The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-03-29
Census of Cotton Ginning.

Various efforts have been made to per-
feet agencies for securing early and
trustworthy information as to the guam
tity of cotton annually grown in the
United States, with view to reducing
to minimum the fluctuations incident
to an industry so greatly dependent
upon supply and demand.
Statistics of this crop used in COM
n1ercial centers have to do with the cot
ton as marketed during each year end
ing August 81, and are gathered very
largely through reports of transporta-
ton lines touching tile cotton fields.
80 long as it was safe to assume that
prActically the whole If the cotton crop
reached its market through these com
mon carriers, their reports constituted
fairly trustworthy oasis for estimates
of the commercial crop, but as much
cotton now goes directly from the fields
to the mills without passing through
the hands of transpo, tation companies,
this means of gathering cotton statistics
is annually becoming more and more
unsatisfactory. All returns are made
in commercial balesjwhich is an unsat-
isfactory unit of measure. During the
past century the average weight of the
some sections the cotton bale now means
the square package Averaging in weight
498 pounds. In other regions it means
a bale of 400 pounds. While in still other
localities is found the round bale aver
aging 259 pounds. None of the means
hitherto employed has reported the
number and weight OF these divers
kinds of commercial ba 'es The relative
NH nf aI
changing and with. this the average
weight of the ordinary unit, the COM
mercial bale, is being modified. Hence
the Importance of SUI shutting a fixed
unit like a pound for a variable unit
of measure like a bale, thus enabling
the country to know the actual guam
THY of cotton produced.
Believing that the reports of cotton
ginners, showing the number and aver
age weight of the bales passing through
their hands during given year, would
afford trustworthy statistics, the Uni
ted States Census Office has by CORE
spondence and through the enumerators
obtained from each ginning establish
ment of the country report of the
quantity of cotton handled Of the crop
of 1899.
The attempt to obtain the statistics
of the cotton crop through this agency
has been so successful, and the method
promises to develop statistics so much
more complete and satisfactory than
those heretofore adopted that the Di-
rector of the Census has decided to
undertake an annual census of the cot
ton crop through the direct cooperation
of the ginners.
The success of this annual cotton
crop report must depend altogether
upon the promptness ind accuracy with
which reports are received. AS the in
formation solicited is very largely for
the benefit of the cotton ginners and
cotton growers, it is beliyed that the
glnners will cordially respond to the
EFFORTS of the Census Office to render
this service to the South and to all
those interested in it's great Gtaple.
The Census Office is now undertaking
TO obtain the facts regarding the cot
ton crop of 1900, through blanks mailed
10 the cotton ginners. These inquiries
should be promptly snC accurately an
sWered and returned at once in the
ranked envelope, which requires M
postage. GjnnerS will not fail Tn GOO
That the success of this inquiry will
rebound greatly to their benefit and
they should be prompt to report to the
Bureau the names and addresses of neu,
ginning establishments, as well as any
changes IN the manag ament of old ones