Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-04-04
International Crop Reporting.

Several years ago the United States
subscribed to a treaty whereby it became
an adherent to and supporter of the In
ternational Institute of Agriculture, an
organization formed to unity and sys-
tematize statistics from all the agricul-
tural nations of the world. The need of
this institution had been recognized uni
versally upon the disclosure of the fact
that there was no system whereby 1T was
possible to determine the actual world S
supply of food products and of agricul-
tural raw materials for manufacture.
While some of the nations had devised
methods of ascertaining the volume of
their current and prospective crops, no
two of them had adopted the same sys-
tenn, or were in agreement in the scales
or terms of measurement, and many of
them had no statistical processes what
ever Until the organization of the In
ternational Institute of Agriculture the
world was dependent for its informa ton
as to its greatest production upon private
information, often manipulated for specu-
lative purposes to the serious injury of
both producers and consumers and conse-
Quent arrangement of the entire economic
system of the world.
The United States has unouestionably
the best government stock-reportng sys-
TEN in the world, so recognized by for
eign governments. If this country. were
wholly self-dependent, if it's cereal or
cotton crops were all consumed within
its borders and if they were always en-
tirely sufficient for it's needs-in other
words, If the United States neither i'm
ported nor exported agricultural products
would meet all requirements. But the
United States is a large exporter of
cereals, of cotton and of some other ag-
ricultural products. 1t is an axiom of
economic law that the domestic price of
an exporting nation is fixed by the
worlds price. American wheat sells in
American markets in accordance with
the prices which govern in the wheat
vending centers of other countries. In
consequence of this law the American
crop-reporting system has proved chiefly
beneficial to other countries and, as far
as establishing true relations between
supply and demand and consequently just
home consumers.
The purpose of the International Insti-
tute Of Agriculture at Rome is to reduce
to a system all the processes of crop re-
porting, to render them harmonious and
particularly to control the sources of in
formation so that the prices in the va
rious centers of distribution will not fuc-
tuate in accordance with the whims or
the speculative designs of private in
terests.
The House of Representatives in franz
ing the diplomatic appropriation bill omit
ted the small item for sending to Rome
the American representatives to the gen.
eral assembly of the international in
stitute. Doubts were expressed as to the
utility of this Establishment Fears were
voiced lest this money might be used for
"junketing purposes While the amount
necessary to maintain the institute, as
the American contribution, something less
than 5000 was granted, the fund upon
which in the final analysis American par
ticipation in this great world work de-
ponds was refused
An effort is now being made to secure
the inclusion Of this necessary item in
the general deficiency bill. If this fails
the United States will under the terms
Of the treaty and the rules of the in
stitute cease to be factor in this most
important agency for the correlation of
the worlds agricultural information. 1t
is inconceivable that the United States,
the largest single agricultural producer in
the world, the leader in point of agri-
cultural statistics, the source of the in
spiration which led to the creation of
this important institution, is to be per-
mitted. on some paltry excuse of economy
or because of failure to understand the
scope of this work, to fall out of the
ranks of the nations of the world. 1t is
for Congress now to decide whether this
government Is to be Inundated by the
refusal Of less than $4,000 to enable it
to be represented in a fitting manner in
an international assemblage which is
making for the conservation of the
worlds agricultural wealth.