The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-10

selfish men in demonstrating a theory at the expense of all the people?
 No county, situated as is Sumter, has ever had the cattle tick cleaned from it and kept out of it for any length of time. In the very nature of the case it is im- possible to do so. Sumter is surrounded by tick-infested territory The cattle in the counties surrounding Sumter run at large. The cattle of Sumter run at large in the winter. These cattle mingle and in this way the ticks get a speaking acquaintance, neither cattle hor ticks know anything about nor have any re- spect for state and county lines.
 Quoting from a letter to him from Secretary Wilson, Mr. McElderry says: q have not only tried to reason but have gone a little further and begged to be allowed to continue our work" Con tinue his work where? In Alabama $ Surely. wherever the people want him to continue it, Senator Johnston not only does not object to this, but will aid the people in any locality to get what they want for Senator Johnston is a democrat and not a republican. He believes in the right of local government. To say that "the great department of agriculture is forced for Alabama's good to beg Senator Johnston to allow it to spend a bit of money for the protection of Alabama farmers is to state a false hood. No man in public life is more in- terested in building up Alabama and the south than Senator Johnston. He made Alabama a great governor and is making her a great senator.
 Mir McElderry pretends to be chiefly concerned for the farmers of the state but before he gets through with his let ter he tells for whom he is really in terested Hear him: "Those of us having money in cattle know from experience we can grow as fine cattle in Alabama a can be grown inithe north and at a cheap CT price, if it were not for cattle ticks.'' 1 I've also know that there is no money in the cattle business with ticks" So Mir. McElderry has tried the cattle business both ways, with ticks and without ticks l Why does he not then keep the ticks off his cattle and make money? The ticn in- spectors say it Is the simplest thing in the world to do. It does not appear however, to be exactly fair to use the money of all the people to make MT. Me Elderry prosperous cattle raiser Mr. 1 McElderry took up the defense of Sec retary Wilson, evidently not so much for the good of the farmers of Alabama. as to give him field to vent his spleen on Senator Johnston Listen at this: Sen ator Johnston says if the department will commence at the Tennessee line. where ticks have been eradicated, and move down the state, he will favor tick eradication" I trust the department will i do this, but suppose it does not? Who of us would say that our county ought not to quarantine against yellow fever or smallpox, because, forsooth, Mexico does not do so? The cattle tick is more costly. NIr. McElderry seems to put higher value on cows than he does on men Because Mexico does not quaran- tine against smallpox and yellow fever is surely no reason why Alabama should not do so. But if these diseases were raging in Mississippi. southern Tennes-
 
 ty Of Alabama, it seems to the writer that it would be the work of a crazy man to pick out one, two or three coun- ties in Alabama to fight these diseases, leaving all the rest of the territory alone, with the expectation of ridding the south of the danger of infection by yellow fever ana smallpox. Yet this Is exactly what the great 11na r rt1lo nf s. doing to get rid of the ticks. What think you, my countrymen, of it's wisdom and patriotism? Does not the department love any section of the state except Sum ter Dallas, Madison and Montgomery counties? We ask in Sumter only what we are. willing and want every other county in Alabama to have, the right of local self-government The people of the state recently voted to give the counties 'h's rlsht as to the sale of whisky, a thing of which there is nothing better to be said than theYe is of tuberculosis Arc the people to be denied this right in all other matters? MT. MeElderry writes like he lives in Sumter county. There is m such man In Sumter Is he the H R McElderry, sometime democrat. who de- serted the party when it's fortunes were lean, to become a republican? If SO who is he to call Senator Johnston A re- actionary? Senator Johnston has spent the best years of an honorable life in the services of his country. Is he to be slan- dered and 'vllified now by every polly that wants a cracker because in his old age he still keeps the faith? Sincerely JOHN A. ROGERS.
 Gainesville, July 8, 1911.