The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-29
Crop Diversificati0n Adv0- cated at Southern Com
 mercial Congress
COMMISSIONER WADE
 OF ALABAMA SPEAKS
Says .Demagogic Politicians Bust the South by Encouraging Farmer to Believe Cotton Was king-Hard-
 ships of Small Crop Farmer

Muskogee. okla. April es-Closer rela- tons between the employer and employe. crop diversifieation and more liberal treat ment for the small farmer were urged by speakers at tonight's session of the Southern Commercial congress as essen tiai to the commercial development of the south
 Both the wage-earners and the em- ployer must accept the other as partners in productun,' declared Louis r. Post. assistant secretary of the United States Department of labor. ''Wage-earning in- tefosts cannot be promoted by obstruct- ing legitimate commercial enterprise any more than legitimate commercial enter prise can be promoted by strangline wage- terest is as truly commercial as that of his employer and if you eliminate that Interest," dividends disappear and the com mercai system erumbles"
 Mr. Post asserted that more than half the population of the United States is directly dependent upon wage-earners.
 ''rhe wage-earners of the country mum Der more than one-third the whole popuia- ton, he said. "Of children from 10 to i6 years of age. there are at least half million employed. not counting those in agricultural work who number million more.1
 Advocates Diversificati0n
 Crop diversfication was advocated by E. l. Watson commissioner of agriculture Of South Carolina.
 Tt took just such a crisis as the Euro pean war to make the people of the south wake ID to the advantages of crop diver sification," he said For years we have been mining the soil ana not subduing it and replonishing it as we are told to do by the Bible. My only regret is that the awakening had to come at the cost of so many lives"
 MT, Watson declared that the soil of the south had naer doctored with commercial fertilizer, "a patent medicine that gives no permanent relief until 1t would no longer respond to that treatment and de- clared that nitrogenous plants. that will at once build up the soil and provide iut excellent forage crop was what was needed.
 John H. Page, commissioner of agricul- ture of Arkansas. told of the hardships of the small crop farmer. Excessive rates of interest on loans for which he mort sagas his growing crop and lack of mar keting facilities are the most serious prob lems to be solved, he said.
 Open air dancing was a feature of the entertainment programme tonight. Sew eral downtown streets were closed to traf- fife for the use of the dancers
 Tho south offers a solution of the occu- pational unrest ill other states of the union, K. NJ. Fillmore of Dallas, indus trial commissioner of the Texas immIgra- ton information bureau. told delegates to the congress here today. In his address MT. Fillmore asserted such immigration would develop the undeyeloped resources of the section.
 Should Get Immigrants
 In addition to obtaining immigrants from the loreer settled parts of the coun- try, he urged that the south ''Go after immigrants from Europe when peace Is declared jdst as commercial salesmen go after business"
 "We should carry our goods into the stricken countries.'' he said, land tell of it's value.
 "One of the greatest obstacles in the way of obtaining desirable immigra- ton has been the so-caled coloniza ton companies" he said These by selling fake irrigation. oil and township proper IleS nave SWlnulfu tHpuSd1uS or Iaffn- CTS who might have become useful cti- gens of the south.i
 Eliminate Land Shark
 MT, Emore advocated legislation in every state in the south that will elmi- nate the land shark and protect the in- vesting homeseeker and the honest real estate dealer. He pointed out that a large fund recently was raised in Spring field, Mo, to conduct "a stay in Mis- souri' campaign. He. said this warning was given
 "If you must leave Missouri, stay away from Texas and Oklahoma unless you want to be fleeced."
 'The south is now in its renaissance" :" he continued. But before we attempt to increase our family by immigration we must set our house in order by bettering sanitary conditions. roads and schools Then we will be ready for a gigantic campaign for immigration conducted by means of newspaper publicity and per- sonal solicitation
 officials of the congress asserted to- day the recent floods in the southwest had kept away many visitors to the con vention among them q number of speak CTS. Many of these will reach here later in the session. but some have been obliged to return to their homes.
 Commissioners of agriculture of several states WHO were scne0uleu to Spedk tO- day failed to arrive.
 Wade Delivers Address
 J. A. Wade. commissioner of agricul- ture for Alabama said in an address that the south had been hurt by the demagogue politicians who encouraged our farmers to believe that cotton was king in the financial world and an ab- solute monopoly to the south. As a result he proceeded i've had not thought seriously of the soil fertility that was being shipped away and none was being returned. We had not thought seriously of our foreign markets being practically paralyzed by international disturbances and we formed the ex- travagant habit of buying from other states things at a much greater price than the cost of local production.'
 Now. Mir Wade pointed out. the people of the south are beginning to fortfy themselves by agricultural diversifica- ton.
 Congressional legislation that will mako elastic the agricultural resources of the south and under which a financial sys- tenn may be organized that will enable the farmers to obtain such credit as they need and will place them on the same footing as other business men, was urged by F. l.. Daughtridge. lieutenant governor of North Carolina.