Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-07-13
New York Sun Says the secre.
tary of Agriculture Took
Right Course
INTEGRITY BEYOND QUESTION
New York Paper, However, Declares
the Government Should Go Out of
the Business of Crop Reporting
Regards In as Unnecessary and
Hardly Legitimate.
Special to Times Republican.


New York, July 13.-The New York
Sun, a newspaper which has always
been exacting in it's demands OF pub
lie officials, upholds Secretary James
Wilson, of the department of agricul-
ture, for his refusal to believe that
there was any truth in the charges
against the bureau of statistics when
they were first called to his attention.
The system Of handling the cotton re-
port made manipulation or the obtain
ing of advance information impossible.
1t was said. and the Southern Cotton
Growers Association. which formulate
ed the accusations. was looked upon as
an association bent on airing an UNI
founded grievance. 1t turns out that
the association was right and the de-
partment of agriculture was shelterlng
an ugly scandal. But the Sun says, IN
leading editorial article:
"Mr. Wilson, in fact, can do little else
than trust his subordinates implicitly.
His department includes many bureaus
that no layrnan could manage or under
stand. A good man placed at the head
of one of them will not stay long If he
is treated like scoundrel, and
scoundrel, even tho watched closely,
will find opportunity to use his position
for his own ends
The Sun declares that the whola
trouble has come about thru the gov
ernment's dabbling into field in
which 1t has no business. Many per-
sons, 1t says, regard the crop reporting
activities of the government as scarce
ly necessary or legitimate. Were it tG
retire from the field, private agencies
would take up the work and perform it
satisfactorily.
1.-THE government entered upon it,"
says the Sun, "in response to the cry
DO something for the farmer 1t is
safe to say that spectators have been
benefited more than the farmers by
the government reports. Wheat woulc
still be wheat. and cotton cotton II
there were no bureau of statistics IN
Washington, and the farmer is not
such a fool as some politicians de-
scribe him. The discovery of this SER
ious breach in what is supposed to be
a particularly honest and trustworthy
bureau, 1t may be added, issnot exact
ly strong argument In favor Of in
creasing the commercial activities in
dulged in By the government"
The same suggestion is made by sew
eral eastern papers, but others say that
the crop reports, carefully gathered
and handled, are invaluable and that
the government should continue the
work.
That the honor of Secretary Wilson
will not suffer because Of the scandal
in his department is the unanimous
opinion of the eastern press. A typical
editorial statement on this subject Is
the following from the Philadelphia
Record:
Secretary Of Agriculture Wilson,
who has at last become convinced OF
the doctoring and premature disclose
ure of the government cotton reports
by Statistician Holmes, trusted Of
fetal of his own department., notwith-
standing extraordinary precautions to
secure accuracy and secrecy, will not
suffer in the public estimation because
of the scandal. His own integrity is
beyond question"