Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1923-01-03
&, 100000 FUND
TO BE- USED IN
FIGHT ON WEEYIL
World Shortage Of Cotton Now
Seems Sure Unless Pest Is
Controlled
TWO-PHASE CAMPAIGN
! Of Education And Research
Scc..s To Drive Weevii Out
Of South

ATLANTA, Jan. ,2.-Emergency
action against the boil weevil to save
as large a portion of the 1923 crop
as possible by uniting cotton pro-
Gucers and manufacturers, federal
and state agricultural bureaus, and
the leading scientists of America Iii
q concerted campaign against the
insect pest which is threatening the
existence of the cotton industry was
announced today by the American
/ Cotton association, through It's secre-
tary, Harvie Jordan.
The boil weevil campaign, whlcn
will involve the immediate raising o.
q fund of $2,5OO,O0O, will have its
beadouarters in Atlanta and will be
national in it's scope. From offices
in this city will be directed a move
ment Of tremendous importance not
only to the South but on all the eX-
tensive industrial, commercial and
financial interests throughout the
I world that are affected by the pro-
luction of the worlds leading staple.
The virtual certainty Of a world
cotton famine within one year which
would upset the American balance OF
trade and cause widespread suffer
ing in the cotton belt and manutac-
tnring centers has made it vitally I'M
nortant that the largest possible crop
be produced in the South in 1928,
4 Mr.. Jordan stated. For that reason
the campaign to raise the necessary
funds will be started at once and
the work of education and research
will be gotten under way at the
earliest possible date.
Coupled with the first announce
ment of the campaign by the Off
cials of the association was the IN
formation that the work of organlz-
ing an independent research bureau
which will devote its entire time to
the discovery of means Of controll-
ing or eradicating the boil weeNli
has already been started. DR.. Miller
! Reese Rutchison, of New York, for
merly associated with Thomas A. Ed
igon as his chief engineer and per-
sonal representative, has accepted
the position of head of the bureau,
and is already at work upon the per-
sonnel and organization Of the group
of scientists who will direct the
searchlight of their trained intelli-
gence upon the boil weevil and seek
to find some means of driving him
out of the cotton.
The campaign will be two-phase,
education and research, Mr.. Jordan
announced. With one-half of the
fund of $2,5O0,000, the American
Cotton association plans to augment
the work which has already been
done by federal and state agencies
and agricultural colleges in teaching
the farmer the best known methods
of weevil control. With the other
half of the fund, the association will
finance the investigation by indie
pendent scientists, who will seek to
find the answer to the weevil prob
lem which has so far proven battling.
Cooperation Of existing agencies
for boil weevil investigation has
been pledged to this newer, more
extensive movement. Under the
plan outlined by the association,
farm demonstration work will be on
a greater scale than ever before at
tempted, and in every cotton-grow-
ing county ID the South personal
! work will be done to obtain the CO.
operation of every planter in fight
ing back the boil weevil.
"The boil weevil has become an
international menace" said Mr.. Jor-
dan. "The world is practically de-
pendent upon the United States for
its supply Of the principal material
used in the manufacture of cloth
ing, and the boil weevil is threat
ening the production of the raw cot
ton for this world necessity, an in
dustry in which billions of dollars
(Continued From Page 2.)