Daily globe., 1880-08-03

tlty OF gram they raise, by the hope that
they may thus affect prices favorably. a
Another consideration that applies partic-
ulary to official returns, is the liability of as
SCISSORS to make omissions. Every man who
has acted as assessor or census enumerator
(outside of Minneapolis), understands that it
is practically impossible either to assess all
the property Or number all the people, and
this difficulty is greater in the country than
in cities. Farmers may moi
be found at home, and those who represent
them are often absolutely ignorant touc hing
the matters about which questions are
asked. Hence it has become customary
with statisticians to add percentage to
compensate for such unavoidable omissions
The rate of this must depend upon an intel
igent observation of the field of labor and
careful comparison with information OBJ
tanned through other channels.
In his report for 1860 and 1861, Jos. A.
Wheelock, then statistician for Minnesota
added twenty per cent. 'to cover deficiencies
in the RETURNS" and I find that even q
greater percentage has been used in other
States, while additions from ten to twenty
are frequently adopted. The story
which is occasionally told that our
farmers are in the habit of ex-
aggerating their crop results, or
prospects, for the purpose of inducing mer-
chants to increase their credits, is sheer nom
sense. They would not be believed if they
were to do so. and comparatively very few
(those who are either unfortunate or i'm
provident), have occasion to resort to such
subterfuge. The same causes which led
Wheelock to add twenty per cent. to his
crop returns are IS actively operative in
Minnesota to-day as they we're then, and the
deficiencies are likely to be augmented by
the increased disposition of farmers to in
fate prices by depreciatory statements.
few months ago was at great pains to
obtain an approximately correct statement
of the wheat crop of 1879. The official fig
ures had not yet been obtained, and I re-
sorted to inquiries from a number of
careful and well informed gentlemen
in each county, and to such other expedi-
ents as could make available to secure &C.
ouracy. The result was published in an ar
ticle on Minnesota which T prepared for the
Chicago 1smes, and which appeared in that
paper on July 3. 1t placed the crop at 81
3OO, 1886 bushels. In the Pioneer Press of q
few days ago, on what is claimed to be
official authority, although made up from
incomplete and unverifed returns, it is put
at 81, ,4O6, ,522 bushels.
Although it is no part of my present
purpose to attempt verifcation
OF my own statement, in
order to show that do not write upon such
topics without first possessing reliable data
whereupon to base my assertions, I beg
leave to call attention to another circum-
stance. am told that up to July goth, 32,-
| 600, 900 bushels spring wheat and flour had
been received in Milwaukee alone from
northern Iowa, southern Dakota and Mime.
sofa. This does not include shipments di.
rect to Chicago nor those via Duluth. nor the
flour manufactured in this STATED and ex
ported hence directly to Europe. Now
| where did that wheat come from? If Mime.
sofa raised only 31,4O6.522 bushels
after we subtract 100000 bushels
needed at home for food and
seed, and about 100000 bushels moi
| forwarded to market at that time, her entire
exports could not have exceeded 18,9O6. .52G
bushels. It is certainly not exaggeration to
claim that fully 100000 bushels were in.
volved in shipments via Duluth and to Chi.
cago, and in flour exported to foreign coun.
tries. Hence, it remains for us to believe
If we accept the statement referred to, that
at least 16, ,293, Ats bushels (more than half,
of the Milwaukee supply came from North
ern Iowa, and Southern Dakota, where the
crop was reported, to have been hardly
sufficient for bread and seed.
It is apparent that such conclusion is alb.
| surd, and that the so called official statement
is incorrect. The addition of seventy pei
cent to these official figures gives us 81, $751;
S26 bushels, very nearly the quantity claimed
in the Times article, and very nearly the
product which the shipments require. The
same will, I find, apply to former years.
But my present purpose is only to
call attention to the injurious con-
sequences which flow from the pub.
lication of such incomplete and immature
returns, which are given an importance they
do not possess because of the claim that they
are official, in part at least. We have al.
ways declared that Minnesota is the great
wheat growing country of the world, and
have used this as the strongest argument to
induce people to come here and settle and
invest their money; but certain
Iy that is not remarkable
wheat country which produces only 1917
bushels per acre! Nor will it do for MS to
plead drouths, floods, blights, etc., year after
year, to account for our low averages. The
tendency of all such assertions is to discour-
age immigration, depreciate the values OF
our lands and railroad stocks, and iniure all
our material interests, while they do no
good whatever. Such reports do not affect
the, prices of wheat, because dealers
are better informed and, therefore, pay
but little attention to them. The truth is
that we have good wheat country, as our
statistics will show when they are completed
and everybody who travels through our State
and observes how our farmers liye-what res
idences and outbuildings they have, and the
comforts and Injuries they enjoy-must be
convinced that such reports are untrue. It is
high time that different policy were pur-
sued that less complaining be INDUCED in,
and little more care observed in making state
ments to be sent abroad and reappear in the
columns of the papers of England and conti-
mental Europe. We should at least endeav-
or to tell the Same atory about ourselves, al
though we may have different objects in view,
for we may thus avoid detracting from our
own regulations as well as from that of the
State. It helps the matter but little to set
the claim of 45,0O0,000 bushels produced
this year against that of 52,0O0, 90 bushels in
1879, for the reason that 15 bushels per acre
is not large yield by any means, and the
claim is confesssdly only conjectural as yet.
II. II. YouNa.
DuIith Murine Netrs