The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-11-08

The boil weevil is not half the seal awag he is painted, from the view point of the banker, for he brings re- duced cotton crops, higher prices and prosperity. So declares Alex F. Walker. manager of the Birmingham branch of the federal reserve bank, in his monthly report to the directors of the branch, presented Wednesday, It was one of the first official pro nouncements of praise the trouble some insect has yet received.
 Another diverting feature of MT. Walkers report wa5 reference to prohibition from the economic stand point, in which he demonstrated that Alabamas loss from liquor. lecenses is far more than compensated for by the convict lease earnings of the state from convicted vioIators of the law, together with fines levied for such violation.
 This years 11,OoO, ,oo0-bale crop of cotton will bring approximately q billion dollars more than the record crop of 16,000, 900 bales, MT. Walker pointed out in his report, by way of demons tratiny the virtues of the boil weevil. He referred to the bell wee vii conference recently held at New Orleans, saying that he did not. deny the usefulness of such gatherings but adding: q must confess that I do not share in the general belief
 
 boil weevil will be the great bless ing to our country which we are led to believe" The report goes on:
 O O O
 Big Crop Means Loss.
 In calculating the supposed loss caused by this insect, the fact seems to be entirely overlooked that the growing of an immense cotton crop. under normal conditions, means a far greater loss to the farmer. by reason of a decreased price for the staple, than has ever been caused by the boil weevil, even at the peak of his ac- tivities. To illustrate, there were SS,000,000 acres planted in cotton in the United States this year. Before the advent of the weevil the averag yield of lint cotton to the acre was about one-third of a bale. This yield. under improved agricultural methods and increased use of fertilizer and without weevil damage, has easily increased to one-half bale per acre. Therefore, with the weevi1 and under normal conditions, this country would have produced this year 19,000,000 bales of cotton. If that were true, it is easy to imagine that the cotton fate than the wheat farmer and that the cotton crop this year would hard ly have been worth the gathering Wheat is product that Is in demand the year around It can be kept off the market with the certainty that it will be needed every day in the year Not so with cotton; the mills purchase their supplies in a few months time and the rest of the time there Is only a spasm odic demand and the pressure of large surplus crop is, therefore, fatal to the price. To further illustrate; The largest crop in our history was about 10000, ,000 bales. It sold at an average of about $35 bale, totaling about s560, ,000, 900.
 O O O
 Crop Value Increases.
 Taking the government estimate thls year Of 100000 bales, with an average price of 2S cents a pounnd, of $40 per bale, we have a total of $1,540, 100000 for this crop, or an in- crease of about $1,000,000, ,000 for the rrice of a calamitous bool weevil crop of cotton, over the price of the largest crop in our history, with the weevil absent. This does not in- clude the price of cotton seed, which has advanced in price equal to that of the lint. No only this, but the tax value of farm land in Alabama, since the appearance of the weevil, has doubled in value. Compare, if you please, the pest ridden cotton growing section of the United States with the surplus ridden wheat belt and then decide which is best-a cot ton acreage under boil weevil dam age of a wheat acreage, suffering from the whitening blight of a huge supply without an adequate demand The striking lesson taugh us by this comparison, in the present condition of the two leading agricultural pro- ducts, is so. plain. that he who runs may read.' One other thought weather conditions, affecting the cotton crop, have been overlooked Witness the fact that this year in the states of Texas and Oklahoma, where weather conditions have been good, it is estimated that these states will grow 40 per cent of this years crop. Last year weather conditions in these two states were not so good,