The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-10-10
FAKE CROP

At the meeting of the Cotton Grow
| ers of South Carolina last week, Sena-
tor Smith made an address in which
he criticized the crop reports that he
| said had cost the cotton growers many
thousands of dollars. 1t will be re-
membered that he did the same thlng
in the Senate during the session Of
Congress and demanded that unfair
crop reports by suppressed. There has
been much criticism of the Depart
ment Of Agriculture by farmers, par
ticularly by cotton farmers. The suit
brought by the Federal Government
because men sought to put up the
price Of cotton was remarkable, the
more so because although there had
been many cOnspiracies to put down
the price Of cotton the Government
had never brought a suit to restrain
these c~onspirators, and never moved
except when the conspiracy was to
| put up the price of cotton. The farm
ers and the whole country demand
hat the Government reports shall be
fair and correct, and that it shall deal
justly by the agricultural interests Of
all sections of the country. Discussing
More Fake Crop Reports" the Char
lotte News yesterday has the following
as its leading editorial in Tuesdays
paper:
rs the United States Government
lending it's influence in a determined
effort to bean the price of cotton?
us the Department Of Agriculture
of the Government using its power and
it's influence to crumble prices Of the
South's great staple
lis there a conspiracy to run prices
down?
These are questions which are per
tinent in view of the fake crop reports
issued last June.
They are questions which every
farmer of the South should ponder
carefully, for the proposition involves
millions Of dollars.
1T was once proven that certain
high officials were bought off.
Zone of two things is true now;
present officials Of the census bureau
Of the Department of Agriculture are
either conspiring to wreck the legiti-
mate price Of the farmers staple, else
ignorant Of the conditions which they
treat, and altogether incapable of CIV
ing accurate information.
In either event their reports are
undesirable. In either case they are
enemies Of the South. In either event
they have demonstrated their inefi-
cheney in the high position they hold
president Taft, in a recent address,
admitted that things We're not what
they should be in the Department OF
Agriculture. He appreciated the hos
tility among farmine classes, engen-
dered by the conduct Of officials, and
he spent much time in vainly striving
tn smooth over the IA j1IfS of tho De-
partment.
But can they be smoOthed over? Is
it not time for a change, for a COM
plete and thorough house cleaning ?
But the case is developing more
serious phases than these showing
stupid %blunders. There is reason to
believe that the United States GOV
eminent, through this great depart
ment, is lending it's Influence in a gil
gantic scheme to wreck prices. Under
it's operation farmers of the South are
losing many millions of dollars which
they haze earned honestly.
Take the fake reports from the
first of the year and there is neither
excuse nor reason to the estimates
made or conclusions drawn.
1.-The first report predicted a four
teen million bale crop. That report
was made at d time when it was ut
terly impossible for any authority to
make even a fair guess. But it was
given out as authoritative, and the
price Of cotton has been falling from,
that day to his.
A later report, showing like two
million bales less han the first, con
victed the Department of rank ignor-
ance Of facts, incapacity to offer cor
rect reports and stupid failure to trea1
the public squarely.
But that Jake report was miIf
compared to the preposterous figure.
offered September LIST and again or
yesterday.
"On September the first, the Gov.
eminent stated cotton condition t
August 25th to be 73.2 per cent of nor.
NAL, and estimated the crop at tina,
date al 12,91S,20O bales.
"On yesterday, one month later. t;
report IS issued giving condition a