The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-02
REPLY 0FMR. JORDAN
ANSWERS STATEMENTS OF DIREC-
 TOR NORTH.
Southern Cotton Growers Should Be Given the Full Benefit of All In-
 formation Gather by De- ,f t5t- n@rtnaeut.

Atlanta, Ga. Feb. l.--President Har. | vie Jordan, of the Southern Cotton Association. today replied to the state. ment of Census Director North. whiek appeared yesterday. If the law of the oensus otllce pre-. vents the director from gatherine estimates as to the amounts of cot | con remaining to be ginned for pub lie use, then the law clearly does not contemplate that director should be permitted to gather these estimates from the ginners for the director's private use. I criticised the director for gathering detailed, definite infor- nation from the ginners regarding their estimate of the percentage oI cotton remaining to be ginned in their respective localities after January i5 1906. He could just as well nave asked Is ginning over? and secured all the information he claims to have wanted.
 Following is an exact copy of the three questions asked all ginners by the census bureau . sanuary 16:
 -'I.-Number of bales ginned to date from growth of 1su6?
 ''2.-Average weight per bale includ- ing bagging and ties:
 "3 -Estimated number of bales yet to be ginned from growth of 1905 by your establishment
 His card to, the gfnners also states: This report must include all cotton ginned this season from 19Uo up to January IS. 1906, and the estimated quantity to be ginned on and after that date, Why these continuous in- structions for specific, carefully pro- pared estimates If -..e census depart ment only wanted to know what gins to canvass in the Mare. report.
 'On October Is, 4SU5, l wired Mir. North the following:
 If possible notify your agents to get from gInners estimate on balance of crop unginned To tnIs Mir. North wired me in part as follows:
 "'The census law requires us to count the crop, not estimate it. All crop estimates are the exclusive func- ions of the department of agricul- ,ure.
 Three months later we ind the di- rector actively engaged in gathering carefully prepared estimates on the balance of the crop to be ginned from each individual ginner in the South, This estimate was known in the office of the census bureau on January 2S. when the figures on the amount of cot ton ginned up to that date were given 0ut.
 Theodore Price Issued a circular i'm mediately following the publication of the census figures of 9,99s,11l bales as
 
 unginned. MT. North had carefully prepared estimates from every ginner in the South showing the percentage of cotton remaining to be glnned. and had this been given out promptly to the public with proper statements, the heavy depression in the market would have been avoided. If MT. North Is working in the interest of Southern cotton growers. he ought to give them the full benefit of all valuable infor nation gathered through his depart mont.
 MT North also asked the ginners for the average weight Of bales. and not the weight of each bale. The com pilation of these estimates from the gInners could, therefore, have been completed and given out as quickly as the amounts reported as ginned, and the full reports on all questions asked the ginners January 16 could have been given to the public at the same time As 1t Is we are forced to the expedient of calling upon Congress to require a disclosure of public intorna- tion of vital importance which has been lying concealed in the office of the census director since January SS'
 ,srhis Is the only Instance in which I have ever criticised Director North, I have for the past five years given him and his department all assistance in my mower. He has. in this instance. placed his official acts open to severe crIticIsm and in the defense of the farmers and business interests of the Soutb must continue to exercise my rtsht 10 criticise the acts and dolngs of any nnblic official when l feel that cir- c,instances warrant IL.