PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 77 



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- 



