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Show FIGURES ON COTTON CROP. A WOMAN EXPERT WHO HAS AN ENVIABLE RECORD. Is a Product of the Bureau of Statistics Statis-tics at Washington She H Now Connected with New York Cotton Market. New York. Wall street has another 'lady statistician." Her name It Mrs. Bertha J. Burch, and her specialty Is cotton. She has entered into her now flold after a thorough course of training train-ing In the bureau of statistics at Washington, Wash-ington, where she was for several years the confidential secretary and assistant of John Hyde, who, whatever else may be said of him, Is to-day considered con-sidered the ablest statistician the bureau bu-reau evor had. .Wall street at first was Inclined to mako light of "lady statisticians," as it saeerlngly called them. Miss Kate M. Giles labored under tho handicap of ex when she first bogan to give eat figures on the condition of the cotton crop and estimates of the size of the yiold. Finally it dawned on the mas eullne cotton experts that they had better look to their own laurels, and slnoe then Iltet Gllee has been permitted per-mitted to pursue her work undisturbed. undis-turbed. Mrs. Burch In many respect is the best trained cotton statistician who has over been connected with the New York cotton market. When she resigned re-signed from the bureau of statistics last year Secretary Wilson said of her: 'She Is a very able woman and probably capablo'of Issuing as good a report as Hyde himself." She became associated with the bu-roau bu-roau of statistics about ten years ago, when Henry A. Robinson was its chief. Sho occupied a subordinate, position nt the tlmo, but rapidly worked ' her way upward. When John Hyde became chief of the buroau Mrs. Burch waa appointed his secretary, as sho was familiar with statistical work and wns an excellent stenographer. During tho Hydo regime Mrs. Bureh became acquainted with the methods of her superior. She learned how the reports wero mado up and how tho replies re-plies from tho different classes of correspondents cor-respondents wore weighed.. She soon learned that it was wise to add a grain of salt to tho tale of damago related by some "crop killer," as well as to take with allowanco tho optimistic re-, port sent in by somo correspondent who undoubtedly was "short" of tho, market In every department of tho science of statistics she served her apprenticeship. She also became acquainted ac-quainted with tho better classes of, correspondents and learned thoso In whom to plnco reliance Soon after tho departure of Hydo for Europo a firm of Now York brokers sent a representative to Washington and naked Mrs. Burch to take charge of their crop reporting. The estimate MR8. BERTHA J. BURCH. (An Expert on the Cotton Crap o, America.) of tho cotton crop made by Mrs.. Burch last year stands out clearly as the beat Issued. Whllo somo "guesaea" aa to tho total of tho ylold eame somewhat nearer the mark, they were .haphazard shots that sometimes make a bull's eye. Taking It stato by sUto for tho wholo .belt, the" "lady statistician" statisti-cian" mnde'the best balanced estimate of the thousands that wero issued. Although everybody thought tho crop could not possibly oxceed 10,300,000, and many placod It below 10,000,000, Mrs. Burch placed it at 10,979,000. The bureau of statistics made an estimate of 10,167,000. The actual yield la now admittedly a llttlo more than 11,000,-000. 11,000,-000. So Mrs. Burch camo closer to the production than her old friends in tho bureau of statistics. |