Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

IN ngnrlnS TINS at the closest possible
margin.
Il 4
Retail dealers in all lines of goods.
whether in city or country, order from
wholesale merchants, JOB
Practical bers or manufacturers the
goods they expect to sell
ooAeAtS' many weeks. frequently
months, before actual purchase and ship
1ent Jobbers follow the same course.
and manufacturers produce the goods and
wares handled by merchants of every
class far ahead of their actual d!stribu-
tion and consumption. For example. re-
tail shoe dealers place their orders in
summer for shoes to be sold during the
fall winter or following spring months.
Wholesale shoe dealers and jobbers SINH
/ lary order from manufacturers the par
ticular qualities and styles of shoes indi-
Gated by the orders of the retail dealers
| In such quantities as the orders show TO
! be necessary. The manufacturers. con-
| stantly receiving these orders, adjust, as
| closely as they can, their purchases OF
material employment of operatives and
| quantity OF output so as TO enable them
! to supply the quantity of shoes which
! have been or are likely to be ordered.
| Their aim the one hand is to meet
/ fully and promptly the requirements of
| trade-or the demand-and. on the other
| hand, to avoid such oVerproduction as
| viii result in a large surplus unstable
except at a loss-the supply.
| The same thing follows with agricui-
! ture, but to a greater degree, the
products are perishable. Agriculture is
, the basic industry upon which all other
| industries greatly depend. The measure
| of the country's crop is to large ex-
| tent the measure of the countrys pros
| perity, and the purchasing power Of the
iC inc cod III iflic In6 r e
| crops are bOuntiful or meager. CONNER
cial interes is. therefore. are vitality af-
| fected by the quantity and quality Of the
! crops. and it becomes a matter of i'm
| portance to know in advance what the
! crop prospects are during the growing
| season and what the output is at harvest.
! And it is this work that the bureau Of
! statistics is carrying on.
| In the latest report of the chief statis-
tician, Victor H. Olmsted, figures are
| given showing the purchasing
| statistics values, per acre. of the va
! r;,,o, rious crops grown in this
country, together with data
| relative to the total number of farms in
this country. etc. For instance. there
were 6,34O.357 farms in 1870 as against
1865, 900 in 1890. Their total acreage wa
622a3 ,OOO, 900 in 1890 The value of these
farms was placed at SIS, 1856. 10000, and
of the buildings s6,294, 49,, 600 Twenty
| years ago the value OF both land ami
buildings was only S13,279 253, 900. 1t is
estimated that the implements and ma
chinery used on the farms are worth
much as in 1890.
OH of fa
/ crops, it was estimated that one acres
| produce was equivalent to money suffi-
cient to buy 314 cakes of soap 227 pounds
of sugar, % pounds of tobacco, - brooms.
AZ dish pans, 10 sets OF dinner plates, 16
kitchen chairs. 81 tin pals, ID pairs of
gloves, felt hats. 3 raincoats. horse
| blankets, % pints Of witch hazel and 142
pounds of Irvine. OF all the smaller arti
| cleS used in the farmhouse or on the
| farm several were purchasabe for one
acres produce.
| With the larger articles. however, it is
different y stove, for instance, is est
| mated at being worth the produce of one
and one-quarter acres. all crops being
/ averaged For shotgun seven-tenths
of an acre are required. To buy buggy
more than five acres produce is neces-
sary, although less than five acres prod
uce will buy double wagon. and sl zhtly
more than three single one. Another
estimate made by the bureau gives the
! yearly value per acre of ten crops COM
have been S15.43. and in 1879 $1642. the
highest point it has reached since 1866.
as far hack as the statistics show. Dur
ing those years the general value has
been more than $40 per acre, although
the value has fallen as low as $1.94 that
being the value in 1896. The ten crops
taken as basis for this estimate were
| wheat, corn, oats. barley, rye. buck
wheat. potatoes, hay, cotton and tobacco.
II 4
J Statistics relative to the clerical work
done at the Washington bureau also show
the scope and increase of the
| Increased work. Comparing 1898 with
~ 1910 there was an increase
oo0Pe' of % per cent in the num-
Der of questions contained on the sched-
ules for township correspondents, and an
average increase of IS per cent in the
| number of correspondents returning
schedules monthly. Also in 1910 2,42I.oJo
replies were sent in by these township
| correspondents, as compared with but
692, O0O in 1903. Another statement shows
that of all the schedules sent out from
this bureau more than 66 per cent We're
| filled out and returned, While the per cent
| for 1903 was less than 40.
Inquiries sent to correspondents can be
| divided into two classes, those to be used
4
| cial Investigations The total number of
/ questions asked of ali classes OF CORE
! spondents was 2,JS2 in 1910. against
! but 49,, in 1905 Questions pertaining di-
rectly TO the Crop Reporter numbered lob
; in 1910 and but 4S3 in 1893. The special
, investigation questions have entirely de-
, yeIoped since 1898. In 1910 nine investi
! cations were carried on, involving 80 in
! Quiries, and eight involving o59 inquiries
| in 1893 About 100000 mail pieces are
| sent out annually by the bureau.
! Care is taken in the preparation of the
Crop Reporter, as we'll as other bulletins,
| to insure against tampering and advance
| information thus obtained. Each month
| the correspondents of the several classes
| send in their reports separately and in
| dependenty to the bureau. The reports
of the state statistical and special field
| agents are inclosed in special envelopes-
| These. by arrangement with the pos al
| authorities, are delivered to the Secre-
| tary of Agriculture in scaled pouches,
which are opened only by the Secretary
or the assistant secretary, and the re-
ports, with seals unbroken. are immedi
ately placed in a safe. where they remain
sealed until the morning of the day on
which the bureau report is issued, when
they are delivered to the chief statiSti-
clan by the Secretary or assistant sec
retary these being the only persons
knowing the combination of the safe. Re
, ports from state statistical or special field
agents living more than 800 miles distant
are sent by telegraph in cipher. The re-
ports of the voluntary correspondents are
ha iaf nf he If ct1