The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-04
COTTON MEN IN SESSION Merchants from World
 at Large Present. SECRETARY WILSON'S ADDRESS Told of How National Department Wants to Help. President Hartshern sf National Asse- ciatien of Cotton sMerchants Dis-
 cussed chud Labor--Two Hua-
 ared Delegates Present.
SECRETARY WILSON'S ADDRESS

ASsuciatipu or COttOn MefcnantS con- vened here today in semi-annual ses- sion for two days meeting. About 200 delegates representing nearly every section of this country and over a hun dred merchants from England. Ger many. Italy, France. Portugal and Bel gium were in attendance.
 The convention here Is preparatory to the international conference of cot ton growers, spinners and manufactur- CTS which win be held in Atlanta. Ga. October to 8. The foreign delegates will also attend the Atlanta conven- ton, the program for today's sessions was an interesting one.
 Secretary of Agriculture Wilson open ed the convention with an address fol- lowed by discussions of the following subjects:
 General question of cotton mill fires," by Charles H. Fish. of Dover, N H.: "Cotton manufacturing and fire waste" H. L.. Philips. Hartford. Conn "An analysis of usage" George Otis Draper. Hopedale. Mass.
 Secretary Wilson said:
 The problem presented to our cotton growers Is not so much the cost of the labor he may employ as 1t is the intel- ligence with which the crop is grown. We had experience along this line in growing rice along the gulf coast of the Southern States. It was found that one American could produce as much rice in one year as four hundred Orien- tals, so that your cotton producers do not have to fear lower wages in any other part of the world.
 "The Department, of AgricuIture has been helping the cotton producers in every way withia it's power. The dis cases of cotton and the insects that ravage the crops are being carefully studied. A few years ago the Sea ts- land cotton industry was threatened with a serious disease, The depart ment scientists developed varieties of cotton that were resistenk Of thts dis ease ana Fasatabiished the industry They als0 found plants like the COW fertility to the soil Though cotton has sa soe ea shs sRss have @ sss ssss their superiority over the ordinary kinds. Some of the finest upland cot- tons have been produced by this method and some of them are nearly equal to the sea island.
 Needs Seed selection.
 "The department is teaching the of seed selection, better methods of tiliage, the use of legumes in furnishing nitrogen to the soil and the introduction of animal husbandry. It has been found that by proper seed selection the quantity of lint which has been around two hundred pounds per acre has been practically doubled. where experiments have been made. By better farming the amount of cot ton now produced can be grown on half the present acreage or by better farm ing we can double our production of cotton on the acres under tiliage. The of cotton production in this country are practically limitiess.
 The invasion of the boil weevil from Central America through Mexico has presented problems to which the of the country have been de- voting their energies. New hybrids have been produced that are early pro- Iific and of fine staple. that can be grown in the regions in- vaded by the boil weevil These cot- tons are not resistent to the weevil, but good crops can be produced from The department is working in advance of the pest with a view to securing cottons that will take the place of these now in use and will be sufficient iy early in maturing to escape the ravages of the insect.
 "Our cotton growing states have been hindred from getting the full benefit of the rotation of crops and the grazing of domestic animals on account of the presence of the cattle tick, that has compelled the quarantining of those sections against the movement This has circumscribed the full use of domestic animals in main the fertility of the soil and prevented the improvement of cattle necessary on every farm where rotation should be practiced. the Department of Agriculture is ex- this cattle tick. An area equal to the State of Virginia in size was cleared of the pest in 1906 and an equal area will be cleared during the present year.
 Southern agriculture will be entirely 
 Speaks On Chlld Labor.
 An address was made by William D. Hartshorn, of Lawrence. Mass, the President of the Association.
 The principal questions discussed by President Hartshorn were child labor and the necessity of industrial educa- ton. He asserted that five-sixths of teen years in the cotton mills of Mas sachusetts had not graduated from the grammar schools.
 If 1t Is from this class of native recruits that our mills are being sup piled" continued the speaker. 'is 1t to be wondered that we are finding them more and more inefficient. shifting from one mill to another or apparently seeking less work or responsibility rather than more wages and that our in increasingly placed upon of lower standing?"
 "on the other hand" said President certainly If our youth are to be trained up for the higher skilled industries only, there will be nothing left for us to do but to continue to call more and more upon the unskilled foreigner and to get and to keep if we can. these unskilled, undeveloped chill dren in their earlier years and endeavor to impart such instructions as our own business requires"
 Barrett Speaks.
 Director General Barrett of the Bu- reau of American Republics, spoke of the importance of the foreign market. He said that he would not minimize the home market. but in view of the fact that other countries had a trade with the South and Central American aggregating $100.0oO, 900 an nually which the United States shared in that trade only to the extent of