The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-18
THE COTTON CENSUS
ANNUAL CANVASS OF GINNERs REC
OMMENDED.
DIRECTORS ANNUAL REPORT.
THE LARGE CLERICAL FORCE TO
BE CONTINUED.

Clerks Have Taken Lots of Time for
Vacation and Sick Leave, Hence
Their Services Are still Needed.
The Reports Upon Cotton Have
Met with an Overwhelming APP
prevail, says the Report, and Acc
sion by Congress to Permit of An
nuaI CanvRsses Is Recommended.
Washington Nov. 1.-THE annual re-
port of w. r. Merriam, director of the
census, was made public to-day.
Speaking of the prospect Of meeting
the legal requirement for the compile
ton of the four principal reports by
July /, 1902, Mr.. Merriam says:
THE work of tabulating the returns
and results of the field work of the
enumerators and special agents of the
twelfth census has progressed with
reasonable celebrity. The law provides
that the four principal reports shall be
placed in the hands of the public by
the first of July. 1909, and this require
rnent has rendered 1t absolutely neces-
sary to maintain a clerical force ade-
quate to complete the work within the
prescribed period. The statisticians
made estimates of the time needed to
finish the particular branch assigned to
each Of them. The plans so submitted
have been greatly interfered with ow-
ing to the absence of clerks from duty,
owing to sickness or annual leave. 1t
was hoped by the first of November a
large number of employees could be dis
pensed with; but inasmuch as the work
has been retarded, owing to the diff
Guilty of maintaining the clerical force
at it's maximum, it is not likely that
there will be any material reduction
until after the first of the year. The
officials of the Office believe that their
allotted task will be completed in am
pie time"
The director gives a list of prosecu'
tions for violation of the law in con-
nection with the census work, saying
of them:
TT was hardly to be expected, out
of the large number of agents en-
ployed in the field work--about 5000
in all--that there would not be some
who would prove incompetent ana un'
faithful to duty The director has en-
deavor to enforce the census act to the
letter and through the assistance OF
the Attorney General has proceeded
against all offenders.
THE report includes detailed state
ments from the different chiefs of d.
visions in the bureau. Mr.. S. N. d.
North, chief OF the manufacturing d.
vision, reports that the work of his
division is rapidly drawing to compile
ton. Speaking of the success of the
bureaus two reports on cotton MIR.
North says
This Office has secured from cotton
producers, cotton exchanges, cotton
| factors and cotton manufacturers an
overwhelming approval of the services
rendered by these reports. am, there
FORE led to recommend that Congress
pass a joint resolution authorizing and
instructing the census office to make
a similar canvass of the cotton ginner-
les annually. Under its present organ
ICED system of machinery this office
will be able to publish this cotton re-
port as early as the month of May or
June in each year. or three to -four
months in advance of their possible
publication through agencies of any
other kind. The commercial advantages
resulting from these earlier, more ac-
curate and detail statistics as to the
volume of the annual cotton crop are
too obvious to be further dwelt upon"