The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-10-24
LIKELY ID GALL ON CONGRESS ID
 TAKE SOME ACT ION
Balance Of Trade In Favor Of United States Threatened
 By Drop In Cotton Crop

NEW ORLEANS, La, Oct. 23,-Hun- dreds of men interested in the cotton industry were arriving or were on their way to New Orleans tonight for the National Boil Weevil Menace con ' ference which begins here tomorrow to continue through Friday. Cotton N growers cotton mill operators, men swho trade in the commodity on the z Eexchanges, entomologists, chemists, @bankers, officials of railroads which derive revenue from its transports tion, and others were preparing to discuss the ravages of the weevil, the best means of eradicating it and ways r and means to convince congress that the pest is a national and not sec as tional problem.
 Orleans cotton exchange. show that the balance of trade enjoyed by the country was maintained by cotton from the close of the civil war to the beginning of the World war and the exchange had gone so Tar as to express fear that if the weevil is not curbed the United States will lose that advantage because the pest now Is wiping out the cotton and there is nothing to take it's place. The loss in the last five years, Henry G. Hester, secretary of the exchanges de- clares. has amounted to more than $1,500 900, 900 and he adds that the south's loss Is the country's loss.
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 Called By Bankers.
 There IS no prepared program for the conference, which was called by the Louisiana Bankers association al the suggestion of Senator Ransdell of this state. himself a large cotton planter, It is planned, however, that the initial days session be given over -s to state commissioners of agricul- ture. entomologists and farmers in order that they may discuss methods adopted in their states to curb the pest. Any one who has a pet scheme for combating the weevil will be permitted to tell of it. In this connection it is expected the ex- periments now being conducted by the United States department of agri- culture at Tallulah, La, will be ex- plained in detail. There a dozen aviators for months have been dust ing cotton plants with calcium ar senate and other poisons discharged from airplanes while in flights over the fields. The manager of a large plantation in Mississippi, owned by British interests, is reported to have had marked success in making large crops simply by the manner in which cotton was planted.
 The princi pal object of the confer ence is to marshal facts and figures to show that the weeVil is a national meance and to assemble the data in such manner that Congress will realize the seriousness of the situa- tiou.
 Cotton is said to enter into the making of so large a number of com modities used in everyday life that there is not a person in the country who does not benefit from it daily from infancy to the grave.
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 Bar To "Greatest Country"
 Governor Parker of Louisiana, has declared that if the boH weevil could be eradicated the United States would be the greatest country in the world. Former Governor Frank O. Lowden of Illinois, who is due here tomorrow at the head of delegation of mem bers of the Illinois Manufacturers association. has expressed the opin- ion that the weevil menace affects the prosperity of the entire nation and Charles H. Markham. president of the Illinois Central Railroad, which transports large quantities of the staples. declares that the railroad d "considers the situation very acute"
 The attendance at the conference is expected to reach nearly 1000.