The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1903-07-22
WIPE OUT
SHoDDY
The Purpose Of the Bill
Before Congress
FAVORED By WOOL GROWERS
They Desire to Have Shoddy Goods
Branded Just as is Done With
OIeomargarine.

Inc National Livestock Association
with headquarters at Denver Col. is
sending out loads of blank petitions
in favor Of two bills which were in
troduced in the last session of con-
gress and which will be introduced
again as soon as congress meets. One
OF these is the bill which provides that
all ''sEoddy" goods shall be stamped
and marked and sold as such, and
the other bill provides for the taking
OF census enumeration of all the ag-
r1cuitural industries in the country
every five years.
The 'ShOddy" bill is based on the
argument that the consumer as we'll
as the wool dealer and wooden goods
manufacturer is interested in being
protected against shoddy article The
bill was introduced by Congressman
GrosvenOr of Ohio.
For Agricultural Census.
On the question of an agricultural
has this to say:
The Importance and value of a
census of agriculture such as is con-
templated by.house bill 1853 may be
seen from the following facts:
The live stock Of the nation has
a value of not less than $4,500.000 900
The animals killed on the farm each
year and those sold for slaughter. to-
g9ther with the horses, mules and
asses sold fer use away from the farm
have q value OF over $4,000, 600 600.
The various animal products. such as
wool. milk, butter etc. including ami
| mails sold and slaughtered, together
with the crops raised. are worth each
year more than $500 900 900. The
prices for farm animals and for farm
products Of every kind are deter
| mined solely by the supply and the
| demand, and for years the CONNER
| cial classes, and the farming pOpula-
| ton as well, have been asking for
more complete and more accurate an
nual statistics relating to every phase
of the live stock industry. and to the
| most important staple crops. Exact
statistics remove uncertainties from
the trade, add to the farmers receipts
from sales and aid in placing the
whole business Of dealing in live
stock and farm products on a more
secure business basis
Census of Stock Needed.
Hence the need Of taking a census
of agriculture sufficiently often to
give the department of agriculture a
reliable basis on which to make its
| estimates. Evidence Of this necessi-
| t. is shown by comparing the esti-
| mates of the department of agricul-
| ture for 1899 with the returns for the
| same year secured by the census emu
meratiCn. In many states the acre
| age and production of wheat and
other grains were found by the cen
sus to be more than twice as great as
| the estimates Of the department of
agriculture. Many correspcndingly
| large errors were disclosed also in
| the department estimates of the num-
| Der and value of domestic animals.
| These facts show the unreliability of
| the department estimates after a pc
| Rad of five years. and emphasize the
need of taking a census of agriculture
at least twice each decade. Based
upon a census taken every five years,
those estimates can be made annual
| ~ with only a small margin of error.
and will thus fully meet the demands
| of the agricultural and business inte-
rests for accurate statistics.
THE cost of a census Of agriculture
consists chiefly in the mony paid the
| enumerators. This will not be far
from 90 cents farm for much or lit
tie information or an aggregate ex-
pense of S1,200,000. The costs of tab
ulating by counties the facts relating
to domestic animals would be approx
imately 5000 900. and for the leading
crops as much more This includes
the expense Of checking up for the
elimination of errors on the part of
enumerators, very important factor
in the cost of every census. The to-
tai expense is less than -thirtieth
of l per cent of the annual value of
the farm products of the country