The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-06-17
CROP REPORT
10000 PEOPLE
Of Vital Importance to Busi-
ness Welfare of the
Nation.

|
they are listed at the department, sup
! ply information at harvest time re-
garding yields Then there are what
are called Especial price, correspond
dents, who report concerning the
prices received by farmers for their
products.
How Figures Are Obtained.
When all the separate independent
tabulations and computations Of re-
ports received from the voluntary cor
respondents are received, they are
brought together by states and, in con-
( junction with the reports from the de-
partments salaried field agents and
state statistical agents, form the basis
Of each of the monthly reports issued
by the bureau of statistics. The divi-
sion of domestic crop reports tabulates
and computes the results of all the re-
ports received from the various classes
Of voluntary correspondents.
| Despite the fact that these voluntary
correspondents receive no pay, they
seem to like the work, TO judge by the
length of time they stick to It. An in
quiry made in January, 1912, showed
that of the entire list of county CORE
spondents SO per cent had served more
than one year, 67 per cent more than
two years, ~ per cent more than six
years, 21 per cent more than eleven
years, 4 per cent more than twenty-six
years and per cent more than thirty
six years. The average length Of serv-
/ ice of all the county correspondents
was about seven years.
The department considers this sta
| bility of service as evidence of a high
standard of quality. 1t believes that
| careless or Indifferent farmers would
not take the pains to report, month
after month and year after year, with
out being paid.
How Reports Are Handled.
All the reports Of the state statis-
teal agents and special field agents
are sent directly to the secretary Of
agriculture. He retains in his posses
sion those of the reports which deal
with certain crops of highly specula-
CNC NO1Dt WiCdt1 anu
cotton-and does not turn them over to
the bureau of statistics until the morn
| ing Of the day when the bureau is to
| issue its report But the reports on
other crops are delivered by him to
the bureau as soon as he receives them,
| to enable their tabulation hong enough
in advance of the preparation of each
crop report to render them ready for
use when they are needed. The pre-.
caution in the case of the speculative
crops was adopted as a result of the
cotton leak" scandal of some years
ago. when advance information got out
to interested parties
The reports of the voluntary CORE.
| spondents are tabulated and computed
and the results turned over to the chief
of the bureau of statistics to be tabu-
lated In connection with the reports
Of the state and special field agents.
Precautions Against Leakage.
When the monthly crop estimates
are finally made additional precau-
| tions are taken against leakage. The
crop reporting board, which does the
final work, consists of FIVE members,
with the chief of the bureau as chair
man, and its personnel is changed
each month. The meetings are held in
the office Of Chief Victor II. Olmsted,
and the doors are locked and all the
telephones disconnected.
| 1t may be said that, after all and de-
spite the numerous correspondents who
/ check one another up, the reports on
crops issued by the bureau of statis-
tics cannot be mathematically exact
since they are gathered from the con-
clusions of farmers, interviews with
merchants, etc. This is true. The re-
ports do not purport to be other than
estimates. They are not the results of
actual enumeration, as are the figures
reported decennially by the census bu-
| reau.
But, while they may not be exactly
accurate, as no estimate can be, they
are given as the best available data
and represent the fullest information
at the time they are made.
The government has been doing the
work Of collecting agricultural statis-
tics for fifty years, but the present
broad scope of the work is matter Of
only a few years. 1t was widened
into its present large field under Secre-
tary Wilson and multiplied many times
in size and efficiency in the last six or
seven years.