410 



ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



DETERMINATION OF DISPUTES. 



Under the seventh subdivision of section 5 of the United States 

 cotton futures act, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to de- 

 termine disputes which may arise between the parties to a future 

 contract made in conformity to the act, as to the grade, quality, and 

 length of staple of any cotton tendered in the fulfillment of the obli- 

 gation. Under the direction of the chief of the office and the project 

 leader the work is performed largely bj^ expert cotton classers termed 

 " examiners." 



An examination of the daily reports of the exchanges shows that 

 the total number of bales delivered on future contract at New York 

 from July 1, 1915, to June 30, 1916, was 135,300, of which 26,717, 

 or 19.7 per cent, was involved in the disputes referred to the depart- 

 ment for determination. Of this number, one dispute, involving 5 

 bales, was dismissed, leaving a total of 26,712 bales passed upon by 

 the examiners. 



According to published reports, the number of bales delivered on 

 contract at New Orleans was 102,900, but no dispute in reference to 

 such cotton was referred to the department. 



The following table presents in convenient form, by months, the 

 number of original disputes received and the number of bales in- 

 volved therein: 



Month dispute received. 



1915: July 



August 



September . 



October 



November . 



December. . 

 1916: January 



February . . 



March 



April 



May 



June 



Total. 



Number 



of 

 original 

 disputes. 



119 

 28 

 5 

 69 

 27 

 35 

 33 



9 



4 

 6 



13 



348 



Number 



of 

 bales in 

 original 



disputes. 



12,023 

 2,062 

 315 

 3,622 

 2,060 

 2, 145 

 1,691 



215 



214 



421 



1,346 



26, 114 



Number 



of 

 replace- 

 ment 

 disputes. 



21 

 26 



1 

 3 

 1 

 3 



56 



Number 



of bales 



in replace 



ment 

 disputes. 



276 



278 



17 



17 



2 



6 



7 

 603 



The total sum collected as costs for the determination of disputes 

 heard during the fiscal year was $9,322.55, of which $7,182.91 was 

 assessed against the complainants and $2,139.64 against the respond- 

 ents. All of this fund was covered into the Treasury of the United 

 States, in accordance with the provisions of the cotton-futures act. 



Aside from the actual determination of disputes, the examiners 

 have made a careful study of all the facts related to the handling of 

 disputes and certain deductions therefrom. This information was 

 published in Service and Regulatory Announcements No. 8. 



PREPARATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF PRACTICAL FORMS OF THE OFFICIAL 

 COTTON STANDARDS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The actual work of preparing and distributing practical forms 

 of the official cotton standards of the United States is under the 

 direction of Mr. Fred Taylor. 



