The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-01-27
GREAT HARMONY AT CONVENTION Commissioner Poole Addresses Delegates at New
 Orleans LASTING GOOD HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED AT ME-. $ g
 9 s
  Mir. Poole Urges Cooperation Among Commissioners of Agriculture for Purpose of Gathering Ac- curate Information.

New Orleans, January 26.-with the unanimous adoption of the plan reported by its committee for a permanent organ
 ization, headed by Harvie Jordan of
 Georgia as president and E. s. Peters of
 Texas as vice president, the Southern h. ter-State Cotton convention finally closed it's successful three-day session tonight Throughout the meeting there
 had been a hard struggle in committee
 for ascendency between the friends Of Jordan and those of Peters in the perma-
 nent association but all differences were finally reconciled and a unanimous re-
 port was presented to the convention. The feature of the forenoon was the defeat of the modified Waco warehouse plan which had been reported by majority of the committee A committee of three
 was named to confer with the President in the matter of the enlargement of the cotton trade
 Morning Session.
 President Jordan again presided over the convention at the forenoon session. Com
 missioner of Agriculture R. R. Poole or Alabama, as chairman, presented the re- port of the committee of statistics. It
 suggested that every state commissioner place himself in position to secure com pete return of all gins operated in his
 state, and for the entire number of bales
 gnned of the crop of 1904 and 1905,. and be in a position to furnish this informa- tion twice a month during September, October, November and December, 19O5 and monthly to March inclusive. The committee approved the methods of the National Ginners' association as the quickest and most feasible way of get ting out reports. The state legislatures
 are asked to make ample provision to en- able their commissioners to carry out these ideas.
 Former Senator John Lowndes Me-
 Laurin of South Carolina presented the | report of the committee on resolutions
 heartily approving the reduction of acreage and fertilizers and urging "all owners of cotton to hold it until the government report on acreage shows to | the world that southern cotton farmers stand solidly together; that they have com piled with their agreement and demand the value of their product"
 A number of addresses were delivered at the forenoon session. Commissioner R. R. Poole of Montgomery, Ala. presi- dent of the Association of Southern Com
 missioners of Agriculture. discussed "The Gathering of Cotton Statistics by South 1 ern Commissioners of Agriculture" Commissioner Poole Speaks. MT. Poole said:
 "Gentlemen of the Convention-The part l you have assigned to me in your deiber- ations today, to lead in the discussion of 1 the "Gath of Cotton Statistics by | Southern Commissioners of Agriculture, 1 is the most important and valuable sub | ject which you will be called upon to | consider The gathering of statistics has | been found to cut a most important fig | ure in fixing the price and influencing the mo roff of ha cfa anln m cho | be our chief aim and purpose to so con- | duct it. with the utmost reliability and I absolute correctness, as to place at a I minimum the question of it's accuracy and | trustworthiness.
 How to obtain this result is a prob
 lem for us to solve There is not com
 missioner of Agriculture in all this vast
 country of ours, who I dare say, has | not been greatly concerned as to how l he would gather statistics of the grow 1 ing crop and of the yield, that he would
 endorse as perfectly correct and truthful. | We must take 1t for granted that the
 heads of the agricultural departments of 1 the various states, are not only eXper- l fenced and successful farmers, but are
 also men of more than ordinary intel | liEence and who have wide acquaint- l ance within and throughout the bounZs l of their respective states Most of us who l go through a p~Imary election to secure
 a party nomination for the offices we are filling, usually get acquainted with l the people and that is the first essential element in the plan I am about to pro- 1 pose
 1 Can Find the Man.
 Knowing the people then in each To- | cality, we can, with some consultation l with others in the community, arrive at | the proper selection of a man. in each | required radius, whom we know to be l honorable and trustworthy, to report at | stated intervals the status of the grow | ing crop As a matter of course, we will l have to take into consideration his en- l vironments and his opportunities for se- l curing the exact conditions, and the re- | sponsibility of those upon whom we rely; 1 but be assured that our reports will l come up to very fair average I know 1 and you know the many difficulties with which we are to contend in the effort l to properly perform this duty; how many 1 obstacles are put in our way by the l sharks and shylocks of the money world; | the spectators who are after the profit
 to be derived from depriving and rob | bing the honest producer of fair and just | deserts; but if we will do our part and i stand firm and unyielding, the reports | can and must be made so that they can | be absolutely depended upon.
 Grave and Responsible Duty. | "Now having made and prepared the ] crop for the gins. we must make arrange | ments to have reports from that part of I the work and we are to arrive in the same I way at the character and standing of l the ginner. and then seek to impress upon | him the most grave and responsible duty | he is called upon to perform. and in CO., l operation with the United States agri- cultural officials we ought to be enabled to get honest and truthful and reliable reports from the ginning.
 l "Gentlemen, let us resolve here today | that we will devote our best energies and unceasing efforts to the accomplishment of this much desired and most valuable | end and if we will do that do our full duty in the premises, we will not see the l (continued on Fifth Paae.)