St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1911-08-05

was his honor's comment upon Mr..
Redfern's enthusiasm.
eve want the right sort of i'm.
migrants to come here" continued
the mayor; 1--WE have the soil, and
the agriculturists can raise crops
on that soil 365 days of the year.
The Louisiana Development League
is now putting 10000 900 acres of
wet lands into shape, and we want
the people to till that alnd, make it
yield abundantly. In our work OF
getting immigrants, though, we must
not overlook the thousands of good
Americans who have gone to Canada.
Between Lafayette and the Texas
border line, where Crowley, Jen-
nings, Rayne and other thriving
places are now located, there was
nothing but wet prairie land twenty
years ago. To-day that land is one
OF the richest rice-producing sections
in the country, and what brought 1t
about? Why, Northern and Western
farmers came down, saw the oppor-
tunities and took them. Look at
our swamp lands, you know what
has been done with them. I've seen
those swamps converted into rich
farms, and am told that a soil ex-
pert said that the land is so very
rich that it will grow crops for 1000
years without being once fortified"
The mayor, after commenting on
the ideal climate of Louisiana and
the very low death rate, said that
he wanted to cooperate in the move,
and was willing to do everything
possible to assist the association.
The mayors public-spirited talk
greatly added to the enthusiasm of
the meeting.
Mr.. Leonhardt announced with re-
greet that Mr.. Rerfern was sick and
unable to attend the meeting. Mr..
Redfern had, however, sent around
written address, and the chairman
called upon E. o. Wild, editor of the
Gulf States Farmer, to read the
paper. The paper dealt with immi-
grafton and it's benefits, and started
with the story of an alien who had
come to this city with practically
nothing, and in title while amas-
sed the means for a comfortable liv-
ing. Mr.. Redfern expressed the
opinion in his paper that immigra-
tion was the key of Western prog
ress, and but for immigration the
West would to-day still be in the
hands of the savage Indians. Lou
isiana offers all the inducements that
the West offered, and instead of
thirty-four people to the square mile
in the state, there should be ten
times that number, which condition
could be brought about by immgra-
ton. 1t was set forth in the paper
that immigration had helped in the
making of New York, and that the
object of the people here should be
to make New Orleans a second New
York or maybe New York second
to New Orleans. immigration
New York will not help Lou
isiana; the immigration must be di-
verified this way, either through this
port or some other Southern port.
G. B. Harper, of the industrial and
department of the Illi-
nois Central Railroad, was the next
speaker. Mr.. Harper had come
down from Memphis to attend the
He stated that the manage
ment of the Illinois Central and the
Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Rail-
roads were very much interested in
the subject Of immigration. The OBJ
ject of the management was to make
every acre of its line a producing
and wealth-giving acre. Mr.. Harper
thought that the psychological mo-
ment had been reached when the
South must act. The entire West is
taken up, the government having re-
claimed the waste lands by irrigating
them, and the only section left to
the newcomer is the South. He said
that everybody was looking toward
the South to-day, and told of the
interest a barrel of Louisiana dirt
attracted at the Cincinnati agricul-
tural exhibit last year, The people
regarded the dirt as fertilizer, and
after the show the ladies came beg
ging for it to use on their flower
beds. Mr.. Harper said further that
his company was willing to CO.
operate in every way possible, and in
conclusion he contended that there
was no city in America where the
rainbow of commerce smiled as it
did at New Orleans, because of the
city's geographical situation. He
predicted that in the next ten or
fifteen years the city would advance
by leaps and bounds in a manner
more convincing than any other city
had ever advanced before.
l.. E. Bentley, United States
deputy collector of customs, made
one of his usual strong and convinc-
ing speeches. Mr.. Bentley, who is
chairman of the Progressive Union's
immigration committee, agreed with
Mr., Clercs that he subject was too
vast to be handled by committees
of other organizations, and should
be looked after by a nassociation
with no other work to do. Mr..
Bentley said that the Federal laws
were good and that there was not
much danger Of getting undersirables
here. He thought it would he the
interest of the steamship companies
to bring the better class of immi-
grants to New Orleans. The speaker
did not think that Louisiana had
suffered from her experience with
the aliens. He took the Italians and
said that with few exceptions they
were good people, who were making
most desirable class of citizens.
He found that the Italians brought
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