT COTTON EXCHANGE,
Temporary Chairman. COL. CHARJ ^SCHULER, OP DE SOTO PARISH,
Bfeuanert Chairman. HON. N. S. ' HERTY, OF BATON ROUGE,
j. Secretary.
MR. Mil r'?LL, OF SHREVEPORT, •'ant Secretary.
Issued by the Burcuu ^ Agriculture and Immigration, J. G. LEE, COMMISSIONER. BATON ROUGE, LA.
MENTl
REGULATIONS FOR THE LIBRARY
jftuietg,
ADOPTED 1861.
AS
ARTICLE I.
All Books, Manuscripts, Drawings, Engravings, Paintings, Models, Fur- niture, and other articles appertaining ro the Library, shall be confined to the special care of the Committee on the Library.
ARTICLE II.
When any books or publications are added to the Library, a list thereof shall be posted up in the Library Room, aud all such additions shall be withheld from circulation for the term of one month.
ARTICLE III.
The following Books of Record shall be kept:— A Catalogue ot the Books. A Catalogue of the Manuscripts, Drawings, Engravings, Paint-
ings, Models, and all other articles. No. 3. A list of all Donations, Bequests, Books, or other articles pre- sented to the Society, with the date thereof, and the name and residence of the donor.
ARTICLE IV.
Rare and costly books shall not be taken from the Library Room. A list of such works as are to be withheld from circulation shall be made out from time to time by the Library Committee, and placed in the hands of the Librarian.
ARTICLE V.
No more than two volumes shall be taken out by any member at one time, or retained longer than three weeks; and for each volume retained beyond that time a fine of ten cents per week shall be paid by the person so retaining it. And a fraction of a week shall be reckoned as a whole week in computing fines.
ARTICLE VI.
Every Book shall be returned in good order (regard being had to the necessary wear thereof with proper usage), and if any Book shall be lost or injured, the person to whom it stands charged shall, at the election of the Committee on the Library, replace it by a new volume or set, or pay for it at its value to the Society.
ARTICLE VII.
All Books shall be returned to the Library for examination on or before the first Saturday in July, annually, aud remain until after the third Sat- urday of said month, and every person neglecting to return any Book or Books charged to him as herein required, shall pay a fine of twenty cents per week, for every volume so retained. Aud if at the re-opening of the Library, any Book shall still be unreturned, the person by whom it is retained shall pay for the said Book or set, as provided in Article VI, together with any tines which may have accumulated thereon; and a notice to this effect shall be forthwith mailed to him by the Librarian.
ARTICLE VIII.
No member shall loan a book to any other person, under the penalty of a tine of $1.00.
ARTICLE IX.
When a written request shall be left at the Library for a particular Book then out, it shall be retained for the person requiring it, for one week after it shall have been returned.
ARTICLE X.
Every book shall be numbered in the order in which it is arranged in the Books of Record, and also have a copy of the foregoing regulations affixed to it.
691
In a^ conference at the St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans, La., on Nov. i3th, 1903, between His Excellency W. W. Heard, Governor of Louisiana, and committees from the Shreveport Board of Trade, the North Louisi- ana Cotton Planters' Association and the New Orleans Cotton Exchange it was decided to call a convention of the planters, farmers and all others interested in the Cotton Industry, to meet in New Orleans, Nov. 30th, and Dec. 3ist, 1903, for the purpose of discussing the boll weevil question and considering the advisability of requesting the Governor to call an early session of the General Assembly to enact such laws as may be necessary to protect this State from the invasion of the Mexican Boll Weevil.
In accordance with this conference, Gov. Heard by official proclama- tion, called together this convention. Appropriate committees secured a suitable hall for the meeting, obtained reduced hotel rates and railroad transportation and prepared the following program for the meeting:
691
PROGRAMME
OF THE
Louisiana Boll Weevil Convention
ODD FELLOWS HALL,
(Opposite Lafayette Square), November 30th and December 1st.
NEW ORLEANS, LA.
HON. ABE BRITTIN, President Cotton Exchange, Temporary Chairman.
COL. CHARLES SCHULER, of DeSoto Parish, Permanent Chairman.
HON. N. S. DOLGHERTY, of Baton Rouge, Secretary.
One rate for round trip by all railroads. Tickets good from 28th November to December 3d. Hotels will give special rates. Headquarters : St. Charles Hotel.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30th, 1903, 12 m.
Convention called to order by temporary chairman, Hon. Abe Brittin, presi- dent Cotton Exchange.
Introduction of permanent chairman, Col. Chas. Schuler, of DeSoto Parish. La.
"The Boll Weevil," Prof. 3. H. Connell, secretary Texas Boll Weevil Conven- tion, Dallas, Tex.
"How to Protect Louisiana Against the Invasion of the Boll Weevil," Prof II. A. Morgan, entomologist of Louisiana Experiment Stations, Baton Rouge, La.
Appointment of Committees — Committee on credentials, committee on reso- lutions, committee on legislation ; other committees. Recess till 2 p. m.
"National Aid in Fighting the Boll Weevil," Hon. Jas. Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. ; Hon. Phaneor Brazeale, of Natchitoches, La. ; Hon. Jas. E. Randell, of Lake Providence, La.
"Legislation Required to Meet Our Emergencies," Judge John C. Pugh, of Shreveport, La.
"Constitutionality of Proposed Legislation," Judge Walter A. Guion, Attorney General of Louisiana, New Orleans.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1st, 1903.
MORNING SESSION 10 A. M.
"Planters' Interest in Repelling the Boll Weevil," Hon. F. P. Stubbs, Sr., Monroe, La.
"Merchants' Interest," Mr. Jno. M. Parker, New Orleans, La.
"Bankers' Interest," Hon. Sam'l McC. Lawrason, St. Francisville, La.
"Oil Mills' Interest," Mr. S. P. Sullivan, Alexandria, La.
"Birds in Relation to Boll Weevil," Mr. F. M. Muller, president Audubon Societies, New Orleans.
EVENING SESSION 2 P. M.
Reports of committees. Discussion of reports. Appointment of permanent committees. Unfinished business. New business. Adjournment.
The railroads will give one fare for the round trip. Tickets on sale Novem- ber 28th and 29th, and good till December 3rd inclusive. Headquarters, St. Charles Hotel. Hotels will give special rates.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 5
A large number of delegates representing nearly every Cotton Parish in the State, were present testifying their interest in the objects of the Convention.
At noon on the 3Oth Nov., the Convention was called to order in the Odd Fellows Hall, in the City of New Orleans, by the temporary chair- man, Abe Brittin, President of the N. O. Cotton Exchange, who spoke as follows :
"I bring you
GREETINGS FROM THE COTTON EXCHANGE,
which extends you its privileges while you are in the city, and will co- operate with you in any movement for the extermination of the Mexi- can cotton boll weevil.
''You are called upon to consider ways and means for arresting the further progress of the pest. More than this, you are expected to devise means to permanently exterminate the weevil. It is folly to say that this cannot be accomplished. It can be accomplished; it must be accom- plished; it will be accomplished. When the vineyards of France were threatened, France produced her Pasteur, and the vineyards were saved. America will produce her Pasteur, and the cotton fields will be saved.
"'Last September I said that the most momentous peril involved in the cotton outlook was the Mexican cotton boll weevil. The evil is spreading, and eventually it will spread from Texas to other States The seriousness of the situation should be brought to the attention of the Government.
"With the increased acreage, improved fertilizers and methods of culture, we are to-day five years away from the production of a maxi- mum crop. This has not occurred in twenty-five years, and, if we except the period of the Civil War, it has never occurred in the history of the South. Production is not keeping pace with consumption, and if this con- dition be not relieved, some other section of the world will produce the cotton needed. This should not be. This may be a time for the States to hedge the weevil in or out, but the paramount responsibility rests upon the National Government. And we need not go to Congress as mendicants, but, with heads erect, present the situation, and say that if it would protect the industry, a remedy must be found.
"It is almost impossible to imagine what would have occurred to the trade of this country if the cotton crop had failed last year as completely as the corn crop did. There is not a financial institution in this country that would not have been shaken to its very foundation. So the east is more interested in the matter than the South, for the South, without cotton could, by other resources, stand alone. But the Nation's contmerce must be maintained, and if it costs a million or five millions to destroy the weevil, it would pay the Government to do so."
6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
At the conclusion of his remarks, Mr. Brittin introduced the perma- nent Chairman,
HON. CHAS. SCHULER, who spoke as follows :
"Gentlemen of the Convention and Brother Farmers Interested in the Culture of Cotton : This Convention has been called by His Excellency, the Governor of this State, with a view to consulting with the people most interested in the welfare of the State and the cotton industry, to see whether it is necessary to call an extra session of the Legislature to take steps and pass laws by which to check the progress of the insect that is threatening the welfare not only of the State, but of the country.
"The State of Louisiana is threatened on the west by an insect known as the Mexican cotton-boll weevil. It has been a mystery to me that the great State of Texas, with its immense territory from west to east, would permit an insect to destroy millions of its property without any effort, so far as I know, on the part of the State to check its course. How was it that the veterans who sacrificed their property and their lives to drive back the human vermin that infested their State would suffer this insect to overwhelm them? If we consider the amount of money that is in circulation; if we consider the number of people that live upon the pro- duction and handlings of this staple, we can realize the immense import- ance of the crop.
"I am not going to suggest any method of combating the insect, or to describe his habits. I want to call your attention to the fact that this is not a personal and individual or even a State matter, but a national con- cern, and I think it will be the greatest of calamities if this great Govern- ment of ours does not check the advance of the insect.
"Mr. R. H. Edmunds, editor of the Manufacturers' Record, in a recent article, makes the statement that from the year 1881 to the year 1900, the export value of cotton and its products, manufactured and otherwise, reached, in round numbers, the enormous sum of $5,900,000,000. He also gave figures to prove that the export value of wheat, corn and flour in the same period only amounted to $4,150,000,000. The great European centers of France, Germany, Belgium and Australia encourage the rais- ing of the beet sugar by a large bounty, not to encourage the production for home consumption, but to balance the account of nations.
"A few months ago the Secretary of the Treasury, in order to afford financial help, in a period of monetary stringency, distributed among the national depositors $100,000,000. This great sum had the effect of bal- ancing trade conditions and preventing what would have been a great national calamity. The export
VALUE OF COTTON
during the month of October, in this last year — one month, no more — amounted to $60,000,000. Does any individual, knowing this, think that
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 7
the National Government could afford to keep hands off and not render help in this crisis? Some of us who are old enough remember the effect on the National Treasury when the exportation of cotton was prohibited by blackade.
"From 1881 to 1900 the cotton growers suffered with low prices. It was during this time that cotton .reached the phenomenally low price of 4 and 5 cents ; yet, during that time, the export value of cotton amounted to $1,750,000,000 more than the combined export value of corn, wheat and flour.
"Why has the consumption of cotton increased? In 1881 the cotton crop of the United States amounted to a fraction over 6,000,000 bales. In 1902 the cotton crop amounted to 11,000,000 bales and yet there was no surplus. With the vast territory now being opened to trade, the 600,000,- ooo inhabitants of China and the territory of the Philippine Islands and Asia, can it be supposed for a moment that the consumption will not be further and vastly increased?
"Sometimes we hear of men saying that it will be a blessing in dis- guise; that we cotton planters ought to learn to plant lettuce, cabbage, onions, etc., in order to make a profit. Now, every cotton planter here present knows how absolutely foolish this is. Others say that it will prove a blessing in disguise, because we can get 50 cents a pound for cotton. But they forget that the balance of the world is making heroic efforts to grow this very staple in other portions of the world.
"My friends, I will not keep you longer. The object I had in view was to impress upon you the immense importance of getting both the State and the nation to take decisive action. The National Government can do nothing until the State acts. It, therefore, rests with you, gentlemen of the Convention, as to whether you want anything done or not."
The Chairman then introduced
PROF. J. H. CONNELL,
Secretary of the Texas Boll Weevil Convention, at Dallas, who spoke as follows: In point.
"I extend to this Convention the good wishes and godspeed of a neigh- boring State. We know the seriousness of the problem that you have met to consider. The burned child dreads the fire. We have been in close contact with the problem that now threatens you, and the result we have seen may be of interest and importance to the agricultural and cot- ton interests of Louisiana. Whatever we have learned is freely at the disposal of the Louisiana business interests.
"A few years ago the farmers of the southern part of Texas found a little insect that preyed upon cotton. There were all kinds of conjec- tures about this insignificant insect, some absurd, all far astray. At that time nothing was known about the insect, exactly upon what it feeds, how it multiplies and spreads abroad. When, therefore, the Texas
8 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
planter first saw that same little insect that had bored in the stalk, they thought that it laid eggs in the stalk and that it was a kind of tree insect. The Government sent Dr. W. D. Hunter down to investigate, and he found that it was a false alarm, and that this false alarm on account of the tree insect was creating considerable trouble.
"One idea I want to impress on you is that all the breadstuffs, meat and other products, of the United States do not equal a single export cotton crop. Therefore, the interest that the United States general Government: has taken in the matter is not only reasonable, but necessary.
'On his recent visit to the boll weevil region of my State, Secretary Wilson assured us that the
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WOULD CO-OPERATE
with us. Just what form that co-operation will take I am unable to say, for we have been as yet unable to fix upon a definite plan of co-operation. It is from such a meeting as this that the people conclude what it is the\ want; and we have found in Texas before this that the United States Government is willing to meet us half way. I have no doubt that this experience will be repeated here.
"Let me call your attention briefly to some questions in reference to the life of the weevil. First, in what kind of land does he thrive most? In what kind of land does he create the greatest devastation? Living, as it does, in timber, trash and foul lands, those cotton lands near the timber are most injuriously affected. Since it is an insect that depends upon moisture during the summer season, those counties that receive the most rain are most injuriously affected. Since moisture is absolutely necessary we find that there is a difference in soils with the same annual rainfall, between the naturally dry and naturally wet sorts. Take our dry, hard prairie soil; the weevil does not multiply nearly so rapidly as it does in the alluvial land. It is a fact that has been frequently demonstrated by the thousands of observations in Texas. Whether or not you will find other conditions that will limit the weevil to Texas I am not able to say. We are inclined to assume that the northward march and spread of the weevil is much slower than the eastward spread. But this has very little consolation for Louisiana.
"During the present year the weevil has advanced more than twenty- five miles to the north. During that time he has reached more than two hundred miles to the eastward, and he has it will go as far to the north, into Oklahoma and Arkansas, we cannot tell; but reached as far to the westward. Whether these are interesting facts with reference to the
SPREAD OF THE INSECT.
"How it comes into Texas nobody seems to know. The furtherest south cotton crop in Texas was 250 miles from the nearest Mexican cot- ton, across burning sand and desolate wastes. Whether a cyclone beat
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 9
them up and carried them across, or whether some Mexican greaser packed them up and carried them into Texas, when he went to pick cot- ton, is not known, and in all probability never will be.
"Now, how does the weevil come into a community? Let me tell you how it appeared in Texas. After a dozen or more false specimens are brought in town by anxious farmers, finally a real weevil is brought in. The farm from which this specimen came is watched with a great deal of solicitude by the business men of the town.
WE HAVE NEVER YET TRIED TO BLOCK OUT
a farm or infected place. Familiarity with the habits of the weevil explains this. We have to look over the field with a microscope, a tele- scope, and comb the field with a fine-toothed comb before we can find the boil weevil, and it may be that while we are watching and examining one rield another two miles away may be full of them.
"However it happened, for two years the cotton crop continued to grow less. The farms have difficulty in securing tenants, and have to reduce their rent; the merchants extend time on the land, and when the time comes around they are unable to meet their obligations and have to give up their holdings; and as a result of this state of things, men dropping out of business in every direction, you will find certain towns in well established boll weevil regions that have decreased as to volume of busi- ness fully 50 per cent, in the past four years. In order that this may not come about in your own fair State, this shrinking of towns and dwind- ling of resources, you must recognize, gentlemen of Louisiana, the fact that cotton is the basic principle in all interests of the South.
"Let me call to your attention the cotton production by counties of certain portions of Texas for the past few years in regions in which the boll weevil has become established. Travis County in 1899 produced 60,- ooo bales of cotton, in 1900, 71,000; in 1901, 40,994, and in 1902, 28,382. Reduced more than half in these four years. Fayette produced in 1899 73,238; in 1902, 31,200 bales. Washington in 1899 produced 49>7Qi> in 1902, 19,532.
"These are typical counties. The figures are not yet in for these coun- ties for 1903. Ellis County, which stood first in all the world for produc- tion of cotton, and Navajo County, which stood third, have fallen far, far down in the list. The boll weevil has been in them for a number of years. You can see the destruction to the business interests of Texas that has been wrought, and will continue unless the methods suggested by the United States Government are fully and generally carried out. But the ordinary farmer is a very hard person to influence, and to induce him to turn his old methods inside out, as it will be necessary to do, is an extremely difficult task.
IO PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
"Some people seem to think that the boll weevil is about as big as one's fist. Financially he is much bigger, but physically he is not quite that large. But the boll weevil is not all bad. Occasionally we get a little fun out of him. A farmer told a story about trying to exterminate the boll weevil on his farm which has some elements of humor. He said that he gathered all the insects in his crop and put them in a glass jar, put the jar under a brush heap and set the brush heap afire. When the heap burned down he raked the ashes over with a rake. He said he found the jar red hot and the weevils inside, red hot, too. He thought they were dead, but he opened the jar and the weevils flew out. 'And confound them,' he said, tearfully afterward, 'they flew into my barn and set it afire.'
"The weevil is a hidden foe. He
FIGHTS BEHIND BREASTWORKS. •
We cannot poison him, or least, we have not found out so far how to do it. The eggs are laid inside the boll, and mature on the ground after the boll has -fallen off, out of the reach of poison. By following improved methods, it is possible to produce a crop even in the infected districts. If all the fallen bolls are picked off the ground and burned, and the weevils not allowed to mature, methods of culture, to produce, at an slight in- crease to the cost of production. It is possible, by following improved methods of culture to produce, at an added cost of $2 or $3 per acre, an average crop of from one-half to three-quarters of a bale. The dif- ficulty is in persuading the average farmer to follow improved methods.
"[ am unable to express an opinion on the best methods of keeping the boll weevil out of Louisiana. But whatever we can do in Texas, in co-operation with you and the Government, you may rest assured that the Executive Committee of the Texas Boll Weevil Commission will be pleased to lend a helping hand in all that vou undertake."
The next speaker was :
DR. W. D. HUNTER,
one of the United States entomologists in the Department of Agriculture. Dr. Hunter said in part:
"The boll weevil was probably brought into the United States by being transported from the cotton region of Mexico in the boats that were used to carry freight across the Rio Grande, in cotton that was bound for Brownsville to be ginned and baled. The weevil was carried across 200 miles.
"The farmers of that region wrote to the Department of Agriculture that some strange insect had appeared down there that was ruining the cotton. This awakened interest in the Department, and in March, 1895,
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. II
they sent a man down there who spent some time investigating the life history of the insect, in order to know what were the weakest points of the insect. At the same time, realizing the importance of the insect to Texas, and seeing that it threatened the crop throughout the United States, another man was sent to Central America, where the weevil has its home, in order to find out two points : First, if any cotton grown there was immune, and second, to determine what natural conditions would hold the insect in check. This investigation has as yet led to no tangible results, although it has been carried on in the native home of the insect.
"In Texas the progress of the insect has been marked very carefully, in order to study the manner in which the insect reaches out across new terri- tory. Maps have been drawn showing what counties have been infested each year. After a few investigations, it became quite evident that no efficacious means had yet been devised. The conclusion has been reached lhat
EXTERMINATION IS OUT OF THE QUESTION.
No insect in the world has ever been extermined. The complete futility of all plans to exterminate the weevil has been demonstrated. The best we can do is to restrain it by keeping it in check.
- "Mexico farmers have hit upon the plan of planting their crops earlier in the season. Such farmers make a very good crop, of cotton where their neighbors make absolutely none. Cultural methods in controlling the weevil consist in early planting, planting of immense varieties, and cultivating in every possible way and using every effort to hasten the crop.
- "It has been carefully calculated that one pair of boll weevils can pro- duce between April 15 and Nov. 15, 134,000,000 full grown weevils. The one ray of hope is that they have never been known to feed on anything except cotton, except in case of absolute starvation.
"Nine experiment stations have been established in Texas, with head- quarters at Victoria. Altogether 1,000 acres have been set apart for ex- perimental purposes. The results for this year are not yet all in, but on the average we can produce half a bale, and sometimes a bale, to the acre in spite of the weevil. In one station on the Gulf of California, of TOO acres, fifty yielded over a bale ; the other fifty yielded something more than half a bale. The average cost, produced on this ground, taking into consideration taxes, wear atid tear of machinery, labor, etc., was 4-i6 cents. This can be sold at a considerable profit, so that even with the weevil cotton can be raised probably— indeed, more profitably than corn, which at the least figure is 9.71 cents per bushel. Even half a bale will sell at a profit. Careless farmers do the greatest damage.
"In conclusion, let me assure you that the Department of Agriculture
12 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
has this matter very much at heart. It is seconding you in every way pos- sible, and I can assure you that whatever plan this Convention may formulate will receive the co-operation of the Department of Agriculture at Washington."
The next speaker was
PROF. H. A. MORGAN, Station Entomologist. He said : HOW TO PROTECT LOUISIANA AGAINST THE INVASION OF
THE BOLL WEEVIL.
We are confronted to-day with a problem of very difficult solution. To successfully overcome, or even to retard for a few years, the entrance of the Mexican boll weevil into Louisiana will require the united efforts of every one interested in Louisiana's future.
All effective preventive and remedial measures used against the inju- rious insects of the world are the outcome of careful investigation and study of life-cycles and habits and of the conditions peculiar to the locality where these remedies are put into operation. Unless the work against the weevil is based upon all the known facts of its habits and development, and upon the conditions peculiar to the section of country where the warfare is to be carried on, the results will be disappointing and harmful.
In order to understand any merit which the suggestions contained in this paper may possess, a short account of the development of the Mexi- can cotton boll weevil and a statement of some of its more important habits will here be given.
The weevil belongs to that division of insects which have complete • metamorphoses — i.e., there are four stages in the existence of each weevil, viz: the egg, the grub or worm stage, the pupa, sometimes called "the kicker," stage, and finally the adult or sexually mature form— the weevil. The adults, or weevils, live through the winter among material of various- kinds. Grass, leaves, bark of trees and trash of any kind in the cotton field or in close proximity to it, offer suitable hibernating quarters. That weevils do not migrate far is clearly indicated in the great saving to a cotton crop where fall plowing of all infected cotton fields is practiced after the cotton stalks and other trash have been raked up and thoroughly burned. The weevils that survive the hibernating period emerge from winter quarters in the spring arid feed upon volunteer or planted cotton. In the forms or squares -eggs '(one in each square) are deposited. The eggs hatch in a day or two into the worms (grubs or larvae), which feed upon the contents of the squares for from eight to twenty days, depend- ing upon the temperature. The grubs at the end of the existence of this
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 13
stage assume the pupa or kicker condition, and in frojn five, to twelve days the weevils emerge from the pupae and are soon ready to lay eggs. Two facts must be here emphasized, viz : that the entire early life is completely concealed in the square or boll, and that the length .of the cycle of development depends upon food and temperature conditions. In early and late summer thirty or more days may be consumed in the transformation from egg to weevil, while in midsummer only fifteen to twenty are required.
During winter the weevil does not require food, but in spring, summer and fall, when life's functions are active, food is essential.
COTTON IS THE ONLY KNOWN FOOD PLANT.
In the absence of cotton the weevils die in summer.
The importance of a study of conditions cannot be too strongly empha- sized. Misleading and confusing statements of the habits of the weevil in Cuba and Mexico have recently appeared in our daily papers. These statements, while correct for the counties in which the observations were made, are in a very limited sense applicable to the conditions existing in Texas and Louisiana. In Cuba and Mexico cotton is perennial, and the weevil may continue breeding throughout the year, and, therefore, the cultural methods suggested and so clearly demonstrated effective in Texas are ineffective in Cuba and Mexico. It is, therefore, perplexing and mis- leading to base preventives or remedies for the cotton-boll weevil upon habits peculiar to conditions at variance with ours.
When squares are punctured and eggs deposited in them they invaribly fall to the ground, where, in the shade of the plant, the weevil goes on developing until its life cycle is completed. The sun's heat frequently dries up fallen squares before the weevils are mature, and hence the value of planting cotton in wide rows and plenty of distance between the plants in the row in weevil-infected cotton lands.
In the presence of sufficient food the boll weevil does not range exten- sively, and hence cultural methods that will limit the number of weevils during the active breeding season is of the utmost importance in checking the migration of the weevil to other fields and States. It therefore seems plain that the wide distribution of the weevil each year is not due so much to the ranging or migratory habits of the weevil itself, but to the distribu- tion of material such as cotton, cottonseed, hay and other products from infected lands, in and upon which the weevil may be resting or hibernat- ing. The cotton gin is a focal point for weevils, which are gathered in seed cotton, and the cottonseed a distributing medium, especially in the spring of the year.
Among the suggestions as to how best to protect Louisiana, against the invasion of the boll weevil, none seem more important than the one whereby every planter in the State shall become conversant with all
14 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
the known facts associated with the life and habits of the weevil in order that he may scrupulously avoid its importation and understand the very best means of eradicating it, should isolated outbreaks appear. For a number of years the United States Department of Agriculture and the Experiment Station authorities of Texas have been earnestly at work to develop methods of successfully combatting the weevil. The result of these investigations have so far established that insecticides are useless, and that the clean culture of early varieties of cotton make it possible to grow a profitable crop The number of weevils in infected fields is limited by these cul- tural methods until the cotton plants have had time to mature their fruit. When these cultural methods are adopted the natural range or overflow of the weevil is minimized, but, unfortunately for Texas, and to the great regret of the planters of Louisiana, these suggestions have riot been universally put into practice, and the consequent increase of the infected area has become alarming. The weevil area of Texas has spread until it is only a few miles from the western border of our State, and from this time out it behooves us to guard zealously our borders, quarantine against infected products and to adopt reasonable methods of preventing the natural and general spread of this pest throughout Louisiana.
Had we in Louisiana, in our present perturbed condition, all power to completely eradicate the weevil and set at rest all of the uninfected cotton-growing area in the United States, we would have the infected district of Texas go out of cotton for at least one year. We are not permitted to do, this, and the good folk of Texas are not disposed to look at the situation through Louisiana glasses, and other methods of protecting our State must be inaugurated.
At the present time
—A NON-INFECTED COTTON ZONE
lies between the borders of Louisiana and the weevil fields of Texas. This zone will protect us in a very great measure from gross infection next year, provided the utmost care is exercised in preventing infected products, particularly cotton seed, hulls, hay and corn, from entering our State. The most serious impediment to the prosecution of pre- ventive measures is the indifference of many of our farmers and planters as to the seriousness and extreme gravity of the situation, and hence I wish again to emphasize the great need of an educational campaign along the western border of our State that will arouse every man to the necessity of intelligent, uniform and immediate action.
Should the weevil appear next spring and summer in isolated fields of the western border of this State, such fields should be immediately quar- antined, and all infected plants destroyed. The adult weevils may be
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 15
gathered from a few trap plants left for this purpose. Upon this area and on adjacent fields no cotton should be grown the following year, in order to completely starve out any forms that may have escaped. By the time that the infected area of Texas has reached the Louisiana line on the west, we will have had time to have tested the merit of the starving out method. If it should prove successful then the es- tablishment of the new cotton-growing zone, which has been suggested, would assuredly have much more to recommend it. There are many objections to be raised to the establishment of a new cotton zone. The expense, the difficulty of adjusting our present methods to other crops to make them as profitable as cotton, the experimental stage of the suggestion, all are significant objections were even the constitutionality of the plan admitted. On the other hand this is possibly the only method of stopping the invasion of the weevil that is at all feasible. Should the barrier prove effective the South's money crop would be saved, and the United States would remain the chief cotton-producing country of the world. The high price of cotton produced by the limited output, due to the ravages of the weevil, will encourage other countries to embark in the growing of cotton, with the result that we shall have the weevil, and in time only an ordianry price for our expensive and limited product. The prospect of organized labor, a decrease in the price of our lands, and a struggle through a series of years to re-establish our agricultural prosperity is certainly gloomy and uninviting. To make no effort to thwart such a calamity would be criminal.
It has been suggested that people indifferent as to the future, but anxious to reap the immediate returns from a higher price of cotton, would maliciously spread the weevil into uninfected fields. This might be done, but we are reluctant to attribute to man traits that are platonic, and to believe that devils incarnate are inhabitants of America in the twentieth century. An important medium of scattering the weevil, and one likely to be overlooked, is in people of Louisiana sending to Texas for weevils in order to make comparisons with insects found in the cotton fields here, or for the purpose of merely seeing what specimens of the boll weevil are like. Unfortunately, in many cases live insects are received, and there is considerable danger of specimens escaping. Under no circumstances should live weevils be imported, either for ex- amination or experimentation.
TO RECAPITULATE:
First — It is important and essential that our preventive and remedial actions should be based upon known facts concerning the life of the weevil.
Second— Louisiana and Texas conditions, as regards plant growth
l6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
and weevil habits, are different from Mexico and Cuba, and it will be misleading to base our actions on foreign conditions.
Third— The weevil hibernates in the adult condition and may exist without food during winter, but in summer dies in the absence of cotton, the only food plant.
Fourth— The weevil does not range far in summer in the presence of plenty of food, and the cultural methods advocated by the United States Department of Agriculture, whereby a profitable crop of cotton may be grown, indicate limited migratory habits at any time.
Fifth — Weevils may be transported in farm products from infected areas. Seed cotton and cotton seed are particultrly dangerous.
Sixth — A campaign of education relative to the habits of the weevil should be conducted at once, especially along the western border of Louisiana.
Seventh — The cultural methods adopted throughout the infected area of Texas will minimize the natural spread of the weevil into uninfected areas.
Eighth— The uninfected zone in Texas, lying to the west of Louisiana, will possibly protect this State from the general and natural spread this year.
Ninth — All isolated patches of cotton in Louisiana which become infected this coming year should be immediately quarantined, and vigorous steps taken to exterminate the weevil.
Tenth — The lessons gained from the starving out methods in isolated patches will be of much value in testing the merit of a non-cotton-growing zone.
Eleventh — The importation of live weevils by persons curious to see this insect or for experimental purposes should be discouraged and prohibited.
Chairman Schuler announced.
THE FOLLOWING COMMITTEES:
Resolutions — Captain C. C. Davenport, Morehouse; Abe Brittin, Or- leans;; Martin Glynn, Point Coupee; John C. Buchanan, Lafayette; G. W. Sentell, Avoyelles; W. E. Glassell, Caddo; D. W. Pipes, East Feliciana; S. P. Walmsley, Orleans; C. J. Edwards, Vermilion; F. L. Maxwell, Madison; William Polk, Rapides; John P. Parker, Ouachita; Joseph E. Brewer, Bienville; H. M. Gandy, Sabine; J. A. Prudhomme, Natchitoches ; G. W. Peyton, De Soto.
Credentials— W. L. Foster, Caddo; B. W. Marston, Red River; C. M. Flower, Rapides ; Henry Von Phul, Baton Rouge ; J. T. McDade, Bossier.
Legislation — Judge John C. Pugh, Shreveport; Judge Walter Guion,
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. If
New Orleans; G. W. Bolton, Rapides ; W. C Hughes, Bossier; Prof. H. A. Morgan, Baton Rouge; G. W. Montgomery, Madison. On motion the convention adjourned for dinner.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
Colonel Charles Schuler, Chairman of the Convention, called the mem- bers to order at 3:30 o'clock p. m., and introduced Dr. S. A. Knapp, representative of Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture.
Dr. Knapp spoke as follows :
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention. I wish to correct an error. It seems that the impression got abroad that the Secretary of Agriculture was to prepare a paper, or had prepared a paper which I was to read. His Excellency, your Governor, forwarded an invitation to Secretary Wilson, to be present at this Convention; it was impossible for him to attend, and he forwarded the letter to me, with the request that I attend; but no address was prepared by him, nor even any instruc- tions. But I am in receipt of full information regarding his views, not only by being in contact with him whilst we travelled through Louisiana and Texas, but what has occurred since, and by the correspondence that has occurred between the Secretary and the President.
He wished me to express to you his regret that he could not be present for he has taken a great interest in the invasion of the State of Texas by the boll weevil. His journey here was made a few week ago entirely to understand the situation, and to be prepared to combat it as far as possible. I think his views have settled. First, I do not misrepresent him in saying that whilst he favors diversification to an extent at least that every farmer will produce the full materials necessary for his farm, yet that is really no remedy for the situation; that where a people are adjusted to one line of work, like the growing of cotton, it requires a number of years, a great many years, to adapt them to other things and lines of agriculture, and there would be a period of long depression and in some portion of ruin, before such a stage could be reached. It would involve not only the ruin of the farmer, but of the towns and of the cities that are all organized on the basis of cotton as a cash crop. It involves more. We are at present producing not only the food material in the United States that we consume, but enough to supply all the demands of the foreign markets of the world. Now, if the cotton States should abandon the production of cotton, diversifying in the line of food products, they would be combatting with our present food producing States, and the result would be over production, a crash in the market, and ruin to the whole country. Now, upon that basis the citizens of this country must all be agreed. There is no question before the American people on which they can be better agreed than that this has ceased to be a local or a State question, but is a national question; that the farmer
l8 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
dwelling on the hills of 'Maine or inhabiting the floral homes of California is just as much interested in suppressing or battling with the boll weevil as the citizens of Louisiana are.
Now, the Secretary of Agriculture and the President are in full accord and fully agree that this is a matter for the whole nation; that though the attack has been made upon the crops of one State, it is just the same as if an invading army had come from the populous countries of the old world to assault the integrity of the great commonwealth of Louisiana, and the great army of the Nation should be extended to protect and avenge the injury. We have been victorious in every struggle we have had. This great country, with its enormous wealth, with its great power, has hitherto been victorious upon every battle field ; shall it go down through history that we have been whipped by a boll weevil? (applause and cries of "never"). I think that is the true answer. Never. In this conflict, although it is with a hidden enemy, elusive and uneasy of attack, we shall yet be victorious, and discover some means of ex- terminating the boll weevil. Therefore, it seems to me that the people of Louisiana and the people of Texas, and the people of the whole South, may rest assured that whatever legislation is necessary to carry on the work, will be given at Washington, and the necessary fund will be appropriated. Your Congressmen can speak more definitely upon that; but I know that that is the general feeling, at least of the Executive Department. It is only necessary that the methods should be conservative, be clear, and definite, in order that they may be justified in the appro- priations made. As soon as that can be determined, I doubt whether there is any doubt but what the whole country will rally forth to the help of the people that have thus been attacked.
The question is "where should the battle be fought." I believe it is conclusively shown that the only place to fight the enemy is where the enemy is, and that would be in Texas, but we should be fortified and prepared in the State of Louisiana.
I was greatly pleased this morning, I might say I was gratified at the conservative tone of the paper of Professor Morgan. His suggestions were wise, and they were timely. A great deal can be done along those lines. It has been demonstrated — certain things have been demonstrated for us ; and should not be given up. The lines of work it seems to me, particularly to be done immediately are those first of Entomologists. Not one, but a regiment of them, want to be turned loose on the fields, to find out not only the habits of the boll weevil, but also, while we are about it, let us wipe out every pest that troubles the cotton plant. Get at the boll worm, and the catterpillar and everything else that tends to injure the cotton crop. Let us exterminate him, and not let the war run on forever.
Now, if it be possible, extend further the process of investigation, for the boll weevil may somewhat change his habits. He is a pretty sharp
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 19
little fellow, and he may change his habits somewhat; and it may be that in the future we may disco -/er some method of extermiantion or pre- vention which at present does not occur to us. There are a great many'lines of investigation which may be followed. It seems that he does not eat, in his early stages, anything but a square; and that he particularly likes it when it is tender. Now, 1 think it has been demonstrated that he likes the squares of some cotton better than he likes it of others. You may find after a while a class of plants that has resisted him, or that he has left for some reason. Now, if it were possible to produce a class of cotton that would be boll weevil resistant then you would have succeeded. If you can inject into the plant, something that would change the flavor of it, so he would not like it, then you would have accom- plished the whole thing. If you can get a "chaw" of tobacco, at the base of the square, for instance, he might turn away in utter disgust. i am merely making these statements in the way of suggestions. There are possibilities, and I am in favor, personally, of a large appropriation, to the entomological department, not only for a thousand acres, but ten thousand if necessary; and that work should be carried on in Louisiana, as well as in Texas, so that you are ready for the boll weevil, when he comes.
Then in the line of demonstration farms. I noticed this morning, what was said concerning the difficulty of getting people to take hold. That is a difficulty everywhere. If the people had followed the teachings of your great institutions here, your agricultural schools, and your eminent professors, we would be far in advance of what we are in this great com- monwealth of Louisiana. But the trouble is to get the people to adopt these methods.
But, after thinking this matter over, almost in despair, we undertook a year ago, last spring, some demonstrations, and I will give you the results of one of them, to show you that we can get the people to take hold and adopt these modern methods, if we undertake it in a proper way. Last winter the people along the Texas and Midland R. R., at Terrell, sent a request to me, to organize a demonstration farm out there. I replied that I could not do it, that I had hoped to do so but that I had no funds. They then wrote to Washington, and interested the Department of Agriculture. The Secretary said I had better go up there and see. I went up there ; a meeting was called, with an attendance perhaps as large as this one; I said : in the first place, gentlemen, I may talk to you about organizing a demonstration farm, but I have no money. They replied "we do not want any money. We do not need any help. As American citizens, we can help ourselves. All we want is that you should put it under the con- trol of the United States Department of Agriculture, and we will do the rest." I said : "Very well, I will formulate the plan. Give me six of your best farmers as an Advisory Committee, because the Department of Agri-
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culture don't know everything. There is a great deal of wisdom among the good farmers, and I want all that you know about your soil, your climatic conditions, what has occurred in the history of your agriculture thus far. Select one of your best farmers to carry on these experiments, or these demonstrations. "They did so." "Now," I continued, "I want a guarantee fund, and we will make a contract with this farmer, who is fol- lowing my instructions, that if he loses any money, you citizens guarantee to make it good." Several farmers, among them I remember Major Brenan who, as you know is one of the great farmers of Texas, with a farm of five thousand acres just outside of the State; he rose, and said: "We will raise the money." In fifteen minutes, they subscribed five hun- dred dollars. It was all settled that afternoon. We put the farm on its feet, and I left. We went through the year. I went there perhaps half a dozen times. At the close of the year I said to Mr. Walter C. Porter, the man who carried on the agricultural experiments or demonstrations : "How much do these gentlemen owe you? How large an amount do they owe you?" "They do not owe me anything," he said; "I made $700.00 more than I would have made in the ordinary way. I do not want anything of the people." It cost the people, not a cent, that demonstration; and the farmer who carried it on made money. He paid all expenses. The Government paid nothing; the people paid nothing; and that was the result.
Now farmers saw that from day to day. Delegation after delegation visited it. A committee from the Congressional District visited it, on one occasion. The result was that the farmers almost without exception came to me and said : "We are going to put our farms on the same plan." Mr. Brenan said : "My 5000 acres go on the same plan, next year." Mr. Har- rison and other prominent farmers said : "I am going under the same plan." This same man, Mr. Porter, has 800 acres; he puts 300 acres in cot- ton next year on the same plan. They have all ordered their fertilizers, and that county is completely organized. It had more effect than that. It interested the President of the road, Mr. Green, and he said he would take a little dip into it. They wrote me that at first he thought he would take 50 acres, but before he got through, he bought four hundred acres ; and before he was through, he had given orders to the extent of $10,000, and he was to put the best demonstration farms in the South; the best in operation there, as an example of what the people can do. He made inquiries of me, and I went there. "Well," he said: "you have got me into this, and now you must stay by me." So I stayed there a while, and we laid out the plan of his farm. The county below it and the county above it sent a delegation when I was there last spring, and they organized 60 farms on a small scale.
Now, that shows that the people will take hold, if you prove to them that it is their experiment. They put up the money. They furnish the
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 21
experience; they did the whole thing. Now, I think that is apt to take hold of the people, and it is along such lines, that I hope to see suitable legislation and appropriations will be made ; to demonstrate that if we do not have the boll weevil, still we are to make 50 per cent, more cotton than we have been making-. We will develop a better class of farmers. It does not hurt anyway.
Now, it is not for me to say anything about legislation. You have your Congressmen here. They understand all the ins and outs of ihat But if I had my way about it, I would put money into the hands of those entomologists, enough to do a great deal more work than they have been able to do. I would take up possibly some lines that Professor Morgan spoke of. If the boll weevil should attack Louisiana, destroy the fields, and pay for them, if necessary. Then I would put money into demon- stration plants, so that these methods could be brought to the attention of the people in every locality. There is no use in spending millions on the great cotton agriculture, to have it hanging over our heads. The Ameri- can people should adopt these methods. I want to see these things adopted, and adopted right off, in order that American Agriculture, which is now to the front, may be brought to the front still more.
There is one point I want to speak of. There has been a great deal said about Germany and other nations trying to produce cotton. It has been my fortune to 'travel over the world, and to observe the cotton plant.; and I tell you that America is going to control the cotton of the world, I visited the cotton fields of Japan, and the agriculture there is a perfect failure. I visited the cotton fields of China. They undertook it there, and put up some cotton mills, and said with their cheap labor: "We can manufacture cheaper than Americans, we can control the cotton market." The last time I was there, I visited Shanghai four times — the last time I was there, I said to a friend. "What is the status of the cotton mills now at Shanghai?" He said: "I cannot tell; they may have ?one into bankruptcy again; they just came out of one bankruptcy a short time ago." There are reasons why, with their cheap labor, they cannot com- pete with us. The chairman regards any machine as a way to get a rake- off. The great Chinaman, Tong Woo, Vice-Chancellor of two of the upper provinces, has steel and iron mills. I enquired into that, and found out that it costs them more to make a ton of steel, with the best machin- ery, than to lay thirteen tons of American steel over there. Why? Be- cause instead of using the machinery to save labor and reduce expenses, he regards it as a nice thing to get a rake off. He charges more to the operator, because the machine can do more. A Chinaman looks on the other side of the world, and sees things exactly opposite to the way we do. Now, that is just the way with cotton. You cannot get a Chinaman to chop out his cotton. "Why," he says, "here are two stalks. Two stalks
22 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
will bring a heap more than one." I found the cotton averaging about two inches apart, on their fertile lands, the bottom lands of the Yang Tse River, averaging about twenty inches high. That is a quality of cotton worth about two cents below our cotton.
Now, it is the same way in India. They do not understand our methods. We cannot realixe how vastly superior the dullest of the Americans is, to the millions on the other side of the world. And how it is impossible for them to understand our methods. It will take them 150 years to get to do things as we do them. They were born and raised that way. I know something about it, on the part of the colored men ; for the statistics show all over the South, the negro raises less cptton per acre, than the white man, and when the boll weevil comes, I don't know whether he will raise any at all.
Therefore, I say that great possibilities are before us. The demand for our cotton goods and cotton product has been increasing more rnpidly than population; and if the boll weevil does not interfere, we will con- tinue to supply the growing demands of the whole world. We must ex- terminate, or surround or barricade, or degenerate the boll weevil in some way, and I believe it will be done.
Thereupon the Chairman announced that communications would be read, and the Secretary read the following letters from the Secretary of Agri- culture, to-wit:
ist. Letter to Hon. W. W. Heard, as follows:
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, WASHINGTON, D. C, November 20, 1903. HON. W. W. HEARD,
Governor of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My Dear Sir :
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your courteous letter of the I7th instant, inviting me to attend the Boll Weevil Convention called to meet in New Orleans, on November 30. I regret exceedingly that pub- lic duties will prevent me from being present, but I will see to it that the Department is represented by some of our people who are well informed regarding the situation.
We have been carefully deliberating here, in conjunction with members of Congress from the southwest, especially from Texas, what steps it will be wise to take and what it will be wise to ask Congress for. We have a lively interest in the matter, and will do everything in our power to ameliorate conditions, both in Texas and with regard to any possible in- vasion of Louisiana and States further east. I have the honor to be, Sir, your obedient servant,
JAMES WILSON, Secretary.
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2nd. Letter to Prof W. C. Stubbs, as follows :
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, WASHINGTON, D. C, November 19, 1903
DR. W. C. STUBBS,
Louisiana Experiment Station, Audubon Park, New Orleans, La. Dear Friend:
I have your favor of the isth, asking me to attend the Governor of Louisiana's called meeting of farmers and planters, to discuss the boll weevil problem, in New Orleans on November 30. Upon my return to Washington, J asked the Texas delegation to come to my office and discuss the situation regarding this insect. They did so, and have been here re- peatedly. We are beginning to see alike ; that is, to conclude with regard to some things that may be done. I am preparing a statement of the situation for insertion in my annual report, and shall urge upon Congress to do its part in the matter. I regret that I shall not be able to go to New Orleans and attend your convention on the 30th, because I am booked for a trip among the sugar-beet men of Michigan at that very time. But you can depend upon this Department's doing everything in its power to help you meet this emergency.
Very truly yours,
JAMES WILSON, Secretary.
Mr. Phanor Brazeale, of Natchitoches, La., Congressman from the Fourth District of Louisiana, spoke as follows:
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention. The interest in this subject of course is well known to all. And more especially, perhaps, is my district interested than any other portion of Louisiana, on account of its proximity to the invaded District of Texas.
The aspect of the question that I am called upon to discuss is one I have given some thought and some attention to, in conjunction with the other members of the Louisiana delegation. The question is one de- cidedly of national importance. It is a national question.
Of course the State is interested directly in the matter, but only to a limited extent, when viewed from the national aspect. There is not a man, I venture to say, in this audience, than can sit down, and in an hour's time conceive all the immense importance of the great industry which is threatened with an attack by this great danger; starting from 'the raw material, the cotton itself, and following it out in its various manufac- tured characteristics, and in the cotton seed, and its various by-products, and foot up the total product in his mind, and the number of people directly interested in the production of cotton. Hence it has a nationaF aspect. The nation is directly interested in preserving and in developing
24 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
to the fullest extent that industry. Another national aspect which the matter has, is the supremacy that this nation enjoys in the cotton world. We ship more cotton, export more cotton, than any other country, and we control the cotton market and the cotton world. Hence it is a national question ; and one with which we can go to the National Con- gress, as some gentleman expressed here this morning, and ask for assist- ance without placing ourselves in the attitude of mendicants; in connec- tion with which we can appeal to them as a nation for the benefit of the nation.
With that view of the matter, in the early days of the present extraordi- nary session of Congress, that is, about two weeks ago, the Texas delega- tion, the Louisiana delegation, the Arkansas delegation, held a meeting. That conference of the delegation of these three States was presided over by Col. Robertson, Congressman from the Sixth District of Louisiana, and a member from Texas was selected as Secretary. The result of that con- ference was the adoption of a resolution appointing three members from each of the cotton .growing States, to call upon the President of the United States and invoke his interest in this question, the suppression of the boll weevil. It adopted also a memorial to be presented to him and the Secre- tary of Agriculture and the Congress, embracing the opinions of that con- ference as to what should be done by the Congress in the matter of legis- lation, intended to suppress, minimize, and if possible, eradicate this evil. I had the honor of being one of the three selected from the Louisiana delegation, together with Mr. Pujo and Mr. Ransdell. That resolution, that memorial embraced two main features. Gentlemen, I want to say that- the matter has received a great deal of thought by the members in charge of it, who prepared it, after consultation and correspondence with agricultural departments, with scientists, and after a careful examination of the Texas situation, with the report of the agricultural department there and the experimental station; and these two main features were suggested : First. That the Government of the United States should ap- point a Commission, composed of five members, two of whom should be farmers, from the invaded district of Texas, one member should be a practical farmer from Louisiana, one member should be from the Bureau of Plant Industry, of the Government, a scientific man, the other member should be a man connected with the entomological department of the agricultural department. Second. A fund of, say, $500,000.00 should be placed at their disposal for use in experimenting along the lines of sup- pression or eradication of the pest.
We called upon Mr. Wilson, the Secretary of Agriculture, and he readily approved of these two main features. Now, gentlemen, the de- tails have not been mapped out. They were still, when I left Washing- Ion, being consulted over by Mr. Wilson, with members of this conference held by members of cotton growing states. It is impossible at this time
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 25
to outline what these details would be. Mr. Wilson expressed himself with the utmost candor, said he would assist us as much as he possibly could, and recommend to the President and to Congress, in his annual report,, the enactment of all necessary legislation, and otherwise do everything in the power of the Department to suppress this evil. A committee of us appointed by this Conference called upon the President of the United States. He received us with the utmost cordiality. We explained to him the situation; we explained the immense national importance of the mat- ter; the threat of immense danger to the vast interests of this country.
Let me impress you with this idea, so far as our efforts in the National Congress are concerned. We do not expect to base our demands to Con- gress upon the local character of the danger. We know, individually and personally, how much depends upon this matter, for the people of this State; but in order to impress Congress, we look upon it as a national question, as a threatened national calamity; and from that standpoint, I hope that this Convention will straighten our hands in the shape of their resolutions to-day.
Now, the President appreciated that view of the question. He assured us that he would favor any legislation, on a line looking to the suppres- sion of the danger, and of its ultimate eradication. Not satisfied with that,, we asked him to put an expression of his sentiments and his attitude on this question in his message to Congress, so that, when the fight upon the floor of Congress came up, we could refer to him as the Chief Executive of this great nation, and pick up his message to Congress and say, that he understood and appreciated this danger, and urged appropriate legislation to suppress it. He very cheerfully and cordially agreed to recommend it in his message, but said he could not give it an extended notice, because of the great number of other interests of perhaps equal importance, that he would have to embrace in his message; but he said he would give them a clear cut expression as to his sentiments upon the question. Not satisfied with that, he asked Mr. Burgess and myself (however, as much interested as I was, and as zealous in the matter as I am or was, Mr. Ransdell took my place, because I could not attend to it right there) ; the President asked us would we serve as his messengers to the Secretary of Agriculture, said that he wanted to impress upon the Secretary of Agriculture his personal views on the subject, and that if we would do him the honor to serve as his messengers, he would write to the Secre- tary. And he did right there and then, requesting the Secretary to pre- pare such data and such a message as the Secretary would be justified in doing, that he might put them in his message to Congress. We went down, at least Mr. Ransdell and Mr. Burgess went down to see Mr. Wilson, with that letter from the President, and they told me, when they returned, that Mr. Wilson was then at work and had conferred with them several times, upon the question of the language to be used by the Presi-
26 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
dent in his message. I have no doubt, from my talk with the Secretary of Agriculture, and with the President, that that message will contain a very earnest request to the Congress, advice to the Congress, to adopt legislation that will look to help a long ways towards suppressing this evil, language containing this national aspect of the question, as it is now pre- sented and is now in existence.
Mr. Burgess, I see by the papers, has introduced a bill in Congress, em- bracing this idea, this present plan, as mapped out by the Secretary of Agriculture; but, gentlemen, please don't consider that that fight is won. A fight upon the floor of Congress, for any measure, is never won, until it has finally received the President's signature. The Louisiana delega- tion, the Texas delegation, the Arkansas delegation, the Mississippi dele- gation, all of the cotton growing States are earnest and zealous, and will be in their efforts to accomplish legislation by the Congress along those lines; but I tell you that we can be sustained and helped out, more than you can well imagine, when we are backed by the unanimous opinion and zealous efforts of our people at home. It is always a source of great en- couragement to a Congressman, when he takes the floor to speak upon any question, to know that his people are in full accord with him, and by their good wishes, and their efforts, are co-operating with him at home. So I ask you to-day, when you pass your resolutions, to make them strong, make them broad, make them liberal, don't attempt to localize this trouble. Let us go there on something from which we can appeal to the whole nation, as the people of Massachusetts appealed to us, in the last Congress, in the 57th Congress, with a matter in my mind, identical with this one in character, and a bill that I voted for, readily, cheerfully, gladly.
They came to us with a proposition to appropriate $3000,000.00, placing it at the disposal of the Secretary of Agriculture, to stamp out, suppress and eradicate the foot and mouth disease of the cattle, then existing in Massachusetts. Why they had no trouble ; no effort was made hardly ; we all readily saw the national character of the question, and we voted for the appropriation ; and I am glad to say that the report from the Agri- cultural Department shows that only $150,000.00 of that was used, leaving a balance of the same amount, which Secretary Wilson intimated would still remain in his hands, and might be used for this purpose in case of an emergency So, I say, we can appeal to those people from that standpoint. and we can go to New England showing the great interest we all have, as a nation, in the preservation of the supremacy of the cotton of this country, in the cotton market of the world. I have no doubt that we can accomplish something; we will do something that will help to eradicate this evil. In the meantime, there must be local legislation that will per- mit our State Government to co-operate with the national government, in coping with this national trouble, in every way.
Now, I have not looked far enough into the laws now existing, to know
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whether the government has sufficient power to do that. I am rather im- pressed from my casual examination of the law, that additional legisla- tion must be passed to enable your government to cope, in the fullest ex- tent, with the national trouble.
If I am not trying you, gentlemen, I would like to give you, a few sug- gestions, not as coming from myself, but as the result of discussions with the Secretary, and with members of the Texas delegation and others. For instance, as the Secretary said to me, "I am a very strong State rights man myself, even if I come from the west, I am still with you, to this extent at least, that you have the right to control yourself" ; but afterwards he said: "There should be power lodged in your Governor to take up with us, in necessary cases, the right of quarantine, if you have not got it already ; you should have the right to expropriate, if you have any need of it. It may be necessary to burn up some fields. We are still in an ex- perimental stage; 'we do not know what to do with this bug. We are now trying to find something out about it. It may be necessary to do some extraordinary thing. So it is necessary that your Governor shall co- operate with us, to the fullest extent.
So, gentlemen, it seems to me if the citizens of this country, the tax-payers to a man, are interested in this thing, that this Convention re- commend the calling together of the Legislature as soon as possible as soon as practicable. But let not there be anything in that legislation to commit you to any particular method or plan, for supressmg that bug, but vest in your Governor the power to take up this matter, with sufficient funds at his disposal, to co-operate with the Government of the United States, as occasion may require, in the matter of suppressing or preventing this weevil from coming into this territory. I should say this would be better than to confine yourself to any particular line or any particular thing, than to say that this was the best method, or that was the best method. But invest him with the power to create a Board to take charge of the matter, composed of practical men, and of scientific men, to meet the emergencies as they may arise.
The scientist may say: "Here is a good remedy to get rid of that bug in this locality; here is a good method to get rid of him in that locality." Follow his instructions. Do what he says. Do all that you can to reach a conclusion in the premises, and to be able to say positively, "this is the remedy for the evil." I take it for granted from what I read, from the scientific world, that it may take several years before that remedy is found; but I. am willing to pledge my faith in the ability of the Ameri- can people, to find a remedy for any evil, social, natural or otherwise, that may arise. I have no hesitancy in saying that in these various experi- ments which you may make, you will fritter away some of the people's money. It is natural to presume that; but every dollar that you spend
28 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
that way, every dollar that you throw away in that way, will come back a thousand fold when you find that remedy.
I pledge you now the zealous efforts of the several members of Congress from your State. Every single one, from the dean of the delegation, Colonel Robertson, down to Mr. Pujo, the youngest in service, are alive to the situation. They appreciate and understand the terrible menace to the individual State of Louisiana; and everything we can do, you can rest assured will be done, in the halls of Congress, on every occasion, in time and out of time, to accomplish the end of this great evil, menacing the individual State as well as the nation, so that it shall be finally stamped out and rendered inoffensive.
The President. The next gentleman on the program has expressed his inability to be present, Mr. Ransdell of the Fifth Congressional District; but says that he is with you, heart and soul, and will do whatever he can to help on the work. Secretary will please read Mr. R's.", letter.
LAKE PROVIDENCE, LA., Nov. 26, 1903. DR. WM. C. STUBBS,
New Orleans, La. Dear Sir:
Yours of the 25th inviting me to attend the Boll Weevil Convention, and to supplement the remarks of Secretary Wilson to hand. I thank you very much for the honor, and should gladly attend as an interested listener but wil* be detained here by important private business which cannot be postponed. I am with you heart and soul in the great work of fighting this terrible pest, and you can command my services at all times and places.
With best wishes for the good cause, and kindest personal regards, I am, Yours, &c.,
Jos. E. RANSDEIL.
We have with us, Col. Robertson, member from the Sixth Congres- sional District; and I hope the gentleman will be kind enough to address this Convention in the place of Mr. Ransdell.
ADDRESS OF COL, SAMUEL M. ROBERTSON.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention : It gives me pleasure to comply with the request of your distinguished Chairman.
Many years ago, 1 was Professor of Natural History in the University of Louisiana, I studied plants, bugs, men and animals, until I became so filled with them that I became candidate for Congress from Professorship of that Uunversity.
I was the Chairman of a Convention in Washington, a few days ago.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 2Q
which met and considered the question of the fight in which you are now engaged, that is the suppression of the boll weevil in the Southern States. In that meeting were the Congressmen from the States of Alabama, Mississppi, Arkansas, Texas, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Ten- nessee and Louisiana ? I appointed a Committee in accordance with a resolution passed at that time, composed of three members from each of these States, who called upon the President of the United States, and who earnestly solicited his co-operation in the fight that we are now engaged in. After the meeting at the White House, with this Committee, headed by the distinguished and venerable member from Alabama, (Mr. Bank- head) the President stated that he would endorse, in his message, any recommendation made by the Secretary of Agriculture. The Secretary of Agriculture, who had already pledged his assistance, sat down, at that moment, and in presence of the Committee, wrote out what the President of the United States should incorporate, on the subject, in his message to Congress.
I would like to call your attention, gentlemen, to one or two of the statements which were presented by the Louisiana delegation to Congress a few days ago, printed in the Congressional Record on the ninth day of this month ; which proclaim to the people of the United States, as far as possible, the great importance of the cotton industry to this country. If I had the time to read it, I could show you how great and important it is to all of us. Whatever our vocation, whether it be that of banker, or that of a man who goes in the fields ; whether it be that of cotton-press men, gin men or oil men ; no matter what our vocation may be ; this industry is of the vastest and greatest importance to every one of us. The manu- facturing interests of the country depend to an extent upon it, just as much as the common negro who makes a living for himself and his family by picking cotton. I say to you, that there has never been presented to this country, a question ^vhich involves more to the people of this nation, than this very one which you are considering here to-day, than the de- struction of the boll weevil that now threatens to overtake the Southern States of this Union.
It is a question, my friends, which may be viewed from different stand- points. I could not begin to enumerate here all the great and important questions which enter into this fight.
But I must say that I have been in other fights of Louisiana, where the odds have been greater than they are in this fight. I have 'stood for the sugar industry, when I was almost cast aside by my own party. I stood for the rice industry, when I saw it in its swaddling clothes, and have stood by it until it has risen to where it is to-day, where the production almost reaches the consumption, where the question of exportation is a matter of securing foreign markets. I have stood for our friends in the sugar industry, and stand for that industry to-day, when it is confronted
30 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
with the open market of Cuba, which threatens the destruction of that great industry of ours. I have stood for the great levee system which protects the alluvial lands of Louisiana, that produce rice and sugar from the Arkansas line to the mouth of the Mississippi river. We have stood in the minority when these fights were going on, and have fought until we have grown gray.
All of that, however, my friends, may sink into absolute insignificance to-day, when we are considering a problem on whose solution depends not only the prosperity of the South, but the importance of the commercial supremacy of the United States. But my time is so limited that I must forbear to go further into this question.
But I want to tell you this, as a plain, old time, up and down Louisianian, we are fighting for Louisiana's interest wherever they may be; and I pledge you, my friends, that no question of a strict interpretation of the Constitution shall ever come between my vote, and the interests of the cotton growers of Louisiana, of the cotton industry of the United States, and of the welfare of this great country.
1 never occupied any other position except that of the best interests of my State; and I pledge you now, that in whatever can be done, I shall always be with you, God bless you, I hope you will be able to succeed. [ (Applause.)
The President. The next thing on the program is : "Legislation re- quired to meet our Emergency," by Judge John C. Jugh, of Shreveport, La.
Judge Ptigh read the following:
THE LEGALITY AND REQUIRED LEGISLATION TO MEET OUR EMERGENCIES.
Mr, President and Gentlemen of the Convention:
The subject which I propose to discuss in some respects is to be covered by my friend Judge Guion. I see from the published program that he is to consider the constitutionality of legislation proposed in the fight against the boll weevil.
Without entrenching on the subject assigned him, I have thought best to submit some observations on the legality of the legislation required in the fight against the boll weevil.
The police power of the State, in its broadest acceptation, means the general power of the government to preserve and promote the public wel- fare by prohibiting all things hurtful to the comfort, safety, and welfare of society, and to establish, promulgate and enforce such rules and regula- tions for the conduct of all persons, and the use and management of all property as may be conductive to the public good.
The authority to exercise this power is inherent in the several States
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and is left with them, under the federal constitution, and may always be exerted by the State legislatures directly, or in the absence of any consti- tutional restriction upon the subject, be delegated to the various munici- palities throughout the State, to be exercised within the corporate limits. The legislature may also authorize a particular board of officers who have charge of a portion of the affairs of the State, or a city, such as the State Board of Health, of police, or other body, to make reasonable police rules and regulations on the subjects committed to their care and super- vision.
So the State Legislature has provided a State Board of Health with full and plenary power to make all rules and regulations to prevent the intro- duction and spread of infectious and contagious diseases, and in the exercise of this power, quarantine regulations may be enacted, when deemed necessary, and persons and property forbid a landing in this State when, in the opinion of the authori- ties, the same would be detrimental to the health, comfort and safety of our people. Under authority of such legislation, the State may exclude from its limits, convicts, paupers, idiots and lunatics, and persons likely to become a public charge, as well as persons afflicted with contagious diseases — a right founded in the sacred law of self-defence. The same principle will justify the exclusion of property from the State dangerous to the property of citizens of this State; for example, animals having contagious or infectious diseases, or property affected with a con- tagious disease, the transportation of which into our State is liable to cause a spread of the contagion to the property of our citizens.
So the Courts have sustained the legislation of various States prohibit- ing the transportation of cattle into a State affected with what is commonly known as Texas or Spanish fever, and have uniformly held that although a State has no power to prohibit the transportation of infected property through it by common carriers, it has the right to restrict the manner and mode of such transportation to railroads and steamboats, if necessary to prevent the spread of contagion and disease. So the State, as a police regulation, clearly has the right to prescribe the kind of cars in which such property is to be transported, and such precautionary measures as may be reasonably necessary to prevent the contagious or infectious disease from being communicated to property within the State. All exertions of power along these lines by the State authorities are in the immediate connection with the protection of persons and property against noxious acts of other persons, or such a use of property as is injurious to the property of others. The exercise of such power is self-defensive.
The passage of any law by the State for the protection of the property of its citizens is but the legitimate exercise of its police power, and upon that ground any legislation that has for its object the prevention of the introduction into our State, or spread of any insect or disease deterimental
32 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
to the agricultural interest of the State, would be sustained by the Courts.
"The right of the State, as of the man," says the Supreme Court of the United States, in a recent case, "is self-protection, and with the State that right involves the universally acknowledged power and duty to enact and enforce all such laws not in plain conflict with some provision of the State or federal constitution, as may rightly be deemed necessary or ex- pedient for the safety, health, morals, comfort, and welfare of its people."
In the exercise of its police power, the State, or any board to which it may delegate its power, can take its citizen's property, without compensa- tion, and against his will, and destroy it just as well as it could resort to the destruction of a house threatened by a spreading conflagration, or the clothes of a person who has fallen a victim to small-pox. Such property is not taken under circumstances of this character for public use." It is destroyed because, in the judgement of those to whom the law has con- fided the power of decision, it is of no use and is a source of public danger.
Within the past twenty years, a number of States have adopted drastic measures for the protection of the agricultural and horticultural interests ; and the last few years have been noteworthy in the interest shown in such legislation, especially by horticulturalists, in the question of legislation against insects, and several States have enacted new laws, while many others have similar legislation under advisement.
The enactments of the various States upon the subject will be found in bulletins No. n and 13 of the United States Department of Agriculture, issued under the direction and supervision of Dr. L. O. Howard, Entomo- logist of that Department. The latest act on the subject, and the one to which I would call your especial attention,, is the one passed by Virginia. By this act, a State Crop Pest Commission is established with power and authority to promulgate rules and regulations on the subject of insect pests, and the State Entomologist is directed to proceed to investigate, control, eradict and prevent the dissemination of any dangerous pests as far as possible, and these rules and regulations have all the force and effect of the law.
Our own State in 1894 passed an act to prevent the introduction, propa- gation or distribution in this State of any fruit trees or fruit growth affected with any infectious disease, or infectious insects injurious to fruit growth, and penalties are prescribed for any wilful neglect or violation of this Act. Under Sec. 3 of this Act, it is made the duty of the ento- mologist of the State Agricultural Experiment Station, at the request of the director of said station, to visit any section of the State, where there are diseased fruit trees, or tree growth infected with disease or insects injurious to tree growth, to examine and report on such diseased
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 33
fruit, growth, or infected tree growth, and if such examinations prove the infected trees perniciously infected, it is made the duty of the owner to at once disinfect or destroy the same.
In the legislation, to which I refer, a board of commissioners, usually composed of the State entomologist, and other persons connected with the Agricultural Bureau, are authorized to inspect the property alleged to be infected with any of the diseases designated by the statutes as con- tagious, and if such disease is found to exist, they are authorized to destroy the property; and in most of the statutes, it is made a mis- demeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment, for the owner of any such property to decline or fail to carry out the rules and regulations made by said commissioners.
There can be no possible doubt of the power of the State Legislature to deal with the subject so as to prevent the shipment of any property into this State from which it can be reasonably apprehended that the boll wevil might be brought into our midst; and, in addition, to provide such rules and regulations as would authorize the eradication of the pest, if found in our midst, by such methods as the wisdom of the Board, to which this matter should be referred, should deem advisable.
In matters of this character, many of our people are disposed to rely too much on the aid of the Federal Government, which possesses little or no jurisdiction in the premises.
The power to legislate on the subject of the prevention of the spread of the boll weevil into our State is but the exercise of the police power of the State, and this power cannot be exercised within the limits of the State by the Congress of the United States. The power of enacting laws upon the subject resides solely and exclusively in the States. It is true that the general government, under its power to regulate commerce, could enact laws quarantining the shipment of ar- ticles of merchandise into our State, which, in the opinion of the authorities, would be dangerous, yet this would be the limitation of the power of the Federal Government; and the additional authority to prevent the spread of such seriously injurious insects, or to exterminate the same by the destruction of the property so affected, would neces- sarily have to emanate from the State authorities.
The national government has authority to provide rules and regu- lations governing the importation of property from foreign countries, and all which become subjects of interstate commerce or exportation, and this convention should urge immediate action by it on this sub- ject. It is necessary to have a uniform national law on the subject, so as to prevent the introduction of the boll weevil into the other cotton States of the Union from the State of Texas and the Republic of Mexico.
In the face of the acknowledged fact that fully one-half of the prin-
34 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
cipal insects now in the United States have been introduced from foreign countries, no effort on the part of the general government has ever been made to prohibit the entrance of such pests. A national law of this character would have excluded the boll weevil from the State of Texas.
It is true that in 1901, Senator Perkins introduced a bill into the United States Senate providing rules and regulations governing the importation of trees, plants, etc., and for the inspection of nursery stock grown within the United States, which become subject to interstate commerce or exportation, and while this act was reported favorably by the Committee on Agriculture, it failed to pass.
Necessity for such legislation on the part of the general govern- ment is of absolute importance to the agricultural and horticultural interests of the country, and this convention should energetically urge upon our Senators and Representatives the importance of the subject. Of course, an act could be drawn on lines broad and comprehensive enough to cover the interstate branch of the immediate question now under consideration, — the prevention of the introduction of the boll weevil from one State to another.
We shall now direct our attention to the necessity of legislation on the part of our State for the protection of our people against the im- pending danger of the invasion of the boll weevil into the cotton pro- ducing section of this State.
The necessity of such legislation is of great importance for the protection of our agricultural interests. The Department of Agriculture at Wash- ington strongly emphasizes the necessity of immediate legislation on the subject, so as to enable the Federal Government to co-operate with the State authorities in preventing the spread of the pest into our bor-' ders, and the demand for it upon the part of the people has become so strong that it should not long be delayed.
Our geographical situation is such as to make our. State the key to the situation. The State of Arkansas also occupies an important position, and the federal authorities should call the attention of its State authorities to the subject. The great cotton producing States on the East can only be saved by prompt and energetic action on our part. Some of these, States, notably Georgia, have already adopted a quarantine against our State and the State of Texas. A regulation recently adopted in that State prohibits the transportation of cotton seed grown in Texas or Louisiana, or consigned from points within these States, unless the same is accompanied by a certificate signed by a duly authorized State or government entomologist, stating that said cotton seed has been fumigated in such manner as to kill any boll weevils, etc., which may be contained therein.
I have an abiding faith in the intelligence and ability of the scientific
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 35
men of this country to deal with the subject and ultimately eradicate the pest, but, in the mean time, practically the only money crop of the South is threatened with extinction.
In view of a strong belief, entertained by the highest authority on the subject, that the destruction of our cotton crops can be indefinitely delayed or materially retarded, it is highly important that we adopt legis- lation conferring on some organized authority the power to prevent the importation into our State of any goods, wares or merchandise from which the Mexican boll weevil is liable to be brought into our State, and also to confiscate any crop or property infected with said pests, to the end of preventing its spread, or, if possible, to eradicate it.
The following excerpt from an editorial in the Shreveport Times, of date November 24th, does not overestimate the importance of immediate action on the subject:
"The entire cotton belt is threatened by the boll weevil. Throughout the South it is realized that unless decisive and prompt measures are taken to arrest its progress, the weevil will in course of time destroy a most important industry. That is why there was such unanimity of action among suothern Congressmen in the effort to secure government co-operation in the movement to exterminate or repress the boll worm. It is proposed to have Congress provide for the creation of a special commission to work out a plan for the extermination of the pest.
"If the representatives of the people of the entire South appreciate the necessity of prompt action in this matter, how much greater should the people of Louisiana, which borders the infested State, feel the need of decisive measures. Louisiana, by virtue of her geographical position, is in much greater peril than any other Southern State. The boll weevil is almost at her western border and she holds the key, as it were, to this decidedly unpleasant situation.
"It is impossible to overestimate the necessity of promptly devising measures against the boll weevil in this State. Hesitation or evasion would prove ruinous not only to the cotton interests of Louisiana, but of the entire South. If we grasp the problem firmly and promptly, the cotton interests may be rescued from the danger which now confronts them."
It is folly for anyone to minimize the injury wrought to the cotton interests by the boll weevil. The subjoined table shows the yield of cotton, in soo-pound bales, for the four years of 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902, in the counties of Texas densely infected by the weevil.
The President: The next subject, the last one on the program for to-day, is the "Constitutionality of Proposed Legislation," by Judge Walter Guion, Attorney General of Louisiana, of New Orleans.
Before reading his paper, Judge Guion made a brief statement, as follows :
36 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention — I wish briefly to state that a few days ago, I received an invitation to read a paper here, on the subject of the legislative measures which may be taken by the State of Lou- isiana in this emergency. At the same time, I received a communication from th'e Governor, asking for an opinion concerning the legislation which might be had along constitutional lines, that would serve the purposes of the people of this State; and I wrote Professor Stubbs, that I would prefer not to read a paper, but simply to give the opinion which I have given the Governor; and I will read it to you.
Following is the opinion of Judge Guion :
NEW ORLEANS, LA., Nov. 27, 1903.
His Excellency, W. W. Heard, Governor of the State of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, La. : Dear Sir — I have your letter of the 23d inst., in which, after referring to the importance of the matters coming before the Convention which is to meet in New Orleans on the 30th inst. to discuss the boll weevil and the measures of prevention that may be taken to safeguard the people of the State against invasion by it. You ask me to "prepare an opinion covering any constitutional ques- tions that might be involved, and the right of the Legislature to enact laws looking, first, to the setting apart of a strip" of land on the Texas border on which the cultivation of cotton will be prohibited, and, second, such quarantine laws as will prevent the introduction of certain cotton products through which the boll weevil might be brought into this State," and, finally, you suggest that "it would also be well to consider the right of the Legislature to create a com- mission vested with full power to carry out the objects and purposes of a more definite and specific law."
Prof. W. C. Stubbs has also been kind enough to request me to give my views upon the subject in an address to be delivered before the Convention. I have suggested to him that I would prefer giving them in the form of an opinion to you, since the measures of protection to be adopted must, after all, be afforded by the Legislature, which cannot meet in extra session unless called together by you.
Therefore, it must finally be left to you to determine whether the Legislature has the power and authority to enact such laws as will give the relief which is desired, and if so, whether a special session thereof should be called for that purpose.
The first question to be answered is wether the State of Louisiana has the right to prevent the cultivation of cotton upon lands lying along the eastern bank of the Sabine River, for I understand from Prof. Stubbs that the Convention will doubtless take up for discussion the subject of the right of the State to set apart a strip of territory in Louisiana of a certain width lying along the Sabine River, and ex-
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 37
tending from the northern to the southern boundary of the State, upon which the growing of cotton is to be prohibited, either altogether or for a fixed period of time, and the
Second is: Whether the Legislature of this State has the power, right and authority to prohibit the shipment into or through the State of cotton and cotton seed, etc., from the State of Texas, or other places where the boll weevil may exist.
First — That the State, in the exercise of her sovereign power, has the right to take private property whenever necessary for public purposes, or for the proper exercise of governmental functions, is so well recog- nized and established as no longer to need the citation of authority in support of the proposition. This right, known as the right of emi- nent domain, to be exercised by the State, through her Legislature, is conditioned, however, upon the payment of just compensation to the owner of the property so taken, our Constitution — article 167 of the Constitution of 1898 — declaring that "private property shall not be taken nor damaged for public purposes without just and adequate compen- sation being first paid."
Again, it must be conceded that the State has the right, not only to suppress nuisances, but to regulate the use and enjoyment of private property by the owner, in order thereby to promote the general welfare of the public, or to forbid its use entirely for certain purposes hurtful to the health, comfort or convenience of the public. This power, residing in the State in her sovereign capacity, known as the police power of the State, may be exercised whenever the necessity may arise for its exercise and without compensation to the owner of the property thus deprived of its use and enjoyment.
In the one case, where the power of the State, in the exercise of the right of eminent domain, is exerted, the property of the owner is taken by the State, for a public purpose, on compensating the owner for the same, while in the other instance, where the police power of the State is exercised, there is no taking of property for public purposes, but a mere deprivation of use or enjoyment by the owner in the in- terest and for the welfare of the public. The distinction between the police power of the State and the right of eminent domain lies in this, "that in the exercise of the latter right private property is taken for public use, and the owner is invariably entitled to compensation therefor, while the police power is usually exerted merely to regulate the use and enjoyment by the owner, or, if he is deprived of his prop- erty outright, it is not taken for public use, but rather destroyed in order to promote the general welfare of the public and in neither case is the owner entitled to any compensation for any injury which" he may sustain in consequence thereof, for the law considers that either the injury is damnum absque injurm
38 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
or the owner is sufficiently compensated by sharing in the general benefits resulting from the exercise of the police power." Am. and Eng. Enc. of Law, vol. 22, p. 916.
In the case of Bass vs. the State, 34 An., 494, the Supreme Court of this State said : "There are cases where it becomes necessary for the public authorities to interfere with control by individuals of their prop- erty, and even to destroy it, when the owners themselves have fully observed all their duties to their fellows and to the State, but where, nevertheless, some controlling public necessity demands the interference or destruction. Strong instances exist where it becomes necessary to take, use or destroy the private property of individuals to prevent the spreading of fire, the ravages of pestilence, the advance of a hostile army or any other great public calamity.
The laws passed for such purposes, it is well settled, though they may disturb the enjoyment of individual rights, are not unconstitutional, though no compensation is made. They do not appropriate private property for public use, but simply regulate its enjoyment by the owner. If he suffers injury, he is compensated in the theory of the law by sharing in the general benefits which the regulations are intended or calculated to secure. These regulations rest upon the maxim, salum populi supremo, lex."
This language was used in deciding a suit brought by Abraham Bass against the State for the recovery of the sum of $75,000, the value of his plantation which had been practically destroyed by the building of a levee on the Mississippi River, under State authority, in the rear of the plantation, so as to leave it entirely unprotected from overflow, and thereby depriving him of its use and enjoyment. The Supreme Court there decided that the action thus taken by the State was not a taking of plaintiff's property for public purposes in the exercise of the right of eminent domain for which he should be compensated, but was an exercise of her police powers, and that the State owed no compensation under the circumstances to the owner of the property.
In the case of the New Orleans Gas Light Company vs. Hart, 40 An., 474, which was a suit brought to enjoin the removal by defendant of certain lamp posts erected by plaintiff in the city of New Orleans, and where one of the defenses made was that defendant had the right to remove the posts under authority delegated to him by the city in the exercise of her police power, the Supreme Court of this State said : "The last objection to be considered is whether the city could have exercised the right of removal of the obnoxious lampposts. That right the city possesses as an inherent concomitant of the police power. So far that power has not received a full and complete definition; but it may be said to be the right of the State, or of a State functionary, to prescribe regulations for the good order, peace, protection, com-
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 39
fort and convenience of the community which do not encroach on the like power vested in Congress by the Federal Constitution." Con- tinuing, the Court said, speaking of what the police power of a State is: "It is a power in the exercise of which a man's property may be taken from him, where his liberty may be shackled and his person exposed to destruction in cases of great public emergencies."
In the case of Egan vs. Hart, 45 An., 1,358, the doctrine announced in Bass vs. the State is reaffirmed; that the State in locating her public levees acts in the exercise of her police power, and that any private injury resulting therefrom is damnum absque injuria.
Again, in the case of Ruch vs. the City of New Orleans, reported in the 43d Annual, the Supreme Court of this State differentiates between the exercise of the right of eminent domain and the police power of the State, and holds, at page 284, that although private property may be appropriated for a public roadway, the taking, under such circumstances, is not in the exercise of the right of eminent domain, but of the police power of the State, and that any loss sustained thereby does not entitle the injured party to be recompensed therefor, the injury being damnum, absque injuria, but that the right of expropria- tion of property is in the exercise of the right of eminent domain which entitles the owner to damages by way of compensation.
In the case of Koerber vs. the Orleans Levee Board et als., 51 An., it was contended that certain levee work done by the Board of Com- missioners of the Orleans Levee Distrcit was not a work of emergency, and that plaintiff's property could not be taken for public use except through regular expropriation proceedings and prior com- pensation. The Court said, at page 536: "Ordinarily, private property should be taken for public use only by regular judi- cial expropriation proceedings, but there are occasions when the public safety requires and justifies the taking immediately of such property under the police powers of the State."
True it is that the Bass case decided upon a state of facts which arose and existed at the time the Constitution of 1868 was in force, and was governed by that Constitution, article no of which declares that : "No ex post facto or retroactive law, nor any law impairing the obli- gation of contracts, shall be passed, nor vested rights be divested, unless for purposes of public utility and for adequate compensation." This article of the Constitution of 1868 is found in previous Constitutions of this State. For the first time the framers of our organic law saw fit to adopt a new article when ,in 1879, they declared by article 156 that "Private property shall not be taken nor damaged for public purposes without just and adequate compensation being first paid." This iden- tical language is again found in article 167 of the Constitution of 1898. For the first time, in 1879 the Constitution provided for compensa-
4O PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
tion to be paid in cases where property is damaged, as well as taken, for public purposes, no similar provision being contained in the Con- stitution of 1868 or previous Constitutions of the State. This additional instance, however, where the owner may be compensated for damage done his property by the State, as well as in the cases where it may be entirely taken, refers to cases where the property is damaged by the State in the exercise of the right of eminent domain, and not where it is injured in the exercise of the police power of the State.
This article of the Constitution was in force at the time the suit of Egan vs. Hart was brought, for the latter was instituted after the adoption of the Constitution of 1879, and upon a state of facts arising after its adoption. In that case plaintiff sued only for damages done to the property by certain levee work, which she claimed resulted in a depreciation of its value, etc., and not because her property had been taken from her, and, notwithstanding the fact that article 156 of the Constitution of 1879 entitled all persons to be compensated for the damage done their property, as well as where it is actually taken by the State, the Supreme Court refused her demand, because the injury complained of by her was done, not in the exercise of the right of eminent domain, but of the police power of the State.
The case of" L'Hote vs. City of New Orleans, 51 An., 93, is one where, although injury was alleged to have been done to plaintiff's property and its value diminished by reason of the ordinance of the City Council in respect to the limits within which houses of prostitution might be located, the Supreme Court held that the injury suffered was damnum absque injuria, since the ordinance was within the ex- ercise of the police powers of the City Council. This case went to the Supreme Court of the United States, which decided against the plaintiff in error. That Court, referring to the complaint of plaintiff in er- ror that the city ordinance, if enforced, would injure the value of his prop- erty, said : "It is said that this operates to depreciate the pecuniary value of the property belonging to the plaintiff in error, but a similar result will follow if other limits were prescribed, and, therefore, the power to prescribe limits could never be exercised, because, whatever the limits, it might operate to the pecuniary disadvantage of some property holders. The truth is that the exercise of the police power often works pecuniary injury, but the 'settled rule of this Court is that the mere fact of pecuniary injury does not warrant the overthrow of legislation of a police character." See 177 U. S., p. 589, citing Fertilizing Co. vs. Nyde Park, 97 U. S., 659, and Mugler vs. Kansas, 123 U. S., 623, in both of which it was held that individuals hold their property subject to the ordinary and reasonable exercise of the police powers of the State, not entitling them to compensation for injury sustained in the proper exercise of such power by the State.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 4!
Camfield vs. United States, 167 U. S. is a case where the extent to which the police power of a State may go was discussed, and it was there held, referring to a decision of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, that "the case is authority for the proposition that the police power is not subject to any definite limitations, but is co- extensive with the necessities of the * case .and the safeguard of the public interests." P. 524.
From my examination of numerous authorities, as well as text writers on the subject, I have reached the conclusion that the use of property is to be distinguished from property itself, and that this use or right of enjoyment is held subject to the police power of the State, to be entirely taken away if necessary, without compensating the owner therefor.
My opinion, therefore, is that if there has arisen- such an emergency as, in the exercise of a wise discretion by the Legislature, would justify it in prohibiting the cultivation of cotton upon lands lying along the Sabine River or elsewhere in this State, in order to prevent the intro- duction into the cotton fields of the State of the boll weevil, and that steps should be taken to prevent the weevil from getting into the State, it would have the right to enact suitable laws for that purpose, if neces- sary to accomplish that object, in the exercise of the police power of the State ; and this without any corresponding obligation on the part of the State to compensate the owners of such property for any injury sustained by them by reason of their being deprived of the use of their property in the growing and raising of cotton thereon.
In order to justify such legislation, the injury threatened by the boll weevil must be so great as to make it reasonably necessary to resort to such stringent measures, otherwise the State cannot deprive the owners of the use of their property without compensation for such injury as may be sustained by them by reason of the deprivation. Besides, the Legislature can only justify such interference with the property rights of these owners in the exercise of the police power of the State while the necessity lasts, for it is the necessity which furnishes the justifi- cation, so that if the necessity no longer exists the right thus exercised ceases.
Second — The next question to be answered is, whether the Legislature may enact suitable laws to prohibit and prevent the shipments into or through the State of cotton, cotton seed, etc., from the State of Texas or elsewhere, where the boll weevil may exist.
The right of a State to enact and enforce quarantine laws, in order to prevent the introduction of infectious or contagious diseases, whether brought from a foreign country or from one of the other States of the Union, has been recognized and upheld by an unbroken line of authority.
In the Passenger Cases, 7 Howard, p. 414, the Supreme Court of the
42 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
United States held "that the States of this Union may, in the exercise of their police powers, pass quarantine and health laws, interdicting vessels coming from foreign ports, or ports within the United States, from land- ing passengers and goods, prescribe the places and time for vessels to quarantine, arid impose penalties for violating the same ; and that such laws, though affecting commerce in its transit, are not regulations of commerce prescribing terms upon which merchandise and persons shall be admitted into the ports of the United States, but precautionary regu- lations to prevent vessels engaged in commerce from introducing disease into the ports to which they are bound, etc."
In a valuable treatise on the laws of public health and safety by Messrs. Parker & Worthington (edition of 1892) they declare that "the ordinary system of quarantine laws established -by a State is a rightful exercise of the police power for the protection of health," and that, "it i? un- doubtdly within the power of the States to establish precautionary meas- ures against the spread of communicable diseases by persons coming from foreign countries or from other States," and that "the State may prohibit the introduction within its borders of animals suffering with contagious or infectious diseases and of articles of property which are of such a nature or in such a condition as to be dangerous to the health or safety of the people."
The theory which seems to justify State action being taken to prevent property from being brought into its borders without interfering with the commerce clause of the Constitution of the United States, is, that such things, either because of their nature or their condition, cannot be properly considered as articles of commerce, and that as an incident to the right and power to prevent their introduction the State has the right to use proper means to ascertain that fact. Here, it would seem, is the limit between the sovereign power of the State and the power of the Federal Government. In other words, every article or thing which by reason of its nature or because of its infectious or contagious condition cannot be classed as an article of commerce, is within the jurisdiction of the police power of the State, while all others which may be subjects of commerce are within the jurisdiction of the United States.
In the case of Leisy vs. Hardin, 135 U. S., the Supreme Court of the United States makes this distinction in that part of the decision where it declares that "articles in such a condition as tend to spread disease are not merchantable, are not legitimate subjects of trade and commerce, and the self-protecting power of each State, therefore, may be rightfully ex- erted against their introduction, and such exercise of power cannot be considered a regulation of commerce, prohibited by the Constitution." page 113, citing the language of Mr. Justice Catron, in the License Cases. 5 Howard 504-599, where he holds that what does not belong to com merce is within the jurisdiction of the police power of the State.
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In the case of Railroad Company vs. Husen, 95 U. S., the Supreme Court of the United States recognized the right of a State, in the proper exercise of its police power, to exclude, not only persons and things which may endanger the life, health, peace or safety of her citizens, but declares that "the same principle, it may also be conceded, would justify the exclusion of property dangerous to the property of citizens of the State," page 471.
It is true that the Court in that case refused to sustain a statute of the State of Missouri prohibiting the driving or conveying into or the keeping in any county of that State, of Texas, Mexican or Indian cattle, between the first day of March and the first day of November of each year. That act was declared unconstitutional, however, on the ground that it was neither a quarantine law, nor an inspection law, and because it practically denied the entry into the State of Missouri of any Texas, Mexican or Indian cattle, even though free from disease. The right, however, of every State to protect itself in proper cases and by proper measures of quarantine inspection against infection, whether from persons or property, was distinctly recognized and affirmed.
In a later decision, however, that of Kimmish vs. Ball, 129 U. S., the Supreme Court had occasion to review the Husen case, and distinctly de- clared at page 221 that, in that case, "no attempt was made to show that all Texas, Mexican or Indian cattle, coming from the malarial district during the months mentioned, were infected with the disease, or that such cattle were so generally infected that it would have been impossible to separate the healthy from the diseased. Had such proof been given a different question would have been presented for the consideration of the Court," for said the Court: "Certainly all animals thus infected may be excluded from the State by its laws until they are cured of the disease or until some mode of transporting them without danger of spreading it is devised."
In other words, the Court, in the later case, held that if the above facts had been shown in the Husen case, it would have upheld the Missouri statute as being in the nature of a quarantine law and not violative of the commerce clause of the Constitution of the United States.
The Supreme Court of the United States again, in Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway vs. Haber, 169 U. S., p. 130, in commenting upon the Husen case, declared that "the Missouri statute was held to be uncon- stitutional because it went beyond the necessities of the case, having been so drawn as to exclude all Texas, Mexican or Indian cattle from the State (except cattle to be transported across and out of the State), whether free from disease or not, or whether they would or would not do injury to the inhabitants of the State." The Kansas statute, however, which was attacked in the Haber case, was upheld by the Court. Referring to it, the Court said : "It does
44 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
not prohibit the bringing into the State of all Texas cattle. It does not in any true sense prohibit or burden any commerce among the States specifically authorized by Congress; but, for purposes of self-protection only, and in the exercise of its inherent power to protect the property of its people, declared that any corporation or person bringing into the State or driving into or through any County of the State, cattle liable to impart or capable of communicating Texas, splenic or Spanish fever to domestic cattle, should be responsible in damages, etc."
In Rasmassen vs. Idaho, 181 U. S., 198, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a statute of the State of Idaho, giving to the Gov- ernor the right, whenever he has reason to believe that the disease known as scab or any other infectious disease of sheep has become epidemic in certain localities of any other State or Territory, to issue his proclama- tion designating such localities and prohibiting the importation into that State of any sheep from such localities, and declared it to be a quarantine regulation.
It is well to observe, however, that the statute thus upheld did not make an absolute prohibition of the introduction of sheep into the State of Idaho, but merely authorized the Governor "to investigate the condi- tion of sheep in any locality, and, if found to be subject to the scab or any epidemic disease liable to be communicated to other sheep, to make such restrictions on their introduction into the State as shall seem to him, after conference with the State Sheep Inspector, to be necessary/' P. 901.
In that case the Governor of Idaho, acting by virtue of this act of the Legislature of that State, forbade the introduction altogether into the State of sheep from certain localities in other States. The Court, in sus- taining the law of Idaho and the Governor, said, in speaking of the latter : "Whether such restraint shall be total or limited, and for what length of time, are matters to be determined by him upon full consideration of the condition of the sheep in the localities supposed to be affected." P. 201. Another case which is instructive on this subject is Smith vs. St. Louis and Southwestern Railway Company, 181 U. S. 248.
In Prentice on Police Powers (Ed. of 1894), I find the same principle contended for in the following language, at page u: "Articles in such a condition as tend to spread disease are not merchantable or legitimate subjects of trade or commerce, and the self-protecting power of each State, therefore, may rightfully be exerted against their introduction. * * So also vines exposed to danger from phyloxera, or wheat smitten with the Hessian fly, may be condemned."
From my examination of the subject I feel convinced that the Legisla- ture of this State has the right to pass such quarantine laws as may be reasonably necessary to prevent the introduction of the boll weevil into the State, and, to that end, if necessary, to exclude from the State cotton,
PROCEEDINGS OK THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 45
cotton seed or anything else which may serve as a means of introducing it into the State. There should be no reasonable doubt of the right of the State to enact quarantine laws to absolutely prohibit the shipment into the State of everything from any place infected with the boll weevil, as well as the shipment of the same through the State, if thereby there may be serious danger of the weevil infecting the cotton fields of this State.
To my mind, such measures of quarantine protection would be entirely local and within the exercise of the police power of the State, and not in any sense to be considered as regulations of interstate commerce.
How best to enforce such quarantine; what quarantine regulations should be adopted, and under what authority the State should act in carrying out the measures of prevention necessary to attain the objects and purposes of the Legislature are matters which lie entirely within the power of the Legislature, and are to be dealt with by it. The end in view may be accomplished by a special commission, created for the pur- pose, or additional power or authority may be given to the Bureau of Agriculture and Immigration, which already is charged with the duty of "encouraging, advancing and protecting the agricultural interests of Louisiana."
I am, yours respectfully,
WALTER GUION, Attorney General.
The President. — I wish to call the attention of chairmen of committees that we expect reports to-morrow. Therefore these committees should either meet to-night, or early in the morning.
Judge John C. Pugh, Chairman of the Committee on Legislation, here announced that there would be a meeting of his committee at 9 o'clock.
Mr. Chappuis of Rayne. — Mr. Chairman, I would like to state that some of the delegates here would like to go back to-night ,and would like to be heard before going.
The Chairman stated that the matter rested with the Convention.
Mr. Pope of Rapides moved that the gentlemen be heard to-night.
Thereupon some member offered as a substitute that the gentlemen be invited to stay over until to-morrow.
Mr. Pugh of Shreveport spoke to this motion.
Thereupon Mr. Chappuis stated that it was imperative for him to leave at night, and expressed a desire to be heard before going.
Mr. Pugh then moved that the gentleman be heard.
The substitute was withdrawn.
Mr. Chappuis read the following paper, to-wit:
"Mr. Chairman, Gentlemen — Representing the young, prosperous and beautiful Parish of Arcadia, and being so situated that it would probably be one of the first victims of the most probable invasion of the boll weevil.
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due to the fact that it is one of the western parishes of the State and lying but a short distance away from our unfortunate sister State bf Texas, has caused me serious thought and prompted me to do, to the very best of my ability, my duty to my people in presenting to this Con- vention the good and valid reasons why we should adopt the most rigid and effective measures to protect not only the people of my parish, but the people of the whole State, in fact, the whole of the cotton belt, if such lies within our power.
"The question of quarantine against all Texas products, with us, is a very important and necessary step towards the future safety of our cotton crop.
"With our past experience with insect pests, we are in a position to judge of the great damage that can result to a whole community by the invasion of one of these pests brought by the importing of feed stuffs from other States infected with these insects.
"Up to a few years ago, our farmers could figure on a good average corn crop year in and year out, but within the last three years, our corn crops, during seasons of drought, are more seriously infected by the chintz bug, and out of the last three seasons, we have made but one good corn crop, due to this pest. Their coming to our parish can be directly traced to the importation of feed stuffs by the rice farmers from some Western State infested by similar pests. I believe that Prof. Morgan, of the State Agricultural Station, was, three years ago, called upon for help to destroy this pest, but so far, we have been unable to destroy them, and they cause great damage during the growing season of our corn and oat crops, if the season happens to be a dry one.
"Our experience .with the chintz bug warns us to make most serious endeavors to protect ourselves against this much more serious danger of the invasion of the boll weevil, and we appeal to you, gentlemen of this Convention, not to adjourn the Convention until, by the thorough and dispassionate discussion of this most important question, we have reached some understanding as to the best ways and means to keep the boll weevil out of our State.
"The Parish of Arcadia, owing to its diversity of farming interests, is probably more seriously menaced than other parishes of the State, for the following reasons :
"You will often find on the same section of land, a rice farmer who plants from one to two acres of rice; this rice farmer, as a rule, plants nothing but rice ; he owns several new teams, and these teams must have corn, oats and hay; not raising his own feed, he goes to town and buys from a feedstore his necessary feed; this feed, or the greater portion of the same, comes fresh from the State of Texas.
frRight on north, east, west and south of this rice planter, are a number of honest and industrious small cotton farmers, who have been struggling
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 47
for a living all through the past years of low prices of cotton, but who to-day are prosperous and happy, and with the very probable good prices of cotton for the next few years, see a bright future for their prosperity and for the welfare of their families. But if we allow this rice farmer to destroy this hope of a bright future, by allowing him a further privilege of obtaining his feed from any section he may see fit, without regard to the prosperity and happiness of his neighbor — cotton farmers — we then be- come a party to the crime, and we, as business men, depending for our prosperity upon the prosperity of the cotton farmer, will suffer equally as much.
"The objection to the quarantine idea may be raised, due to the fact that should we shut out Texas products, feed stuffs will have to be brought from greater distances, thereby increasing the cost of feed bills to the rice and sugar planters of the State. Whatever increase of cost this may cause would not be the one-hundredth part of the damage brought upon the cotton industry should it be infested with the boll weevil, and I know, as far as my parish is concerned, our lands are so fertile, that there is no acre anywhere to be found that, with proper cultivation and good drainage, cannot raise as good corn, oats and forage crops as the State of Texas, and should the increased cost of feed be such as to teach our rice farmers, the necessity, both for their own welfare and for the good of our parish, of their raising their own grain and forage crops, the lesson will prove to be a God-send instead of a hardship.
"There may be some doubt as to the result of this quarantine not keep- ing out the boll weevil ; we claim that it is worth trying, and by enforcing it strictly and providing a heavy penalty for its violation, would be one of the best means to try to keep out the pest.
"We would also suggest that the Legislature, in special session, be called upon to enact laws for the strict enforcement of this quarantine, and also to forbid that any specimens of the boll weevil, dead or alive, be brought from Texas into our State, and we should also request the. Postmaster General to issue strict orders to all postmasters in the in- fested districts of Texas to prevent the mailing of any insects to other parts of the country.
"These measures, together with any other measures that this Conven- tion may suggest, that would result in making a most serious effort in keeping out the boll weevil, we will most earnestly support."
Here Capt. Davenport announced that there would be a meeting of the Committee on Resolutions at the St. Charles Hotel, at 8:30 o'clock p. m.
The Convention thereupon adjourned to Tuesday, December 1st, at 10 o'clock.
48 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
SECOND DAY'S PROCEEDINGS.
MORNING SESSION.
Col. Charles Schuler called the Convention to order at 10:45 o'clock A. M. Before proceeding with the regular program of the day, he asked the Secretary to read the following telegram:
LAKE PROVIDENCE, LA. HON. CHARLES SCHULER,
President Boll Weevil Convention, N. O., La.
Regret that I am detained here by very important business. I heartily approve special session of Legislature. Am deeply interested in work before Convention, and will do my utmost to assist in carrying out its suggestions.
JAMES E. RANSDELL,
The President then called for Hon. F. P. Stubbs, Sr., of Monroe, La., who was to discuss the subject of the "Planter's Interest in Repelling the Boll Weevil," but Mr. Stubbs was detained by delayed train and did not reach the city until after Convention adjourned.
Mr. John M. Parker, of New Orleans, La., was then called, and dis- cussed the subject under consideration, from the standpoint of the "Mer- chant's Interest," in the following paper. Before reading his paper, Mr. Parker made the following brief remarks :
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention — I am thoroughly agreeable to state what in my humble opinion are the strongest possible reasons why not only the governments of the States, but the Government of the United States, should do all in their power to safeguard the ma- terial interests of the cotton growers in this State or anywhere else.
MR. PARKER'S PAPER.
Agricultural success and manufacturing activity form the most stable source of the wealth of every nation, and, of the two, agricultural success is of the greater importance as it makes a people sturdy, independent, self-reliant and furnishes a large portion of the products which in the planting, cultivating, gathering, marketing, transporting and manufactur- ing, give employment to millions in every walk of life, enable our people to be large exporters and make this great country a world power.
No one product is of more intrinsic value than cotton, which gives employment to every class of labor from the ignorant and illiterate old- time negro all the way up to skilled mechanics, men of science and to the greatest financiers, who every fall discuss the problem of money needed to move the crops, and by our exports turn the balance of the world's trade in our favor.
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No single agricultural crop gives such constant employment to so large a number of workers in such diversified lines, and the success and pros- perity of a large section of our country is so closely linked with the cul- tivation and manufacturing of cotton that a crop disaster would be a na- tional calamity, the effects of which would not be local only, but would be keenly felt throughout the land.
A crop failure in any one section means disaster to planter, merchant and banker alike and a repeated crop failure means ruin.
The transportation charges on cotton and cotton products alone amount to more than $25,000,000 annually and the transportation of bagging, ties, gins, machinery, compresses, farm implements, mules, horses and labor to gather the crops amount to nearly as much more, to say nothing of the immense sums paid for transporting feed, provisions and other supplies necessary for the planter and his hands.
Destroy our cotton crop and what would be the value of the stocks and bonds of the transportation lines which now traverse the entire cotton belt?
The rich and thriving manufacturing towns of New England keep close watch on our growing crop, and consumption seems already to have outstripped production, and the cry is for more cotton.
Destroy our cotton crop, stop every spindle in New England and Southern mills and what untold misery and suffering would be inflicted on thousands of operatives and what would be the ultimate results of the widespread disaster to the farmer, merchant, capitalist and banker?
A total and repeated failure of the cotton crop would practically bankrupt every merchant and banker in the cotton belt, and the results Of such a far-reaching disaster would be ruinous to the general financial interests of the United States.
While cotton is produced in the South only, the East, North and West are vitally interested in good crops being raised and it is of national importance that for all time this vast country of ours should be recog- nized as the greatest cotton producing country of the world.
In these days of keen commercial competition we find Great Britain, Russia, Germany, France and many of the small nations making an earnest effort to raise cotton in competition with the American product. While none of this competition promises to be serious it is wise to keep vigilant guard and adopt heroic measures against any pest which may threaten our crops or our supremacy as cotton producers. Nature has been most lavish in her gifts to the South — a glorious climate, nearly every variety of minerals and metals, large forests of choice timber and millions of the most fertile and productive acres, capable of producing nearly every agricultural product and especially adapted to cotton.
We can produce that staple product more easily, more economically and more profitably than any nation on the globe, and it is our individual
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duty and the imperative duty of the Government of the United States to do all in our power to so safeguard and augment our crops of cotton that we can promptly and profitably supply the wants of the universe.
Barely a month ago at a great convention held in this city, representa- tive men from the far West, from the East and from the Northern and Central States pleaded earnestly and eloquently for liberal appropriations from the National Government to properly protect our rich delta lands from overflow and enable us to plant larger crops of cotton, and it was my privilege and pleasure to read to that convention a letter from Presi- dent Roosevelt expressing his cordial sympathy.
I am sure I violate no confidence when I quote from my friend Ransdell's personal letter: "I have just come from a very satisfactory visit to the President, who has taken a keen interest in the suppression of the boll weevil, and who will bring the matter before Congress urging that means be taken to eradicate the pest."
However strongly many of us differ politically with our Chief Execu- tive, his sturdy manhood is unquestioned, and he says what he means and does what he promises ; so with the aid of the Government, the asssistance » and experience of their entomologists, and co-operation of practical planters and patriotic citizens, some method must and should be devised to not only hold in check but completely eradicate the boll weevil.
At the end of his paper, Mr. Parker made the following further observa- tions, to-wit:
Mr. Parker. — Gentlemen, the subject given me for consideration is one so large, so broad, that I feel that I could stand here and talk of it, no doubt, all day. The failure of the cotton crop means more to the United States than any one can very well imagine. Destroy our cotton crop, and what will be the value of the stocks and bonds and securities of the rail- roads that transport our cotton crop? There is not a single branch of industry, throughout this whole country, that is not vitally benefitted by our crops, but over and beyond that, we have a duty, an imperative duty almost to the whole world, because we are the only people that can supply it with the necessary output of cotton. There is not a single concern that is not interested in this qeustion. The manufacturers of New England, the mills of Pittsburgh, the farmers of the Middle West, the agricultural progress of the Central States, the manufacturers of machinery, whether of plows, harrows, or hoes ; all of them are so vitally interested, so clearly interested in this matter, that my firm belief is that an earnest appeal to the United States Government is bound to result in its ready and cordial support; and, with its assistance, we will do away, for all time to come, with the danger from the boll weevil.
The President. — The next number on the program is the "Banker's Interest," by Hon. Samuel McC. Lawrason, of St. Francisville, La. In the absence of Mr. Lawrason, we will pass that number, and we will take
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up the "Oil Mills' Interest," by Mr. T. P. Sullivan, of Alexandria, La. We take great pleasure in producing Mr. T. P. Sullivan, who is thoroughly familiar with the oil business. Mr. Sullivan read the following paper:
MR. SULLIVAN'S PAPER.
"I have been requested to deliver an address before this Convention on "Oil Mills' Interest." My remarks on this will be necessarily brief, as the time of this Convention has been profitably employed discussing the means of repelling. the boll weevil, by scientists who have devoted a great deal of thought and time to this seeming sectional, national, and unless suppressed, I might say, universal calamity.
"The ravages of this insect, as you are told by State and National entomologists, are the most destructive that have ever attacked the prinr cipal agricultural interests of the South, viz: its great staple — cotton. The curtailment of this product is felt throughout the habitable globe where articles of cotton mannfacture are exchanged or sold. To relieve this threatened cotton famine that menaces Louisiana and the cotton grow- ing States, every faculty of thought and expression of the citizens of this and other States are invoked with the assurance of all the aid at the power of the National Government. The cotton planters of the South are no more interested in repelling and exterminating the Mexican boll weevil than the cotton seed oil millers, for various reasons. We have an allied interest in the production and growth of cotton, claiming rela- tionship by virtue of the crowning of cotton as king with cotton seed as queen, and the cotton seed oil industry as the offspring of that domestic relationship. Is it not natural, therefore, when the head of the family is threatened with a direful calamity, the devoted wife and offspring should be the first to the rescue. Blood is thicker than water, and you can always rely on the cotton seed oil miller standing shoulder to shoulder with the cotton planter in repelling the encroachments of anything that is a menace to the growth and cultivation of cotton. As a proof of the interest manifested by the cotton seed oil mills of the South in repelling the boll weevil, the President of the Interstate Cotton Seed Crushers' Association, Mr. A. H. D. Perkins, of Pine Bluff, Ark., appointed dele- gates from all the cotton States, of whom I was one, to attend the Con- vention held at Dallas, Texas, last month, in the same interest that has brought about this convention. The cotton seed oil millers stand ready with their means and their intelligence to give whatever is in their power to strangle and exterminate this pest of foreign growth and uninvited immigration. At a meeting of the Planters of North Louisiana held at Shreveport, the latter part of last September, our State Entomologist, Mr. Morgan, stated that this troublesome and death-dealing insect of the
52 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
cotton crop could be imported in cotton seed, seed cotton, cotton ana hay. It was then suggested that these commodities should be quarantined as coming from Texas. To this demand for quarantine the oil mills all responded without a murmur that they would sacrifice that part of their inheritance, and would not bring any cotton seed from Texas into Louisi- ana. I am sorry to say that the interests importing the other commodi- ties did not respond with the same alacrity but took it under considera- tion.
At the meetings mentioned at Shreveport and Dallas I listened with attention to "the great number of scientific researches, experiments and advancd ideas for the destruction of the boll weevil, but all resulted without giving any positive cure. Nothing but recommendations with the hope that a parasite would in the order of Providence develop itself that would exterminate the pest. I shudder at the job that confronts this parasite, after reading that, a male and female weevil .in the fullness of their domestic felicity can develop an offspring of 314,000,000 in one season. This I learned from an article in one of your daily papers. In the furtherance of my interest for repelling and combatting this pes- tilential immigrant, it occurred to me that his native country, Mexico, must have some practical way of handling him, as we never heard of his destructiveness in that country to any malignant extent. To satisfy myself I dictated a letter to a friend of mine, the largest manufacturer of soap, candles and cotton seed oil in the Republic of Mexico, and who controls about all the cotton seed raised from cotton in the State of Durango, the only State in Mexico in which cotton is raised to any extent. Here is his reply to my queries :
"GOMEZ PALACCIO, September 30th, 1903.
"Mv DEAR FRIEND— Replying to your favor of the 25th inst, I beg to say that I will do my best to answer your questions in regard to the boll weevil in Mexico:
"It has been demonstrated in this country, year after year, that the boll weevil is always with us, but that he cannot multiply nor ravage the cotton crops. The planters claim that the only means known to destroy the boll weevil, or at least to limit his ability to destroying little or no- thing, is by_^drojauiing ; or in fact the same method as was used by the vineyard owners in Southern France when their vines were being de- stroyed by the Philoxera. The planters here kill two birds with the same stone. They kill all kinds of vermin and especially the boll weevil and at the same time wet the ground ready for ploughing, by inundating the plantations. They pursue the method of erecting around each plan- tation, or parts of each plantation, a small dyke about one meter high, and fill this enclosure up with a three-fourths meter depth of water. They claim that this drowns out all the vermin, and at the same time
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gives them all the necessary moisture to plant a good crop of cotton. Where they do not inundate they do not plant cotton, but put in corn, wheat and truck.
"You will please present this solution of the problem to your execu- tive committee on the boll weevil prize, and at the same time enter my claim for the $50,000 premium.
"The State Governments here, have each appointed a technical commis- sion of entomologists to constantly look out for infested cotton planta- tions or infested cotton seed. In the first instance they burn the cotton plants on the plantation and pay a just indemnity to the planter; in the second instance they order the cotton seed delivered to our mills here, and oblige us to burn the hulls, lint and refuse, thereby saving the oil and cake.
"I have been here since 1892 constantly, and have heard of no ravages by the boli weevil, although you can find him very easily, but in very insignificant numbers.
"Trusting this information will be useful to you, and with kindest re- gards, T remain, "Yours very sincerely,
(Signed) "JUAN F. BRITTINGHAM."
"The method set forth in this letter may not commend itself to the scientist nor the practical planter who has never encountered any obstacle toward raising a profitable cotton crop, but we are here to consider any and all suggestions, eliminating those that are impractical and adopting those that commend themselves to us, and as was suggested by the Sec- retary of Agriculture, at Dallas, every cotton planter must resolve him- self into an experimental station on all the methods that have been set before him. The individual financial interest of the cotton seed oil miller is most paramount, if as stated in numerous statistics that the de- struction to the cotton crop of Texas each year for the past two years has been twenty per cent, of her production being a low estimate. Should this be extended to the cotton belt it would mean of last year's crop at present prices of ten and one-half cents, $112,875,000, thus reducing the volume of cotton seed to be crushed by the oil mills if they were all crushing seed, viz : 618 mills, about 800,000 tons of seed, or in other words it would throw twenty per cent, of 618 mills into the "National Pawn Shop," which means in the hands of a receiver, and reduce the values produced from cotton seed and its products at least 20,000,000 of dollars annually, besides paralyzing the remaining mills, who would no doubt scramble among themselves for seed to demonstrate the survival of the fittest, reducing the profit sharing to such a minimum that the capital in- vested in cotton seed oil mills would be compelled to remain passive and await the developments of this national crusade against this rapacious enemy of the South's progress and manifest destiny of supplying the
54 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
world with ttie products of cotton seed, viz: cotton, cotton seed oil and oil cake. In the furtherance of this crusade the assistance of the cotton seed oil mills in repelling the boll weevil must be conspicuously to the front."
Mr. Wm. E. Glassel, of Caddo.— Mr. President, I would like to say that since the boll weevil discussion came up, I wrote to every oil mill, begging them not to bring in any infected seed from the State of Texas. Every oil mill man in the State responded, that they would not bring in any seed infected. Some of the merchants hesitated to make that promise. Since that time, however, I want to say that every wholesaler and every retailer has signed an agreement not to bring in anything from the State of Texas, where the boll weevil exists.
The President.— That simply goes to show the patriotic action of the merchants as well as the oil mill people of Shreveport.
The President.— Providence, in its way, has provided a remedy that, to some extent at least, destroys all insect enemies to plants. I have been reliably informed that until the destruction, the almost wholesale de- sruction, of the prairie hen on the prairies of Southwest Texas, the boll weevil was not known. Birds, in their way, destroy a great many insects. I have been told, at the Dallas Convention, that one gentleman, a scien- tist, from Texas, made the statement that the daily ration of a partridge was about one hundred and twenty-five v/eevils. Therefore, it is with great pleasure that I introduce the next speaker, Mr. Frank M. Muller, president of the Audubon Society of New Orleans, who will discuss the subject of "Birds in Relation to the Boll Weevil."
Mr. Muller appeared to be absent just at this moment. The President inquired whether any other gentleman present would speak upon the subject assigned Mr. Stubbs. Thereupon, Mr. F. L. Maxwell, of Mad- ison, suggested that if there were present any practical farmer who had had occasion to be in a boll weevil district, or to have had any exper- ience with that insect, the Convention would be glad to hear from him Then some one called for Mr. B. W. Marston, of Red River Parish. Mr. Marston ascended the platform, and spoke as follows:
Mr. Chairman: I feel that I can tell you what I don't know better than what I do know about the boll weevil. It was my fortune, about two years ago, to be in Southern Texas, and I visited one of those boll weevil farms. I had seen the destruction of the caterpillar, and I had had something to do with destroying them; but when I went into that field in Texas, and saw the destruction there, I was appalled. I had never seen anything to equal it, in any of the cotton ravages of the cater- pillar. When I state that there was not a single solitary boll or form left in that field, that was not infected, or destroyed, I do not overstate the matter at all.
Notwithstanding that, gentlemen, though I do not like to say it before
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 55
this audience, the boll weevil has never had any terrors for me. I be- lieve that we can destroy the boll weevil just as easy as we can destroy the caterpillar. 1 know that we can destroy the boll worm. I have demonstrated that to my entire satisfaction. I went into my field, a few years ago, and laid out poison for the boll worm, and I do not think I exaggerate, when I say that I destroyed every single solitary one in that field. I went three days after setting out the poison and I found them dead, in every shape, manner or form. I went into my neighbor's field and I found there millions at work; that proved to me conclusively that the boll weevil could be reached.
Now, they tell me that this -boll weevil does not eat anything but the inside of the forms of the bolls. I know that they come, out of these forms, because, upon opening one of these forms, one day, quite a number of them flew out and flew away. A great many others played possum, lay there and appeared to be dead. I gathered quite a number, in these forms, of these boll weevils, and brought them home, kept them well corked up, however; none of them got away. It was not many days before one of my Texas neighbors brought over to our house what he called a boll weevil. 1 put it in with the others, and I could not see any difference. So I believe then that we have had the boll weevil for a number of years.
It was only the other day, after a heavy frost at home, that one of my Texas neighbors brought me a half-grown weevil, and it was dead. Now, they say that the full-grown weevil won't die from exposure to the weather. I don't know about that, but this one was about half grown, and it was certainly dead.
Something has transpired or developed in this Convention that I think is of the utmost importance to us : that where precautions have been taken, the boll weevil has not carried the terrors, in some of my friends' opinions, that it has had for us. Because we hear it stated here that full crops of cotton have been grown right in the boll weevil district. A friend of mine told me that he had just visited Texas, and he saw a first-class crop of cotton right in the center of the boll weevil district; that this crop of cotton had been raised upon a field where the gentle- man, the year before, had turned his cattle in and had destroyed every vestige of cotton after the first picking, and there in that particular field, a full crop of cotton had been raised this year.
I do not say this to show that we are not right in what we are doing here to-day, because we know that this boll weevil is possibly the most destructive insect that has ever struck the cotton crop, and we have to do everything in our power to get him out of the State. But I think, be- yond the shadow of a doubt, he will be kept out, and the terror of him will disappear just as the terror of the caterpillar has disappeared. (Ap- plause. ">
56 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
Mr. Davis, of Caldwell, wished to know of Captain Marston how he succeeded in poisoning the boll weevil.
Captain Marston: This, gentlemen, is quite a long story. If I were to tell you how many years I fought the caterpillar, you would hardly believe it; from 1867, day and night, until I destroyed the caterpillar. I did the same thing with the boll worm. I went to work, and found in every manner, shape and form, the habits of this boll worm. I found that he hibernated in the ground. I do not like to say anything in my own favor, right now, but I think I am the first man that informed the United States Government that the caterpillar hibernaed in this country. It was thought the caterpillar came over from the West Indies, from South America, every year, just as the birds of passage do. I found that the caterpillar hibernated here. I found a cotton caterpillar fly on my window one February day, when the snow was on the ground. I gathered him up and put him in a glass, and I sprinkled the least quantity of paris green on a leaf and put it in the glass with him. He had no- thing else to eat, and the next morning he was dead. I knew we had the honey dew upon the cotton over night, and I moistened a little sugar, and sweetened the leaf for him.
When I went into my fields to destroy the caterpillar fly I had no idea that I would catch the boll worm, but we did catch every single solitary one of them. I found that every boll worm in my field had been de- stroye^d.
Now, as to how I got on to the caterpillar. I had a number of workers in my field one day, when the caterpillar was coming, and I did not want to discourage the darkies. So I got the least quantity of paris green, and I went way out into the fields, beyond where the darkies were at work, and I found a full-grown caterpillar nibbling on a leaf, and without any thought of what I was doing, at the time, I dropped the least possi- ble amount of paris green in front of him. Well, in a moment he was dy- ing. I saw him hold up his head, as if it was kind of burning. He stopped eating. I saw that, so I gathered him, and put him on a fresh leaf, but the next morning he was dead.
The idea struck me that that was the best way to kill them, and by 12 o'clock I had twenty negroes walking over my field distributing the poison.
I believe, notwithstanding what these Texas people say, that the boll weevil can be reached in just the same way. I believe these boll weevils come up at night, and eat the honey dew, and if the cotton is properly poisoned, at the right time, you will catch the grown boll weevil. When they come into the Red River Bottom, gentlemen, I am going for them. (Applause.)
Just here several voices called for Professor Stubbs, who took the floor and made the following remarks:
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Professor Stubbs. — Gentlemen, I am not going to say much — 1 fixed up a programme, so as to give you, as I thought, a very interesting dis- cussion of this dreaded pest which now threatens our State. For the last four or five months, and ever since we were inoculated at Audubon Park, last summer, we have been giving almost undivided attention to the study of this insect. The entomologist of our stations has been very busy studying its habits ever since that time.
It was my good fortune and pleasure to attend a convention at Dallas, and there listen to all the reports that were made at that convention. I took occasion, while in Texas, also to travel over a good many of the cotton fields of the State; and I came back thoroughly impressed with the idea that Louisiana had to do something to keep this insect out of our borders. This Convention was called for that purpose, for the pur- pose of determining whether or not you gentlemen, after hearing the case, would decide that an extra session of the Legislature was needed, and if so, that you might call upon the Governor to call this extra session and have the necessary legislation enacted as soon as possible.
Now, as to the general character of the legislation .to be enacted, your legislative committee will to-day make a report, and I am sure in your resolutions you will resolve unanimously to call upon our Governor for this extra session. Having made that call, the next thing will be to enact suitable legislation. What legislation is required, I am sure the wisdom of this Convention will determine before we adjourn.
But, gentlemen, the danger is imminent. Those who may laugh at the boll weevil and say it is an insignificant disturber of the peace of the cotton planter are very much mistaken.
The president of the cotton convention at Dallas, in his inaugural ad- dress, said that it was the greatest bull on our cotton market; that he, together with Brown, had last year put the price of cotton very high; but Brown had retired with profits, while this boll weevil was still at it, would remain with us. That was the language of the president in his inaugural address.
I want to say further that, as you heard from most of our speakers yes- terday, this boll weevil thrives best in the alluvial lands of Louisiana. The reason was given you yesterday. In sandy or poor land, where the cotton does not attain a high growth, the squares containing the larvae are dried up and the insect never matures. But when we strike alluvial lands, the conditions are such as to multiply that insect so rapidly that it is estimated that ninety per cent, of the eggs that are laid in a square are hatched. Now, one of your friends told you yesterday of the enor- mous possibilities of development. He also told you of the habits of these insects. They remain in winter quarters until the cotton is strong enough to give them life and work. During fifteen days, they grow and develop, and then they are ab;e to reproduce themselves, so that at the
58 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
end of a season one of them is able to count a number of grandchildren of many generations. Each female insect is capable of destroying irom 200 to 300 bolls of cotton. Now, did you ever calculate and see how many pounds of cotton can be destroyed by them in a season. One hun- dred bolls of cotton will make a pound of lint. One of these individuals, in the full exercise of life and vigor, will inoculate from two to three hundred squares. That is two or three pounds of cotton for every in- sect. Now, I believe it has been shown that a pair of weevils in one season can multiply to one hundred and twenty-eight millions. But, at any rate, seven or eight millions have been produced, as ascertained by actual count. Now, take just seven or eight million insects, and let each one of them do his duty, and count how many pounds of cotton they will destroy.
I am saying this to demonstrate, gentlemen, the necessity of using every effort, in the way of quarantine, police and expropriation, anything to keep out this weevil from our midst.
I must say to you, gentlemen, that I have been working along the scientific and practical side of Southern agriculture for 33 years. I stand before you to-day to address a meeting of planters similar to those that I addressed 33 years ago. I have seen the ups and downs of Southern agriculture. I have seen our planters almost in despair, in despondency, but I say to-day that you never had a danger confronting you so great as this which is coming, and if you do not stop it, when it comes, it will come to stay. It behooves each and every one of you to give your sup- port to this Convention, and if we have an extra session of the Legisla- ture, this Legislature should be asked to appoint some body with all the quarantine, police and expropriation powers of the State delegated to it. And whilst some of you may have to suffer, some o* you' fields may have to be destroyed, some may have to be sacrificed upon the altar of patriotism, I beg each and every one of you to make up your minds to stand ready for the sacrifice, if necessary, as a soldier must do so on the field of battle. You will have to stand it for your country's good. We do not know who may be the first victim. Somebody may have to suffer ; for we must keep the boll weevil out of this State. Make up your minds that whatever calamity may befall you individually, if your property should be destroyed, it will be for the good of the State. We have everything to gain by united and co-operative action on the part of the planters, and we hope we will be able to say that in the war with the weevil we have* successfully stopped the enemy upon the confines of the western borders of our State.
I know that it is a great problem. I know that it is a problem almost too serious to contemplate. When we talk about quarantine inspection of every car, inspection of everything that comes from the State of Texas into this State; when we talk about prohibiting communication between
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Texas and this State, I know it is hard to accomplish. But, my friends, you remember that our great leader Robert E. Lee in his farewell address at Appomatox said human fortitude was equal to human calamity, and the day that we undertake this task, each more than ever determined to do his duty, I believe we can overcome this calamity and accomplish a great victory.
The President— Gentlemen, Mr. Muller, of the Audubon Society, »s now here, and will address the Convention on the subject of "Birds in Relation to the Boll Weevil." I take great pleasure in introducing to the Convention the gentleman whom I have just named.
Mr. Muller. — I wish to make a correction. I am ; not the president,, but I am a member of the Audubon Society, and I think everyone inter- ested in bird protection should be a member of this society.
Yesterday, I sat here and listened to the addresses of all the gentle- men who addressed you, and as one after the other concluded and no reference was made to the question of bird protection, my amazement turned into despair ; and when I left here last night, I felt very bad about it, that birds had no champion at all. I learned, however, that the birds have friends, although they did not express their sentiments yesterday, 'and that their interests will be protected.
With these few words of introduction, I will make what few remarks I am permitted to make. To express myself in scientific terms, so that you would understand thoroughly this question, would take a long time, probably two hours. But I shall confine myself within the limits of a very short address, and I have taken the liberty to jot down the few things which I will read to you, regarding this question. I think, in my humble opinion, it is the most important one before this Convention.
MR. F. M. MULLENS PAPER.
Among the students of bird life past and present, there is no name of greater honor, of more varied attainments, or of more diligence in the search after truth than that of the great son of Louisiana after whom the society is named of which I have the honor to be president. And although Audubon carried his investigations to distinguished lengths and left an imperishable name upon the page of history, yet nevertheless within re- cent years there has occurred a development of that particular branch of science that bids fair to produce the most astonishing results and which it is no longer possible to ignore. I refer to the study of the economic importance of bird life to man, a study which was as unknown to Audubon as it is to the most of people to-day.
Within the last five years there has sprung up a body of observers who have noticed and noted the intimate relationship which exists be- tween birds and insects, and the tremendous economic importance of the
6O PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
services of the birds to man— especially to the farmers— has become so apparent that no other conclusion can be formed than that tney are in- estimable.
These observations having increased to such extent and to such im- portance the Department of Agriculture at Washington took up the work on the lines of impartial scientific investigation and is publishing at fre- quent inteivals pamphlets showing the result of the careful study of their trained observers.
In one of such pamphlets they publish the story of the investigation of one of our most inconspicuous birds, the tree sparrow, and its importance will sanction a re-telling.
The observations were made in the State of Iowa, in which State the tree Sparrow is found during five winter months. In the first place, the observers made a very careful canvass of the State to determine the number of the birds, and arrived at comparatively accurate results. They then killed many of the birds and carefully analyzed the contents of their craws and intestines, with the result that after all these painstaking measures were completed, the observers were able to say that the tree sparrows in the State of Iowa were consuming during the five months they were resident there, the enormous amount of 1,700,000 pounds of iveed seeds.
You may not attach such importance to this statement as the facts war- rant, but you will readily see the point 1 am trying to make if I put the statement in another form. Suppose the papers published the news that I had 30,000 bushels of weed seeds and that I intended to send out the seeds in wagons to be sown broadcast all over the State. You very well know that such a plan would come to a sudden ending and that my pres- ence would be hastened elsewhere.
So much for a bird not usually placed in the class of the farmer's val- ued allies. Let us now take one of our more highly organized birds, the mocking bird, and see where its economic value lies. It is a very well known fact that the mocking bird eats moths, especially the moths of the boll worm, and it is within the bounds of ordinary observation to say that a pair of mocking birds will feed their young with 75 of these moths per day. It is also within the bounds of truthfulness to say that each one of these moths is the progenitor of one hundred descendants the first year. We can therefore say that by simple preventive measures one pair of mocking birds would in one day of their nesting season rid the world of 7500 boll worms, and as the nesting season will last two weeks and upwards, the total number of boll worms prevented from appearing the following season may be placed to the credit of this one pair of mock- ing birds to the astonishing number of one hundred thousand.
There was recently held in this city a convention of nut growers and those gentlemen discussed their problems in much the same manner as
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you are discussing yours, and although the question of fighting the in- sect enemies which prey upon the pecan trees was thoroughly considered, nevertheless not one speaker made any allusion to the important part which birds play in ridding the world of all such pests and of their con- sequent economic value. And of all men who should acknowledge the debt of obligation due the feathered tribe the pecan grower is most con- spicuous.
For instance, there are birds whose diet is almost wholly made up of the disguesting worms which live on pecan trees and which will, unless checked, absolutely denude those trees of leaves, bud and fruit. The most conspicuous bird in this class is the yellow billed cuckoo or rain crow. This bird eats all kinds of tree worms and is the only bird that will eat the unsightly and disgusting hairy caterpillars. The cuckoo will gorge himself on this diet until his crop is actually lined with hairs from off the backs of these caterpillars.
I could go on in this manner for the next hour arid dilate upon the economic value of certain birds and cite case after case of authentic record of services which birds render in their ceaseless and incessant war- fare against the hosts of insect pests. But the story would only be a re- iteration of those already told and would tire you by its reiteration. Suf- fice to say that it seems as though against every form of insect life there was some special form of bird life waging a warfare of destruction to be carried on to a successful conclusion but for the ignorance, the indifference and folly of mankind.
One most conspicuous example in this respect is told in the story of the chinch bug.
This bug is distinguished by its armor plated back and its disgusting bed bug odor. It is an unsightly looking thing and its destructive abilities place it at the head of its class. The Department of Agriculture is au- thority for the statement that it destroys annually one hundred million dollars of crops. Strange to say this enormous loss is patiently borne by the farmers and no steps are taken to abate it. And yet it is entirely within the bounds of reason to say that this insect could be completely exterminated and the loss it occasions be saved.
The price to be paid however is beyond man's courage, he simply will not do it, for it means that man shall deprive himself of the pleasure of murdering such ground living insect eating birds as the inoffensive and most valuable feathered ally, the luscious morsel named quail.
These birds, Bob White and the prairie hens, are born with the deter- mination to rid the world of every chinch bug on it, and would unques- tionably fulfill their mission but for the crass stupidity of man who would rather have the carcasses of these birds served on his table than acknow- ledge the service rendered by decreeing their protection.
But I feel sure the time will soon be here when the farmers of this
62 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
country aroused to the tremendous economic importance of the services of these and other birds will decree the present wasteful and brutal prac- tices to cease. At the close of Mr. Muller's address the following letter was read:
MR. WM. BUTCHER'S LETTER.
NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 1903. MR. ABE BRITTIN,
President Cotton Exchange, New Orleans, La.
Dear Sir: I note by the public press that the Boll Weevil Convention will commence its session in New Orleans on the 30th inst.
As the chairman of the committee for the protection of North American birds, I take great interest in the deliberations of conventions like the present one, inasmuch as I sincerely believe that some of the troubles that your convention will discuss arise from the fact that the citizens of the states that are damaged by the boll weevil have never yet realized the value of the wild bird life to the country.
Until recently the public have considered that birds were placed upon the earth for no other purpose than to be killed for sport or food.
Within the last decade scientific research has shown that all of the wild birds of the country have an important economic bearing upon agri- culture; the two are closely allied, and without the birds as aids to the farmer, agriculture would be practically a failure. Every farmer should, therefore, have an intimate knowledge of the value of each species of birds.
It is as important for a planter to know what the various classes of birds do for him as it is for him to know what is the best seed or the best ground, or the best fertilizers for him to use. All these subjects are extremely important component parts of a farmer's success and there is none of -them of more vital importance than a realization that the wild birds are continually working for the agriculturists.
Unfortunately I am so situated that I cannot be present at your con- vention in order to tell you * something of the great value of birds as checks to the increase of insect life, but I can by letter, and do most earnestly urge upon your convention that you agitate the subject of a satisfactory and comprehensive law in Louisiana to protect all of her valu- able non-game birds.
At the present time the law for the protection of the economic birds, i. e., those that cannot in any sense be considered as game birds, are practically valueless, as they only protct some 6 or 7 species and leave un- protected in the neighborhood of narly 300 species.
At the next session of your legislature a drastic law should be passed prohibiting the killing of any of the beneficial birds of Louisiana. In
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every part of the country agriculturists are awakening to the economic value of the non-game birds. During the legislative session of 1903, in the southern tier of states, model laws were passed in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Texas; Florida and Kentucky having previously legislated in like manner.
Your convention, in its own interests, and in the interests of the great industry that you represent, should pass a strong resolution demanding from the incoming legislature that the wild birds of the State of Louis- iana, that are so important to its agricultural interests, shall not be killed for food or millinery ornaments; nor shall they be trapped or caged, or exported from the state, dead or alive.
The wild birds of the State of Louisiana are of far more value to the commonwealth, while they are alive and destroying all manner of noxious insect pests and vermin as nature intended them to do, than they are in any other way.
Air. President and members of the convention, serve the interests of the cotton growers by demanding of the legislature that the wild birds be protected.
I am, with great respect, and sympathy with you in your insect troubles,
Very truly yours,
WM. BUTCHER, Chairman National Committee Audubon Societies.
The President. — I, for one, after this address, law or no law, will see that there is no killing of any bird of any description on my farm.
Mr. Glassell, of Cadclo. — I move that a resolution be passed requesting the next legislature to prohibit the killing or trapping of any bird.
The President. — If I am not mistaken, the Committee on Resolutions will have a resolution covering that.
Professor Stubbs. — Mr. Chairman, I am sorry to inform you that Judge Lawrason is not here. I am sorry that we cannot get this gentleman this morning to discuss the relation which the banker bears to the farmer, and the injury to be suffered by him from the boll weevil. But we need not go without a speech on that subject. I think we have with us a magnificent representative of that class here to-day, a prominent banker, and a man who can speak well, as I know, Mr. George W. Bolton, of Alexandria.
Mr. Bolton was invited by the President to come forward, and he did so.
Mr. Bolton. — Mr. Chairman, if I were to come up on the platform, you would expect me to make a speech. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the Convention, it is always difficult for anyone to fill the place of another, and especially one who is so eminently qualified to fill the position that has been selected for him as Judge Lawrason, of West Feliciana. It goes
64 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
without saying, and it is apparent to all, that the banking interests of our State are so intimately connected with the cotton interests and the other agricultural interests, but particularly the cotton interests, where cotton is the chief product, that it is hardly necessary, it occurs to mer to say anything upon that subject. Banking institutions are established, as we all know, for the purposes of loan, deposit and for furnishing a medium of exchange. These institutions are not individual institutions. These institutions are composed of the contributions, as it were, of the idle money in the hands of the people who are partners in these insti- tutions, in the name of stockholders. But having been established, it is absolutely necessary that they should receive, from the communities where they are established, loans on deposit, to enable them to furnish the loans to carry on the various interests of that community. Now, whatever tends to reduce that loan by deposit tends to cripple them in affording the assistance that is necessary. As money may be said to be the life- blood of commerce, so indeed credit may be said to be more so. Think for a moment of the vast amount of credit that is extended to other in- terests in our State ; think for a moment of the number of people who re- ceive this credit. This credit comes indirectly, when it does not come directly from the banking interests and from the banks. Though in many instances it may come from some other party, the banks themselves fur- nish this, and anything that tends to cripple them, tends to cripple the efficiency and the ability of the banking interests to discharge their func- tion. Not only in our own State, Mr. Chairman, but as something was said yesterday, or rather much was said yesterday, about the national aspect of this great question, you will readily see that the banks of the country at large are bound to be affecetd by this question. When you go into the monetary districts of New England, to consider the banking interests there, think of the thousands and the multiplied thousands of operatives in those manufacturing institutions all over the New England States, and then go and look at the enormous deposit in the savings banks, which come largely from the operatives and employes of those institutions. . You will see, in a moment, the enormous detriment and the great injury it does to the savings banks interest in the New England States. Furthermore, as was well alluded to yesterday, when you con- sider the vast export value of this crop, exceeding that of several other crops combined, maintaining and preserving that balance of trade which is absolutely necessary to secure stable financial conditions, I say the im- portance of this great industry, threatened, as it is, with absolute de- struction, unless some remedial measures are provided, cannot be over- estimated.
I said, Mr. Chairman and fellow citizens, that I was not going to make a speech. I did not come here prepared for anything of the kind. I did not come here expecting to have anything to say. I came to listen, feel-
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 65
ing as I do, and I am satisfied I voice the sentiment of the entire bank- ing interests of the State, that we feel the greatest interest in the success of any effort that may result from your action here, towards the de- struction of this imepnding danger to the cotton interests not only of Louisiana, but the entire South. As I said, I am quite sure that I voice the sentiment of the entire banking interests of Louisiana, when I say that I am in hearty sympathy with any efforts that you may put forth; and when this question is properly understood, if it is not now, not only the banking interests of this State, but the banking interests of the country at large, and particularly of the City of New York, will be quite as in- terested in this great question as we are at home to-day.
The President. — I have in my hand a request to submit before this Convention, from our State Commissioner of Agriculture, Major J. G. Lee.
The request was read by the Secretary, as follows, to-wit: "HoN. CHARLES SCHULER, President.
"Dear Sir: The State Board of Agriculture and Immigration, through its Commissioner, requests the privilege of publishing, in pamphlet form, and distributing to farmers and planters of the State the proceedings of the convention. "Respectfully,
"J. G. LEE, Commissioner.''
Professor Stubbs. — I move that the request be granted. The motion was seconded and carried.
Professor Stubbs. — I believe we have had no address by farmers in- terested in the boll weevil, have we? (Being answered in the negative, Professor Stubbs continued.) Well, it certainly does not reflect properly upon our planters to say that there is no one present on this occasion to respond to that question. When I look into this audience, and see the vast array of talent that can speak to that question, I think it is a slander upon them. Our friends, Mr. Maxwell, of Madison, and others, can en- lighten us on the question, and I call upon Mr. Maxwell first to respond to that question.
The President invited Mr. Maxwell to the platform.
Mr. Maxwell. — Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention: I have listened to our scientific men, and everybody that has spoken upon this subject, with a great deal of interest. I have learned a great many things about the boll weevil.
One of our scientific men here yesterday stated that there couid be cotton raised in the midst of the boll weevil section. It had been done. In his opinion, with proper methods and proper cultivation, with early maturing varieties, the cotton could be produced, with profit, in the midst of the boll weevil section. However, he is a young man, and has not had as much experience as some of us who have been in the business for the last forty years. But especially he should remember what kind of 'labor
66 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
we have in the Mississippi river valley, that is, the negro. It is a hard proposition for us people in the Mississippi river valley to undertake this scientific method that he spoke of here yesterday, which our friend, Pro- fessor Knapp, stated he had introduced into Texas. We are bound to stop and consider a little before we undertake it. Every man who has been a planter in the Mississippi river valley for the last thirty years knows how difficult, and how much trouble we have, with the labor that we have, to introduce these scientific measures, and to act promptly and quickly as we would have to do in that case.
Mr. Williams, my friend the cotton seed man, gave me some hope this morning, in his letter from Mexico. I am glad that there is at least a remedy to combat the boll weevil in the bottom land, that we can readily adopt. We can drown him out. We have plenty of water in the Mis- sissippi river at our disposal.
But I think we should take every means and every precaution in fight- ing from the start to keep him out just as long as we possibly can; and when he does come, everybody go to fight him. Let us fight him in every way, poison him, drown him, but kill him we must, and kill him we will.
Gentlemen, I do not know of anything else that I can say to you here on this subject. It is a new subject to me. I have not been studying it very long. I have been watching the papers and reading upon it as much as I could. It is a subject that every man in Louisiana, whether he is a planter or not, is interested in.
There is no doubt but what the Governor will respond and call the Legislature at once. Then, I think it would probably be a good idea for some of our planters that are interested in this thing to go to Baton Rouge and stimulate the representatives by their presence, and to see that every law necessary is enacted that will aid us in every possible way to combat this pest I just make that as a suggestion.
Now, if there is anyone that would like to ask any questions, I would be pleased to answer them.
Thanking you for your attention.
Being called upon, and invited to speak, Mr. W. L. Foster ascended the platform and spoke as follows:
MR. W. L. FOSTER'S SPEECH.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention: This is un- expected, I assure you. It sort o' takes my breath away. I came here, as most everyone else did, to see and to listen. I have been very much edified, and very greatly instructed, and I feel that the two days which shall have been spent here at this Convention, shall have been worth more to the cotton planters of this State than any other two days
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 67
that have been so spent within my recollection in a public gathering of our craft in this State.
There can be no doubt, after having listened to the papers and the talks of these men of scientific research as to the great danger that confronts us. The danger is great. The danger is imminent. It behooves us, as has been said, to watch along every line, and leave no stone unturned, as it were, under which one of these weevils might hide.
I think that this Convention has so far pursued a very wise course, and that its labors must result in great benefit to the cotton producers, not only of this State, but of all that country lying east of the Texas line, where the pest now is so bad. I realize, gentlemen, when such ques- tions as these confront us, there are two or three mistakes which are to be guarded against. One is that of becoming panic-stricken, losing confi- dence in ourselves, and in this combat that we are engaged in. On the other hand, we must not be over confident. We must not feel that this great danger can be minimized, that by meeting in convention and spout- ing a lot of talk we can check the ravages of the boll weevil ; but we must feel, gentlemen, that when we go away from here, every man must feel that upon his shoulders, to some extent, rests the cotton industry of this State, and he must be willing, if necessary, to sacrifice himself to the protection of the great mass of cotton producers.
Now I must say as to the future that I have great doubt, but at the same time, I have infinite hope. I believe that with the Southern man everything is possible. I believe that with the cotton planter of the South there is no great danger that he cannot cope with. In his wisdom, guided by the experts that may be put at his disposal by the State and the National Government, there is no danger of this sort that he cannot successfully meet and overcome.. Go back through the history of the South for the past forty years and who can doubt this assertion. Go back to the times when most of us were children, when our fathers took up their guns and their swords to fight for a principle. They were over- run by superior numbers, but though overrun and overborne their cour- age was still as great as ever. They went to their desolate homes and their ruined farms, threw away their guns, and took up their plows, and undertook to reclaim their devastated country. Later on, when the worst trouble came, when the people of the South were overridden by hordes of scalawags, and when he had the heel of the Federal Government upon his neck, did he sulk, did the Southern man and the cotton planter cease in his work? He took up again the proper line of action, and freed him- self and his State. Come on further down, when going over the great alluvial lands of those sections, to put in the crop of cotton and corn, he saw the rivers rise in their torrents, and year by year his crops were devas- tated, did he quit? No, but calling to his advice and to his side the best and most skillful engineers of modern days, he built levees along the great
68 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
Mississippi river ,and along the Ouachita and the Red rivers, that saved not only the lands he had already in cotton and other products, but re- claimed millions of acres of other lands, and laid a monument to the thrift and the energy and the gej,iU& of the Southern man. Come on further down still, when, as has been said by our friend Capt. Marston this morning, the catepillar came into his field as a new enemy; did he give up, did he quit? When he saw his fields of most promising cotton devasted and ruined, sometimes within a night, did he quit? No, but again summoning to his assistance, scientists and practical men, men of sense and experience, he evolved a remedy that absolutely put the caterpil- lar out of business. Now the caterpillar has no more dread in the farmer's mind, than if he had never seen it. When the low price of cotton struck this country, when for years we sold it at the exact cost of produc- tion, and at times at a loss to the Southern planter did the Southern farmer lose hope and give up? He simply changed his tactics. He simply called to his assistance again those scientists and those men that have delved into theories and science, and he made more cotton with less work ; and evolved from what seemed to be a calamity, a blessing in disguise, and rose superior to the situation again.
Now gentlemen this is a forty years record of the cotton planter; and although this pest now menaces us, and threatens us almost with utter annihailation, and destruction, we cannot but believe that it will be but a very short time before some one will evolve some practical and cheap remedy that will once more put us where we have been at the top of the ladder.
Professor Stubbs : I believe we are about to close now. There is one thing I want to bring before this audience before we adjourn. I be- lieve it is universally conceded that this Convention is a success. We have gathered together here the most representative cotton planters of tbe State, and in numbers sufficient to give weight and expression to the wishes of the planters and farmers of this State. We have met here to attend what has been called the Boll Weevil Convention. Now the question arises, and I want to propound it to this audience to-day: Shall this Conven- tion be perpetuated?
In Texas, a large amount of good has already been accomplished by an organization known as a Boll Weevil Convention. My friend, Professor Connell, is Secretary of that Convention, and I might say, has been the life of it since its organization. It has been through that organization that Secretary Wilson has been importuned, and those farms established and experiments carried on in Texas. I think this Convention should con- sider the question, whether we shall adjourn without permanent organi- zation, or whether we shall have a permanent organization, that shall continue with the work that we have begun in this Convention. Profes- sor Connell is here, and before we adjourn this Convention, I would like
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 69
him to address us on this subject; and after his address we will consider that question.
The President called Professor Connell to the platform, who delivered himself as follows, to-wit:
PROFESSOR CONNELL.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention. The subject of permanent organization was foreign to the conception of Texas fanners a year ago. The idea of calling a convention of the busi- ness interests, and the cotton growing interests of the great State of Texas, for the temporary consideration of the boll weevil, was ridiculed by some of the people of our State ; because, as they said, a convention of that kind would give a black name to Texas; that the business interests of the United States would gather a wrong impression concerning the financial standing and the prosperity of our farmers in Texas; that the business interests of these United States would forget that Texas was actually pro- ducing from two million. six hundred thousand, to three million bales of cotton a year ; and that the Convention idea was a calamity movement. There were others, however, who maintained that the business interests of the country were better informed concerning the boll weevil situation in Texas, that the business interests of Texas were informed concerning those conditions ; that the business interests of Texas understood the boll weevil situation in Texas better than the farmers of Texas understood that situation ; that every business establishment doing business in the State of Texas, has its agents and promoters out in all portions of the State, who gave daily reports upon the situation ; and therefore, that it could do no harm to come together and devise ways and means for com- batting this insidious insect. I speak of this, Mr. Chairman, to show you that a temporary convention was not easily called in Texas.
In the year 1895, I nad the pleasure of accompanying the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, Hon. Charles Dabney, on a visit to the Texas Legislature. When he laid before that body, a plain proposition for the destruction of the boll weevil, in Texas, when he first invaded the lower cotton producting counties, the assurance felt by the members of the Texas Legislature was so strong, in the ability, in the ingenuity of Texas farmers and Texas planters, and Texas business men, to throttle that insect, that they laughed the suggestion of Dr. Dabney to scorn, whilst treating him respectfully. The Committee that listened to his recommen- dations merely turned them aside and made no report to either branch of the Legislature.
When the Dallas business men called the first Boll Weevil Convention, on December i8th, 1902, scarcely a year ago, there were some persons who decried the movement, as I have indicated. I mention these facts, gentle-
7O PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
men, to indicate to you that it was considered an error to call a Boll Weevil Convention only a short time ago. But we are beginning to see clearly the enormous proposition that confronts us in the boll weevil dis- trict, and we are beginning to take it up in a business like way. First, we had a Boll Weevil Convention, and that, at the last meeting, grew into the Texas Cotton Convention, a convention that undertakes to consider not only the boll weevil, but also the boll worm, root-rot, or as so many people, call it, alkali in cotton, and all the other diseases which the cotton plant is heir to, and the different varieties of cotton in the boll weevil dis- trict and outside of it, a permanent cotton convention to safeguard the cotton interests of Texas. Our ideas have expanded upon this subject, Mr. President. We are growing wiser, whether we are growing in grace or not. We are going to see the problem, itself, as it divides itself under several practical hands. The same lines of demarcation or expression will not present themselves to the people of Louisiana, in all probability, but some of the lines of demarcation will be found here, whenever the pest makes its inroads upon Louisiana.
What is the situation in Texas, from a farmer's standpoint. Some ex cellent suggestions have been offered with reference to the farmer's inter- est in the boll weevil. How does it affect the Texas farmers? He may be divided into several classes. We have the large farmer, the landlord of. extensive interests, as you have. In addition to that, we have the small cotton farmer, such as you have in the Northern portion of this State. We have a few independent negro cotton farmers, not tenants. We have a large foreign poulation in our State, who are independent cot- ton farmers, including Germans, Bohemians, Italians and Swedes. What is the effect of the boll weevil upon these several classes of people?
I will call your attention to these facts, hoping that that they may offer some encouragement to you. The people who combat the boll weevil most successfully, are the independent cotton growers, people who apply their minds to the situation, who thoroughly understand what the scien- tific expert has said, and, reasoning from his statements to their own local conditions, make a connection between the two, and raise their cot- ton in spite of the boll weevil.
Mr. Chairman, the boll weevil has caused more serious study of the cot- ton production in Texas, within the last two years, than had been given to the subject within the twenty-five years preceding that time. The study of how the cotton crop grows, how long it takes a form to turn into a grown boll, the size of the different bolls, produced by different varieties of cotton, whether or not the most desirable cottons are the long limbed cottons, or the cluster cottons, just how long it takes from the time the cotton plant comes out and shows above the ground, before it attempts to put out its squares ; whether or not a fertilizer can be used with profit upon our alluvial soil, and if so, what kind of fertilizer? This is how the
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. Jl
problem has been studied in Texas, as it never was before. Not only that problem, but the whole question of animal life upon the farm, depending on the production of that farm, has been studied, as never before. And reasoning from this, we may look forward, Mr. Chairman, when we can say that the boll weevil has caused our farmers to understand the produc- tion of cotton and other growths, as never before.
But, my friends, do not forget that it is only by intelligent and persist- ent efforts that these results are to be accomplished. I have the honor to be connected with an agricultural paper in our State, of which a few copies were distributed here, by courtesy of Dr. Stubbs. yesterday morning. The reading people of our State have come to us and said: "I own a farm, I own a plantation here, I have three managers on my plantation. I want every one of my managers to study this situation, or this subject." Send that paper to my managers. Nothing of that kind had ever occurred in Texas before ; because cotton was produced without any particular cart- er study. The result has been that our people are taking hold of the situation, with a great deal of hope and confidence. One of the most intelligent farmers of our State planted an improved variety of cotton, and fertilized it with acid phosphate. That was planted upon lands which 5 years ago, he would have scorned the suggestion of using fertilizers on, as a requirement to gathering a crop, but which had become unproduc- tive, before the weevil invaded that district. He secured a bale of cotton to the acre, before the 23rd day of October. The last picking of that cotton was on the 23rd day of October. But every other boll of that cot- ton, secured after that time, was badly stained, by reason of the fact that one or more mothers had laid in each boll, and the worm had developed inside, and had destroyed from one or two of the four or five locks of cot- ton. After the 24th day of October, there was no cotton to be found there, because there were no young forms, no young bolls ; all of that part of the cotton had been taken off the pest. This is but one instance, but it can be multiplied a hundred times, in the experience of our people.
But do not reason from that, that this was an easy thing to do. As Secretary of the Texas Cotton Convention, I come in contact with the average cotton grower, as well as with the intelligent cotton grower. As I intimated yesterday, to reach the average cotton grower, is a most diffi- cult problem. Go to the small cotton farmer, who is not a reader, who will not hear of this Convention for three months to come, because his supply of information is so restricted that it comes to him by word of mouth; after a while tell him that there has been a cotton convention, which resolved thus and so, or there was one in Texas which resolved thus and so; and it is a far cry, my friends. Results are largely wasted upon that man. You may straighten your farmer's institute movement, and I hope you will do that, but that man is difficult to reach even by a farmer's institute. I am an enthusiastic advocate of that work, and have
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devoted time and labor to it, but the average cotton producer in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, as I know him in those three States, having lived in all three of them, must be reached by the trade, by the commercial relar tions with which he is so intimately connected. Whenever you teach your merchant what is necessary for the people, and the protection of your cot- ton interests, and let the merchants, the bankers, the cotton oil men, im- press upon the people, with whom they come in contact, that thus and so is necessary to be done, you will have made a landing upon that average cotton producer, the man who does not read to any great extent. We bave, found that to be the most effective method of awakening interest among that class to which I refer. And there are thousands of farmers in the State of Texas to-day, who are buying improved cotton seeds for planting purposes, who are doing it, not because they will do so much, as because the business interests with which they are concerned, have thought it necessary to do this. So that you see the intelligent reading cotton pro- ducer is able to take advantage of this thing known as the cultural method without much difficulty who easily understand the manifold reasons in favor of this thing, and consider it a valuable and necessary thing to be done. Within a year, by enlisting the support and help of your business men throughout the State, through this organization, you will be able to energize the man who follows the plow, and who does not come to this Convention.
In order that all of this work might go on in our State, we have strengthened farmers' institutes, we have distributed broadcast, to the stores, and the oil mills, thousands of copies of the circular from which I read, yesterday, statistics bearing upon the boll weevil situation, placing these in the hands of the store-keepers in order that they might get re- liable facts to be handed to their farmer customers. In addition to that, our Convention has worked hand in hand with the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture; and when we have suggested to Secretary Wilson that we thought thus and so was a valuable line of action, and given our reasons for the suggestion; and when we have consulted with Texas Cogressmen as to the necessity for extending the work of investigation, in several lines, we have met with cordial support in all that we undertook.
I think, Mr. Chairman, it would be a sad mistake to let the work of this Convention stop with the discussion and the resolutions that will be adopted here during this Session.
Permanent organization is what you need. We all place a low estimate or valuation upon any temporary effect. Are not the cotton interests of Louisiana worthy of permanent protection ? What say the business inter- ests of the State of Louisiana? What say the planters of the State? Whilst Texas makes the bulk of the crop grown in this Southwestern por- tion of the country, let me say to you that the money that is invested in cotton growing, the handling of cotton products, is our chief interest, not
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 73
only in Texas, but in Louisiana. That being true, why should not those belated interests, which have been scoffed at by many, and the cotton grower held up to ridicule, why should we not go right on the middle of the road, Mr. Chairman, and make cotton among ourselves the chief con- sideration, as it is the chief article of export from this country. You know, and I know, that it takes years of education, to enable the cotton farmer to grow diversified crops, of which we have read so much. What we need to-day, my friends, is to teach the cotton grower how to grow cotton more successfully, and then he will be prepared and happy to listen about other crops. That is the door that will open the way to his con- ridence, and 1 have the utmost hope for intelligent production along the most modern lines. In our section of our State, we will be forced to pro- duce under a more intelligent system or not produce at all.
The President of our Convention calls the weevil the devil's own bug. Any body can tell you how to kill the weevil but the fellows who run up against him. The only thing we can do is to outrun him. We take the first half of the crop, after making a quicker crop than we have been doing, by forcing it; but it costs us more to do than by going to the open where we are ready to make the race. "A stitch in time saves nine." "An ounce of hope is worth a ton of despair." If this Convention, instead of resolving, will set on foot, ways and means of lifting cotton culture, within this State, within the next few years, to a point where the principles of cotton culture will be better understood by the people, who produce it, you will have accomplished a great deal for Louisiana. If a permanent organi- zation is set on foot, I am satisfied that this end will be accomplished, and, at the same time, you will have prepared and protected yourself against encroachments by the pest.
Mr. Pope, of Rapides : Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the delegates, from the Parish of Rapides, I move that this Convention do now resolve itself into a permanent organization; to be known as the Louisiana Cotton Growers' Association.
This motion was seconded.
The President: It is moved and seconded that this Convention do now resolve itself into a permanent organization to be known as the Louisiana Cotton Growers' Association.
Mr. Pope: I should think that name should be sufficiently broad to cover our purposes. We do not want to admit to the world that Louisi- ana has the boll weevil; and there is no use in this Convention resolving itself into a boll weevil convention, when we have no boll weevil, and do not propose to have any.
Mr. Brazeale. It seems to^e that we had better adopt the idea that this is a permanent boll weevil convention, with the motto that we are going to kill it. All the resolutions of this body, as I understand them, will go to the point of announcing to the world, that we are on the battle
74 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
ground here, in a fight to be made against the boll weevil. The chief part of the name of this convention should embrace the idea that we are fighting against this pest. 1 should think, that this would strengthen our hands, in the fight, to name it the Boll Weevil Convention, with the avowed determination of doing everything in our power, and of involving the strong arm of the State to help us in our fight. I should think that the name Cotton Growers' Association would perhaps limit its usefulness, by making it appear as a local or class organization. Let us announce, as we propose to do in our resolution, that we are going to fight this thing to death. We do not care whether he is here or not. We are going to fight him. We are going to kill him.
Mr. Pope : I accept the suggestions of Congressman Brazeale.
Mr. Pugh, here announced that he was ready to make a report on be- half of the Committee on Legislation.
The President stated that a report was always in order.
Professor Stubbs: Mr. Chairman, before receiving the report of the Committee on Legislation, I move that a committee on permanent organi- zation, composed of three, be named by the chair, and instructed to bring in their report after the other reports are heard.
The Chair announced the appointment of Messrs. William Polk, J. C. Hamilton, and John Glassel, Jr., as the Committee on Permanent Organiza- tion.
On motion, the report of the Committee on Legislation was then read, by Hon. C. Pugh, Chairman, as follows, to-wit:
LEGISLATION RECOMMENDED.
"NEW ORLEANS, Dec. i, 1903. "To the President and Members of the Convention:
"The undersigned committee, appointed by your body to suggest and recommend the necessary legislation to be submitted to the General As- sembly of this State to enable its authorities to check the ravages of the Mexican boll weevil to the cotton industry of our State, beg leave to sub- mit the following report :
"The Mexican cotton boll weevil which has caused such an alarming devastation to the cotton crops of Texas threatens to invade the cotton fields of Louisiana, unless drastic and immediate measures are inaugurated to prevent this catastrophe.
"The concealed habits of the weevil are such as to arouse great sus- picion. Its vitality and reproductive capacity are astounding and the great losses which Texas has experienced should awaken the best energies and bring to bear the best thought of our people to the livest sort of action and the most advanced determination to impede, if possible, the natural and artificial spread of this insect into our State.
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"Firmly impressed with the seriousness of the situation and the neces sity for immediate and energetic action on the part of our State authori- ties, your committee begs leave to recommend for adoption by the General Assembly of this State, prompt legislation along the following lines :
"i. It should be made a crime, punishable by heavy fine and imprison- ment, for any firm, person or corporation to bring into this State, or to have in possession, except a duly recognized State or Federal entomologist, for any purpose, any living Mexican boll weevil or, any cotton bolls, squares or plants of seed containing the adult, pupa, larva or egg stagt of the Mexican boll weevil.
"2. An act prohibiting the shipment into the State of any cotton-seed, cotton seed hulls, seed cotton, cotton seed sacks or bagging, or any other farm products from any State, or consigned from points within any State, where the boll weevil exists, without being accompanied by a certificate signed by duly authorized State or government entomologist, stating that cotton-seed or other farm product has been thoroughly fumigated in such manner as to kill the boll weevil in any of its stages,
"3. An act creating a crop pest commission, to be composed of the Governor, as the ex-officio chairman thereof, Commissioner of Agriculture, director of the State Experiment Station, the State entomologist and two experienced cotton planters, the two latter to be appointed by the Gover- nor, all of the members thereof to serve without compensation, except actual traveling expenses, and conferring on said commission full and plenary power to deal with all crop and fruit pests and such contagious and infectious diseases as, in the opinion of the commission, may be con- trolled or eradicated; and with power to make, promulgate and enforce such rules and regulations as, in their judgment, are necessary to control, eradicate and prevent the dissemination of all injurious pests, as far as may be possible, and conferring on said commission the power and authority to make all rules and regulations deemed expedient in relation thereto, and said rules and regulations to have the full force and effect of law, so far as they conform to the general laws of the State and of the United States.
"4. We recommend that the General Assembly of the State appropriate the sum of $25,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to enable the crop pest commission, herein recommended, to deal with the subject of the prevention of the spread of the boll weevil and the eradication of the same, as well as all other crop pests.
"Respectfully submitted,
"jNo. C. PUGH, Chairman,
"WALTER GUION,
"G. W. BOI.TON,
"W. C. HUGHES,
"H. A. MORGAN,
"G. W. MONTGOMERY."
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Mr. W. B. Marston, of Red River Parish, moved that the recommenda- tigais he accepted.
Me. W. L. Foster^ of Gaddo Parish, moved as a substitute, that the recommendations, be read .section by section.
Tkis motion was seconded by Mr. T. P. Sullivan, of Rapides Parish.
The President stated the motion.
Thereupon Mr. Pugh, Chairman of the Committee, obtained the floor aai spoke as follows, to-wit:
Mr. Pugh. — Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention: I want to say to you that we are confronted now with a serious situation. We h£ve met here for action. Now, I want to say, further, that we have had occasion to investigate the law of every State of the Union; there is a party- at Washington,, who has sent me the statutes of every State of the Uwion, that have been passed upon subjects of this character. Now, if you go into the details of this matter, I want to say that you are gojng to hamper the action of the State Legislature, and you are going to hamper the action of the State authorities in their work along these lines. .The first section of the resolutions here provides that the State of Louisiana, by reason of the inherent powers which it possesses should pro- vi^e a heavy fine and penalty as against the firm, person or corporation that comes within the borders of this State with a boll weevil, or any cot- ton square, or anything else appertaining to the boll weevil. I want to say to. you, gentlemen, that I have fears along these lines. I want to say, without fear o,f successful contradiction, that if the boll weevil is imported into this State, and I think we have it now on the border line, of this State, it will be brought here by designing individuals. I do not like to attribute evil motives to my fellow men, but there is a strong likelihood that sqrne men who have planted cotton and not been able to raise more than a half crop, will be selfish enough to be caught with the idea that they would like to see every State of the Union impregnated with this evil. I tell you that dozens of men in my section of the country have been seen with their pockets full of these bugs. The danger that threatens our State to-day, lies more in the fact that designing individuals may distribute these weevils over the country, for the purpose of speculating in the cotton markets of the world. Now, there could be no objection to this clause, because it is absolutely necessary as an effective safeguard against this danger. I do not see how there can be any difference of opinion among us, when it is proposed to make it a criminal offense for any man to be found in this State, with a boll weevil in his possession.
Now, as: to the next clause, I want to say that it is an absolute neces- sity that the State of Louisiana should establish what I would call a strict quarantine. I would say to the gentlemen, that this Commission that is provided for here, is to be composed of the Chief Executive of the State, the Commissioner of Agriculture, the Director of the Experimental
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Station, who is our esteemed friend on the right, and of the State Entomo- logist, and of two intelligent planters. Now, they are going to make the rules and regulations, so as to prevent the importation into this State of any product, whether it be cotton-seed or a bale of cotton, by which the weevil may be introduced in our midst. The City in which I live ships a large amount of cotton which comes from the State of Texas. If in the opinion of that Commission, it may be necessary to prohibit this, every man in that City should sacrifice his interest, so as to exclude not only cotton- seed, but also baled cotton. If in the opinion of that Commission it should be necessary to exclude the cotton of Texas, because that is the only State in the Union, that is affected by the boll weevil, I believe that it is neces- sary that that Commission should be trusted to prohibit the introduction of it: not only that, but if it becomes necessary, the State of Louisiana should prohibit the importation of the negro or the Mexican in this State; if it has a tendency to spread this pest. Now, I believe that it is right to leave this matter largely with the Commission, so that it may be suffi- ciently flexible.
Now, the third proposition provides for the appointment of a Pest Com- mission. This is not a new thing. I tell you that almost every State in the Union has that act, and have had a satisfactory experience in repelling danger, along the lines that we are threatened with reference to the boll weevil. Up in Maryland, they had some sort of contagion there, and the question arose whether they should make a neutral zone in the State so as' to stop the spread of the contagion. They drew a line through the State, and they said, beyond that you cannot plant a peach tree, because if you do, it will have a tendency to spread the peach pest, in other sections of the State.
I tell you they have these acts in almost every State of the Union. Why, over here in our sister State of Georgia, they have passed an act; and if any man in this convention was to cross the Georgia line to-day, with a cargo of cotton-seed, he would be incarcerated within the four walls of the jail, within fifteen minutes. They have not only quarantined against the State of Texas, but also against the State of Louisiana, and you cannot ship cotton-seed or a cotton bale into that State from this State.
Now, Mr. President, I want to state that in the State of Virginia, the State that has produced the greatest statesmen that the world has ever seen, that old State a few years ago was invaded by a pest almost as dangerous as the one we are threatened with to-day. That State prepared an act, and all that we have to do, is to take that act and write boll weevil into it, and we have one of the most efficient laws that can be enacted.
Now, if you provide for this Commission, you have five intelligent men, known to every man in this State. I want to state in that connection that your fiiend Mr. Morgan will be a member of it. I have received a letter from the Agricultural Department at Washington, stating that the AgH-
7 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
cultural Department of the Federal Government were perfectly willing to leave to Mr. Morgan in this State, whatever it was to do with reference to the boll weevil, as he was as perfectly competent, as the Federal Govern- ment, to deal with that subject.
Now, I say there could be no possible objection to that. We have a peculiar condition here. We have a peculiar State. There is no State in the Union like ours. We find out here, in this great Southern section, that the main crop is cane, we find in another where the main crop is rice, we find again in the Northern section of the State that the great masses of the people are engaged in the cotton culture.
In my limited experience in the political and legislative history of this State, I have found that it is often necessary to compromise, so as to satisfy the different sections of the State, on account of our diversified interests. Therefore, we have a peculiar State. But whenever the sugar interests of the South were at stake, you found the people of the North patriotic enough to come to their support to relieve them in times of emergency. On the other hand we have found that whenever any great peril have menaced us, that every section of the State has come to our aid, including the sugar planters in South Louisiana, and this great City of New Orleans, which, with the suppression of the boll weevil is destined to become the metropolis of the world.
Now, there is an impression in the minds of some people to-day, and that objection has been raised to this measure, that you are simply going to provide for the appointment of a Commission, which means more money out of the public treasury. I want to say to you, and I say it conscien- tiously and honestly, that in a great peril like this, it is the duty of every man to lay aside his prejudices, and put his shoulder to the wheel, and do what he can to help our people; and I believe we have enough patriotic people in Louisiana to lay aside their prejudices and pass this measure into a law, and I predict that it will become a law. The people of the State of Louisiana have been able, financially, morally, physically and otherwise to cope with every problem that has confronted them in the past; and I believe they are able to cope fully with the situation which has presented itself to-day.
Now, I want to say that we have all got to act together. But we have got to entrust this matter to experts. I am no expert myself, but if the Governor of this State, and the other members of that Commission were to come to me and tell me that it is necessary to cut down every stalk of cotton in my fields, I would say that I have implicit confidence in the judgment of these gentlemen, and I would say, 'let her go."
We all know that there is a great danger threatening us, and I tell you gentlemen, that it is a serious matter. We are raising in this State a con- siderable quantity of cotton; and if it were established that fifteen million dollars were necessary to exterminate the boll weevil, and there was any
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reason to belie vfe that we could do so, I would be willing to spend that amount without hesitation.
I want to say that in the State of Texas, where I have been traveling to a limited extent, I do not care what other people may tell you, but I say that some of the best farmers are leaving their beautiful farms and their homes, and moving on to other sections where the boll weevil does not exist. I am informed, and I want to say that I am a farmer as well as a lawyer, that in the State of Texas these cultural methods can only be adopted by the white people. A man living in the great alluvial section told me about a man with a plantation of five thousand acres, employ- ing some 500 Scandinavians. Now, you can only adopt these methods, when you have white farmers in your State, which I hope we will soon have, to replaqe every one of these negroes, and adopt these modern methods.
Now, gentlemen, this is not a local question. It is not a question that concerns the State of Louisiana any more than it does the other cotton States of the Union. By virtue of our geographical position, we occupy a position on the border line, I might say, of this pest, at the present time ; but it is only a question of a short time when this pest, if not checked, will have invaded every other cotton State in the Union. It is not only a Southern question, but it is a national question. If ever we should go out of the cultivation of cotton, if we should go into the production of grain, we would have to come into competition with the people of the West and the North ; who now produce grain enough to supply the demands of the whole country and more besides. It is a national question. It has passed beyond all local bounds. We read in the papers that in some of the Northeastern section, the mills are being closed, and thousands of people have gone out of employment. Therefore, it is not only a national ques- tion, but it is an international one, and the whole civilized world have their eyes upon us, to see whether we have the manhood and the intelli- gence to grapple with this proposition.
I want to say this, in closing. I believe that every man in this Con- vention should put his shoulders to the wheel, and give to the men in this State who have its welfare at heart and to the Chief Executive who re- paired from his home to come here, their active co-operation and support. Not only the prosperity of the planters, but the prosperity of the cities, and the towns, depends upon the action which shall be taken by this Con- vention. If you permit those great alluvial fields of cotton to be destroyed, if you allow all these beautiful homes to be abandoned, and confess to the world your inability, to combat with this problem, there is not a man, woman or child in the State of Louisiana, or in the South, or in the nation, which will not be seriously affected by it. But if you put your shoulders to the wheel, and give to the State authorities your earnest, in-
80 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
telligent and effective support, I believe you will solve this problem, and solve it intelligently.
At the conclusion of Judge Pugh's argument, it was moved and seconded that the resolutions be adopted as a whole.
The President. — A motion was made that the report should be taken seriatim. A substitute is now offered that it be adopted as a whole.
I want to announce now, as your Chairman, that gentlemen making speeches should confine themselves to the subject that is before us for discussion. The Chairmen of Committees necessarily have latitude ; but I shall call gentlemen to order unless they confine themselves to the sub- ject that is to be discussed.
Mr. W. L. Foster. — Mr. Chairman, as the maker of the motion to have the resolutions re-read, and accepted section by section, I am speaking to the substitute, in order indirectly to speak to my motion. I do not know that I have one single objection to raise to one single paragraph or sec- tion of that series of resolutions. But, as I understand, this is a con- vention of the cotton planters of Louisiana. Having discussed and listened, we have now arrived at the point of asking that legislation be adopted. This set of resolutions is not the act of our State Legislature, which we expect to have called into extra session, soon, by his Excellency, the Governor. Then it seems to me that if this set of resolutions is to go up for final action, as the consensus of opinion of this body, it is cer- tainly worth our while to consider these resolutions section by section. I cannot see the need of any hurry or haste ; and I cannot see the necessity or wisdom of swallowing a whole plate full of good things at once, when it can be chewed and digested spoonful by spoonful.
Mr. Pugh. — Mr. Chairman, I can see no objection to reading these reso- lutions section by section.
The first section of the resolutions was then read by Mr. Dougherty, the Secretary, and after some discussion by Mr. J. D. Williams who spoke in favor of it, it was unanimously adopted.
The Secretary then read section No. 2, of the resolutions, and Mr. Pugh, moved its adoption.
Mr. T. P. Sullivan, moved that it be amended so as to insert the words "seed cotton and hay and other farm products/' after the word "cotton- seed;" observing that as Professor Morgan has remarked, these articles might be the means of introducing the pest into this State.
Another member of the Convention, moved that the words "baggage and cotton -seed meal" be inserted immediately after the words suggested by Mr. Sullivan.
Mr. Pugh accepted both amendments and moved the adoption of the resolution as amended, which motion being duly seconded was carried.
Upon reading »f the third section, Mr. Pugh moved its adoption.
Mr. W. L. Foster. — What would be the scope of this Advisory Board?
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To my mind the proper work to be carried on, should be something like the policing and quarantining of the border between Louisiana and TVxas. There should be a provision for entomologists to act as inspectors along those lines just as we have oil inspectors for instance. That of course could not be done by this Commission, they would not have the time to do so.
Mr. Brazeale. — If you will permit me to interrupt you, don't you think that "plenary powers," means that they would have the power to do so. I should think that would be sufficient to enable them to do anything which the situation may require.
Mr. Foster. — If that is the sense of this Commission, 1 am satisfied.
Mr. Pugh. — The idea of that is to confer upon this Commission the same power that the Board of Health has.
A Member. — Do I understand correctly that this Commission would have the right to go into the State of Louisiana, and destroy any man's property without paying for it. If that is going to be the power vested in them, I think it would be going a little too far. There should be a fund created to meet cases like that. I would offer as an amendment, that there be a fund provided to meet such emergencies.
The President— You will probably find that inserted in the State en- actment.
Mr. Pugh. — So that nobody will go home without understanding it, I want to say that it is not the intention that any man's property should be destroyed without making to him some sort of compensation ; but we do not want to provide for a fund to meet this idea in these resolutions. I do not like to attribute any evil motives to any one, but we do have some evil men, otherwise we would have no jails. If you had any provision, any express provision for such cases, I believe it would offer a strong temptation to some of those living on the border line, who might have a poor crop, to import the boll weevil into his fields, so as to have them de- stroyed, and to obtain a compensation which, as you know, in all such cases, is almost invariably greater than the value of the property destroyed. All such cases are tried before a jury who assess the value, and as I have found it in my experience, there is always a strong tendency in such juries, to overestimate the value of the property destroyed, which is to be com- pensated for.
The question should be left to the discretion of the Governor, the Com- missioner of Agriculture and those two farmers. I do not think they would be likely to destroy any one's crop without making adequate compensation. I do not think that the Agricultural Department at Washington would en- couraare us to put in these resolutions anything that would advertise that we would do that.
The gentleman who had moved, as an amendment, the creation of a
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special fund, here withdrew his motion. And the section was unanimously adopted.
Section four was next read.
Mr. Polk, of Rapides. — I offer, as an amendment to that section, that we advocate an appropriation of $100,000.00 instead of $25,000.00. Now, gentlemen, there is no necessity, and no great fight, industrial or other- wise, that has been won by economy of this kind. If you desire to protect the interests of this State, there should be no sacrifices in this line. We have one of the most competent men at the head of this administration, and we have a Legislature that believes in these ideas, and would give you a sufficient fund,, in order to fight the encroachment of the boll weevil. We do not desire to undertake this fight in a spirit of economy.
We do not know the personality of the incoming Legislature, but we do know this body, of which I have the pleasure to be a member, and therefore, gentlemen, I say give this Commission enough money to place entomologists along the entire line, if necessary, and make a good fight at any cost. We hear that the State of Texas is held in derision, because it simply appropriated the pitiful sum of forty thousand dollars. Therefore, as we have come, here, representing a great interest, the taxpayers that contribute more to sustain our government than any other class of citi- zens, then give them a liberal appropriation and all they demand. That Legislature, in all probability, if you were to ask for twenty-five thousand dollars, would give you twelve. Ask them for a hundred thousand dol- lars, or as much thereof as may be necessary. If we are going to make a fight, put up the money. That is the way to win it. I offer that as an amendment.
Mr. Bolton. — I dislike very much to disagree with my good friend, but I am forced to take the defense of the Committee, being a member of it. I believe we would make a serious mistake in going before the Legislature to make such a demand, when it will appear that we have no use for it and probably could not use it for six months to come. We were told that there was a fund in the hands of the Commissioner of Agriculture of the National Government, that we could use in a case of emergency. There- fore, it is only necessary for the State to show her disposition to take action and co-operate with the Secretary of Agriculture at Washington, because there is where the assistance must come from. It is not what we can do here that we must depend upon so much, as what the National Government is going to do in this matter. Moreover, if you go before the Legislature with such a demnd as that, my opinion is that you will meet with a rather cold reception, because there are other interests in the State that have to be taken care of, as well as yours. But it is only a qustion of six months, when the fiscal year will end, and other appropria- tions will have to be made. We can address the Legislature when this work is undertaken, to carry it on. Moreover, T do not believe, and have
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never believed in asking anything but just what we need. This thing of asking for a larger amount than you want, believing that you will be cut down anyway, never had any favor with me. I hope the Convention will not adopt this amendment.
Mr. Pugh. — In the construction of these resolutions, we called in the Governor, and this idea met with his approval. In view of the fact that the Legislature is going to meet next May, I think that these twenty-five thousand dollars will be sufficient to inaugurate the work, and trust to the next regular session of the Legislature to make any appropriation that may have become necessary. I have confidence in the patriotism of the people of this State, and I do not believe jrou could represent to our Legislature the gravity of the situation without obtaining all the money that is neces- sary. I do not believe we will need twenty-five thousand dollars, because I believe the moment the Legislature has passed an appropriation, the old man who has spent most of his life on a farm in Iowa, and who has shown conclusively that in the discharge of his official duties he knows no sectional lines, will send an army of experts to us; that when we have shown that we mean to act intelligently and conservatively along these lines, he will send an army out here to help us out. We will have the co-operation of all the people of this government. I appreciate the motive which the gentleman had in making this motion, as I believe he did not remember that we are going to have a session of the Legislature in the next four months. I hope the gentleman will recall his motion, and that the adoption of this section will be unanimous.
Mr. Polk.— Mr. Chairman, I would like to withdraw the motion; but inasmuch as our Congressmen tell us that no measure can ever be counted as passed in the National Congress until it has finally received the signa- ture of the Chief Executive, let us place ourselves in a position to make the fight ourselves, unaided, should the Federal Government not intervene. Let us not stand in the attitude of beggars towards the National Govern- ment. Impress it upon them by resolution, that the national interests are identical with the interests of Louisiana, and that the prosperity of the nation at large is dependent upon the prosperity of the individual States. They will come to the rescue when they know that we are able to take care of ourselves. We do not know what conditions may arise. If the necessity arises for the expropriation of the crops of some of our farmers, let us have the money to meet the cost. Therefore, I cannot now with- draw my motion, but prefer to have it submitted to the convention for rejection or acceptance.
Mr. Foster. — I agree, to some extent, with our friend Judge Pugh, in wanting absolute harmony; but I agree more strongly with the gentleman from Rapides who urges and insists upon a larger appropriation. Now, I may have listened to the reports from Texas to little purpose, but I do not remember ever seeing or hearing where Texas has ever received any large
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appropriation from the Federal Government, for the stamping out of the boll weevil up to date.
Mr. Brazeale. — You are right about that. At that time, there was no explanation, no fight. We did not know what it meant. It went through Congress without any explanation about it. I know if the explanation had been made, the appropriation would have been larger, facts, as we know them. It has been said that we can reason as to the
Mr. Foster. — We must come face to face with this question with the future only from the past; and if I understand the general trend of Fed- eral legislation, it is more in the line of supplying facts, for research, scien- tific and otherwise, than for fighting the battles of a section of the country. While the Federal Government may send its experts down here, to find out the progress of the boll weevil and establish experiment stations here, as they have done in the State of Texas, and conduct the battle of fighting the boll weevil, still I have some doubt as to its spending thousands and thousands of dollars to patrol our borders and keep the pest out of the State.
Another point that has occurred to me is, that notwithstanding the fact that the General Assembly will meet in regular session in four months, perhaps, after the special session will have adjourned; that during these four months, if the boll weevil has made any inroads in our State, he may have advanced very rapidly. It may be that by the time the General As- sembly meets in regular session, the boll weevil will already have made its inroads in our alluvial lands.
It is well to be forearmed. Nobody believes that this money will be squandered; and why not address the Legislature for one hundred thou- sand dollars, rather than risk the danger of not having enough ?
The President. — A dispatch in this morning's paper says that the Sec- retary of Agriculture, Mr. Wilson, recommends an appropriation of $500,000.00, an organized effort, to deal with this boll weevil question. 1 simply make the statement as I saw it in print.
Captain Marston. — I would like to ask whether the State of Louisiana has $100,000.00 in the treasury to make this appropriation. I believe a twenty-five thousand dollar appropriation would be easier to get, and it would serve every purpose. I believe that is what has been recommended by the entomologist and others.
Mr. Brazeale. — I look upon this question from a practical standpoint, I would like to give you one or two reasons why it appears to me, that it would not be wise to adopt the substitute offered by Mr. Polk, which Mr. Foster favors.
I take it for granted that a Committee which goes to work, and asks for an appropriation, makes figures, and is better situated to make those figures than you and I are. They figure out just exactly what the thing will cost. Therefore, they are in a better position to speak than you and I
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are who have not had the benefit of that information that they have; and its report is entitled therefore to more consideration than the jumped up opinion of an ordinary man. Any one will concede that. When I read it this morning, and discussed it with Mr. Pugh and the Governor for the very suggestions made by Mr. Foster, there seemed to be an opinion that this should not be done. First they will not need it, there will be no necessity for using the whole of this money before the Legislature meets again. Second, if you ask for more than can reasonably be granted by the Legislature, you are running the risk of being discredited by that Legisla- ture when it refuses to give you what you ask. Again you run the risk of getting a veto message from the Governor, if the Legislature adopts these views, against his judgment. Again you get a black eye. So do not take these risks. I take it for granted that these gentlemen who bring in these resolutions had before them the opinions of the people, and the judgment of the people, in charge of the State finances, and of those who will be in charge of the workings of this Commission. Now, I say it would be unwise for us to adopt any resolution that might, in the course of the next two weeks receive a decided set back by adverse action on the part of the Legislature, who may think, as those in charge of the car- rying out of the suggestions of this convention, that this fund is ample.
Now, in going on the floor of Congress, or before the Committee on Agriculture, if I could say that here is the State of Louisiana, which has appropriated five hundred thousand dollars for this thing, now won't yon gentlemen, for appearance's sake, appropriate an equal amount, I know just what a spread eagle speech I could make on the floor of Congress. But do you know what answer I would get from Congress, from those Western farmers that understand just exactly the value of every dollar they have got. Why they would say, why, if you have got that amount, you don't need any assistance. On the contrary, when I *go before them and say, "Here is what we have done; it is all we can do, under the cir- cumstances. It is for the benefit of the industries that you are just as much interested in as we are" ; we stand infinitely more chances of getting assistance from them.
Now, as to the point made by the Chairman. I felt very glad indeed in reading this morning's Picayune, that I made my speech yesterday, in- stead of to-day. You will see that Mr. Wilson has detailed in that report, just what I told you he had outlined to me in my conversation with him. T want to say that this old gentleman is worthy of our most sincere thanks, for the interest he has taken in Southern agriculture and Southern in- terests. When it comes to administer the affairs of his department, he does not know geographical lines. He does whatever is best for the country. 1 feel assured we will be assisted in every way, and for that among other reasons, I believe it would be unwise to ask for a larger appropriation than the report calls for.
86 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
Mr. Polk. — In the first place, if the Federal appropriation would not come in until the end of the session, that may be extended until next August. The appropriations of your State government, are never passed until the end of your legislative session, which will be the latter part of next July. Now, you have got a critical period between the planting of the cotton crop, until the middle of July, without having this available fund to be working on in that time. I still stand by my motion, to have this appropriation placed at $100,000.00 as an absolutely necessary safe- guard to make this fight.
Mr. Williams. — It occurs to me, that the Committee which made this report, apprehended that they would have sufficient money, with this ap- propriation, and I am in favor of standing by the report. I do not favor the idea of forced legislation. The gentleman has stated that if you obtained an appropriation of only $25,000.00 you might not get another appropriation until the end of July. I do not know that has necessarily to be so. Emergencies are sometimes considered by legislative bodies. I think that $25,000.00 will meet all the emergencies of the present. We have no cotton growing at this time. I think $25,000.00 will be amply sufficient for the present. We may want more than $100,000.00 from the next Legislature.
The President. — The question that we vote on now is the substitute. The substitute means $100,000.00 instead of $25,000.00.
On being put to the house, the substitute was lost.
A motion duly seconded to adopt section four was then carried. The resolutions were then duly adopted as whole.
On motion of Judge Pugh, Governor Heard was invited to speak, which he did as follows, to-wit :
GOVERNOR HEARD.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention — I came here to this Convention, not to speak, but to listen and gather all the information that I could, to meet the questio'n that is before us to-day. I am gratified at the unanimity which has characterized this Convention. I appreciate, I think fully, the seriousness of the situation, and what it means, not only to Louisiana, but to all the cotton growing States. I have been in cor- respondence with the Agricultural Department at Washington, and I am sure that they will lend us every endeavor for destroying this destructive insect. While they will do very much, it is ours to do something too. I am one of those that believe that those who help themselves first, will come out better than to depend altogether upon some one else. I have never had any doubt, in my mind, as to the wisdom of calling an extra session to meet this question; but I did want this Convention, as I sug- gested to the committee with which I conferred some time ago, to discuss the situation and move along intelligent lines and to get at this question
PROCEEDINGS OE THE UOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 87
in as practical a way as was possible, knowing as little as we do about it. I believe, as has been expressed by some of the speakers, that with dili- gence, with intelligence and determination, we can overcome this pest. You are sure of one thing, so long as I have the authority which is now lodged with me, I will always endeavor to further the welfare of our commonwealth. I do not know just when to call this extra session. It has occurred to me that it should be called during this month, and unless there is serious objection on the part of this Convention, I shall call it to be held during this month of December. I shall endeavor, gentlemen, to carry out, as far as in my power lies, the recommendations in the report of the Committee on Legislation. I believe that if the Legislature will confer the power therein recommended, that we will be in a position to reach and get at this question, in a practical, way; and when we do that, I believe that Secretary Wilson, with the power that is behind him, and the money that is at his command, will join us in co-operation.
Mr. Polk. — Before this Convention adjourns, we would like to submit a report of the Committee on Organization.
Mr. Davenport stated that he would like to submit the report of the Committee on Resolutions.
Mr. Davenport was invited to read the report, which he did, as follows to-wit :
COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS.
The Committee on Resolutions reported the following: RESOLUTION No. i.
"Resolved, That His Excellency, W. W. Heard, Governor of Louisiana, be requested to call an extra session of the Legislature at as early a date as possible, in order that laws may be enacted which will inaugurate a vigorous campaign against the invasion of the Mexican bbll weevil now threatening our western borders."
RESOLUTION No. 2.
"Resolved, That in view of the impending danger of any early invasion by the boll weevil into the States of Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma and other cotton States, that the President and Secretary of this meeting be directed to correspond with the Governor and Commissioners of Agricul- ture of each State and urge the enactment of such laws as will prevent the introduction of the weevils into their States."
RESOLUTION No. 3.
"Whereas, the Mexican boll weevil, which has so seriously diminished the cotton crop of Texas, is now spreading with wonderful rapidity east-
88 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
ward and northward, and, if not checked, will ultimately overrun the entire cotton belt of the United States, and
"Whereas, this spread of the boll weevil will materially reduce the annual yield of the cotton crop of America, and this reduction in crop will materially affect transportation lines, bankers, merchants and manu- facturers, as well as farmers, and
"Whereas, the cotton crop of the United States now furnishing over $500,000,000 is consumed partly by the mills of this country, and any dis- aster to the crop will be felt by all parts of the Union, and
"Whereas, the larger portion of this crop finds its way to foreign mills, producing a large balance of trade in favor of this country, and
"Whereas, this diminution of the cotton crop in the United States will stimulate increased production in foreign countries, perhaps ultimately taking away from this country the prestige so long enjoyed of producing four-fifths of the world's supply of cotton ; therefore, be it
"Resolved by the planters and farmers of Louisiana, That the cotton crop *is of national importance, and any diminution thereof would be a national calamity.
"Resolved further, That the President of the United States and the honorable Secretary of Agriculture be earnestly urged to render every assistance in their power, in co-operation with our State authorities, to prevent the spread of this dread insect and to aid in its eradication where it now exists.
"Resolved further, That the entire delegation to Congress from the cotton States be earnestly requested to use their influence in securing the proper legislation and suitable appropriation for the purpose of successfully fighting this pest so dangerous to the cotton industry of the United States."
RESOLUTION No. 4.
"Resolved, That we do hereby memorialize the honorable Legislature of the State of Louisiana that they pass such laws as to prohibit the killing, netting or trapping of any kind or species of birds (except the hawk) and to fix the necessary penalty for same."
RESOLUTION No. 5.
"Resolved, That the entire delegation from this State merits and hereby receives the thanks of this Convention for their energetic action in our behalf, and are requested to present wise resolutions to the President, Secretary of Agriculture and to the Congress of the United States."
RESOLUTION No. 6.
"Resolved, That His Excellency, Governor W. W. Heard, be and is hereby thanked for having called this Convention together — a most timely
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 89
and appropriate call, and which can only result in great good to the State."
RESOLUTION No. 7.
"Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention are hereby tendered to the press of this city for their very full reports.
"Resolved, That the papers of this State are requested to publish as much as possible of the proceedings of this Convention, in order that the farmers of the States may become informed concerning this insect.
"Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention are hereby tendered to the railroads which have generously given reduced rates.
"Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention are hereby tendered to the New Orleans Cotton Exchange for their generous action and cordial reception given us.
"Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention are hereby tendered to the officers and speakers of this Convention."
RESOLUTION No. 8.
"Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention are especially due Colonel A. R. Blakely, of the St. Charles Hotel, for the free use of parlors and for the reduced rates to delegates, and to the Denechaud and other hotel? which gave reduced rates,"
RESOLUTION No. 9.
That the press of the States be requested to publish the following :
"Resolved, That we beg to caution the farmers of the States against the introduction of the boll weevil on their respective farms by importa- tions from Texas of foodstuff, such as hay and corn, and other products, such as cotton seed hulls and meal, and to urge extra care in the premises
"We also urge them to make every effort to comply with the recom- mendations of the Agricultural Department of the State in any precau- tionary methods which may be suggested by it.
"We especially advise against publicity of reports of the existence of the weevil in any particular locality until specimens have been sent to the Station Entomologist at Baton Rouge, and his report thereon is made.
"We deprecate sensational and unauthentic reports regarding the ex- istence of the weevil in any particular locality, for the reason that such reports, not having the sanction of official or scientific examination, are apt to unnecessarily alarm the public and are very liable to mislead as to the genuineness of the insect.
"Resolved, That the thanks of the Convention, representing as it doe? the great cotton industry of Louisiana, be tendered Hon. James Wilson. Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, for his timely and active interest and support in coming to the rescue of the cotton interest of thi«
90 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION.
country in doing everything in his power to relieve the boll weevil sit- uation."
A member of the Convention stated that the Convention owed its success largely to Professor Stubbs, and moved to amend the resolutions, so as to extend the thanks of the Convention to him.
Capt. Davenport stated that during the preparation of the resolutions, Dr. Stubbs had overheard his name mentioned among those to be thanked, and asked the committee not to thank him. Captain Davenport stated further that the committee, as well as the Convention at large, thanked him in their hearts if they did not do so on paper.
The resolutions were duly adopted.
COMMITTEE ON PERMANENT ORGANIZATION.
The Committee on Permanent Organization next' submitted its report, as follows, to-wit :
The Committee on Permanent Organization recommended that the name of the Convention, as adopted, be the "Louisiana Boll Weevil Association." The officers shall be a President, Vice-Presidents and a Secretary-Treasu- rer. A committee of three on by-laws shall be appointed. The head- quarters shall be selected by the Association. The initiation fee shall be $2 per annum. The Association shall meet annually, and be subject to the call of the President. All citizens and business iaterests in Louisiana are eligible to membership, and the Association shall co-operate with like organizations now or hereafter organized in other States.
On motion of Mr. Pope, Col. Charles Schuler was nominated for Pres- ident of the permanent organization. Mr. Pope said no man in Louisiana had given his talents and his time more liberally to the advancement of the agricultural interests of this State, than Col. Schuler.
The nomination being duly seconded, and proposed by Mr. Pope to the Convention, Col. Schuler was unanimously elected President of the per- manent convention. He responded as follows to the compliment :
Gentlemen of the Convention — I thank you for this honor. I will try to do the best I can to make the Association a success.
Mr. W. L. Foster. — Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention : As Chairman of the Committee on Credentials, I simply desire to say, in a general way, without going into details, that we have representatives from 25 of the parishes in the State of Louisiana.
This verbal report of the Committee on Credentials was adopted.
Mr. Polk. — Mr. Chairman, I believe it is proper that we should now elect the Vice-Presidents of the Association, but inasmuch as the Association is not yet on its feet, I believe when we come to the office of Secretary and Treasurer, we should leave it to the President of the Association, because just at this time I do not believe we can suggest a Secretary who would
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 9!
be willing and able to fill this position. But the Vice- Presidents should be nominated at this time.
The following gentlemen were nominated as Vice- Presidents : Jno. P. Parker of Ouachita, L. S. Frierson of De Soto, D. W. Pipes of East Feliciana, John C. Buchanon of Lafayette, and G. W. Bolton of Rapides.
Mr. ,Brazeale thereupon moved to reconsider the rules of organization, and that the organization have five instead of three vice-presidents. There being no objection to this motion the same was pronounced carried by the President; on motion of Mr. Brazeale, the nominees aforementioned were elected unanimously.
On motion duly carried, the President and Vice-Presidents shall con- stitute the Board of Directors.
On motion duly carried, the appointment of the Secretary and Treasurer was left to the Board of Directors, and that the appointee be in the office of the Commissioner of Agriculture.
The President. — I will state here that I will consult with Major Lee in making this appointment.
On motion of Mr. Polk, Baton Rouge was nominated as the place of domicile of the Association.
Mr. Brazeale offered as a substitute that Baton Rouge be appointed as the domicile of the Association, and that the next Convention be held in Shreveport.
Some gentleman from Caddo moved that Shreveport be named as the domicile of the Association.
Upon taking the vote, the house stood equally divided, with nineteen votes on either side (a great many of the delegates had left the house, owing to the late hour), and the President decided the question in favor of Baton Rouge.
The Convention then decided to hold its next session in Shreveport.
The Convention then adjourned.
The following Permanent Committee were appointed by the President after adjournment:
Committee on Boll Weevil Legislation — Judge Walter Guion, New Or- leans ; Prof. H. A. Morgan, Baton Rouge ; Henry Carleton, Shreveport.
Committee on Bird Legislation— Mr. Frank M. Miller, New Orleans; Judge Eugene D. Sanders, New Orleans; Dr. J. G. Kells, New Orleans.
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