Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-11-07
WORK AWAITS HEPBURN
Bureaus of Statistics Will Be
Transferred to Department
of Commerce
HIS COMMITTEE HAS CHARGE
As Chairman of House Committee on
Foreign Commerce He Will Oversee
the Organization of the New Depart
ment of commerce-some Asricult-
ural Bureaus Will Remain.
special to Times-Republiean.

Special to Times Republican.
| Washington, New. THE return of
Representative Hepburn, chairman of
the house committee on interstate and
! foreign commerce, to Washington now
| that the election is over, is awaited
with no little interest by the chiefs and
employees of several bureaus of the diff
ferent departments, as he viii at once
enter upon the consideration of the re-
moval of these bureaus from the juris-
| diction of the several cabinet officers
under whom they now have their exist
ence to that of the new department of
commerce, the organization of which
was delayed from the last session of
congress in order that Mr.. Hepburn
might have an opportunity of confer
| ring with the officials selected from the
various executive departments by the
president, in regard to which bureaus
already existing would properly come
under the Jurisdiction of the depart
ment of commerce.
Nearly every government department
now has connected with it a bureau OF
statistics, and it has been suggested
that all of these bureaus could be more
economically conducted under one head
and that such a consolidated bureau, as
it would deal principally with COM
merce, either domestic Or foreign,
would properly fall under the jurisdic-
ton of the department of commerce
when organized.
There is one statistical bureau, how
ever, of which there is not likely to be
transfer, not at any rate If the south
ern cotton growers have any influence
| in congress, and that is the bureau of
statistics of the agricultural depart
ment. How the cotton growers feel
about such transfer was expressed in
no uncertain way at the annual meet
| ing of the Southern Cotton Growers
| Association at Macon recently, when
the president, after discussing the inn
| portance of having correct reports for
the protection of the farmer, and as
sorting that the United States agricul-
| tural department was a reliable source
of information in this regard, intro
duced the following resolution, which
was carried by the convention unani-
mously.,
Whereas. one of the most important
and valuable obligations of our general
government is the collection and pub
LEGATION in due time of statistics show
ing the true condition of the growing
Ecrops and the ultimate yield, and is the
tonly medium that stands between the
grower and the consumers on the one
hand and the Spectator on the other:
II Therefore, be it resolved, That we
heartily indorse the work of the divis-
lion of statistics of the United States
department of agriculture under Sec
rotary Wilson, and strongly deprecate
any attempt to minimize its influence
or work and most earnestly protest
against its transfer to any other bureau
or division.
"But would most respectfully urge
upon congress to make liberal appro-
priation and widen its sphere of work"
Any attempt during the coming SEES
sion of congress to remove this bureau
from the jurisdiction of Mr.. Wilson will
undoubtedly call forth strenuous OPP
position on the part of southern con-
gressmen and senators, who feel that
the present secretary of agriculture has
!
thru his management of this bureau.
Secretary Shaw will probably ask for
the transfer of the bureau of statistics
of his department which is most init
mately connected with the work of for
eign and domestic commerce, and there
will probably be no objection raised to
this anyhow, as 1t properly belongs
under the jurisdiction of the CONNER
eial department..
This is the bureau which handles the
| figures of the customs houses of the
country in preparing reports of our ex-
ports and imports, ETC.. and Mr.. Austin,
the head of 1t, says that our exports of
manufactures in the nine months end
| ing with September are larger than
those in the corresponding period of
any other year in the histors of the
country, with the single exception of
1900. The total for the nine months is
l$311,302.441. against s2as,660,551 in the
corresponding months of last year, and
| $338,67S,243 in the corresponding
months of 1900. Comparing 1902 with
1892 the increase is nealy 200 per cent,
the figures of 1899 being s111,290,024;
while comparing 1902 with 1883 the
growth in nine months expectation of
manufactures is from s99.S40,074 to
| $311, 302,441.
| The temporary reduction in exports
of manufactures which occurred last
| year, due in part to the maintenance in
| high prices or copper, and to the I'M
usual demand for iron and steel manu-
| features, has in a large degree disap-
peared, copper exports having increased
81. 100000 in the nine months ending
| with September 1909 as compared with
the corresponding months of 1901 while
| the reduction in exports of iron and
steel manufactures in the nine months
| of 1902 compared with the correspond
| ing period of 1901 is but 100000, tho
| the increased home demand is shown in
the fact that importation of iron and
steel manufactures have meantime in
creased over $13,000,00O, the total for
nine months of this year being practi-
cally double that for the same months
| of 1901. Cotton manufactures also
show a marked growth in exporta-
TONS the increase being nearly $1,000
600 in the nine months of 1902 as COM
pared with the corresponding period of
last year.
| Another bureau which has been
slated for transfer to the new depart
ment is the geological survey at present
under the jurisdiction of tn interior de-
1 M ,.t,pent This branch of the govern