The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-09-10
MISSISSIPPI STATE F ARM COTTON IS DAMAGED BY WEEV|L Trustees Estimate Crop of Only 5000 Bales on Two
 Plantations
 ONE RACE FOR JUDGE IS STILL IN DOUBT Will Take Official Count to Decide Second Primary Contest in Third
 District - Oil Mills Begin
 Operation-Other News

Jackson, Miss, September g-(Special) At it's meeting this week the board of trustees of the penitentiary revised their estimates of the number of bales of cot ton the convict farms are going to pro- duce this year, showing that the boil wee wills have been getting in some very ef- fective work. One month ago the trustees and the superintendent of the farms gave it as their opinion they would get from 5000 to 5000 bales on the Parchman and Belmont farms, but now they state they will not get more than 5000, and one of their number says 5000 bales is the most that can be expected. This is the first year that the weevils have done any se- rlous damage on the convict farms in the delta, but they are factor that will have to be reckoned with hereafter. and may hasten the day when Mississippi will put her convicts to building public high ways and converting the big cotton plan tations into cattle and hog ranches That is being done already on two of the farms and has begun to pay handsomely. At this meeting of the trustees the superintendent was authorized to sell about 200 head of cattle. These are grass fat now, but will be hardened on corn and put in first class condition before being sold.
 lIc SupellHleHueHC or the farms was also instructed to purchase and install a cold storage plant on the Parchman farm so that surplus cattle and hogs may be taken care of at any time The plant will cost about $8OO0, but it is believed will be good investment for the state.
 JUDGESHIP IN DOUBT
 The second primary for justices of the supreme court in the First and Third dis trlcts was held Tuesday, but to date it IS not known whether E. O. Sykes the present incumbent, or R. H. Knox, is elected in the Third. Both sides are claim ing 1t by narrow margins, and it may take the official count to settle it. Here in the First district George Etheridge. assistant attorney general, defeated Clay ton D. Potter, the incumbent It de- veloped that great many men voted against Judges Potter and Sykes for the simple reason that they were appointed by Governor Bilbo. That is what was done in Jackson, the home of Judge Pot ter It is stated that nearly every anti Bilbo man here voted against Potter for no other reason.
 OIL MILLS START UP
 The oil mills of Mississippi have started up, paying around $30 for seed, and how'll ing about being able to get them at that The mills have been late starting on ac- count of the strike While there was an embargo on perishable freight the rail- roads refused to haul seed, claiming they were very perishable, and that was true. However, once the embargo was removed, seed began to move rapidly and all the oil mills in Mississippi got very busy. The millse here get their seed from the delta section of the state-a section that has a good crop, and at $50 to $40 per ton bale of cotton is bringing about S10O. No farmer in the state wants any better than that.
 ASSESSMENT ROLLS COME IN
 Several of the counties of the state have sent in their assessment rolls and the majority of them show a decrease in valuations This means that the counties are not going to contribute as much to the expenses of the state government next year as it did last year and that