Evening star., 1927-06-11
VEGETABLES TO GO
IN 1SUGAR BOWL y
Hoover to End Louisiana
Tour Today, Hearing Re-
ports at Baton Rouge.
BY REX COLLIER,
staff Cnrrasnondent Of The Star.

BATON ROUGE, La, June Ii
Louisiana hopes to use her sugar
bowl"-now almost devoid of sugar
as a vegetable dish.
Even then the bowls contents will
he sparse. At the present moment it
is, and for some time to come will be.
half filled with water, like gigantic
finger bowl. When it is emptied late
in July or August by a merciful provl-
dence Louisiana expects to put into
it a small quantity of cabbage, some
beets, little rice and corn and maybe
q half portion of sweet potatoes.
A little vegetable oil for seasoning
NAV be added-the oil in this instance
coming from crushed soy beans.
Outside of these products and the
little sugar not affected by the water
the famous sugar bowl pronounced
by Secretary Hoover as the richest
farm land in The worlds likely to
afford "slim pickings" to it's customers
this tragic season.
For Month Longer.
Southern Louisiana, west of the
Mississippi, will be in the throes of
the flood for probably a month longer
All the water accumulated by the
Mississippi and it's tributaries in their
mad tourney to the South has been
pouring into the State for several
weeks, and from predictions made to
Mr.. Hoover during his survey there
seems but little hope that the water
will leave before late in July or early
in August.
This forecast applies especially to
st. Mary, Lafourche, Terrebonne and
Assumption Parishes-often referred
TO in brighter days as "the sugar
parishes The immediate future for
these parishes is exceedingly dark,
Mr.. Hoover learned yesterday in con-
ference with relief officials and plant
ers from those sections.
More than $4,000 acres of fertile
cane, rice and corn lands in those
parishes are under water. The cane
fields have been drowned out" and
the rice plantations, ordinarily in
need of some moisture for its irrigated
fields, have been forced to shut down
by the superabundance of water sup
piled by the swollen Atchafalaya and
Mississippi Rice will stand a little
water, but when the tide cuts off all
its air, it smotherS and dies as though
1t belonged to the animal kingdom.
Problem of Rehabilitation.
With its principal industry gricul-
ture-paralyzed for an indefinite
period, the State is confronted with
an economic problem that is battling
local, State and Federal officials. There
are more than $4,000 refugees in
camps Of the Red Cross, and the work
of rehabilitating them-of returning
them to their homes and starting them
on the road to self-support-is mat
ter for future concern. Repatriation
&C. nj
which they fed still languish beneath
several feet of flood water.
The question of how long the Red
Cross will be forced to support these
stricken families is one that is per-
picking Secretary Hoover, Vice Chair
man Fieser of the Red Cross and
other relief authorities.
There are several arguments
against maintaining the camps in
definitely. One of these is that the
long duration of this care may
''pauperize" the people, to use the
word of the Secretary-may make
them listless about earning their
own living and incline them later to
become a liability to the community.
Another is the limited funds avail
able for such relief.
Help Self-Helping.
"The Red Cross and the American
people want to help those who are
willing to help themselves" Mr..
Hoovert declared at New Orleans.
1--WE are going to see that every
one who has been made destitute IN
this catastrophe is supplied with
food and shelter until he is able to
resume his regular occupation.
'But every effort should be made
to hasten the time when these people
can be removed from the charity list
and started out on the road to self
eufficiency. My suggestion is, at hrst
blush. that you take these farm hands
and laborers and loggers and other
workers from their own parishes and
nut them to work in parishes where
the water is not halting industry"
"But we are afraid that, if we send
them away, they will never come back
and we will find ourselves without
labor for our plantations and farms"
one plantation owner protested.
Will Complete Tour.
'That is an economic development
that It seems to me the State should
take hand in. 1t is not problem
for us to consider now, with other
problems of the immediate future at
hand to wrestle with," replied Mr..
! Hoover.
'Mr. Secretary, want you to know
/ that our parish is busted" persisted
the planter.
! "No one is busted until he gives up
fighting" snapped the Commerce Sec
retary, emphatically.
j Mr.. Hoover today will complete his
inspection tour of Louisiana, when he
| hears reports from a few remaining
parishes at relief conference here
! this afternoon. The survey Of the
whole valley will end Monday, when
he will hear of MississippTs plight at
| conference in Jackson. The Secre'
tary and his party expect to be back
in Washington Wednesday, to return
to the food area again within week
or two.