Evening star., 1905-08-25
ERRORS IN THREE CASES
DOES NOT BLAME SECRETARY
WILSON.
New Man Appointed, Who Will Have
Entire Charge Of the Matter
In the Future.

not at all satisfied with the present state OF
affairs. Mr.. Gaines. who Is in Washington
on the tobacco matter. has made the fol-
lowing statement:
Some time ago 1 wrote to President
Roosevelt asking him that the papers in
the case of the tobacco case error be turned
over to the grand tlry which is investi-
eating the cotton-crop report scandal. On
August Secretary Wilson telegraphed to
me that these papers had been turned over
TO the Department of Justice by direction
of the President. Secretary Wilson now
informs me that the Department of Agri-
culture has reported that there was no
crminality in connection with the tobacco
errors as far as It could yet see. These
mistakes were made by a woman who is
now on leave and when she returns she
Will be put through an examination by
Secretary Wilson.
No Blame to Secretary Wilson.
Il would like for you to state very dis
tnctly that | attach no blame whatever
TO Secretary Wilson. whom I do not criti-
else in anything that l say. / think he
is fair and honest and courageous, and be-
lieve that he will do the tobacco growers
full justice ia the matter. These arith-
metical mistakes in the tobacco acreage
report were made by a civil service grad
anu, StFdHStfy enough, IniStdktS were
not made except in the three counties of the
tobacco region where the tension with the
tobacco trust has been the strongest"
The explanation has been offered that
the errors in the acreage report on tobacco
due to the shifting of a decimal 1
take no stock in this explanation" said
Mr.. Gaines. Decimal points do not add
ciphers in calculations Decimals were not
used In making this calculation. Secretary
Wilson's letter to me shows that the cal
"A 1lda / piv n
and any one see the errors too plain
for excuse:
First multiplied by 100 EQUALS. err
roneously 2t2,OOO: correctly, 263O0.
',Second-l17 multiplied by 162 equals. er
roneously, 1I9.334; correctly, 1854.
"Third-1lJ multiplied by 269 equals. err
roneously. ey .245; correctly. 30.925.
The first error was as to the acreage in
the Ciarkesville district in Simpson county,
Kentucky. and the second and third errors
covered the acreage In Madison and Wash
ington counties. Kentucky. representing the
hurley tobacco district. A cipher must be
picked up and added to make 2S3 multiplied
by 100 equal 253.OO0-the first error. In cal
culation No the figures used are not the
same in the correct and in the incorrect
result. except that the figures 1 and are
NAL point there. none was used. none was
needed and none was shown me by Mr..
Wilson's figures which 1 am giving you.
Take calculation No. ) and the same kind
of comment will apply.
Singular Coincidence
Remembering that clerks In all depart
nfents. and in this tobacco department par
ticul,,rly. have to pass civil service exami-
nation before they are employed therein.
how can We believe that any one or all Of
these calculations were innocently or neg
ligently made? Shifting a decimal point
cannot possibly acquit this clerk Of an evil
in ai,,in
lations. 1t required no particular or tech
nical knowledge to simply multiply these
figures correctly.
Strange. too. that these errors were
made to the tobacco acreage in the
Ciarksvlle and hurley districts. where the
farmers are fighting the tobacco trust and
not in other districts where the farmers are
chloroformed by the tobacco trust. The
correct report says there were three unde-
tected mistakes. l allude to three. After
the farmers charged that there must be er-
rors in this June report they were found
after a careful examination as the cor
rected or July report states. Did it
qure a very careful examination to dis
cover these bold-faced errors? They were
made under Mr.. Fessenden, says Mr. Will
son. who had charge of the work of
Holmes. then suspended for corrupt official
acts. Then Fessenden also had charge Of
his (Fessendens) own DIVISION says Sec
retary Wilson to me. Fessenden found the
mistake himself and Suggested making a
AeNlStu but InlS discovery was
after the tobacco farmers had declared
there We're errors. Mr.. Wilson says he does
not fee like even censuring Mr Fessenden
because he was good enough to assume the
difficult place of getting out the June report
under the most confused conditions
Some Comments on Fessenden.
II may add that this June report con-
tanned errors in question. Surely as the
errors were made under Fessenden. it was
his legal and moral duty to correct them.
and it was no assumption whatever of duty
for him to do so. Had he even assumed to
carefully examine these calculations, SO
very vital when they were made by this
clerk under him. and corrected them. no
outrage on the farmers would have occur
red. He didn't assume at the right time
There may be good reasons why Mr.
Wilson retains Mr.. Fessenden in his de-
partment. but L know of none. In addi-
ton 10 this, Mr.. Hyde, who was chief OF
the bureau. on July 13 wrote me that when
the (erroneous) report was issued l was in
Europe. the associate statistician was un-
der suspension and the department had just
lost It's tobacco expert, the preparation or
the report accordingly falling into the
hands OF persons who lacked that general
knowledge Of the tobacco situation that
would have enabled them to judge as to the
reaSonableness of the report or to detect
errors. The errors consisted In simply null
tiplying the three sums-something almost
anybody could do Mr.. Fessenden prepared
the June report, says Secretary Wilson,
hence Mr.. Hyde in effect says Fessenden
lacked the qualifications for doing this
work. and yet he II retained for future
work In tobacco statistics"
Appointment Of Killebrew
The appointment by Secretary Wilson of
Mr.. Joseph Z. Killebrew as special tobacco
agt mt of the Department of Agriculture
has been received with general satisfaction.
and Mr.. Killebrew. who will be entrusted
with complete supervision of the gathering
o! the tobacco statistics of the entire
ccGrtry and the making of the tobacco
crop report, Is a resident of Montgomery
county, Tennessee. although his post Office
address Is across the line at Guthrie, in
kertucky. His father is one of the best
krcwn agricultural men in Tennessee was
secretary OF agriculture for the state and
worked for the government in gathering
;he census about the tobacco industry
scme years ago. Mr.. killebrew will fill the
position which was formerly filled by DR.
Holloway of Kentucky. who has declined to
do the work any longer because he desired
to enter othe- fields, and the appointment
OF Mr.. Killebrew proved to be great sat-
tsfGction to the farmers of Tennessee and
kentuckV who have baep dicpuSfed With