Imperial Valley press., 1911-11-27
STATISTICS ON WORLDS
COTTON CONSUMPTION

ernors in New Orleans there was much
to do made of the lack of statistics of
cotton consumption, and Editor Gus
ley, of Fort Worth who originated the
idea of the conference, made some
critical remarks about the Depart
ment of Agriculture on the subject,
10 which Secretary Wilson responded
in an Associated Press report. Gov
ernor Colauitt also seems to have been
suffering over the great dearth of sta
tistics on the subject of cotton con-
sumption and a short time ago he
asked Secretary Knox, of the State
Department. to furnish him some fig
ures, in response to which Secretary
Knox used up quite few dollars of
the peoples money in sending cable
grams to the various consuls of the
United States government in foreign
countries.
It now appears that Governor Col
quit, Editor Ousley and Secretary
Knox have been tanning the air ac
cording to a dispatch from Washing
ton 10 the Dallas News. which SAYS:
Had Secretary Knox turned Gov
ernor Colquitt's request over to the
census bureau, Director Durand could
have given instant answer, covering
every phase of the question of cotton
consumption on which it is possible
to obtain statistics. He has that in
formation in the government printing
office today in the shape OF the an
nual census bulletin on Supply and
Distribution of Cotton" including a
text and tables on Worlds Consump
ton of Cotton"
Collecting Data Several Years.
This activity OF the census bureau
in the field of cotton statistics is one
of its most valuable features to the
southern agriculturist of the census
bureaus work. For several years the
bureau has been collecting this data.
This fact must be news to those who
Lelieve that the gathering of such in
formation would enable the farmer to
realize a higher price for his cotton.
The law requiring this information of
the census bureau was written on the
statute books by Representative Bur-
Lesson OF Texas in 1904, with view to
giving the grower as much information
about consumption and stocks on hand
as the spinner gets about cotton
ginned, and to indicate whether the
farmer should receive more Or less per
pound for given crop of cotton If
the law of supply and demand were
permitted to operate without an ex-
traneous influence, such as, for in
stance, the effect of a gambling cam
paign upon the cotton exchange.
The work of the census bureau in
the realm of cotton differs from the
work of the statistical division of the
Department of Agriculture in this
The bureau in the Agricultural De-
partment deals only in estimates; the
census bureau deals only with the final
and completed returns. The sum of
S40O 900 a year is devoted to obtain
! ing the cotton statistics which the
census bureau puts forth at specified
intervals during each year First,
there are the ginning reports issued
at regular periods during the ginning
season; then the final reports on pro-
| duction, giving the results in minute
detail. and then the annual report on
! supply and distribution, with The VI
yey Of the consumption OF cotton
throughout the world
This latter report for the year end
ing August 81, 1911, is due in a few
days. What it will tell is known only
to Director Durand arU a few of his
division chiefs. What it ought 10 tell
may be reasonably constructed out of
what the report for he year ending
August 81. 1910, showed, supplement-
ed by such additional information as
reliable sources furnish on the sub
iect of spindle capacity and crop esti-
mates. The 1910 report showed that
it would require from the United
States at least a 1880, ,OOO-bale crop
to keep the mills of the world in op-
GRAFTON. From the information at
hand, it is figured that the next gov
ernment report on supply and distri-
button should show that it will take
crop in excess of 100000 bales
from the United States to keep the
worlds mills in operation so as to
prevent a further reduction of the
world s supply of raw cotton. These
results are reasoned out as follows:
Worlds Production for 1910
"The worlds production of cotton
for 1910 was 1911 900 bales, not in
cluding certain cotton of China, Persia,
Russia and parts of Central America,
which is consumed in those countries