72 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 



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 



