CONGRESSION All RECORD-SEN
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1929 CONGRESSION All RECORD-SEN ATE 4041 gathered one-half of the crop in my State or in any other State to be a correet and accurate report of the number of bales of American in the Southeast. cotton ginned this season up to September 23 ; and Here is a report made on Monday morning last, September Whereas when complaint was made that the ginners' report given 23, showing 727,988 bales of cotton ginned in my State, which out for publication by the Bureau of the Census on that date was not would be more than two-thirds, or roughly three-fourths, of the justified by the facts regarding the actual number of bales of cotton entire number of bales that the State could hope to · produce ginned up to September 23, the Bureau of the. Census admitted that its under existing conditions. A scapegoat is found, just as one 1s report published on September 23 contained figures showing 300,000 always found, by the Census Bureau. Somebody has made a bales more of cotton ginned up to that date than the Government clerical error. But here is the bureau handling cotton sta figures justified; and tistics. It has been engaged for many years in estimating and Whereas said incorrect and misleading ginners' report resulted in in furnishing the reports and in making public the number of depressing the price of cotton : Therefore be it bales of cotton ginned up to and including certain dates. That Resolved, That the Bureau o! the Census is hereby requested to give bureau or the men in it are supposed to know something about to the Senate all the information that it has as to why and how the the commodity on which they are reporting. They estimate the said report on cotton ginned to September 23 was made and given out number of bales carried over. for publication, and what steps, if any, have been taken to prevent The Department of Agriculture. indicate what the price is errors in such reports. going to be, to the disaster of the cotton grower, and with dis The preamble was agreed to. turbing regularity they come back with some sort of erroneous report in the very midst of the crop that is grown by nearly ADJOURNMENT TO MONDAY 2,000,000 farmers out of the round number of 6,000,000 farmers Mr. SMOOT. Mr. President, several days ago, in answer to in the United States. If the man who made that report had a question submitted to me as to when we were going to have a used ordir).ary diligence he would have known that · the State morning hour, I stated at that time that we would have a morn could not have ginned up to September 15 three-fourths of the ing hour at the very first opportunity. Earlier in the day, at possible production of the State under boll-weevil conditions. my request, the Senate entered an order by unanimous consent The error is absolutely inexcusable. that when the Senate concluded its business to-day it would The Census Bureau, after the close of the trading, and, of take a recess until to-morrow at 11 o'clock. I am going to ask course, some time after the close of the cotton exchange, made that that order be rescinded, and then I shall move that the ·the correction and said it was an error on the part of the Senate adjourn until Monday morning next at 11 o'clock a. m. clerical force and further said it did not make much difference The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there objection to rescinding anyhow because the fluctuations in price had not been very the unanimous-consent order that when the Senate concludes itc;; great. Think of a department of this Government excusing business to-day it shall take a recess until to-morrow at 11 such wholly inexcusable negligence in that way! It is so o'clock a. m? The Chair hears none, and the order is rescinded. gross, Mr. President, that anyone would be warranted in saying Mr. SMOOT. I now move that the Senate adjourn until that there is something more than negligence behind it. Errors Monday next at 11 o'clock a. m. of one · kind and another have been repeated with such dis The motion was agreed to; and· (at 5 o'clock and 15 minutes turbing and disastrous regularity until anyone would be justi p. m.) the Senate adjourned until Monday, September 30, 1929, fied in saying there is something more than carelessness be at 11 o'clock a. m. hind it. The man responsible for it ought to be dismissed from the bureau without investigation. We will not correct NOMINATIONS such errors unless vigorous action is taken. Executive nomination..! received by the Senate September 21 l\fr. President, I have no objection to the consideration of (legislative day of September 9), 192_9 the resolution which the Senator from Alabama has submitted. It ought .to be passed, but much more than that ought to be GoVERNOR OF ALASKA done. With this closing statement I shall take my seat: George A. Parks, of Colorado, to be Governor of Alaska. The ·Census Bureau said that after all the error of 300,000 (Reappointment.) · bales of cotton did not break the market more than 12 to 16 APPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTIC?NS IN THE NAVY 'points; but, :Mr. ·President, the market might have gone up MARINE CORPS many points to the betterment and benefit of the growers of .coJton if the report had been accurately given to the public. Second Lieut. Perry K. Smith to be a first lieutenant in the But that again discloses the utter lack of knowledge of this Marine Corps from the 12th day of August, 1929. great commodity on the part of the Census Bureau. Second Lieut. Charles L. Fike to be a first lieutenant in the The cotton exchange closes at a fixed hour, as every Senator Marine Corps from the 20th day of September, 1929. from the Cotton Belt knows, and probably every Senator from James V. Bradley, jr., a citizen of Maine, to be a second lieu other parts of the country. It is true the price did not break tenant in the Marine Corps (probationary for two years) from so much during the trading hours, but with the production the 25th day of· July, 1929. indicated, showing for the State of Georgia an indicated pro George R. Weeks, a citizen of South Carolina, to be a second duction of 1,500,000 bales of cotton, everybody who had cotton lieutenant in the l\Iarine Corps (probationary for two years) from the 25th day of July, 1929 . .after the market closed want~d to get rid of it be~ore the market cpened the following day. Every man who had cotton on hand was anxious not to have the next day's trading find him with that cotton on hand in the face of the indicated SENATE "production . MoNDAY, Septemher 30, 19t£9 It was an error wholly inexcusable, an error that a school boy ought not to have made, an. error that no man can make Rev. Joseph R. Sizoo, D. D., minister of the New York Avenue who knows anything about the industry with which he is Presbyterian Church of the city of Washington, offered the· fol dealing. There should be a prompt dismissal of everyone in lowing prayer : the bureau connected with it, whether it be a clerical error or God of all power and might, the Maker and Ruler of men, not. This is not the first miqtake that has occurred, but it is we commend ourselves and our Nation to Thee again, to the the first grievous clerical error which the bureau itself has been guidance of Thy wisdom and the keeping of Thy love. Deliver compelled to admit and which five and one-half hours after it us from the love of power and from the sordid motives of per had been published to the world it did correct. sonal gain; from considerations of men and money in place of Mr. President, as I said I have no objection to the considera truth' and justice. Grant that through our faithfulness man tion of the resolution of the Senator from Alabama. kind may be lifted to higher 'ideals and nobler achievements, The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there objection to the present through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. consideration of the resolution ·of the Senator from Alabama as ·modified? The Chief Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of the pro Mr. SMOOT. Mr. President, I suppose the Senator is ready ceedings of Thursday· and Friday last in the legislative day of to have the Senate act upon the resolution now? Monday, September 9, 1929, when, on request of Mr. JoNEs and Mr. HEFLIN. I am ready. by unanimous consent, the further reading was dispensed with and the Journal was approved. Mr. SMOOT. I have no objection. The resolution as modified was considered and agreed to, as TRIBUTE TO THE LATE SENATOR LAWRENCID D. TYSON follows: Mr. McKELLAR. Mr. President, on September 7 last the Whereas on September 23, the day fixed by law for the publication of Knox County {Tenn.) Bar Association adopted resolutions in the ginners' report of American eotton ginned to that date, the Bureau memory of the late Senator LAWRENCE DAVIs TYsoN. I ask of the Census caused to be given out and published a report purporting unanimous consent that the resolutions may be printed in the 1 I· 4042 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE SEPTEMBER 30 RECORD as a part of my remarks and may be included in the In 1896 he resigned his commission in the Army and entered the law memorial edition which is to be published relating to my former firm of Lucky & Sanford, the firm becoming Lucky, Sanford & Tyson.