The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-12
MIR. GILBERT'S VIEWS
HE URGES THE ADVERTISING OF
 ALABAMA.
Secretary of Commercial Association Tells of His Visit to New Dr. leans and Work of the
 Four States League.

"If Alabama desires to keep in the race' it will have to adopt the practical meth- ods used by other States in order to at- tract immigration and investment from abroad" said L. L. Gilbert. Secretary of the Montgomery Commercial and ln- dustrial Association yesterday. Louis jana with far less natural advantages than those of Alabama, is spending thous- ands of dollars annually in direct adVer- Using in Northern sections and secur- ing thereby white resident farmers and tremendously developing thereby the value and productive power of the parish lands"
 MT. Gilbert returned yesterday from attending the session of the Four states Immigration League in New Orleans Mon day and Tuesday and was enthusiastic in reference to the work being done through the medium of the League
 ''The Four States Immigration League, continued Mir. Gilbert, ''is compact body composed of about 100 leading commercial organizations of Texas, Louisiana, MIS- sissippi and Alabama, the headquarters of the League being at New Orleans, with Tom Richardson of the New Orleans Pro- gressive Union as Secretary and Treas- urer. The League has been in existence but ten months. but 1t has already suc- ceeded In attracting national attention to it's work and purposes. It has the unani- nous endorsement and active cooperation of all the railroads entering the four States mentioned and also the leading newspApers and press of the principal cities. %They recently obtained the lowest rate ever made into Texas, Louisiana Mississippi and Alabama from points north of the Ohio River. All of the 100 organizations use uniform let ter head, and thereby each one adver- tises the other. There can be no question that the four States named have attract ed thereby a larger share of attention than any other four Southern States in recent years.
 "One hundred and fifty delegates from the four States were in attendance, the body being made up of representative business men, merchants, bankers, real estate agents, farmers and practical men of affairs. There were no celebrities pres cut tc InGnopolize the time and attention of the convention. The discussions were general, three minute talks being made by the representatives of the various or ganIzations, setting forth just what the locality had done in the way of truck gar Idening, fruit growing, dairying or general farming and thereby forming practical basis for advertising in the fu- tufe.
 "One of the most striking illustrations of this character was given by c. A. TiIbout of Roseland La. About eight years ago he purchased for $2S5 fifteen aCIes of land in Tangipahoa Parish. Last year the gross revenue from this fifteen acles was over $6,OOO the net revenue be- ing in the neighborhood of $3,500. His crops were onions, radishes, lettuce, cab bage, cucumbers and tomatoes. The
 .H..tA. telligence: First, in the selection of the ground; second, in the choice of crops grown and then in the handling of fer tlizers in the diversification, rotation and marketing of the crops. He found 1t nec- essary to rotate his tomato crop every year, although his cabbage he could plant for four years successively on the same soil. While old cabbage on May 1st was selling in Chicago from $5 to SIP, he put on the market his new crop on May 4, which brought S7O. the two and three quarter acres bringing a total revenue of S1, ,1S0.
 Louisiana, in addition to exemptins new factories from taxation for a period of ten years, has a law which Is won derfulIy developing the State at large. This is the legislative enactment of 1898 exempting all new railroads built before 1905 from taxation, State, county and mu- nicipal, for a period of ten years. As a practical result, the railroad mileage which in 1898 was 1900 miles, has increas- ed until Louisiana now has $500 miles of railroad built and more under construc- ton. Parish land values all over the State have increased from 100 to 800 per cent during the last five years.
 ''Texas has been stricken with the boil wevil, car strike. yellow fever and quar- sntine. It is estimated that over 1 900 600 bales of cotton, representing $50. 600 U00 worth of values. was destroyed by the boil weevil the past year and no prac- tical method seems to have been found for successfully battling against 1t. Out side of Louisiana's bottom lands most of which are threatened with inundation from the annual overflows of the Mis- sissippi River, there is nothing unusual in that State to attract outside settle ment.
 Mississippi is laboring under the stress of oppressive insurance laws and the modification of repudiating concessions in exemption from taxation of new railroads built within that State. Alabama, with out question of the entire territory, pre- sents the most attractive field, for new settlement, with it's varied opportunities