16 



OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



Then I wrote to him that the plan should not only he formulated but put into 

 operation, and I got a very curt reply indeed. Following is Mr. Hyde's letter: 



United States Department of Agriculture, 

 Division of Statistics, 



Washington, D. C, May 27, 1899. 



Mr. Howard Berwick, Monterey, Cal.: 



Dear Sir: There are no further developments to report with regard to the consular crop- 

 reporting proposition. As soon as anything definite is arranged l will advise you. 

 Very truly yours, 



(Signed:) JOHN HYDE, 



Statistician. 



This is the last letter I had from Mr. Hyde. Then I applied to the Secretary of 

 State. I have a letter from the State Department, as follows: 



Department of State, Washington, D. C. 



Eowakd Berwick, Esq., Monterey, Cal.: 



Dear Sir : I have received by reference from the President, your letter to him of the 10th 

 instant, expressing your desire to obtain at specified times information of the condition of fruit 

 crops and fluctuations in current prices of horticultural produce. 



In reply 1 have to say the Department of Agriculture collects through consular officers consider- 

 able information of the character of that desired by you and publishes it in the monthly bulletin 

 of crop reports. It appears from your letter that you are already in communication with Secretary 

 Wilson, and it is believed that your request should properly be formulated by that Department 

 before the aid of the consular service is invoked in order that there may be no duplication of the 

 information collected. This Department will be glad to have consular officers cooperate with the 

 Secretary of Agriculture, so far as they properly can, in collecting the information which you 

 desire to obtain. 



I am, sir, your obedient servant, 



(Signed:) DAVID J. HILL, 



Assistant Secretary. 



Mr. Wilson then came to the Coast and I wrote to him, addressing my letters to the 

 Palace Hotel, in an attempt to obtain an interview with him, but I was not successful 

 in that, f<>r my letters did not reach him until he was leaving for the East. He then 

 wrote to me saying he would have written to me appointing a time for the hearing of 

 this matter, but thai my letter had arrived too late. I then wrote again to him, telling 

 him what we wanted; no reply came to me. I then wrote to President McKinley 

 again, again telling him the state of affairs, and I got a reply from him— an official 

 reply. The President's letter is as follows: 



Executive Mansion, Washington, Nov. 16, 1899. 



Ma. Edward Berwick, Monterey, Cal.: 



M v DBA b Hi a: I beg leave to acknowledge your letter of recent date, and to state that by the 

 President's direction it has been referred for the consideration of the Secretary of State. 

 Very truly yours, 



(Signed:) J. A. PORTER, 



,„„ , . , Secretary to the President. 



I then wrote to Mr. Wilson this letter: 



Monterey, Cal., November 6, 1899. 



HOK. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C: 



Dkab Bib: On receipt of your letter, dated " Palace Hotel, S. F.," I wrote you on behalf of the 

 fruit growers of the State of California, reiterating their request for certain information previ- 

 ously detailed to your department, and to that of the Secretary of State. 



As the department clerks were too busy in your office to vouchsafe me so much as a postal 

 La reply, I addressed myself to an office where they always appear to have leisure at least for 

 business courtesy— that of President McKinley. 



M y letter to him of the 10th ultimo was referred to the Secretary of State, and on the 24th ultimo 

 Assistant Secretary D. J. Hill wrote me: "It is believed that your request should properly be 

 formulate. i by the Agricultural Department before the aid of the consular service is invoked, in 

 order that there may be no duplication of the information collected. This Department will be 

 glad to have consular officers cooperate with the Secretary of Agriculture," etc., etc. 



As I have been Kh'en to understand previously from Mr. John Hyde, that the difficulty was to 

 yet the adequate cooperation of the consular service, I trust, now that the consent of the consular 

 cut. department is obtained, immediate action will be taken by your department. Nearly a year 

 hfti elnp»€d Bince the request of the fruit-growers was presented to your office, and the formula- 



