The Mercedes News (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 65, Ed. 1 Friday, July 6, 1928 Page: 1 of 10
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library.
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YOUR EYES
—and Your Efficiency
Glasses Properly
FPied
J. M. Reynolds
Jeweler and
Opfcoeromist
IMercebee Jlcms
Tuesday Morning and Friday Morning
VOLUME V.
MERCEDES, TEXAS, FRIDAY, JULY 6, 1928
NUMBER 65
■v
>-r
Disease Attacking
Valley Cotton Well
Known Says Cowan
Have Affected 15 Per
Cent of Acreage In
Some Localities
By PAUL COWAN
Vocational Agriculture Teacher,
Donna' Public Schools
Allan Hvistendahl
Speaks At Rotary
Luncheon In Weslaco
Allan Hvistendahl, president of the
Mercedes Rotary Club during the past
year, and a member of the present
board of directors, spoke at the Wes-
laco Rotary luncheon Thursday. Mr.
Hvistendahl returned Monday from
the Rotary International convention,
which was held in Minneapolis, Min-
nesota, in June.
Mr. Hvistendahl chose as his sub-
ject high lights of the conven-
tion, speaking of his experiences at
the meeting, and reporting the impor-
tant happenings of the convention.
' F*
Considerable discussion concerning
the disease attacking cotton in the
Rio Grande Valley and other sections
of South Texas seem to have an air
of mystery. This disease is not a
new one by any means but is simply
more pronounced than during most
seasons. Dr. J. J. Taubenhaus of
the Texas Experiment Station has
just returned from Robstown and
states that the disease is angular
ryjjtfL ^ and that the infection is
per cent. It is also known
as bacterial blight or black arm. Some
people call it “rust,” but it is not a
rust at all but a bacterial disease.
Dr. Taubenaus states that at Corpus
the disease seems to have reached its
peak and that the dry weather has
checked its spread. The following de-
scription of the disease is taken from
an Arkansas bulletin, “Diseases of
Cotton in Arkansas.”
“The disease which is most gener-
ally distributed in the state and
which in some cases does more in-
jury than any other is the angular
leaf spot. The disease is often called
“rust,” but the term is not descrip-
tive. Angular leaf spot describes it
much better. The disease appears in
the spring as soon as the plants come
out of the ground and may then be
seen on the seed leaves as circular
spots which have the appearance of
having been water-soaked. On the
later leaves it is always in the form
of sharp cornered spota bounded by
leaf veinlets. The spots ’appear first
on the lower side of the leaf and
then penetrate.to the upper side. In
the early stage they appear as - dark
green water-soaked spots. Later, this
diseased tissue turns , dark brown.*
Badly spotted - leaves usually fall
Leayly. . .
vJrDark stneaks due .to the disease
may appear ♦ on the stems and the
. branches. This phase of the disease
is known as ‘black arm.’
On the bolls the disease appears as
dark green water soaked, raised cir-
cular spots, which may become dark
brown and sunken in the center, es-
pecially when invaded by secondary
rots.
“Infections on the squares often
run down to the base of the boll which
may become infected and killed,^espe-
cially if the boll is small. Bolls are
often infected at the base underneath
the bracts without showing the in
fection elsewhere.”
“It is this phase of the disease that
as been causing many squares and
bolls to drop during the past month.
“The angular leaf spot is a bac-
terial disease caused by the organism
bacterium malvaceaum—E. F. Smith.
It lives over the winter probably
most entirely on the short lint on
cotton seed and infects the plants as
soon as it starts growing in the
spring. During wet weather great
numbers of the organisms exude from
the diseased spots and are carried by
wind and rain to other plants. In
sects, especially aphids, spread the
disease by carrying the organisms
from diseased to healthy plants and
leaves.”
“The disease is checked by dry
weather which prevents the spread
of infection. Rolfs and Faul Wetter
have shown that the disease may be
controlled by delinting the seeds with
sulphuric acid before planting.”
Selection of seeds from disease free
fields is also given as a preventative
of this disease.
It is entirely possible that the se-
verity of the disease this year has
been due to the fact that many plants
lived over the winter without being
killed and that there was a double in-
fection from this source and from the
seeds. The winds during May and
early June were instrumental in
spreading the disease over large areas
and consequently the damage has
been much geater than in years with
ordinary weather conditions.
Hidalgo County Is
Placed Under Vital
Statistics Statutes
Texas Cotton Crop Depends On Weather
•—i—■
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.SOUTHLAND LIFE
MONTHLY CROP REPORT
June 1928
A
High School Girl Sets
U. S. Typing Record
Rockland, Me.—(INS)—W r i t ing
ing 108 words a minute, nearly
two words a second, Miss Eleanor
Young of the graduating class of
the local high school, recently ac-
quired a typing championship of
the United States.
Miss Young did not make an
error in her test. The record was
made before competent judges who
were amazed to see the young wo-
man’s fingers slide across the keys
at such a speed.
Births and Deaths Must
Be Reported To Newly
Appointed Registrars
Hidalgo county has now been or-
ganized in accordance with the new
vital statistics law of the state of
Texas by the appointment of regis-
trars for each justice precinct and
each incorporated town or city, ac-
cording to announcement Thursday by
Dr. J. C. Anderson, state health of-
ficer. In some cases two or three
precincts have been combined into
one district.
Every birth is required by law to
be reported to the local registrar of
the district in which it occurs by the
attending physician or midwife, or if
there was neither, then by the father
or mother. These reports must be
made within five days after birth.
The law prohibits the burial or re-
moval of a dead body before a death
certificate properly and completely,
filled .out, ha^ been filed with the lo-
cal registrar, sqid a burial or remov-
al permit has been secured..
The immense legal value of these
records makes it important that the
citizens of Texas be given this pro-
tection by having a complete legal
record filed in accordance with this
law. . m
In the first ►three, months of 1928
thefe were reported from * Hidalgo
county 154 births and 123 deaths.
This indicates only about 44 per cent
of the births and 68 per cent of the
deaths were reported. The state de-
partment of health urges the co-op-
eration of every citizen in observing
the new law so that a complete and
accurate record may be kept.
The following registrars have been
appointed and the county has been
divided into the districts indicated:
A. S. Pike, Weslaco, precincts 1, 7,
and the city of Mercedes; J. E. Weir,
Donna, precinct 2, and the city of
Donna; G. C. Seawell, McAllen, pre-
cinct 3, and McAllen; E. Bliefuss,
Mission (outside the city), and pre-
cinct 4; J. M. Williamson, Mission;
R. Ramirez, Havana, precinct 5; P. D.
Haley, Edinburg, precinct 6; Mrs.
Jean Allen Martyn, San Juan, precinct
8, Pharr and San Juan.
-o-
Meeker Purchases
Advertising Agency
The James Advei’tising Agency,
Inc., which has been operated in Mer-
cedes for several months by E. C.
James of Weslaco has been sold to R.
J. (Bob) Meeker, who has resigned his
position of advertising manager of
the United Printing Company and has
taken over active charge of the bus-
iness. The agency was incorporated
last January and since that time has
built up a thriving business. It will
be reorganized but will continue to
operate under the same firm name.
Meeker has had an extensive career
in advertising. Starting on the old
Fort Worth Record as a “rookie” so-
licitor, he enjoyed steady promotions
for a number of years until he re-
signed as national advertising mana-
ger of The Houston Post-Dispatch
following a nervous breakdown. He
came to the Valley a year ago and
was shortly appointed advertising
manager of the United Printing com-
pany, having supervision of advertis-
ing matters on their two publications,
The Mercedes News and The Valley
Farmer. He has travelled all over
the country for several years in con-
nection with his work and is thorough-
ly familiar with the production and
sale of advertising in all of its phases.
It is the plan of the new manage-
ment to widen materially the scope
of activity of the agency which is
now serving a large number of Val-
ley concerns.
^EXCELLENT
El ABOVE NORMAL
□ NORMAL OR UNPLANTED
® BELOW NORMAL
Names of All Democratic
Party Bolters Nay Be
Left Off County Tickets
Cameron County Chairman Says Names of Tom
Love, Mrs. Wilmans and Hawkins Not To Go
Before Voters; Hidalgo County May Take Ac-
tion Monday.
Dallas, July 5.—Prospects for the cotton crop in Texas, according to in-
dications of reports compiled by the Department of Public Relations of the
Southland Life Insurance Company, appear to depend to a great extent on
the developments of the next four weeks. Hot, calm and dry weather in all
likelihood will produce a bumper crop. Cool, windy and wet weather may
produce a near failure.
One of the surprising things about the crop situation as far as Texas is
concerned is the fact that there unquestionably will be a better crop of grains
of all sorts than was at first believed possible. Several counties in the state
report the best grain crops in several years with others showing crops above
normal and still others at least fair.
The map of this month’s condition has the peculiar aspect of not appear-
ing as good as conditions really are because of the fact that work in the fields
has been retarded by wet weather. A few dry days, however, would greatly
improve the appearance of the map. A number of Panhandle and West Texas
counties show as above normal, still others in South Texas the same, and the
Rio Grande Valley looking forward to an especially good season, dependent,
of course, on prices.
Despite the fact most of Texas needs dry, hot weather, there are still county, it is my duty to use the power-
spotted sections where rain is needed. °f that office to preserve the integrity
'in general, business is slow*- but farmers optimistic and expecting a of the democratic party, and my con-
, science dictates to me that your re-
Will'party bolters or those candidates who have declared that
they will not support the democratic nominee for president have
their names left off the Hidalgo county ballots, is the question
paramount in political circles of Hidalgo county following the an-
nouncement Wednesday of Judge Volney W. Taylor of Browns-
ville, Cameron county chairman of the democratic committee, that
the names of Tom Love, candidate for lieutenant governor; Mrs.
Edith Wilmans and William E. Hawkins, candidates for governor,
will not appear on the official primary ballots of that county.
The action of Judge Taylor was an-
nounced in letters to the three candi-
dates in question and to the state ex-
ecutive committee, and followed a de-
cision of the civil court of appeals in
San Antonio in a case appealed from
Willacy county, which is thought by
the Cameron county democratic leader
to furnish a decision by which he
could take the action. Judge Taylor
in his letter to the three candidates
stated that he had noticed in the state
press where they had been quoted as
saying that they would not support
the nominees of the democratic party,
“and by reason thereof the papers say
you have bolted the democratic party.
“As chairman of the democratic
executive committee of Cameron
good season.
First Unit Poultry
Ranch Here Sold:
Will Build 2 More
Development Will Be
Carried Out As
Announced
GLASSCOCK SPEAKS
AT DEDICATION OF
BROWNSV’L BRIDGE
cent, acts and declarations amount in
law and morals to a request to me as
chairman of the executive committee
of Cameron county to not place your
name upon the ballot in the coming
July primary.”
Will Hidalgo county follow suit?
Miss Barbara Hoyt and Miss Paul-
ine Harrell, of Calvin, Oklahoma, who
has been a guest of Miss Hoyt since
the first of June, will leave Saturday
for Oklahoma City, where they will
visit before going to Bella Vista,
Arkansas, where Miss Harrell’s pa-
rents have a summer home.
Sale of the first unit of the Mer-
cedes Poultry Rancheos to A. E. Mc-
Donals of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, was
made Thursday morning. This unit
was recently completed on the large
tract of land lying north of mile 12
on the baseline which will be made
into one of the largest poultry devel-
opments of the southwest. At the
same time announcement was made
that two additional units would be un-
der construction within the next few
days.
The first unit sold is one of the most
complete poultry ranches in the Val-
ley. It consists of ten acres of land,
part of which is planted in citrus, a
modern stucco home, and a large
chicken house, built according to the
approved plans of one of the most ef-
ficient experts in the country. The
house is stucco construction, with tile
roof, hardwood floors, and all modern
conveniences. It has six rooms, bath
and built-in garage.
The poultry house is 24 by 130 feet
and was built for a flock of 1,000
White Leghorn hens. It has a filtra-
tion plant for all water used, heating
plant, and is so built that it is very
mlight and airy.
The two additional units will be
rushed to completion at once and
when sold more units will be con-
structed.
The formal dedication of the new
international bridge between Browns-
ville and Matamoros was held at
3:30, July '4, at Brownsville. Ad-
dresses by American and Mexican
representatives were given, including
R. B. Creager of Brownsville and D.
W. Glasscock, of Mercedes. The cer-
emony included music by the munici-
pal bands of the two cities. The
bridge was formally opened by the
breaking of a bottle of champagne by
Miss Elizabeth Creager of Browns-
ville. Microphones were installed and
loudspeakers were placed at the
Brownsville Chamber of Commerce
park and near the new customs house
on the Mexican side. These enabled
the large crowds to hear the pro-
gram as the ceremony took place in
the center of the new bridge.
An all day celebration was held in
Brownsville, beginning at 10 o’clock
in the morning with sport events at
the Fort Brown lagoon. At 1:30 an
international parade, with floats from
Brownsville and Matamoros, formed
at Fort Brown and went through the
main business streets of Brownsville,
across the new bridge, and into Mat-
amoros. The boat races at Fort Brown
lagoon attracted a large number of
spectators. Most of the towns of the
Valley were represented by entries in
the races. “Miss Harlingen” carried
away most of the honors. Beginning
at 7:30, at Fort Brown lagoon, a wat-
er fiesta and pageant was held. This
featured the “Goddess of the Valley,”
“Goddess of the Moon,” “Pirates of
the Main,” and “Spanish Trouba-
dours.” The pageant was followed
by a large display of fireworks, in-
cluding numerous set pieces arranged
especially for the occasion.
Increased Rates On
Citrus Suspended
By Commission
New Vegetable Tariffs
Not Disturbed In
Last Order
And will this act of Judge Taylor be
upheld by the state executive com-
mittee ?
Marshall Mcllhenny of Edinburg,
Hidalgo county democratic executive
committee chairman, Thursday morn-
ing stated to a representative of the
News that he did not know at this
time what action this county would
take and would not know until after
the committee meeting next Monday.
Leading democrats of Mercedes
who were interviewed were practical-
ly unanimously of the opinion that all
party bolters’ names should be left
off the ballot.
“If candidates for county, district
and state offices are not willing to
support the nominee and take the
pledge they should not be allowed to
have their names on the ballots,” was
the opinion of W. D. Chadick, com-
missioner of this precinct.
“How can a democrat be a demo-
crat if he does not take the pledge
and if he is not willing to support the
party’s nominee? Can a man be for
and against the same thing?” was the
comment made by Harry J. Lawson,
city councilman.
“If the county executive commit-
tees have the legal right to withhold
from the ballots the names of all can-
didates who have expressed their in-
tention of not supporting the nomi-
nees of the party in the general elec-
tion, I believe this action should be
taken by all county executive com-
mittees. The democratic party has
no room in its ranks for party bolt-
ers, and if any candidate is dis-
gruntled over the fact that the nomi-
nees, as selected by a majority of the
party, do not suit him personally, he
should either withdraw from the
party or else abide by the majority
decision. I believe that any voter
does have and should have the right
to vote for any and all candidates in
the general election his conscience
dictates, but he should not be permit-
ted to participate in the councils of
one party when he expressly states
that he will vote for the nominees of
some other party in the general elec-
tion,” was the statement of Robert E.
Kirkpatrick, attorney.
The opinion has been expressed by
Hidalgo county politicians that the
action of Judge Taylor will not be up-
held by the state executive commit-
tee and that the decision of the court
of civil appeals was not correctly in-
Texas Professor To
Study ‘Lower Class’
Citizens of Mexico
Fort Worth, Texas, July 2—(INS)—
Riley Aiken, assistant professor of
modern languages at Texas Christian
University here, will spend his vaca-
tion this year, as he did in 1927,
studying the habits of the “lower
class citizens” of Old Mexico.
Last year, Aiken, with Prof. W. J.
Hammond, hiked into the interior of
Mexico as far as Monterrey, making
a study of the Mexican.
Aiken has made an extensive study
of the border Mexican. He has lived
among them much of his life and has
devoted a great deal of his time to
learning their philosophy, studying
their psychology and collecting their
folk lore. He hopes to popularize the
border country and the Mexican as
Octavus Roy Cohen has the negro of
the Birmingham, Ala., section.
Aiken will make the trip alone
this year and will make a survey of
the border natives from El Paso to
Laredo, studying the Mexican, both
on this side of the Rio Grande and
Vacuum Cleaner Co.
To Open Branch Here
C. J. Richards, former owner of the
White Tavern cafe, has been named
factory representative of the Eureka
Vacuum Cleaner company, and will
open a factory distributing office in
Mercedes in the very near future.
Mr. Richards went to San Antonio
Tuesday night to confer with branch
representatives there. He will be
gone about ten days and the Mer-
cedes store will be opened as soon as
he returns.
The decision of the company to
make a separate territory of the Val-
ley section was made recently. The
store to be opened here will serve all
other towns of the Valley.
-o-
across the river. He will make the
trip on foot, except where motorists
offer him a “lift.”
Despite the whirl of modern indus-
try and commerce, the Texas ranger
with his Winchester rifle still rides
guard on the sluggish Rio Grande as
in the early days of the state and the
border country still is a land rich in
color and romance.
The protest of the Rio Grande Cit-
rus Growers’ Association against the
increase in freight rates on citrus in
carload shipments brought results
this week when the Interstate Com-
merce Commission suspended the new
citrus rates which were to have been
effective next Sunday. The commis-
sion suspended a few other rates but
did not disturb the new rates on vege-
tables which will result in a saving of
approximately $1,000,000 annually to
farmers of the Valley.
No one in the Valley, apparently,
was aware that citrus rates had been
increased until the new tariffs were
published a little more than a month
ago. The Mercedes News then call-
ed attention of shippers and growers
to the situation which amounted prac-
tically to a twenty per cent increase, terpreted and did furnish a precedent
This had come about through indif- whereby this action could be taken. It
ference of Valley interests to the was said that the case in Willacy
hearings almost two years ago. It county' referred to trose out of a
was pointed out that we had no rep- candidate applying for place on the
resentative at these hearings and county ticket after going on record
the result was the inevitable increase.
Immediately upon publication of
the increases a meeting was called by
the co-operative and other Valley
shippers and a protest was forwarded
to the I. C. C. The suspension fol-
lowed.
There was apprehension in some
quarters that if we protested the cit-
rus rates we might disturb the veg-
etable rates also, a thing which the
Valley wished to avoid by all means.
The news that the vegetable rates
have not been disturbed, therefore, is
very gratifying. The commission is
still at work on certain aspects of
the new Southwestern rates but it is
believed that nearly all the rates will
become effective except those sus-
pended. Other rates suspended were
those applying to cider and vinegar
shipments out of the Southwest; all
carload rates for movement of peaches
into or out of Southwestern terri-
tory: all rates on steel and wrought
iron pipes and all rates for all classes
and commodities in shipments be-
tween Eastern territory and points in
Kansas and Missouri.
American Legion
Will Meet Tonight
The next regular meeting of the J.
A. Garcia post of the American Le-
gion will be held at the city hall to-
night at 8 o’clock. All members
urged to be present.
are
as being against the party’s nominee.
When the county committee refused
to allow the name to go on the ballot
a writ of mandamus was secured in
Judge A. M. Kent’s court against the
committee that the name should ap-
pear. The committee appealed the
case and the court of civil appeals set
aside the writ of mandamus until they
could decide the case in the regular
course of procedure of the court. The
decision referred to was not perma-
nent, although the dissolution of the
writ would indicate that the court
would possibly make it permanent.
It is also the opinion of some of the
politicians that the county has no au-
thority to leave off the name of a can-
didate that is certified by a higher
committee. For example, if a candi-
date for district office was certified
by the district committee, the county
committee would have no action left
but to place the name on the county
ticket. The same would apply to the
state executive committee, who have
jurisdiction over all names appearing
on a state ticket. If this be the case
the only recourse left the county
would be the final decision of the state
committee to either put the name on
or leave it off.
Action in the matter so far as Hi-
dalgo county is concerned is expected
to follow the meeting of the county
executive committee in Edinburg
Monday morning.
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The Mercedes News (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 65, Ed. 1 Friday, July 6, 1928, newspaper, July 6, 1928; Mercedes, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth651661/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library.