Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-24
FIRES A PARTING SHOT
STATISTICS OF THE CENSUS BU-
REAU ARRAIGNED.
Comment of the "Crop Reporter" Of the
Agricultural Department on the
Ginning" Compilation.

The parting shot in vigorous contro-
versy between the Department of Agricul-
ture and the census bureau over the statis-
teal returns of the cotton ginning opera
lions of the country is given in THE Crop
Reporter" which is just out from the Agri-
cultural Department. 1t is a rather re-
markable official arraignment by the de-
partment of another branch of the govern
ment and among other things the depart
ment suggests to the census office that "a
ginner is any person operating a GIN
Ginning" says this official pronuncia-
mento from the department, lis an occupa-
ton, and a planter who does his own gin
ming is a ginner only in the sense in which
he may also be painter or carpenter, or
his wife a milliner or dressmaker. General
recognition of this fact would have pre-
vented that great difference between the
two lists of ginners that has been the sub
ject of so much comment.
The article, headed Cotton Statistics
from Ginners,'' follows:
Both the Department OF Agriculture and
the census office call upon cotton ginners
at certain seasons Of the year for statistical
informa ton to be incorporated in official
reports, and the fact that the list of ginners
compiled by the department is almost twice
large that compiled by the census
office has excited comment in Congress and
elsewhere. While the list compiled by the
Department of Agriculture may contain
number-and possibly a considerable num-
ber-of Implications, owing to many differ
ent sources of informa ton having been util-
lied in its preparation, 1t is believed by the
department that the great difference be-
tween the two lists is mainly due to the
fact that that of the census office is prac-
tically confined to public gins while that of
the department includes many thousands
of planters who do their own ginning.
AN effort was recently made to bring
the two lists into harmony by comparing
one with the other, county by county, and
on the completion of the comparison of the
state of Georgia two counties showing
ginners were made the subject of very ex
haustive investigation by experienced spe-
cial agents sent from Washington.
The result Of the investigation was the
finding of lob gins, actually in operation
this season, that were on the list of the de-
partment and not that of the census,
against twenty-four that were on the list of
the census and not on that of the depart
ment. For statistical purposes ginner is
any person who operates a GIN and this
fact should be clearly understood by every
one employed by the government in collect
ing statistical information regarding cot
ton. If information is called for only from
'g1nners, there is manifest danger that
only public ginners will be reported upon.
Ginning is an occupation, and q planter who
does his own ginning is ginaer only in the
sense in which he may also be painter or
a carpenter, or his wife "a miliner or a
dressmaker. General recognition of this
fact would have prevented that great differ
ence between the two lists-of ginners that
has been the subject of so much comment.
No statistics based exclusively upon reports
from ginnerS can be entirely satisfactory
unless it has been made clear to those en-
ployed in their collection that ginner, for
statistical purposes, is any person operating
a GIN