The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-13
Big JOB TO GET CROP NEWS.
UNCLE SAW mas 25O,OGO UEv
WORkI\G ar IT.
Many Post masters and Railroad agent.
so Employ cd--AlsO a Lot Of Judges and
nj Least One EN.(sO, crnor Nr,rhh,,.
hood Talk the BASIS OF the Nc,,.,,

One OF these IL o furnish Il SUMMARY ~,
the crop situation each month pro. Il, tha
harvest and the OF her is to colnpil. n ,,,,.
plete and authenric record of the ,umh.,
OF bushels of every kind of farm prodmr,
gathered each season Deviatiuy from
these two Governmental plans of crop re-.
porting are the hundreds of varied method.
supported by grain and stock brokers
Not only the Wall Street brokers, bu also
the railroads. the cattlenen and the ey.
porters have special interest in crop news
II il said that nne-tenths of the peons
of the United States are directly concerned
with the outcome of the wheat and corn
crop.
Property in thousands of Western towns
goes up or down, just as the crops are grown.
and merchants experience prosperous of
dull times according o the size of the croua
in their neighborhood.
The basis of the crop reporting system
is the greeting of one farmer TO another:
"How is your wheat. john His reply il
given to some one else, the news finally gets
into town, and there the correspondent OF
the Government draws his own conclusions
and telegraphs them to the Agricultural
Department,
In this same locality may DO corre-
spondent of some firm of brokers His
opinion as to the crop may be different
from that of the Government. as it often is.
and difference of opinion and an uncer-
tainty about the crops in that region will
exist in Wall Street.
Sometimes this difference Of opinion in
local observers may extend over an entire
wheat belt, where millions of bushels are
grown annually. Such a condition once
prevailed in North Dakota. and firm Of
spectators in Chicago sent trained ex.
pert into the field to make examinations.
1t cost them $1,000 to learn his opinions,
which proved to be wrong, causing them
to lose &25 900 by buying wheat.
While the Government agents may err
in their estimates they generally coms
nearer to the situation than any one else
In he first place, they are chosen for their
disint erestedness, and the moment one is
caught dabbling in the grain market, buy.
ing grain or interesting himself in the
marketing of grain, he is discharged
He may not lose any sleep on this ac.
count, for the job is without compensation
of any great value, but it goes to show that
Uncle Sam desires only impart ial reporters
on his large staff,
In many towns the post master acts.
sometimes the railroad agent, and in l..
diana Governor of the State, Mr., Mount.
served. both prior to and during his term
as crop reporter for Montgomery county.
In Oklahoma the Weather Bureau OBJ
servers act az crop reporters, and under
the direct or of the bureau are about zoo
additi onal reporters, consisting mainly
of railroad agents In Kansas, the post
masters act as a rule, and very often the
County Judge or some other person 81
prominence and inquest ioned integrity
The Government in Washington accepts
{ he authority OF no one person for tha
crop situation in any community. In all
there are 5000 reporters in the crop SER
vice. There are thirty-eight special OBJ
servers stationed in various parts OF the
country. Each Of these has several hundred
reporters under his charge.
The observers make as nearly correct
reports as possible, but in the same neigh
borhood are others who are sending in
crop reports directly TO the Secretary OF
Agriculture In fact in every township there
is some special correspondent who sends
in reports TO the Government about the
condition of growing crops.
It is the most complete system of vertical
ton afforded anywhere. The telegraph
toll paid by the Government in season
runs into the hundreds Of thousands OF
dollars.
When all of these reports come whirIlns
int O he Agricultural Department at Wash
ington there is great deal of work for
the clerks. Expert crop estimaters ara
here employed, and from the reports OF
each community composite report IA
issued, being correct and careful com
pilation of all the estimates. There Is no
here, for every telegram and
every report is compared and balance
Is struck.
reporter at Topeka. Kan, wired that Sull-
ner county, with a usual crop of s,0OoOoo
bushels, was going to produce only 5,oOO,Ooo
bushels this season and the man on the.
ground at Wellington, the county seat OF
Sumner, wired that the crop would be the
same as usual, the estimate of the Topeka
agent would be thrown away and not con-
sidered But if Sumner county was an
uncertain wheat producing centre, when
It is not, then the report from Topeka
would be used TO the extent of cutting down
he Wellington mans estimate about
900, 600 bushels.
Those who have the issuing, of these re-
ports are in a position to make money IN
but the moment Il clerk WHO
will take advantage of this inside kno Wedge
ia found out he is discharged Bride
givers and bride takers have sometimes
been discovered,
A crop expert now connected with the
Board of Trade of Chicago tells story OF
his personal experience as prophet IN
he grain fields and attending results d
The markets He was sent out IN June.
1900 to investigate a report that the wItis
had suffered The Government report
showed high promise, but grain dea!rrs
had received positive denalS
Mr. Snow found in the situation caR-.
for grave appr, n n.ion, and after u weeh oi
invest igation hr wired the Chicago Boald
If Trade his belief Tha, forenoon wneLt
N the pit advanced five cents, au! II con-
inuel going upward until Il tw"n'N-'"t-
cent rise had been reached, when II TOOK
1 downward movement.
Each crop reporter has n district, and '.Is
district and its past hist DRY are all ou,!Iu"d
IN maps and charts in Washing Oh, 20
you may tell N a glance what ,il" crops
ave been raised in the wheat belt OF Mih'e'
sofa or Oklahoma. or any other i'gior
The crops are reported by per'"H Ge
leu es, and if the crop is perfect d gets
he 100 mark which .ns that the YER
lge yield will be raised. If the "oll'F
tas nm uvpruua of wen. t..'