The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-09-05
DARK THINGS ARE TINTED
Absence of Hyde May Have AL
 lowed Opportunity.
Never Before Has the Average Con. dition of the Crop Shown an
 Increase During the Month of August.

Washington, Sept. 4.-(Special.)-T those in Washington who have been ac- customed to watch the crop reports and their effect on the market, the sensa- tional break in cotton yesterday 1s fraught with extreme suspicion that there is something egregitiously cratic in the foundation for the slump which is noth- ing less than question of the reliability of the governments report itself.
 The condition of SIP which seems to have been tipped of the New York bears is . particular theme of wonder. The con- dition last month was 79.7 The improve ment reported for September over August Is unprecedented. slight though the gain may be- In other words for twenty-five or thirty years past the condition report ed for August has without single ex- ception been followed by decrease. The September report has never before even showed that the August condition held its own save in one year.
 Reports at Variance.
 Moreover. the reports which have been published by newspapers whose custom has been to collect the most reliable in- formation of crop conditions. particularly such as The Houston Post, are wholly at variance with the report for September promulgated by the Department of Az riculture.
 One of the biggest surprises was the departments report on Texas. That it. self is marvelously different from what was expected in view of the reports of the ravages of the boil weevil and the estimates of intelligent observers of Tex as conditions. It was expected that in stead of showing an increase Texas would show a falling off at least 10 per cent. The deterioration of the crop in Texas has been too notoriously known, in the opinion of people informed on the situation here, not to warrant earnest inquiry as to the correctness of the de- partment;s figures. It ia believed that the conditions reported for other States hy tfaSs department are almost as much out of the way of the true facts Us that of Texas.
 The question is asked "has the depart ment adhered faithfully to it's customary sources of information" or has it taken a new departure and suddenly satisfied itself with outside information whereby Secretary Wilson was to be justified in predicting cents cotton and infinite mischief to follow bull gambling.
 MT. Hyde Is Absent.
 It is to be noted in this connection that the statistician of the bureau. John Hyde, is absent in Europe. and his place is filled by MT. Holmes, who was never a cotton man. his place Tn the Depart- ments Bureau of Statistics having been always heretofore devoted to grain sta tistics It is believed that had MT. Hyde been here no such report would have been made. Be that as 1t may the fact re- mains that the departments report has caused an enormous loss to the cotton belt, as 1t is hardly possible, no matter what subsequent conditions may disclose. that there can be a recovery.
 The damage has been done and the black eye will keep discolored until the crop is pretty nearly out of the hands of the planter. So serious is the situa- ton that it is believed that it will not be permitted to pass away without demand for such an investigation as will show up the methods used and the exact sources upon which the department has based its wonderful September report. R. H. Watkins.