The Washington times., 1905-07-21
Leaks Possible Only by Ex-
tended Collision.
BUSINESS METHODS NEXT
Secretary Wilson Proposes a General
Revision of Faulty Conditions in
Agricultural Department.

agriculture is the determination. ex-
clusively announced in The Times yes
terday, to do away with the chief sta
dstician. and to turn over the work Of
compiling the crop reports TO q board
OF statisticians.
With this amendment of the old plans,
and with others that Secretary Wilson
has recently announced. il is believed
that the system is one that cannot pos
sibly be manipulated
If there is anything wrong hereaf-
ter, said Secretary Wilson, in announc-
Ing the adoption of the board plan.
everybody will know who is RESPONSE
ele. 1t win be myself or Assistant Sec
reJary Hays. Nobody else viii have q
Chance to do any manipulating. There
VIII De no division Of responsibility
Custody OF Reports.
The four statisticians among whom
VIII be divided the work of compiling
the reports will be in no wise the Gus
todians of the field reports. These viii
come. some by mail and some by wire.
tc the department headquarters, and be
delivered, in a locked pouch, to either
Secretary Wilson or Assistant Secretary
Hays
They will be locked in 4 vault and
there kept until the morning of the day
OH which the compilation is 10 be made.
Then they viii be taken. by either the
Secretary or his assistant, to the COM
piling room. and turned over to the
four mem bers of the statistical board
These, in charge OF the entire force
of clerks who conduct the compilation,
VIII proceed to give out the work Be
fore the reports are opened, however, /
the doors Will be locked and all tele- I
phones IN the building disconnected.
Then. IN order To prevent any partic- !
ulaF clerk knowing what he is handling. :
sheets na
halves and marked by numbers or let +
teFs, rather than with the names Of the i
counties and States.
Effects of New Methods.
In making the important change from
the single staistician in charge to the
board measure, Secretary Wilson has
been moved by several considerations.
In the first place. it viii be Impossible, /
under the system he has figured out, for /
one of the statistical board to give out
any information without colluston of /
the entire membership of the board,
In the next place, possibility Of get
ting advance facts viii be absolutely
shut off by the new system of custody
Of the field statistics.
Secretary wilson takes grim satisfac-
tion In The conclusion that hereafter
any body who charges any leaks TO the
department viii have TO charge them
70 himself or Mr.. Hays the latter being
a Presidential appointee.
At the Department of Agriculture the
IeeitnS Is strong that the crop report +
incident Is abcut closed. as far as the
depafl lInent IS concerned. It is up to t
the officers Of the Department of JUS
ice 10 proceed with the prosecution Of +
Edwin S. Holmes; that IS out of the
hands OF the department.
Reports Reliable Now.
Further than this. with the reorgan-
ization that has been effected in crop
report methods, it is considered that the
possibility of further complaint has
been eliminated. If there are interests
that want the crop reports abolished.
they may take their case to Congress,
but nobody at the department has anvI
concern about the result at that point.
Another matter of much interest IN
the department vas taken up at a gen
eraI conference which Secretary VIII
son and Assistant Secretary Have baId /
with the chiefs of bureaus. This reIafaj
TO the general business methods in /
the department and especially 10 the
adJuslHght OF business 10 such basis
as would assure the utmost economy in /
all features, large and small alike
II is proposed to eliminate every DOS 7
slbie ca use fog dIssa tsfaction by the /
methods.
Classification Of Reports.
Assistant Secretary Hays is preparing
10 mako careful study, among other
things. OF the various classes of infor-
nation which are received by the de
rartment- concerning crop conditions
and on watch the reports issued are
based. There are eight sources of in
formation, which may be classified as
State reporters, county reporters, town
ship reporters. special travelling agents
Cf the department, cotton glnners rail
roa0s, merchants. and Individual farm
eIs and planters.
ports have been, in the experience of a
Szrles Of years. the most accurate and /.
Esliable. is considered important ia
---s end careful examination viii be
made
Forecasts based or the different classes
JI Information viii De COMPARED wits
the aetuat facts which the harvest
returns proved 10 exist. Thus il win
be possible 10 learn ou which class of
most reliance may be
placed.
Cotton Acreage Question.
On Monday ns>t Secretary Wilson viii J
receive delegation of the American
Gotten Manufacturers Association TO
consider the question OF making a new
acreage report en- this years crop.
The cotton growers have been press
Rg earnestly for new acreage report,
claiming that acreage has been stated ,
100 high and that q proper revision
would do only justice TO producers. 1t
5 expected The Manufacturers AssO-
station Will, at the conference on Mon
lay. present views which VIII Sharply
5ary from those Of the growers
Mr. Hays is still at work looking into
he question Of whether a new cotton
acreage report shall be made, by way ,
u satisfying those cotton growers who
INSIST that the June report was mac
-uFate.
Antagonistic Attitudes. I
In this connection much interest is
.elt at the department in the coming
fisit of the committee Of the Cotton
Manufacturers Association.
Il is pointed out that, as to the cot !
on reports the organization of manu- :
acturers and the organization of |
growers represent the most antagonIstic
attitudes possible. The growers nat
irally want bullish reports: the manu-
actuFers want bearish ones. each being +
Ictuated by its own interest ia the ,
rop. ono having cotton TO sell and
lIe other wanting to buy II.
The expectation, therefore. is that the s
difference at the department, at which 5
q fFrssa s1T TrVA lls ,