Evening star., 1924-03-23

II " -NSi~ IL lltOili q eIOuD ol nleil
assemblies behind locked
doors in an ancient red
brick building in Southwest
Washington. and these men Full the
strings that sometimes send com
modify prices into convulsions. Upon
their say-sO. grain and provision
prices in commodity exchanges all
over the country on that day decline
or advance. a single word last fall
stnt cotton prices skyrock citing 200
points, the limit Of advance allowed
on any trading day by the cotton
exchanges.
This band of Washington men prob
ably has as much control over prices
as any hypothetical group of Wall
street stock maniuulators. One might
think, therefore, that the individuals
making up the group would soon be-
como modern CroesuscS. They are
poor as proverbiaI church mice. In
deed. the sudden possession of wealth
would cast suspicion on their in
tegrity and disqualify them from act
ing or the board they compose.
y United States marshal on guard
outside the boited door prevents any
ono from entering or leaving the
ROOM The telephones inside are dis
connected from outside communica-
iton Even the windows are glazed
and locked. Once in the distant past
member of the group was suspect
cd of signaling to some one on tho
street by raising a window shade
window shades arc now taboo.
In an anteroom newspaper men
ana repreSen tatives Of stock az
changes and board Of trade all over
the country wait. tense at telegram,
and telephone instruments. Present
~ there appears upon the threshold
an ofhcer who places sheets of paper
lace down at the Instruments. The
operators then toe chalkline some
distance from the wires and tba Of
tcer, watch in hand. like 4 starfar n
race calls out. Ready: Get set.
co."
AT the word Co TIE runners race
10 their instruments. uuickIr scan !
the report and fash TO the world Tho
hndlngs of the group in the inner !
portals.
ms scene has been enacted almost
'hohthIy Tor more than fifty wears |
: ne leaos are played by members of |
the crop reporting board of the United |
states Department of AgricuItura |
supported by over 200. 900 farmers
merchants, bankers and tradesmen in
al parts of the country, the combined
'olume OF whose voices as to the size
OF growing crops controls the imme-
diate prices of Americas food and
clothing products.
!: !: :: =
THE first appropriation authorized /
by Congress for the collection of
agricultural statistics was made in
1853 "hen $1,000 was set apart for
this purpose and for the collection
ana distribution of seeds under the !
commissioner of patents. This an
preparation marked the beginning of !
The present Department of Agricul-
ture
From 1899 TO 1852 the work was :
handled by a. small force in the pat J
ont office, but in the latter year it was !
transferred to the Department of Ag- |
riculture, in accordance with the act |
passed May Is. 1852, establishing the |
department, "the general design and |
duties of which shall be to acquire
and TO diffuse among the people of |
the United States information on sub
jects connected with agriculture. in |
the most general and comprehensive /
sense of the word
From an allotment of n few thou |
sand dollars each year, at first, the |
crop reporting service has been |
evolved, perfected and enlarged into !
tho present crop reporting board. car |
rying an annual appropriation of sew !
eral hundred thousand dollars, and |
which annually issues monthly fore
casts, estimates and reports on sew /
enty-four different crops and six |
classes OF live stock. The estimates
arc based upon reports of farmers and |
others in every county and township !
IN the United States and upon the re-
ports of trained field agents in each |
state.
Beginning with planting. data are !
gathered and reports made as to the |
condition and acreage of each of the
principal agricultural products. AS
the crops progress the prospects are
reflected in monthly condition reports
upon each growing crop. At harvest
time the yields per acre are ascer-
tanned. A system of checks and bal !;
ances is employed to prevent possible !
error through inaccuracies or per- {
sonal bias. More recently mechanical |
devices for measuring crop acreages
have been designed. more completely
to- minimize the chance of human /
error.
Airplane photography is perhaps