El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-03-08

afternoon by the department of agrf-
culture. To make up this report
board of experts has been holding ses-
sions behind locked doors in the office
of the chief statistician OF the depart
ment, carefully computing the infor-
nation which has been secured through
the most reliable channels These seS-
sions are absolutely secret and a men,
Der is not even permitted to leave the
room while the computation is in pro-
gress. The telephone wires are discon-
nected in order that there may be no
possibility of premature information
going out that might be used by specu-
lators.
The time of announcing a crop re-
port is made public several days be-
fore, in order that those interested may
have an equal opportunity of profiting
by it. At half past two o'clock today
the Western Union and the Postal Tele-
graph companies, who have offices in
the Agricultural building, will receive
copies of the report for transmission
! to the stock exchange and the press.
These companies have had notice so
as to be able to reserve their lines at
the appointed time for forwarding i'm
mediately the figures of most interest
Getting the Report Out.
A photographed statement contain
ing estimates of present grain condi-
tions with comparisons of those of
former years has also been prepared to
| be sent Immediately TO the newspaper
| publication exchanges and other par
ties requestingrit The same day print
ed cards containing the essential facts
of the most important crops of the re-
port are mailed to the 1000 postoffices
! in the United States for public display,
| thus placing the valuable information
Immediately within reach OF the farm
ers. Promptly after the The Crop
Reporter is published, monthly peri
odical issued by the bureau OF statistics
under the authority Of the secretary Of
! agriculture An edition of 165, 900 copies
is distributed each month to CORE
spondents and individuals requesting
| it.
Is the Measure of Prosperity.
The measure of a country's crops to
a large degree evidences its prosperity
and the purchasing power of It's people
Since all commercial industries are IN
this way affected it is important TO
know in advance the resources of crops,
the prospects of the growing seasons
and the output of the harvests. The OBJ
. ject of the bureau of statistics of the
department of agriculture is to give
this information accurately each month
The facts are scientifically gathered,
computed, tabulated and honestly dis
! seminated so that they are as reliable
as any forecasts can be. By their aid
the merchants and manufacturers OF
the country can act with a degree OF
prudence and intelligence that would
be impossible without this information
If during the growing season the
reports indicate a full wheat crop Tor
a large area, merchants know that they
can give liberal orders for goods to be
handled some months later. The manu-
49, f.arar
fields knnw that there will be heavy
demand for such of their products as
are used by those dependent upon the
wheat industry. The railroads know
that they will have heavy freights TO
transport and can arrange their serv-
/ ice to accommodate it. The same Is true
to a greater or less degree Of cotton,
corn, tobacco, oats and variousN other
crops sIf the reports are unprOmising,
reliable information is Of even more
! Importance to trade, for when condi-
lions are unfavorable, merchants,
manufacturers and transportation COM
, panies must move with a degree OF
caution not necessary under encour-
aging conditions. It is TO protect the
interests of all that congress provided
for the issuance Of these reports
Getting the Data.
The data upon which the reports is
based is obtained through a special
field service: a corps of state statis-
teal agents and a large body of volun-
tary correspondents in the following
four classes: county correspondents,
township correspondents, individual
farmers, and cotton correspondents
The special field service includes II
travelling agents who each report for
separate group of states There are 40
state statistical agents, each. of whom
1 rTrg,
teal agents maintain a corps OF cor
respondents in the different counties,
who make monthly reports. directly to
him independent of those reporting d.
rectiy to the department OF agricuI-
ture.
There are $4,000 agricultural coun-
ties in the country. in each of which
the department has a special CORE
spondent In townships where agricul-
ture is especially large the department
has correspondent who makes that
township the geographic basis of his
report. In addition to these there are
thousands of Individual farmers and
planters who voluntarily report upon
the results of their own operations.
Much valuable knowledge is also gain
ed from over 5000 mills and grain ele-
vatorS in the country.
A large number of persons intimately
connected with the cotton business act
as special cotton correspondents and
supplement the information gained
from other sources. Six special cotton
reports are issued during the craving
season. Details as to the acreage and
yield per acre are required from the
list of cotton gins supplied through the
courtesy of the United States census
bureau. The value of the cotton reports
to the public is very great The reports
issued by the department protect the
country from the misleading reports of
spectators. If false reports depress the
price of cotton a single cent per pound
the cotton growers would lose 100000
600. If prices are improperly advanced
the manufacturers and allied interests,
would be affected proportionally.
Many Schedules.
For the transmission of information
the department issues a large number
of different schedules. These are print
ed upon different colored paper and
cut in various shapes to simplify the
work of asserting them. Perhaps one
month the corn reports Will come upon
yellow paper and the wheat reports up
on red, while the acreage of spring
wheat NAV he uDOn a SQUARE sheet of