The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-22
OSCAR UNDERWOOD
EXCEEDINGLY BUSY
No Conference With Secre-
tary for Two Weeks
THOMPSON RETURNS
Obtains Conditional Promise From
Secretary of Agriculture Houston
to Attend Birmingham Meet
ing of Land Congress

| Col. y. F. Thompson, president of the
Alabama Land congress, has returnsa
from his visit to Washington, where he
went to try and obtain the consen. OF
Secretary Houston of the department OF
agriculture to attend the meeting of The
Land congress to be held in this city in
November.
| The arrangement for his interview with
| Secretary Houston was made through
Representative Unae,woods private sec
| retary, Mr.. Bennels, as Mr.. Underwood
himself was inaccessit lie, being in confer
ence with the leaders of the Senate who
had the tariff bill in charge. and as illus
trating how difficult it was to see Mr.
Underwood a. this tilue. his secretary told
Colonel Thompson that he had not been
able to have any conference with his chef
for nearly Two weeks, so completely vas
his time taken up with looking after the
tariff bill.
Colonel Thompson said yesterday that
he had a very pleasant interview with
Secretary Houston. from whom he OBJ
taned conditional promise to attend
the land congress mci ting in November
0oii7
templating a southern trip in the fall ard
would try and have the same cover the
Birmingham meeting. Secretary Holis-
ton stated that he mad received something
like 1000 invitations 10 visit localities as
remote as the Pacific is from the Attain
tic and all in the near future, and that
he would be obliged 10 make one visit in
any section do for as many places as Tos-
sible in that section. otherwise he would
have no time to give to his public duties.
Colonel Thompson says that Secretary
Houston expressed the conviction that the
most difficult problems now confronting
the farmers of this country were those
relating to the marketing of crops and
rural credits. and conditions in one rec
tion that were favora DE to a correct SOU
ton of these problems were wholly inap-
plicable to other sections, hence different
plans for each would be required, and
these he was carefully studying
Colonel Thompson informed Secretary
Houston that these difficulties had been
recognized by the Alabama Land con-
gress and these problems were among
those being most Investigated by the
congress anu SuC1 tlstld Noulu De DlS-
sented on these subjects at the Birming-
ham meeting as wou'd tend 10 their So
luton for this state.
The Alabama coligro ssional delegation
had written to B. +. voakum of the F'ris
co lines, and w. w. FINLEY of the South
ern Railway company, urging these gem
tlemen to accept .hc invitations already
sent them to attend the Birming ham
meeting, and efforts will be made to s.-
cure these with the presidents of the Sea-
board, the Illinois Central and the Louis
vile and Nashville roads.
"The Alabama Land congress is not in
politics." said Colonel Thompson, ''and
for fear some one viii try to give a To-
litical significance to the efforts to obtain
these railroad Officials at the land COLI
gress meeting in November, ] wish to
make II clear that the policies of the land
congress were ann.pnced more than IL
year ago. to the effect that the aid of the
railroads would be Invoked to try and
turn that tide of niigra tioE going into
Canada into Alabama and the south, and
this effort to have t.4em come to this
meeting is strictly IN accord with tia.
publicly avoved policy. The settlement
of the waste lands of Alabama with de-
sirable white farmers transcends all other
questions of a political nature at his
time, and the railroads must be relied on
to help bring this atout, so there is nee |
of getting them to consider this all IN
portant problem"