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stands today with over ^70,000,000 completed construction. Dupont and Gill have seen, Mr. Ayres says, many of the national news items put across last "/inter that went out to 40,000,000 readers. One illustrated magazine article if carried a3 advertising would have cos I; %:12„£00.00. Moreover, nearly 100,000 travelogs have been published and Dupont and Gill also knew this.
The Dupcnt-~Giil letter also says Florida has paid less than Louisiana and has been favored with extraordinary publicity in the travelogs and otherwise. Anyone, Mr. Ayres saye, can lock into a travelog and see the malicious misrsprur-m-t&tr.on. Every travelog published gave Louisiana greater attention. One edition of 20,000 was devoted specially to Louisiana.
Louisiana organised a state division of the CST August 1928, Mr. Ayres states. In October a meeting of Louisiana business men at Lafayette fixed a budget of about fofcOO.OO for the last six months of 1928 and an^additional budget was planned for 1929. To this date only $1050,00 has been paid the 08T headquarters and thus was collected at considerable cost to GST cars and men. It was oursolves, Mr. Ayres says, who stopped these costs because oho payments were too slow to carry them. Mr. Ayres states the $1050.00 was a small item toward the general and field expenses since last August, and the Few York an-1 northern publicity work, the motorcade costs3 the Sv.. auvhstine celebration, the new travelog, the map distribution, and ether C8T works,
not
The trouble, he says, is/r"7 with the Louisiana people.
At the Louisiana meetings they showed their friendly interest. The trouble lies with officers whe misrepresent them and the motional work. The Louisiana Division President Julius Dupont tells me, Mr. Ayres says, that he does not approve the tactics that have tangled up the Louisiana situation. Mr. Dupont's name however was signed to that letter. Moreover,
Mr, Gill has put out other statements claiming they were authorized by the Louisiana Executive Committee. Mr, Dupont's remedy is to give the same circulation to a repudiation of these statements os has bean given to the circular letter or else call a meeting of the Lv;ui'c tana men and canvas the facts in a clean-handed way. f will uolp them get to the bottom of any question.
Florida is ready to organize a return motorcade to San Diego but this is being jeopardized. Correspondence between ourselves, Florida and California already snow this can be made the biggest publicity ar.6. good will event in the OST country. Such a big undertaking calls for the old-time good will and cooperation whereas this pen-poisoning will throw the OST people into confusion. We have been working for a national convention for months. Calling a convention means nothing; getting representative attendance is what counts. It will be senseless to expect the workers of other states to attend a convention and become involved with men and methods like this.
Wi at headquarters have said repeatedly v/e wanted now to get our fi?ral reports out and these forward movements in good hands, then let others carry on the work.
Mr. Gill is secretary of the Crowley Association of Commerce. That organization has appeared in some of the news items, and letters go out on its stationery, thus giving standing to the allegations. It doesn't socm like the Crowley people, Mr. Ayres ea:/3, to bo festering untrue end destructive propaganda. T.-.oy too have been helping build up the Old Spanish Tjc?I.