Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-31
NORTH IS DISGUISED
WOULD LIKE TO BE RELIEVED
OF COTTON STATISTICS.
Replies to the Criticisms Recently
Made on the Practices of the
Census Bureau.

| Having taken notice of the criticisms upon
| his Office by President Harvie Jordan of ths
| Southern Cotton Growers Association and
| others. Director North of the census bu-
reau today declared that he hoped Congress
! would relieve him of all further work In
connection with cotton statistics.
at is the most disagreeable and annoy
ing work l have ever known" said Mr.
North today These reports are prepared
for the benefit of the southern people, but
they seem to be devoting all their energies
toward dscrediting them
telegram from a planter in Louisiana.
received today. charged Director North
with doing a great injustice to southern
planters by keeping back the weight OF
| bales and enabling a certain cotton specu-
lator and his diabolical crew to rob the
south.
Trying to Discredit Reports.
In answer to the allegations made by
President Jordan yesterday, Director North
said: ''These cotton ginning reports were
established by law for the benefit OF the
cotton growers and 1 had believed they
were effective to that end, but the repre-
sertattves of the growers, like Mr.. Jordan
and ]. A. Taylor president of the Cotton
Ginners Associat ton, seemed determined 10
do everything in their power to dlscfedll
and under these circumstances DO not De-
leve it worth while for Congress to con-
tinue to appropriate S25o.0oo year TOT tne
collection of reports in the interest OF the
cotton growers when these men are ulS-
satisfied with the results. No effort to snow
that the reports are inaccurate, mlsieaurLs
or manipulated has been successful ne
methods of the office have been eAHipiteu
to representatives of the growers and It's
records scrutinzed by them, and they nave
not found it possible to put niger upon d
single error either in method or result.
There has never been leak from the, cen
sus office since the system was establishes.
MFR Jordan now attacks the director De-
cause he refuses to deviate from the regu-
lar methods of promulgating these status
ties at the demand of private parties. ANY
such deviation made upon the personal re-
sponsibility of the director would neces-
sarily subject his methods to suspicion ana
would very properly impair the public con-
fidence In the integrity of his work. L nave
therefore declined to accede to these re-
quests unless directed by Congress to DO So
Cotton Remaining Unginned.
THE estimates of cotton remaining to be
ginned, whose publication Mr.. Jordan de-
mands. are obtained by the census office at
It's mid<January canvass, for the purpose OF
enabling 1t to determine what counties need
not be canvassed when the final canvass
takes place in March. Whenever the esti-
mates show that there is no more cotton TO
be ginned in a county or that the amount
is insignificant; no final canvass IS necessary
Possession of this information enables the
census office to save from $4,000 to SlZooo
In the cost of the final canvass. and that Is
the only purpose for which these estimates
have ever been used
'"They are only approximate and therefore
possess no statistical value. For the direc-
for to make them public on his own Volt
ton at the demand of the cotton growers
would be as improper at this time as 1t
would be to make them public at the de-
mand of the cotton SPECTATORS If the de-
mand happened to come from that quarter.
Returns Not All Received.
with regard to the publication OF the
census bale weights, to which Mr.. Jordan
also alludes, 1 can only say that the actual
weights of more than 5000, 900 bales of cot
ton grown in 1905 have been secured by the
census Office and that additional returns
covering 100000 more weights are daily
reaching the office. The computations nee
essary to secure correct average weights
from these returns are enormous in amount
and delicate in character. With our utmost
energy we shall not be able to complete
these computations before the last of Feb
ruary and yet am daily in receipt of tele-
grams from the south stating that by keep
ing back the weight of bales am enabling
SPECTATORS to rob the SOUTH
Director North concluded with the remark
that 'All these circumstances have caused
me to pray that Congress might relieve me
NJ this work.