The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1904-09-08
BOT TIED WEEVILS
.. e. James Caught a Few
for Comparison.
But was Caught Up by the
Commission for Violating
the Law.


of interest to this parish, the
home of the gentleman who came
near getting into trouble with the
State Crop Pest Commission:
.sThe first affidavit against an
individual for having in his pos
session without authority of Law
a live boil weevil. was made yes
terday by the crop pest commits
sion, and the accused tried hard
to explain his reasons for having
them. The case presents an in
teresting feature, in that the
accused is D. E. James, of Royal.
VIM parish. Mr.. James was
populist member of the legisla-
ture from 1896 to 1900, and has
figured somewhat prominently in
politics in that section.
s',James came through here to-
day frolu Vernon parish. where
he had been on a visit to a rela-
tive at Hamburg. bend. He says
that he went there to get some
specimens of the live weevil to
take home to Winn parish to
study their habits. He appeared
in town with the live specimens.
encased in a bottle with several
infected squares, and made no
secret of having them. He call
ed on Mr.. j. I. Creswell, a
Shreveport merchant who has a
place in Bossier parish just across
from Shreveport, and asked him
if he had any weeviIs in his place.
Mr.. Cresswell said. he did not
know. They went over to the
place and examined the field. and
James. claims that he saw the
evidences Of their depredations,
and says. that they saw three
weevlls. They could not catch
them and he promised to return
at A:30 o'clock to attempt to
catch some.
Returning to the city he told q
number of people about having
seen the weevil in Rossier parish.
"Prof. Morgan of the crop pest
commission learned of his pres
enee here, and that he had the
live weevils in his possession.
He tried to find him, and failing,
it was decided by the executive
committee of the commission
that an affidavit should be made
against James.
Late Yesterday afternoon,
Prof. Morgan and James met as
as James was going up to his
office. with the bottle of live
wecvils.
..When told that he was liable
to the penitentiary for having the
weeyils, James said he did not
know that it was against the law,
and told of the experiments he
intended to make in Vim parish.
Prof. Morgan said that he was
the only man in the state outside
Of the federal entomologists, who
was authorized to carry boil
weevil around, yet he would not
dare to do so. He impressed
James with the gravity of his
Offence, and then took him up to
the headquarters of the commits
sion, where the executive COM
mittec took the matter under
consideration.
"After an exhaustive examina-
ton ly the commission in which
James plead like "a man pleading
for his life, and introduced every
kind of circumstance to show
that he had no motive of wrong
doing and that his actions in con-
nection with the weeyils was
purely the result of ignorance, a
thing for which he should be
Ipitied rather than blamed, he was
released without further proceed
lings by the commission, with q
warming to 60 his way and sin nc
more. James, for time, was in
rather a tight place and he owes
lit to the good common sense Of
1.-THE commission and the liberalit,
lof those making the investigation
that he was not severely dealt
with. He left last night for hi;
home With ] few specimens q
! deadv dead weeviIs giycl
hirn bf Prof. Morgan.