The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-09-23

VALUABLE PAPER BY sECRETARY w. j.
CHAMBERLAIN, AND RESOLUTION ADOPT
ED TO CARRY OUT HIS VIEWS FOR THE
BeNEFIT OF THE AGRICULTURAL AND
STOCK BREEDING INTERESTS OF THE
STATE.
[Our space Is much too limited to give
this paper entire, but we publish SO
much of it as Is necessary to give our
readers an idea of the advantages to be
attained by such bureau of informa-
ton as Is here recommended.-ED.] %
ask definite authority to inaugurate
q system of monthly crop and stock
reports during the summer and autumn
of each year. Illinois and Kansas are
great advantage not only of the agri-
cultural, but of the commercial and
business Interests of those States. And
in my opinion, Ohio cannot longer af-
ford to neglect il. These crop and
stock reports, in order to be of real
value, must be brief, concise, accurate
aud truthful. and should be published
promptly and widely. And I'm order
to secure promptness, the information
must, l think, be gathered and publish
ed by this Board, without the interven-
ton of other State or county officials.
Allow me to state two facts in illustra-
ton and support Of this opinion.
On Friday of last week, most Of the
daily papers of the land contained in
their telegraphic columns the announce
ment that the wheat crop of Illinois for
1880 would amount to 50 ,000,000 BUSH
els. These figures were not mere
guesses. but are part of the results of
the footings of about 500 carefully item
izcd reports from all parts of the State,
made by trained correspondents to 3.
d. Fisher, the Secretary Of Agriculture,
under system of monthly crop re-
ports, such as I now urge this Board to
adopt. Previous estimates from the
same source in regard to acreage aud
condition of the growing or harvested
crops had been published In June, July
and August; but this final estimate Is
the threshing machines.
Now, this prompt and approximately
accurate Information Is deemed Of suf-
ficient immediate importance to our
agricultural and business interest, to be
flashed over all our wires, printed In oil
our dailies, and sent beneath the Attain
tic waves to the quick knowledge OF the
Old World.
Note now the second fact I promise to
give. The same day our Columbus and
other dailies published the Illinois sta
tistics for August, 1880, we in tins office
applied, for the third time, to the sta
tistician in the Secretary Of States
Office, for the crop statistics for 1879
(Which the law gives us right to have;,
and were informed that by paying for
about four weeks clerk hire and walt
ing about four weeks, we could get the
nd htvf Tho time
have obtained them, and the State
Printer has printed and bound them In
our annual report, and the latter Is In
the hands of the farmers, this news"
will be nearly two years old, and the
farmers will have half forgotten what
sort of q crop they did have so long ago,
and lost all Interest In the figures!
For what is the value of crop sta
tisticsP Not chiefly historic or retro
epectiye, you wild admit, but present
and prospective. 1t might be interest.
ing historically to know the "acrease"
and syicld" of corn in Egypt IN
Joseph's time, or I'm Massachusetts or
New York in the days of our heVolu-
ton, or In Ohio nearly two years ago.
But It will not help the farmers OIL touay
to decide what they fairly ought 70 get
for wheat or corn, and whether 10 sen
OF nOlu. NUT VIII
business men TO foretell whether as the
result of present abundant haryests we
may reasonably look for business ac-
tivity and general prosperity put
prompt, truthful and accurate reports
of the acreage and of the condition oil
the crops all through the growing sea-
son, with reports of actual yieids as
soon as threshing Is fairly begun, would
be of immense service not only 10 tie
interests Of agriculture, but to tne
business Interests Of the whole civilized
world. Such reports would give a
solid basis of knowledge instead Oh
vague uncertainty, and would enable
sagacious business me n to reef or sprcai
sail as the case might be. They would
too, to a great extent, serve to prevent
wild speculation, "corners" in wheat,
pork. corn, etc., which tend to disturb
the equilibrium Of trade, and enrich
the few at the expense and sometimes
distress of the many.
But while such system Of reports
would extend its benefits through every
avenue of business and commerce, IL
would, 1 think, be OF special advantage
| to the farmer, and his are the interests
we, rs a Board of Agriculture, are es-
pecislly bound to foster and promote
Take a single illustration, and on this
head quote freely from an article
written by myself and published edi-
torialiy in the Ohio Farmer some two
months ago. After stating that Secre'
tary Chamberlain was trying to secure
concerted action among the Boards o
Agriculture In the West In the matter
of reports Of crops, in n way t. give the
farmers prompt and accurate inforina'
ton on which TO base an opinion as t
what will be a fair price for thei
grain, the editorial goes on to say:
/ "It is notorious that our farmers hav'
not had such information, while, n
least, the large buyers have had II. Fo
example, the large firm of Hillida,
Bros,. of Cairo, keep a number OF ex
Dericncel men travelling all tine time,
main part of whose business Is TO ge
the most reliable Information possible e
both by observation and inquiry, as T.
the actual amount of wheat aud othe
grain in the country or growing In IN
fields, and the relative amount conpar
ed with last year and with the averag
for ten years. They nave ALSO loe'
buyers, and n part of their business
|. to examine and report on crop pros
pec.s. They are to report the exac
4 truth. neither roverestimating nor under
estimating. With this reliable infor
nation In their sole possession, as &C
J curare as is possible, the firm forms al
lopinion what Is che top figure the,
4 dare contract for, for July deliver.
(for example) of No. and No. wheat
and they proceed at once to contract a
: much below this figure as possible.
II SIN the same way many firms in al
our principal cities get information
. They pay for it and it belongs to them
and they use 1t for their own ends an
never divulge ir. Ii anything is pub
lisheL 1t is not the exact truth, but sue
yar iation from it rs ,hall play int
!. their hands. But the farmer is isolat
! ed, has but small interest ut stake