The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-12-09
Director of Census on
Cotton Estimates.
REASONS FOR CHANGE
Complaint That the Reports Were Not
Frequent Enough and That Too
Much Time Elapsed Between
the Collection CT Information
and Its Publication.
(By the Associated Press. }

Washington. d. c., Dec. S.-Direc-
tors of the Census North today made
a statement setting forth the position
of the Census Bureau in connection
with the resolution recently adopted
by the Memphis (renn) Cotton Ex-
change, and concurred in by the ex-
changes at Vicksburg, and Charleston
requesting that the Census Office
abandon it's present plan of publishing
the cotton crop reports in partial
statements, and withhold all informa-
ton until reports haev been received
from every county in the cotton belt.
Director North says:
"Since the Census Bureau under
took the collection and publication of
the statistics of cotton ginned, only
two objections have been urged to its
plan, namely, that too much time
elapsed between the collection and
the publication dates of the reports
and that the exigencies of the cotton
trade required reports more frequent
ly than once a month.
The change was made to meet
these two objections. 1t is impossi
BILE TO give out complete reports un-
til all the agents have made their re-
turns: and as facilities for travel and
other conditions differ widely through
out the cotton producing States, 1t Of
ten happens that few county reports
are late and the publication OF the
full report thus delayed several days.
Under the new plan information is
given to the public as fast as received
and compiled. incidentally the re-
turns are thus protected from the
possibility OF LEAKAGE or any sus-
picion of leakage.
THE plan also meets the second
objection, by giving the public more
frequent reports and gradually pre-
pares all concerned for the complete
monthly statement giving the total
quantity ginned to a given date. The
preliminary report III November 22.
gives an accurate forecast of the full
report and gave notice to producer
and manner as to what might be eX-
pected in the final report issued No
vember 80, and in consequence there
were no sharp and sudden fuctua-
tions in prices during that time. As
a steadying influence upon the mar
ket the partial reports have been
abundantly justified already.
THE estimate of the United States
Department of Agriculture estimating
the years growth at 12,162 GOO bales,
appeared on December 3. The public.
therefore had ten days in which to
prepare for a large crop estimate. 1t
would appear that the effect of the
partial statement was to prepare the
public for conditions now appearing
and TO prevent wide fluctuations in
prices, which must otherwise have oc-
Cured
THE office has received abundant
testimony that the new method is re-
garded by the producers and consum-
ers Of cotton as an Improvement and
advantage.
However, the plan Of issuing these
partial statements is experimental
and If at the close of this season its
results are not regarded as clearly
advantageous to producers and con-
sumers, it viii be abandoned there
after. The census reports are pri-
marily made for the benefit Of these
classes, and thus far have unmistak-
ably 50 resulted"