The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1903-01-08
REPORT ON COTTON
Government Statement Of The Crop Of
the Past Season
A FULL RECORD OF BALES GINNED
Nlreve is no Guess Work AbOue tile
Figures This Year, as Gin Records
Have Been kept.

Il'tii tbN '''.. crop VIZ Ih HHti inthlI-
ing December H.. last, is H.3ll. .A:G,
bales. irrespective Of shape or weight.
equal to N.9nj. .3n3. according to III"
commercial counting. This is 30. per
cent. pf tn" crop.
The above statistics OF the ullaniitv
Of cotton ginn"d to December 18Th.
arc expressed in bales as pressed at
the @inncrrS irrespective of shape ~
weight. In the total Of !.3l SO bale,
there ave Al2 .Gil round bales aver.
agin., from 2l0. to 300 pounds each.
Counting such round bales as halt
bales. as is the custum in the com
mcrcial community the total gimncd
50 December 13 is S.G0J. .103. The gin
ncrS have not yet returned their bal.
weights for this crop. hut 40 cotton
compress companies distributed
throughout the cotton States advise
tn" Efiicc that they compressed an
actually weighed from the growth uf
1902 up 20 December l3. l.OGU.A3I
bales. averaging each 503.S pounds
gross. Using this weight as the aver
AZ" FOR square bales and for round
bales 253 pounds. the average OBJ
tainrd from tn" weight returns Of the
home Offices Of tho companies opcrat-
ing such patents. the equivalent num-
h'r "f 5oo.pound bales ginncd to De
r"mbrr 18th is found to be S,97t,722.
Drduring the weight Of the bagging
and ties t22 pounds per square balc),
the number of equivalent 500 pound
bales. not weight. is found to be s.
600 .76S.
by two most thorough ranvasscs
this season, 32,52S Einncrics. active
and idle. have been located and re
| ported. of which number 3O.l94 have
been operated for this crop. In their
| December canvass the local spcciai
agents aSccrtaincd the quantity OF
cotton ginncd from the beginning OF
tn" season to and including Dcccnl-
Der 18TH, and also secured from each
OF the active rinners his estimate OF
the quantity Of cotton to be ginncd by
his establishment after December 10.
| Thc estimate OF the percentage OF the
| crop Einncd Is based on the estimates
OF 626 canvaSsing agents. who were
W.
10 tho territories canvasscd by them
ana to the knowledge gained there.
from. On" estimate. therefore, serves
as check against the other. Accord
ing TO tn" estimate of the ginnc,S
W. per cent OF the crop remained tr
be ginncd after December IL. while.
according TO the estimate of the can.
NaSSln% agents the percentage Was
IN ADnINin,r iltS,
the general average bale weight OF.
tanned from combining round and
square bales. the crop. according 20
the Slnh"rS. Is !.9iJ 300 bales. and az.
cordlnG to IN" ranvaSSlng agents,
?.'Jl. zoe bales of AN average gross
w"l%ht OF 500 mounds. Th" Census or
nee assumes nn r"SpOnSibilii, for tln
accuracy OF these estimates This .."-
port Will be followed by Il third and
lihal report ut the end Of tn" %inniD:;
season. about March lGth which will
dlSiribut" th" crop by counties, Srrro
Eal" upland and Sea Island cottOnS.
ana give Weights Of bales. I'm nivin"
ont the report Director Merriam
said.
II seems important to again state
IN connection with these statistics of
the cotton crop Of 100 that is so far
AS they rulal" 10 thr bales OF cotton
Ginncd to December l3 last. they in
VolVr no guess work AT any point. no
estimate by anybody. and NO unc"r-
lainty OF any kind. They represent the
exact number OF bales Of cotton that
have passed through the sinners. All
that has been done by the Census Office
Is to make and verify the additions
Anybody is al liberty to examine the
whole process adopted by the Census
Office in hunI1i,,p
returns represent tn" ginning opera
ti0ns OF every ginning establishment
which has handlcd any portion of the
growth Of 1902"
1hc report Is made ai Il time 50 near
the close of tn" ginning season as to
permit very close approximation OI
the actual growth Of the year. i'm 300
pound bales. II seems probable that
the final report. to be issued about
March 10Th next. will not show Il varia-
ton of 10000 bales from the estimates
Of tn" total crop which are submitted
from two sources in connection with
the figures Of cotton Einncd to Dcccm-
Der 18th.
This is the first time in tn" history
Of the American cotton crop that def
mite and exact knowledge Of the sea-
sons growth has been placed in pos
session Of the public at so early a date,
or within a date five months as early.
The Census Office is already pcrfccting
plans for more frequent reports in con-
ncctiOn with the crop Of 1903. It's first
report will cover all the cotton ginned
| Of the years growth up to and includ-
| ing September |. This portion Of each
years crop Is now assigned IN the COM
mcrcial estimates to the production Of
| the previous year as the commercial
cotton year ends September /.
The second report will include all
cotton ginncd up to and including Oc-
tobcr 18th, 1908, the date of the first
| report for 1902, enabling an exact com
| paris0n in the two seasons. The third
! report will cover the cotton ginncd up
| to and including November 18th. pc
| riod Of the utmost choice to the wrow-
| crs and manufacturers. The fourth re-
port will represent. the cotton glnned
to December 18th, The fifth will be the
! final report.