Evening star., 1927-10-19
RECALL OF COTTON
REPORT DEMANDED
ASWeII Asks Jardine to With
draw Estimate of 7,800,-
OC0-BaIe Carryover.
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press
Representative James B. Aswel OF
Louisiana suggested to Secretary Jar
dine..in a letter. yesterday, that the
Secretary Immediately issue a pubic
statement withdrawing the depart
ment7s report estimating the worlds
carrv-over of American cotton at the
beginning of the cotton year, August
/. at about 100000 bales.
I'm view of your unsuccessful effort
TO Justify the use of private reports,
and in view of the great loss II mas
caused the cotton producers 10 sulIer
bv overestimating the carry over.
said Mr.. Aswell, II respectfully sub
nit that in the interest of the cotton
nroducers. in the interest of your good
name among the American people, ana
in the interest of common justice, you
having no authority by law TO use pri-
vate reports should Immediately issue
a public statement withdrawing your
report in question as an official doc-
ument.'
Secretary Jardine Replies.
Mr.. Aswell asked the chief Of the
Bureau of Agricultural Economics
hv latter October / whether the bu-
reaus report on the world carry-oVer
or that of Col. H. G. Hester, secre-
tarv of the New Orleans Cotton EA-
change. which was S660VO bales
lower was correct. After falIure 10
receive reply in 10 days, Mr.. Asweil
addressed a letter to Secretary Jar
dine asking him to justify the use of
private reports in connection WIFI
the carry-over report.
On Monday Secretary Jardlne re-
plied to Mr. Aswell that the bureau
had been delayed in answering be-
cause it was making a careful cheek
of sources and data used by the
bureau and in preparing a Statement
comparing the estimates 1t has USED
with those of the New Orleans Cot
ton Exchange.
Information that will be helpful to
them in planning the production and
marketing of their crops" said Mr..
.Jardine. 'the Department of Agrl-
culture uses official reports when
ever available, but for items for
which there are no official sources,
uses the best available data.
The Secretary transmitted TO Mr..
Aswell a statement covering the
available sources of world carry-oVer
and world consumption of cotton. IL
said the September monthly survey
of the cotton price situation, in which
the carry-over report was given, had
been prepared from the Bureau OF
Census estimate of stocks of Amer
lean cotton in the United states ana
the international Cotton Federat1ons
estimate of stocks in foreign ports
and afioat, as an indication of the
worlds carry over of American cot
ton into the new season beginning
August i, 1927.
Bias Is Doubted.
Then analyzing figures embodied in
both statements, the { acretary con-
cluded:
"A review of these estimates brings
out the fact that in four out OF eight
years the federation's estimates have
been larger than the exchange esti-
mates, and the total of the fedora
tons estimates for the eight years. is
26S 900 bales larger than the total or
the exchange estimates.
1T does not appear, therefore, that
there is any definite bias in the one as
against the other, nor that in the long
run the one is to any appreciable ex-
tent more complete than the other.
However, owing to methods OF esti.
mating consumption and the fact that
not all points are covered in the carry
over survey, the New Orleans Ex-
change estimates Of consumption may
be too high for years in which condi-
tions are such as to induce foreign
mills generally to increase their stocks
of American cotton"