Evening journal., 1914-06-24
south benefits
BY APPROPRIATIONS
Congress Votes Millions to
Improve the Cotton
Belt Districts
MUCH MONEY TO
FIGHT BOIL WEEVIL


passed by Congress. Usually it has
been an axiom Of Democratic poll
ticians that nothing that the South
wanted was urgent, because IL would
4 remain Democratic anyhow, and
therefore II was far more important
to spend what money could be spared.
or distribute what jobs were on tap
4 70 sections which were mode doubt
full. and which judiciousIy placed
patronage might win over TO the
Democratic column in the next cleo
tion.
on the agricultural appropriation
bill, however, the Southern represen-
tatlyes, and especially the Southern
Senators, demanded appropriations
and got them.- So noticeable we're
the appropriations for the cotton
farmers, and of such frequent occur
ence as the bill was perused, that
Senator McCumber, OF North Dakota,
proposed an amendment, limiting the
total expenditures out of the more
than 10 millions appropriated, so that
not more than four fifths of the entire
amount could be spent in the cotton
belt
After a long conference with Sena-
tor Gore, chairman of the Agricul-
tural Committee, however, he with
drew his amendment. and ceased his
opposition. Shortly afterward an
amendment crept into the bill read
ing: For farm demonstration work
and for conducting boys and girls
clubs outside OF the cotton belt,
100000"
The prize Southern appropriation
WAS for the study and demonstration
of the best methods of meeting the
ravages of the cotton boil weevil. For
this work the House Of Representa-
tiyes allowed S37S, ,240. When this
item came TO the Senate the outcry
against Rockefeller methods in
Colorado and elsewhere was par
ticular acute, and number of sena-
tors including Kenyon, of Iowa, made
q fight against the government CO.
operating with the General Education
Board endowed by Rockefeller In
the past the board had been spending
considerable money in cooperating
with the Agricultural Department
along this line As tile result Of this
fight. the appropriation was increased
BY the Senate to S67S,2A0, but a pro-
used in connection with any sum
contributed by the General Education
Board, or any like organization.
Senator Knute Nelson's astonished
query, "if a Rockefeller dollar would
not prove Just as efficacous in killing
boil weevils as any other dollar"
brought tho retort from Senator
Lane, Of Oregon, that "if it killed
ss4ff fl, let. f.,
Colorado It would be much more
effective For the eradication OF
Southern cattle ticks an appropri-
alton of 100000 was made, out OF
which, It was provided, $4,000 could
BE- used for live stock demonstration
work, in cooperation with the
Bureaus Of Plant Industries, in areas
already freed OF ticks. This was
another Of the so-called Sectional"
appropriations which was bitterly
opposed by many of the Nor'western
senator's and representatives Their
greatest ire, however, was reused by
the appropriation Of 100000 for ex-
periments and demonstrations in live
stock production in the cane sugar
and cotton districts. This appropri-
alton was intended not only to be
limited to the extreme Southern
states, but to the one particular state
Of Louisiana. The represen4 4qtive OF
that state, who had $4,000 inserted
in the House bill, and the senator's,
who later got the appropriation
doubled, intended the clause making
the appropriation to read only sugar
cane districts" Their plea was that
the fellow members Of their party had
forced through a tariff bill putting
sugar on the free list, which would
put quite a crimp into the solidly
Democratic State of Louisiana. In
reparation, they urged that the
government should do something
with a view to building up some
profitable industry to take the place
OF the one Is was destroying to the
end that all OF the people Of the
country might have cheap sugar.
This was not all that was done for
the cotton states, however, for there
was an appropriation put into the
bill in the House for sS0,5s0 for in
vestieation Of the ginning, handling,
grading, baling, gin compressing and
wrapping OF cotton, and for the estab-
lishment and demonstration Of stan
dards for the different grades OF
cotton
When the bill got to the Senate.
Senator Smith OF South Carolina, had
added to it an extra 100000 SO that
a set OF samples as standardized by
the government, could be furnished
the markets of the cotton growing
states. His idea was that when the
farmers came into the market cities
to sell their cotton, they could look
at the government samples on exhi-
bition, and they would then know
just what grade Of the staple they
we're selling, and 1t would be inpos-
sible FOR the dealers to rob them.
These samples are also OF the
bleachcd and unbleached yarns made
from the different grades showing
the waste, tensile strength, and
bleaching quality.
An item Of s24,5o0 for the feeding
and breeding of ostriches, and for the
study OF the ostrich industry could
not be charged entirely against the
South, as there has been some IN
terest In this industry In Southern
California, and through Arizona and
New Mexico. though Southern geo
graphically, ara not included In the
so-called Southern States,
anxy nArnnC rnr ..Aaa...