PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 8l 



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 



