The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1878-11-28
Information and Statistics

| NEW ORLEANS CoTToN EXCHANGE,
| New Orleans, November 49, 1873,
| TO the President and Board Of Directors of tht
New Orleans Cotton Exchanges:
GentIemen-The duties of this committee
during the past year have been mainly con
fined to routine matters, involving genera
| supervision of the statistical work of the
| superintendent and the compilation of reports
| based upon correspondence with the interior
during the season of growing and picking
| the crop.
In December last your committee, in con-
| junction with tho president, renewed the Ex-
change contract with the Gold and Stock
Telegraph Company for domestic and foreign
OF the information received, the Havre,
Bremen and Baton Rouge dispatches alone
being special.
At the date of the last annual report the
| com mittee, under instructions from your
| board, were in negotiation for the Bremen
! news. which resulted in an arrangement by
which, for the sum OF 81 per week, we have
since received one dispatch on every Tuesday
| and Friday, giving the tone of tho market
| and two quotations.
Recently there has been some irregularity
in the receipt OF these dispatches, but the
matter is being traced to its proper source
and will meet with prompt remedy
BY consent Of your board the kilograms Of
the arrivals OF cotton vessels abroad wee
discontinued last March, the dispatches of
the Associated Press published In the morn
ing papers being 80 full and complete as to
render the expense on that score unnecessary.
In fact it was found that the ship news con-
tained in our night messages received and
posted on tho Exchange boards of u
m"rning ti"m 9, were nn',,. but part" rGpeti,
In the papers. It will be readily seen how
this could happen without dsparagement to
our correspondent in New York, whose SER
vices on the whole were satisfactorily and
promptly rendered.
At the REQUEST of thic porn Tyo,,,. f,|o
consented to appropriate funds saved through
the discOntnuance Of the ship news Nhe OK
pense for that purpose being limited to $500
per annum) to obtaining advices Of cotton
boats coming to New Orleans. The season
being so far advanced when this authoriza-
ton was obtained, however, action upon it
was delayed until a few weeks since, when,
after consultation, the chairman of the com
nlttee, IN company with the superintendent
of this Exchange, visited Baton Rouge and
made the necessary arrangements. These
consisted Of tho appointment of an agent
to transmit in cipher. prepared by
the superintendent, daily, Sundays eX-
p. m. the names and cotton cargoes, together
with the hour Of passage, of all vessels coming
by Baton Rouge bound for New Orleans,
Our reporter, Mr. john Garvin, we are con-
fident is about the best selection that can be
made either himself or an assistant being on
the landing night and day, and up to this |
time his kilograms have given general satis-
faction. The average time between Baton
Rouge and this city being eleven to fourteen |
hours In clear weather, on receipt OF the even
Ing dispatch q very close approximation Of
the receipts by noon the next day can gen
orally be obtained.
These dispatches will probably be needed
for six months in the year, and we calculate
the total expense, including services of re-
porter, at not exceeding $500.
Your committee beg to call attention to the
imperfect data upon which the crop and acre
age reports are based, not only in this but all
The other departments of the National Cotton
Exchange
s8Nothing positively definite Is known of the
states. The latest information we have on
his score Is through the United States census
II 1870, and upon this has since been built
yearly estimates OF increase Or decrease until
Is q final result the questions of acreage and
yield have become involved in g. vague uncer-
,ainty, as likely to mislead as to convey even
correct information.
Subject as the cotton plant Is to innumer-
able vicissitudes attendant upon varying
seasons, 1t is not expected that these reports
AN foretell the results of a seasons growth
many months before the crop Is marketed, Y
'ut with reasonably correct knowledge Of E
he production Of q State by counties for {
) season immediately preceding, proper /
weight could be attached to reports of
he condition Of the crop in it's various stages i
While progressing towards maturity. i
In Louisiana the law authorizes the State t
AUDITOR to require of tax collectors or asses s
ors detailed statements of the productions of l
heir respective districts
Taking advantage Of this provision, Audi {
or Jumtl has sent circulars to the proper '
arlles OF each parish of the State. So far (
7e believe that, owing to the disorganized t
onditlon OF the mails in consequence of i